Master's Thesis Winter Term 2025/26

Master's thesis supervision Winter term 2025/26

Before you consider to apply for thesis supervision at the BIM chair, please carefully read the following:

1) Do not write your thesis under our supervision if at the same time you plan to work full time, do an internship, travel the world, or still need to do a large number of other courses! The thesis is an integral part of your study program and, thus, should be in the focus of your attention. You will need all the time to be able to deliver the best package (we fully understand that most of you have a student job and this is perfectly doable). All students that despite our warnings still started a full-time job or internship etc. struggled with finishing their thesis in time and delivering the desired quality. YOUR thesis should be YOUR first priority!

2) Only write your thesis under our supervision if you are commited, motivated, and responsible as well as willing to accept new challenges! If you consider to write your thesis at the BIM chair you should be well-organized, be able to motivate yourself to achieve your goals, and be willing to independently learn new skills (e.g., learn new statistical approaches largely on your own). Writing your thesis with us inlcudes to go beyond what you have learned in your scientific project, your seminars, and lectures. We expect that you are proavtive and motivated as well as able to largely do this on your own. Our job is to reduce uncertainty. Be prepared for all meetings and show us that you invest effort and time to solve issues yourself. This is YOUR thesis, work for it!

3) We are not your personal assistant. Our job is to supervise your thesis with respect to the topic and method as well as the general content and process (e.g., literature search, writting, etc.). It is not our job to remind you of deadlines, to fill out your documents, or to replace your own efforts to understand the submission procedure. All this information is provided below or publicly available on the website of our faculty, specifically the examination office. We are not your internet search engine substitude. If you schedule a Zoom meeting with your supervisor, it is your responsibility to send him/her a Zoom link from your official OVGU Zoom account (https://ovgu.zoom.us/). This is YOUR thesis, YOU need to organize it!
Registration form Master's thesis: Click here
Submission procedure of your Master's thesis: Click here
General information for your study program (including all information in case of illness): Click here

4) Time problems on your side do not create time pressure on our side! It is part of the mission of the BIM chair to provide students with timely answers to their questions as well as a timely feedback and grading after submission. Time constraints on your side do NOT create time issues on our side. Our aim is to answer questions and request via email within two working days. We are usually much faster than that but if you send your question Friday late in the afternoon you cannot expect an answer on the same day. Organize yourself and try walking in the shoes of the members of the BIM chair. The same applies to the situation once you have submitted your final thesis. If you want to start a job or internship, have visa requirements or travel plans, if you want to/need to move out of your apartment, or if you want to get back your semester fee etc. this is all your business and your responsibility. We have eight weeks to finish the grading of your thesis (see the study regulations) and while we aim for a much shorter time, it will not always be possible to finalize within two weeks. Each member of the BIM chair at any given point in time during the year is supervising at least five Master thesis students, five Bachelor thesis students, and several supervised internships etc. We simply cannot take into account all particularities for each and every supervised student as this otherwise would fill our schedule completly. All submitted theses are graded on a first come, first served basis. If you need your grade as soon as possible make sure to submit early. YOUR issues, YOUR business!

Please read the following text carefully.

Master's thesis supervision at the BIM chair during Winter term 2025/26 is organized in the following way:

Application: Apply for Master's thesis supervision no later than September 15th 2025 before midnight (deadline) and send it via email to Ida-Anna Thiele (ida-anna.thiele@ovgu.de). Prepare a max. two page motivation letter (including a priority list of three topics from the BIM chair list or your own topic proposition - see below), a CV, and the transcripts of all Master's and Bachelor's grades in a single pdf document - use free of charge online tools to transfer and merge your documents. Please send us the most recent transcript of your current Master's degree to ensure that all grades from the Summer term 2025 are already included (if possible). Name the file with your last name and '_Thesis_App', e.g. 'Schlaegel_Thesis_App.pdf'.

Selection criteria: Preference in the selection of Master's thesis students will be given to excellent students that participated in the scientific projects of the BIM chair. The selection is not based on first come, first served. We always recommend you to apply at several chairs at the same time. There is no guarantee that you will be offered a place at your preferred chair/the BIM chair. We supervise a maximum of 10 Master's theses per semester, which is far more than we have capacity for.

Notification: Applicants are going to receive information about the result of the selection no later than September 19th 2025.

Topic: You are welcome to (a) propose your own topic (but make sure that you have access to data so you can test your hypotheses) or (b) make a priority list of three topics from the BIM chair list of potential topics. Topic issues will NOT be discussed before October. Please indicate the number of the topic (e.g., Topic 1) in your priority list. The topic preferences you send us should not be changed after the end of the application period, as we will try to assign you to a supervisor considering your first priority.

