Selected Thesis Topics for BScBA students Bachelor s Thesis

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1 Selected Thesis Topics for BScBA students Bachelor s Thesis Please use this list of the fields of International Business for thesis work and potential thesis topics when choosing and informing us the field of your thesis + the thesis topic in the form Indication of Interest Area for Thesis General Business Area Management Selected Thesis Topics in the field The motivations of buying local or/and organic food The future of food wild cards and weak signals of changing food consumption Does locality offer a competitive advantage in global food business (case or area) Testing business strategy with scenario planning/foresight tools Alternative business concepts of local food supply (case or general) The differences in Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the food industry Investigating relationship partnering in a company s supply chain Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) Leadership in virtual teams Work satisfaction Culture shock Managing people from different cultures Ethical decision making in travel, tourism and hospitality industries Evolving health care access dilemmas in emerging as well as developed economies Bottom of the Pyramid markets and consumers: Role of MNCs as well as local firms What is China's or India's future position in global corporate activities? How is China's investment profile changing? How and with what purpose do firms enforce their market presence in Japan?

2 Marketing Positioning of brands in different sectors B-to-B branding Social media and brand perception Co-creation and crowdsourcing in brand management Green marketing Comparing the entrepreneurial marketing approach and customer orientation in a big and small IT-company and/or in two countries. Design thinking in new product/services development Sustainable brand management Digital marketing strategies in the tourism industry Creating and marketing apps Marketing 3.0 The strategic viability of conscious capitalism Role of envy in consumption Role of emotions in luxury consumption Ostentatious behavior among young and old consumers Drivers of commitment to luxury brands Migrant consumers and their consumption signalling behavior Views of local majority on consumption signalling carried out by immigrants Finnish value perceptions towards luxury brands How social media drives conspicuous consumption Consumer confusion in technology industry Are all Scandinavian consumers the same? Measuring differing value perceptions among Scandinavian consumers. Transferability of brand image across product categories Celebrity Endorsements in Branding Sales Management: Challenges in recruiting and retaining talent Role of B2B and B2C Branding in building customer retention Use of Social Media in generating awareness, brand equity, and trials of new and existing products Developing a Branding Campaign in a cross-cultural setting Sales Force Automation in maintaining an international sales force Understanding the role of competitive intelligence strategies in achieving market success Consumer behavior in emerging market contexts. How do firms sequencing market entry and product diversification?

3 Business Culture and Communication Human Resource Management Economics Marketing to different cultures within a country (e.g., Russian speakers in Finland) Knowledge challenges faced by first-time CEOs Subcultures within different parts of an organization Relationship management and potential employees Design management: corporate image/product image of an international company Communication of environmental issues What is the impact of language both in terms as facilitator and as an impediment to effective communication flow in internationally operating firms? How can internationally operating firms manage language diversity? Cross-cultural entrepreneurs how social fabrics can nurture future innovative functioning. Business as economic and social exchange How to 'not' underestimate the impact of culture on cross-cultural business activities? Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of coaching Mentoring for learning Evaluating the methods and effectiveness of learning in the workplace Cultural comparisons in leadership preferences and/or effectiveness Cross cultural / national contrasts in specific areas of HRM Ageing workforce implications Multi-generational workforce challenges Trust breakdown and building Work-life balance Evaluation of employee engagement strategies Approaches to employee participation and involvement An examination of the size and composition of government spending on poverty rates: A cross country analysis An analysis of changing international trade patterns between EU and China The impact of climate change on economic growth Fiscal Integration in the Eurozone Nuclear energy as a viable alternative energy source in electricity production Labor Productivity: US v EU What future for the Eurozone? The impact of international trade liberalization on global food prices The impact of multinationals on host countries Access to higher education in Finland: An international comparison

