Mas­ter's Thes­is

Course content

The purpose of the master thesis is for students to show their ability to combine business administration and philosophy in order to produce relevant academic knowledge. The thesis should take point of departure in a business administration theme, such as, for example, finance, strategy, economic decision-making, governance, work-life, marketing, corporate social responsibility, leadership, entrepreneurship or management. The master thesis should formulate a problem within the chosen topic that calls for an analysis informed by relevant theoretical perspectives derived from the field of business administration and philosophy. It is possible to write a primarily theoretical thesis. It is also possible to write a theoretically informed and empirically grounded thesis. Hence, it is possible to write a theoretical thesis that engages with relevant philosophical and business administration literature. But it is also possible to write a thesis based upon quantitative and/or qualitative empirical material, which is analysed with the help of relevant business administration and philosophy perspectives.

The thesis should engage with a topic that can be discussed within the research fields of business administration (e.g. organizational theory, management, strategy, micro- or macro-economics). Equally, it should engage with philosophical literature representing a philosophical discussion (e.g. rationality, CSR, alienation), or a philosophical position (e.g. utilitarianism, skepticism, deconstruction), or a philosophical author (e.g. Deleuze, Gadamer, Nozick), or equivalent (as agreed upon with the supervisor). It is important that the thesis contains a methodological reflection on how knowledge is produced as well as a reflection on the strengths and limitations of the approach adopted. The main conclusions of the thesis should be discussed by emphasizing both their theoretical and practical implications.

The master thesis should demonstrate logical coherence between the problem statement, theoretical perspective, methodological reflection, analysis and discussion. The basis of assessment includes the students spelling and formulation skills. By writing the master thesis, the student cultivates the competence of thinking critically and constructively about business. Thus, students should show how they can work systematically with philosophy and business administration in order to place business in a broad social context.