Timeframe: A total of 22 weeks are available for the thesis - a four week "reading" period and a 18 week "writing" period (to be graded in the Winter term 2025/26, the thesis needs to be finished by the end of March including the thesis submission and defense).

Reading period: Start of the four-week reading period no later than October 24th 2025

Registration: The thesis registration and start of the 18-week writing period is no later than November 21st 2025 (the registration document is available on the website of the examination office - registration form Master's thesis: Click here).

For the thesis registration, please check (a) again if you fulfill all the requirements to register for the Master's thesis before sending us the registration form and (b) then send us your current transcript of records together with the registration form via e-mail. If it becomes apparent after the reading period has begun that you do not meet the requirements (for example, because you have failed a course for which you had not yet received a grade), please let us know IMMEDIATELY.

For IMME students starting their studies before WT24/25, the main requirements for the Master's thesis registration are: the successful completion of (1) at least 75 credit points including all compulsory modules, (2) at least one specialization section, and (3) at least one seminar worth 10 credit points (click here for the official examination regulations).

For IMME students starting their studies from WT24/25 onwards, the main requirements for the Master's thesis registration are: the successful completion of (1) at least 75 credit points including all compulsory modules, (2) 5 CP in the area of “scientific work”, and (3) at least one seminar worth 10 credit points (click here for the official examination regulations).

For BWL/Business Economics students starting their studies before WT24/25, the main requirements for the master thesis registration are: the successful completion of (1) at least 75 credit points, (2) at least two specialization sections (please consider the particularities for the specializations "Marketing and E-Business" and "Economics"), and (3) at least one seminar worth 10 credit points (click here for the official examination regulations).

For BWL/Business Economics students starting their studies from WT24/25 onwards, the main requirements for the Master's thesis registration are: the successful completion of (1) at least 75 credit points, (2) 5 CP in the area of “scientific work”, (3) at least two specialization sections (please consider the particularities for the specializations "Marketing and E-Business" and "Economics"), and (4) at least one seminar worth 10 credit points (click here for the official examination regulations).

Supervision approach: An important aspect of the Master's thesis is to work independently on the topic - individual supervision meetings should not exceed four to five appointments of 30 minutes each (not including a meeting to specify the topic). In the meetings, your supervisor is not a substitute for your own efforts to solve problems. Thesis supervision does not include prior review of parts of the thesis or a "first draft". All thesis supervision meetings take place face-to-face on campus.

Defenses (mid-term): All thesis defenses take place between January 19th and January 27th 2026 (15 minutes presentation of your current state and 10 minutes questions - the ppt slides do not need to be submitted earlier) - about 45 to 60 minutes in total to have time for feedback.

Submission: Submission of the thesis is no later than March 27th 2026 (see the website of the examination office for further details on the submission requirements and process - submission procedure of your Master's thesis: Click here).

Questions: Please read the above carefully. If you have any questions not answered by the above information, contact Ida-Anna Thiele (ida-anna.thiele@ovgu.de).

Important dates summary:

Application: Until midnight on September 15th 2025 via e-mail (ida-anna.thiele@ovgu.de)
Notification: Until September 19th 2025
Mandatory kick-off meeting on campus: October 15th 2025
First meeting with supervisor: Between October 6th and October 30th 2025
Reading period: Start no later than October 24th 2025
Writing period: Start no later than November 21st 2025
Thesis registration: No later than November 21st 2025
Mid-term presentations/thesis defenses: January 2026 (please block in particular January 20th, 22nd, 23rd, and 27th as potential defense dates)
Thesis submission: Latest by March 27th 2026 (see the official deadline after registration in the LSF)

Potential Master's thesis topics

This is the full list of potential topics. Please indicate your preferences, as described above (e.g., Topic 2, Topic 5, Topic 7), in your application.

Topic 1: Just like a fine wine? The timely use of data in quantitative empirical international management/ international business research

When is data too old to inform international management/international business (IM/IB) research and practice? In general, it should take about three years from data collection to journal publication but recent meta-analytic studies indicate that the data that is used in IB/IM research is often much older than this. The focus of this bachelor thesis is on the impact of data currency on the results and conclusions of empirical studies in the IM/IB field. The thesis will examine the age of data in quantitative empirical studies and the extent to which the age of data affects research findings. It will explore the ways in which the use of older data can introduce bias and error into empirical studies, and the ways in which this can impact the conclusions and implications drawn by researchers. The thesis will also explore approaches used to ensure the relevance and timeliness of data in international management and international business research. It will examine the ways in which researchers can assess the age of data and determine its suitability for a specific study, and the ways in which data can be updated or refreshed to ensure its continued relevance. Additionally, the thesis will also discuss the impact of the age of data on the generalizability of the research findings. The thesis will examine how the use of older data might limit the ability to generalize findings to current contexts and how to overcome such limitations. Overall, the thesis will provide an in-depth examination of the impact of data currency on the results and conclusions of quantitative empirical IM/IB research, and offer recommendations for best practices to ensure the relevance and timeliness of data used in research.