4 Logistics and Operations Management Environmental Issues Disruption of logistics by fast production methods (e.g., 3D printing) How will 3D printing (additive manufacturing) transform the spares and after-market for manufactured products? Local production for local needs? The impact of new technologies and new imperatives on international production. A survey of e-commerce in the IP sector How will the Internet of Things (IoT) change the supply chain? How should a retailer prepare for omni-channel distribution? What infrastructure will be required to enable drones and robots to be used for distribution? How is software for Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) being used in ERP systems and what advantages does it bring? Trends in modern operations management: a review of the most significant changes in the last 10 years and predictions for the next 10 Moving from manufacturing to servitization How is high value manufacturing developing in Europe? Is it going to save Europe s manufacturing sector? What is the impact of e-business applications on supply chain collaboration and performance How are aerospace supply chains being modernized? Emerging business concepts of renewable energy production (general or case) Value creation in a renewable energy production chain/network Cooperatives as a business model to produce renewable energy (case or general) Impact of climate change on biomass resources (area and biomass type can be selected) The utilization of locality as a competitive advantage in energy business (case or area) Alternative business concepts of local energy wood supply (case or general) Value creation in the local energy wood business chain Investigating relationship partnering in a company s fuel supply chain Alternative business models to bring renewable energy to market (case or general) Alternative business model concepts for energy saving (case or general) Risk management with renewable energy investments Renewable energy marketing strategy Pricing models for the renewable energy Marketing and branding strategy in energy companies (case or general) Economic and ecological valuation of bioenergy/biofuel Effectiveness of different instruments to promote renewable energy generation Role of nimby in renewable energy production choices

5 Accounting and Finance Innovation, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Methods used to determine pricing of a product Corporate tax payments of foreign-owned vs. domestic companies Volatility of bitcoin versus major currencies and transition from investment to currency. Regulatory differences between country regulations for housing bitcoin exchanges. Functions of currency, medium of exchange and/or economic controls. Currency crisis patterns causes, fixes across countries. Chinese currency evolution from government control to market based, can it work? European Union and many governments. Can it work? Tax rate differential across countries and changing corporate behavior The effect of interest rates on future equity returns Factors that affect equity prices How to manage a sound fixed income portfolio The growth in international Mergers and Acquisitions The benefits of diversification and portfolio management Stock Trac. (Participate in a simulated global trading platform for equities, fixed income and derivatives and complete with a report on selection methods, portfolio construction and performance of the portfolio. Students receive $500,000 in a virtual brokerage account. They use this virtual cash to manage a portfolio. This portfolio includes stocks, options, futures, bonds, mutual funds, currencies and other securities from 50 global exchanges.) The drivers and inhibitors of (any technology e.g., smartphone or spreadsheets) usage/adoption Adapting the balanced scorecard for a non-profit organization. Adapting the balanced scorecard for a football (soccer) team. What makes a technology useful? Uncovering the specific ways in which a technology can be perceived as useful. The characteristics of a successful budgeting process. Exploring the communication gap between IT and financial auditors. Internationalization among Finnish new technology based firm new technology based firms How do small enterprises grow Market orientation in SMEs Entrepreneurial marketing approach and communication strategy Business models in small entrepreneurial firms Small firm growth Business acceleration / incubation High-growth entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship policy Social entrepreneurship Small firm finance

6 Risk-acceptance attitudes in small entrepreneurial firms Attitudes towards growth in small entrepreneurial firms Innovation in small entrepreneurial firms Measuring and managing return on innovation investment (ROII) Open innovation business models Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding strategies for nonprofits Fostering entrepreneurial activity through regional economic development initiatives Building strong entrepreneurial communities: a global perspective Economic empowerment through entrepreneurship in developing nations Innovations in sports and sports equipment: a historical perspective The role of networks and external factors in new product development Contemporary trends in entrepreneurship and innovation education Crowdfunding: what factors contribute to success or failure S. Newman Darby's Sailboard: Patent processes and conflicts around the globe Tactile learning: a strategy for greater training efficiency? Contemporary learning trends for the entrepreneurial mindset Entrepreneurial Selling: Pushing the Lean Startup Paradigm