Master Thesis Supervision

Core members of the China Business centre offer Master Thesis supervision. Below is a list of suggested thesis topics per supervisor.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Reinmoeller – Strategy in China

Macro:

• "One China, many provinces, numerous business systems: Measuring differences within China"
• "Science parks in China - Purpose, Evolution and Future"

Industry:

• "Industry Creation in China - Finding the future in the present"
• "Competitive Rivalry - Comparing the attractiveness of industries and their success"

Micro:

• "Motivations, means and management of Chinese firms' internationalization" 
• "Organizational learning in Chinese international firms: Clarifying the role of experience" 
• "Management practices of Chinese firms: comparing Chinese practice with Western doctrine" 
• "Corporate Social Responsibility: Comparing Chinese firms with foreign firms in China"
• "Decision making in China: Testing the usefulness of models of strategic leadership in China"
• "Build Your Dream or Starting up in China: Comparative case study analysis of start ups in China"
• "Cross Border Mergers & Acquisitions: Identifying possible antecedents of M&A success"

Dr. M.J. Greeven – Innovation, strategy and capability development in China

• Managing professional careers in China: evidence from an alumni study
• Creativity in China? The cultural industries  
• Green and sustainable: China’s future?  
• History of innovation in China: prospects for the future?  
• Innovative approaches to understanding firm capability development  
• Comparative business systems: transition economies in Europe and Asia  
• International strategic management: internationalization of Chinese SMEs  
• Entrepreneurship & innovation in emerging markets

Dr. Steffen Giessner - Leadership in China

Leadership has been a research topic for decades. Plenty of theories have been developed to explain effective leadership in different organizational contexts. Most of these theories have been developed in Western societies. Therefore, it is often not clear whether these theories can be generalized to other cultural contexts (like China). Therefore, the research will focus on cultural context and its moderating influence on effective leadership behaviours. The following questions are especially important:

1. What is the influence of different kinds of interpersonal relationships on leadership perceptions?
2. What kind of justice principles (i.e., informational, interactive, procedural, distributive, future, etc.) is most predictive of leadership perceptions (i.e., in terms of effectiveness and trust) as well as on performance of employees and teams?
3. What means are used in China to (non verbally) communicate power and influence?