Starting literature
Robins, J. A. (2004). When does the age of data matter? Notes on the selection of data for strategy research. In Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Different field but highly informative: Dale, C. M., & Logsdon, M. C. (2022). When is data too old to inform nursing science and practice?. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(12), e155-e156.

Different field but highly informative: Nelson, M. S., Wooditch, A., & Gabbidon, S. L. (2014). Is criminology out-of-date? A research note on the use of common types of data. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 25(1), 16-33.

Topic 2: Beyond the buzzword: Building a data-driven VUCA index for cross-national comparison

The business world is constantly described as VUCA: Volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. While everyone uses the term, few have successfully measured it in a way that allows for direct comparison across countries. This lack of a standardized metric leaves multinational corporations, investors, and policymakers navigating global markets with intuition rather than insight. This Master thesis project offers you the unique opportunity to change that. You will be at the forefront of international business research by developing a novel, composite VUCA index to measure and rank the VUCA environment across a large number of countries. What you will do:

Literature review: Dive deep into the VUCA framework and existing methodologies for measuring its components (e.g., economic volatility, political instability, regulatory complexity).
Data mining and synthesis: Identify and harness existing, reputable global databases (e.g., World Bank, IMF, WHO, Global Competitiveness Index).
Methodology development: Design a robust methodological framework to weight and aggregate various indicators into a single, coherent VUCA score for each country. You will decide what best represents volatility (e.g., GDP growth fluctuation), uncertainty (e.g., economic policy uncertainty index, political terror scale), complexity (e.g., regulatory complexity), and ambiguity (e.g., lack of transparency indices, press freedom scores).
Analysis and visualization: Create a clear global ranking and map the results to identify patterns, VUCA hotspots, and stable havens across the last ten years.
Draw strategic implications: Discuss how your index can be used by businesses for risk assessment, market entry strategies, and strategic planning.

Starting literature
Taskan, B., Junça-Silva, A., & Caetano, A. (2022). Clarifying the conceptual map of VUCA: A systematic review. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 30(7), 196-217.

Bennett, N., & Lemoine, G. J. (2014). What a difference a word makes: Understanding threats to performance in a VUCA world. Business Horizons, 57(3), 311-317.

Bennett, N., & Lemoine, J. (2014). What VUCA really means for you. Harvard Business Review, 92(1/2).

Lichtenthaler, U. (2025). From VUCA and BANI to a PUMO World: Why Agile Innovation Is Not Enough. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), 22(03n04), 1-14.

Topic 3: From lab to market: An AI-driven framework for identifying secondary applications of university-generated technologies

The "Third Mission" of universities emphasizes the transfer of knowledge and technology to society. A significant challenge in this process is the phenomenon of technology blindness – where the original inventors and technology transfer offices (TTOs) are so focused on the intended application that they fail to see other, potentially more valuable, market opportunities in different industries. These unintended uses, or "secondary applications," represent a vast reservoir of untapped economic and social value. Manually searching for these opportunities is time-consuming, requires exceptional cross-disciplinary knowledge, and is prone to human bias. This thesis aims to tackle this challenge by developing and proposing a novel, AI-enhanced framework to systematically scan for and evaluate secondary application opportunities for university-generated inventions. The research will:

Review and critically assess existing manual and software-assisted approaches for identifying new technology applications.
Design a conceptual framework that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enhance the search process.

Comprehensive literature review:

Domain 1: University technology transfer and the concept of technology serendipity.
Domain 2: Existing methodologies for technology opportunity discovery and technology landscaping.
Domain 3: The use of AI in innovation and patent analysis.

Topic 4: Decoding the external landscape: Measuring the dimensions of the international business environment

The external business environment is a dynamic force that continually shapes organizational strategies, decisions, and outcomes. Key dimensions such as environmental hostility, environmental uncertainty, environmental dynamism, environmental munificence, market turbulence, and competitive intensity have been widely applied in the international management and international business literature. These constructs capture the complexity of external factors, yet they evolve over time due to changing market conditions, technological advancements, and shifts in regulatory landscapes. This thesis will undertake a comparative qualitative analysis of the conceptualization and measurement of these dimensions, with an additional focus on the evolution of these constructs over time.

