1. Selected Thesis Topics for BScBA students
Bachelor´s Thesis 2013-2014
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 2013-2014.
Part 1. Thesis topics for companies and other organizations
We have first listed the thesis projects that are available to do for companies and organizations. If you are interested in these projects, please
mark the topic to the Indication of Interest Area form the same way than any other topic. It should be noted that the students selected to do the
thesis from these topics must be motivated and committed for the work. Please do not contact these organizations yourself before the
selection process has been completed for all students. More information on topics can be asked from Mari Syväoja or Tomi Heimonen.
Organization:
Thesis
Biofenno
projects for
(www.biofenno.fi)
companies
and
organizations
Selected Thesis Topics for companies and organizations
Internationalization plan
Plan how to take and promote product Tuovi Tuotevirtakirjanpito to EU markets. Tuovi
Tuotevirtakirjanpito is a stock and feed recording program for organic farmers. It produces
necessary stock and feed reports for annual inspection. Also stock balance reporting benefits farm
managements. Because Tuovi Tuotevirtakirjanpito complies with all the regulations EU has set for
organic farmers, it has possible markets in EU.
Aalto School of
Competitive environment of Small Business Center
Business,
The Aalto Small Business Center wants to produce an analysis of their competitive environment in
Small Business Center
terms of areas of expertise, product segments etc. in order to differentiate themselves from their
(www.
competitors and to clarify their strategic areas of competence. The thesis would focus on the
pienyrityskeskus.aalto.fi) production of competitor analysis.
Mikkeli Region Business Lifestyle Tourism in Mikkeli Region
Development Centre
Developing Lifestyle tourism in Mikkeli Region:
Miset Ltd
- Benchmarking the best countries/destinations of Lifestyle Tourism
- Japan and China as a target markets – market research in the point of view of Lifestyle Tourism
(www.miset.fi)
- New products and services
- Marketing, marketing channels and target groups

2. Part 2. Other thesis topics related to International Business
General Business Area
Subfield of General Area
Selected Thesis Topics in the Subfield
International Business/
Management
Global Management
Leadership development in a Global context
Skill development for international leadership personalities
Career opportunities of international managers
Bilingual skills as a career improvement tools
The impact of multinationals on host countries
Access to higher education in Finland. An international comparison
How can cross-cultural conflicts be solved?
Companies policies to deal with cross-cultural conflict
Coaching as a tool to improve cross-cultural knowledge
Developing effective cross-cultural training seminars
Short time assignments
Choosing the best market entrance strategy for an event management company
How should a manager motivate his/her employees?
A study of the development and present state of motivational theory.
What leadership style should a manager use?
What is the relationship of organizational design to employee (or group member)
satisfaction?
The use of future information (or scenario thinking) for strategic management: a case study
of a company
Testing business strategy with scenarios – case or general
Roadmap of developing the value chain of local food business
Bias in decision making
How is the topic of "implementation strategy" related to the success of an organization?
How important is the concept of control to strategic management?
Emotional intelligence
Organizational stress and management
Executive coaching
When should an organization use an internal vs. external change agent?
How are norms formed?
How can a manager help develop organizational norms to increase productivity?
Strategic Management

3. International Business/
Management
Knowledge Management
Operations Management and
Logistics
Innovation Management
Network and Relationship
Management
Corporate Social Responsibility
Internationalization process
Knowledge challenges faced by first time CEOs
Developing competitive intelligence systems of specific company
The models of world class operations today
Purchasing: New solutions to managing the power imbalance in supplier-customer
relations (SME context)
Supply chain case study from published documentation
The Airbus A380 sourcing fiasco
Application of sustainability principles to public water supplies-preparing the criteria that a
company could apply to create a “road map” for sustainability project
Disruption of logistics by fast production methods (e.g. 3D printing)
Assessing multi-channel strategies for new and existing products
Product innovation strategies
Case study of a company which is developing and introducing a new product
Product-, process-, service- and organizational innovations development and exploitation
challenges in MSME and large firms context
Managing product development and commercialization projects
Virtual consumer communities and new product development
Virtual teams
Relationship management
How are group norms developed and what effect do they have on productivity?
Is cohesiveness good or bad?
What is the interaction of group dynamics on group leadership and productivity?
Corporate social responsibilities of global companies
Corporate social responsibility in the food supply chain
Internationalization process as a strategic change process in SMEs/MNEs/Service
institutions
Challenges of internationalization process in diverse fields
Internationalization as a strategic growth possibility
Internationalization plans via different international operation modes (franchising,
licensing, joint-ventures, alliances, exporting)
Internationalization strategy for a fast growing SME (born global)
Export strategy for a local producer of special made steel
International market selection for a producer of high quality honey

