Bach­el­or Pro­ject

Course content

In the bachelor project students demonstrate their unique qualifications obtained during all four years of undergraduate studies. The bachelor project deals with research questions related to International Business (IB) in an Asian context. This allows for empirical analyses at the level of the firm, industry, technology, or economy in the context of economic, political, social, or cultural conditions for international business in Asia from a comparative perspective, or within China or Japan specifically. In this framework, we encourage research which deals with societal challenges such as climate change, green transition, sustainability, digital transformation, inequality, or migration. The projects use one suitable and specific theory or conceptual framework from International Business, Marketing, Organization, Corporate Finance, and Political Economy to investigate the proposed research question(s). The project must develop a coherent research design applying rigorously quantitative or qualitative methods. The empirical analysis can be based on secondary data, primary data, or a combination of both. The students need to consider the validity and reliability of their analysis. This should reflect that students are not only analytical with data but also aware about of its limitations and the ambiguity inherent to its interpretation. Finally, projects discuss the findings in the light of relevant academic literature, formulate empirical, theoretical, and, if applicable, managerial contributions. Finally, students make use of their advanced Mandarin and/or Japanese language skills to access literature, data, or other sources of information where this is possible given the research question(s) of the project.

Before the start of the project, students are to develop a short research proposal (2 -3 pages), which summarizes and clarifies: preliminary title, research question(s), relevant theory or conceptual framework, main discipline(s), research approach, proposed methods for data collection (including possible data sources) and analysis, as well as potential ethical considerations. The research proposal needs to include references to corresponidng literature sources. The research proposal needs approval by the course coordnators and will serves as a basis for allocation of a suitable supervsior as well as the initial discussion with the allocated supervisor.