1) Conceptual foundations and measurement approaches

Systematically review core environmental constructs and the theoretical frameworks supporting them.
Identifying overlaps and distinctions between constructs such as environmental uncertainty vs. market turbulence, or competitive intensity vs. environmental hostility.
Analyzing how these dimensions have been redefined or refined over time in response to global business trends.
Reviewing the operationalization of these constructs in empirical studies, including surveys, scales, and indicators.
Identifying challenges in measuring dynamic environmental factors (e.g., objective vs. subjective measures, and the impact of technological change).

2) Meta-analysis of the evolution of business environment dimensions

Conducting a meta-analysis of empirical studies to assess how the means of measuring these dimensions have shifted over time.

By combining a comparative analysis with a meta-study of the development of these dimensions, this thesis will provide a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical evolution and practical application of key constructs in the business environment. The results will be valuable for both scholars refining environmental models and managers seeking to assess and adapt to changing external conditions.

Starting literature
Rosenbusch, N., Rauch, A., & Bausch, A. (2013). The mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation in the task environment–performance relationship: A meta-analysis. Journal of management, 39(3), 633-659.

Topic 5: The supply chain agility-supply chain flexibility nexus: A meta-analytic assessment of their differential impact on firm performance

This thesis proposal addresses a critical and nuanced question in supply chain management: while both supply chain agility (the ability to respond quickly to unpredictable changes) and supply chain flexibility (the ability to adapt to predefined ranges of change) are universally advocated for superior performance, the distinct nature of their contribution remains blurred in extant literature, with empirical findings often being fragmented and contradictory. The primary objective of this research is to resolve these ambiguities by conducting a comprehensive meta-analysis that quantitatively synthesizes findings from numerous primary studies to provide definitive evidence on the unique relationship each capability shares with firm performance metrics (e.g., operational, financial, market-based). The research will involve systematically identifying and coding a large sample of empirical studies, employing advanced statistical techniques to calculate pooled effect sizes, and testing for moderating factors that may explain variance in previous results, such as industry type, firm size, geographic region, or the presence of disruptive events. The anticipated contribution of this thesis is threefold: firstly, it will provide much-needed conceptual clarity by empirically distinguishing the performance outcomes of agility versus flexibility; secondly, it will offer evidence-based guidance to managers on where to prioritize strategic investments for maximum performance impact; and finally, it will identify key gaps in the current body of knowledge to direct future research, ultimately culminating in a robust, statistically validated framework that elucidates how these complementary yet distinct capabilities drive competitive advantage.

Starting literature
Akın Ateş, M., Suurmond, R., Luzzini, D., & Krause, D. (2022). Order from chaos: A meta‐analysis of supply chain complexity and firm performance. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 58(1), 3-30.

Alfalla-Luque, R., Luján García, D. E., & Marin-Garcia, J. A. (2023). Supply chain agility and performance: Evidence from a meta-analysis. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 43(10), 1587-1633.

Beigi Firoozi, A., Bashokouh, M., Seifollahi, N., & Zarei, G. (2024). A systematic review with meta-analysis of supply chain agility antecedents and its effect on firm performance. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 35(4), 894-917.

Hou, H., Ju, Y., Chen, L., Luo, Y., & Wang, Q. (2024). Triple-A supply chain and firm performance relationship: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 27(10), 1742-1765.

Yu, K., Cadeaux, J., & Luo, B. N. (2015). Operational flexibility: Review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Production Economics, 169, 190-202.

Topic 6: The association between organizational learning capability and firm performance: A meta-analytic synthesis

Organizational learning capability (OLC) refers to managerial practices that facilitate organizational learning, or the conditions and enablers that can help an organization become a learning organization. However, the OLC-firm performance relationship is under-researched and the extent to which OLC influences economic outcomes varies across studies. The objective of this master’s thesis is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge and expand the understanding of OLC’s role (including corresponding dimensions) in firm performance through a meta-analytic synthesis. The thesis includes a comprehensive critical review of the most common definitions, conceptualizations, and measurements of OLC and firm performance. The thesis should further include an abstract, an introduction to the topic (including a short summary of the results), a detailed and replicable description of the literature search process and analytical techniques, the results of the meta-analysis (including the investigation of several moderators), and a discussion of the findings and their implications for the field. The meta-analysis requires a thorough literature search, coding, and analysis of articles on the role of OLC in firm performance (i.e., conceptual articles, qualitative studies, and quantitative studies). The literature search (preferably supported by artificial intelligence tools) involves the use of a variety of databases and should be guided by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The identified studies will be meta-analytically synthesized to extract the main findings, and the role of moderators will be examined The meta-analysis aims to provide a quantitative assessment of the current state of knowledge of the relationship between OLC and firm performance, identify gaps in the current research, and suggest areas and methodological approaches for future studies.

