Proposed topics for Master theses in management control and innovation (spring term 2014) Supervisor: Andrea Fried
1. Specialist career programs for R&D personnel in knowledge-intensive organizations R&D specialist career programs as incentive systems and enablers of technical innovation Diffusion of specialist career programs in Sweden/ in the world Comparison of specialist careers programs: document analysis (aims/ motivation for setting up and implementation) and qualitative interviews (realization) Aim: Development of evaluation criteria for specialist careers: contribution to the innovative capacity/ for enabling technical innovation of organizations and other criteria Proposed topics for Master theses - spring term 2014
2. Power in organizations and its consequences for the implementation of performance measurement systems (PMS) Analysis of how power/ resistance/ support will be generated by management and employees during the enrollment of a specific PMS Taking into account a constantly changing environment: alterations in participating actors, their interests, PMS alternatives etc. Theoretical basis: e.g. Actor Network Theory Potential empirical examples: Balanced Scorecard, Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI), Six Sigma or similar Either secondary analysis of existing qualitative data or survey of own primary data as basis for a case study Castells, M., A Network Theory of Power. International Journal of Communication 5(2011), Karstens, L Management concepts: their transfer and implementation. Critical perspectives on international business 2(3), 195 – 207. Latour, B., Reassembling the social: an introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Proposed topics for Master theses - spring term 2014
3. Open innovation and management control systems How influential are management control systems in open innovation processes? What is the intention to use control systems in open innovation processes? What are hindrances and chances ? Proposed topics for Master theses - spring term 2014