4. International Business/
Marketing
International Marketing
Strategic Marketing Management
Consumer Behavior
Branding and Promotion
Environmental and Ethical
Marketing
Marketing to different cultures within country (e.g. Russian speakers in Finland)
International market entry strategies
Developing of a marketing mix for SME when entering specific international markets
Low budget marketing strategies for SME in their internationalization process
Developing customer relationship marketing in a company consumer’s attitudes
and loyalty towards a specific service/product
A marketing view of transforming news into entertainment
Market orientation, service orientation and innovation in Finnish Museums
Developing a comprehensive marketing plan
Consumer reactions to Western advertising
Consumer behavior in Japan/China/Korea
Incentives and antecedents of consumer boycotts
The role of store environment and atmospherics in consumption experiences
The enactment of consumer’s identities in experiences of contemporary art
A narrative analysis of consumers’ reactions to experiences of contemporary art
The depiction of consumers’ attachment and detachment to experiences of art. A qualitative
research employing the methodology of collage.
Survey of customer satisfaction of companies
Effect of later discover low price on consumer negative emotions, repurchase
intention, VOM
How people negotiate their identity when bodily change occurs?
Conflicting behavioral responses through luxury consumption in the face of
self-concepts threats
What luxury value perceptions drive Finnish consumers buying behavior?
Positioning of brands B-to-B branding
Social media and brand perception
Co-creation and crowdsourcing in brand management
Transferability of brand image across product categories
Response of young consumers on gender stereotypes of global brands
Identifying and analyzing brand development strategies
Developing brand equity in cross-cultural contexts
Role of attitude functions in luxury brand purchase
Effect of brand origin misclassification on consumer practices
How prevention or promotion focused consumer process information?
Green marketing

5. International Business/
Marketing
Sales Management
Entrepreneurial marketing
E-marketing issues
International Business/
Business Culture and
Communication
Business Culture
Business Communication
International Business/
Accounting and Finance
International Business/
Human Resources
Managerial Accounting
Taxation
Financial Management
Financial Markets
Human Resource Management
Human Resource Policies and
Practices
International Business/
Economics
Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Developing selling process of a company
Developing key account management in a company customer loyalty and satisfaction as
a basis of product/service development
International sales force strategies
How to implement entrepreneurial marketing in a small enterprise?
How entrepreneurial marketing comes up in marketing management of SME?
How to develop e-marketing/digital advertising in a company?
Retro marketing, social media and branding
Examining drivers of virtual goods purchase in MMORPGs
Design management: corporate image / product image of an international company
How should an organization develop its managers to best perform in different cultures?
How static are different cultures?
What are the impacts of gender on management development in different cultures?
Nonverbal communication
Language learning as a tool
Communication of environmental issues
Marketing communication plan for a company
Methods of used to determine the pricing of a product
Corporate tax payments of foreign-owned vs. domestic companies
Financial risk management of firms
Short-term finance and related management challenges
Recent development of global financial markets
What are job specifications and what is its importance to HRM?
What are the different methods of job recruiting and which should be used when?
How should an employee be rewarded (including compensation)?
Development of IHRM strategies
Foreigners at work in HR practices in Finland
How to develop competences of foreign employees to achieve the companies´ goals
Development of a cross cultural training program to ease the cultural shock
Development of IHRM function roles
Development of different IHRM practices
Expatriate management
What are the drivers of productivity in organic farming?
Asset price inflation: A monetary perspective
Labor productivity: US v EU
Peak oil and the development of alternative sustainable energy sources

6. International Business/
Entrepreneurship
Internationalization of SMEs
Strategic Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and
Performance
Social Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Policy and
Support
Entrepreneurial Processes
International Business/
Regional Development and
Area Studies
Regional Development Policies
Asia
Europe
Russia
Born Global firms
Internationalization challenges of MSMEs
Small firm growth strategies
The impact of innovation on small firm growth
Social capital, networks and relationship management in SMEs
Small firm growth and innovation
Entrepreneurial attitudes and motivation on performance
The impact of networks on small firm success
The concept of the Social Entrepreneurship
Business acceleration
Different business accelerator models
Eco-System of high-growth entrepreneurship
National system of entrepreneurship
Start-up process
Developing a business plan
Modern business concepts of renewable energy
Evaluation of National Arctic strategies
The utilization of locality as a competitive advantage in global food business
The future of food – wild cards and weal signals of changing food consumption
The effectiveness of the international response to climate change
Should developing countries adopt nuclear energy as an alternative energy source?
Cooperatives as a business model to produce renewable energy – case wind energy
Chinese Management Styles
Trade and investment opportunities between Finland and China
Korean Management Styles
Modern Japanese Management
Language as a barrier for European expatriates in Asia
Which emotional knowledge can expatriates gain during their overseas assignment?
Family relocation and its challenges
What is the future for the Euzone?
Market entry for Finnish SME from the timber industry into Russia
Cross-cultural differences between Belorussia and Russia including
implications for business