Starting literature:
Do, T. T., & Mai, N. K. (2022). Organizational learning and firm performance: A systematic review. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 71(4), 1230-1253.

Lin, Y., & Wu, L. Y. (2014). Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework. Journal of Business Research, 67(3), 407-413.

Migdadi, M. M. (2021). Organizational learning capability, innovation and organizational performance. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(1), 151-172.

Topic 7: A meta-analytic synthesis of the association between organizational learning capability and firm innovativeness

Organizational learning capability (OLC) refers to managerial practices that facilitate organizational learning, or the conditions and enablers that can help an organization become a learning organization. Innovations within organizations are perceived as a process of individual and collective learning and a key instrument for finding alternative methods for problem solving. The main requirement for an environment in which innovation can occur efficiently is the communication of acquired knowledge as well as the interaction between individuals within the organization. The objective of this master’s thesis is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge and expand the understanding of OLC’s role (including corresponding dimensions) in firm innovativeness through a meta-analytic synthesis. The thesis includes a comprehensive critical review of the most common definitions, conceptualizations, and measurements of OLC and firm innovativeness. The thesis should further include an abstract, an introduction to the topic (including a short summary of the results), a detailed and replicable description of the literature search process, applied analytical techniques, the results of the meta-analysis (including the investigation of moderators), and a discussion of the findings and their implications for the field. The meta-analysis requires a thorough literature search (preferably supported by artificial intelligence tools), coding, and analysis of articles on the relationship between OLC and firm innovativeness (i.e., conceptual articles, qualitative studies, and quantitative studies). The literature search involves the use of a variety of databases and should be guided by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The identified studies will be meta-analytically synthesized to extract the main findings, and the role of moderators will be examined. The meta-analysis aims to provide a quantitative assessment of the current state of knowledge of the relationship between OLC and firm innovativeness, identify gaps in the current research, and suggest areas and methodological approaches for future studies.

Starting literature:
Akgün, A. E., Ince, H., Imamoglu, S. Z., Keskin, H., & Kocoglu, İ. (2014). The mediator role of learning capability and business innovativeness between total quality management and financial performance. International Journal of Production Research, 52(3), 888-901.

Migdadi, M. M. (2021). Organizational learning capability, innovation and organizational performance. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(1), 151-172.

Tambosi, S. S. V., Gomes, G., & Amal, M. (2020). Organisational learning capability and innovation: Study on companies located in regional cluster. International Journal of Innovation Management, 24(06), 2050057.

Tohidi, H., Mohsen Seyedaliakbar, S., & Mandegari, M. (2012). Organizational learning measurement and the effect on firm innovation. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 25(3), 219-245.

Topic 8: IT capabilities and organizational agility: A meta-analytic review

IT capabilities (ITC), simply defined, refer to a firm’s ability to use IT-based resources and are predominantly researched as a multi-dimensional construct. The objective of this master’s thesis is to provide an overview of the previous research investigating the relationship between IT capabilities (including its dimensions) and organizational agility (including its facets). The thesis includes a comprehensive critical review of the definitions, conceptualizations, and measurements of ITC and organizational agility and provides an overview of previous meta-analyses and reviews on this topic. The thesis should further include an abstract, an introduction to the topic (including a short summary of the results), a detailed and replicable description of the literature search process and applied analytical techniques, the results of the meta-analysis (including the investigation of moderators), and a discussion of the findings and their implications for the field. The meta-analysis requires a thorough literature search, coding, and analysis of articles on the role of ITC for organizational agility (i.e., conceptual articles, qualitative studies, and quantitative studies). The literature search (preferably supported by artificial intelligence tools) involves the use of a variety of databases and should be guided by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The identified studies will be meta-analytically synthesized, and the role of moderators will be examined. The meta-analysis aims to provide a quantitative assessment of the current state of knowledge of the role of ITC for organizational agility, identify gaps in the current research, and suggest areas and methodological approaches for future study.

Starting literature:
Dewett, T., & Jones, G. R. (2001). The role of information technology in the organization: A review, model, and assessment. Journal of Management, 27(3), 313-346.

Lu, Y., & Ramamurthy, K. (Ram). (2011). Understanding the link between information technology capability and organizational agility: An empirical examination. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 931–954.

Werder, K., & Richter, J. (2022). A meta-analysis on the effects of IT capability toward agility and performance: New directions for information systems research. PLoS One, 17(10), e0268761.