Teaching

All events, including exams, will take place exclusively in person. All information on the individual courses can be found in LSF.

Please note that a registration via LSF for all examinations is mandatory, both for written exams and seminars!

Further information on master plan exams can be found on the websites of the ISC.

Bachelor

• Organization Theory
• Seminar: Leadership & Organization
• Seminar: Management von Non-Profit-Organisationen

Master

• Management & Strategy (please refer to HCM/Weller for information)
• Seminar: Leadership and Innovation

There are no additional prerequisites to apply for a master thesis. However, we expect a high scientific standard.

Procedure

• Start: at any time during the semester
• Topics: freely choosable from those listed below
• Proposals for own topics should fit to our research focus and summarize the following on max. one page: (1) description of the topic incl. research idea, (2) research motivation, (3) methods/data collection possibilities (e.g., qualitative or quantitative).
• We are open to supervising theses in collaboration with companies, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to supervise the suggested topics.
• Application: 3-4 weeks before the desired start date with the following documents and information: (1) grade sheet ("Kontoauszug"), (2) preferred start date, (3) examination regulations, and (4) topic preferences (3 topics/respective keywords from the list "Topics for Theses") via email to Ann-Katrin Eicke (a.eicke@lmu.de)
• Duration: 22 weeks
• Colloquium: mandatory only for PO2024 students; individual date scheduled with supervisor

Topics

Our current research focus centers around the following main topics:

• Leading PEOPLE: Leadership & Teamwork, Human-AI Interaction, Leveraging Diversity, Trust & Intercultural Collaboration, Multi-Teaming & New Forms of Collaboration
• Leading INNOVATION: Innovation & Team Agility, Digital Innovation & AI-Enhanced Innovative Behavior, Open Innovation & Crowdsourcing, Leading Innovation Projects, Sustainable Innovation
• Leading ORGANIZATIONS: Organization Design & Strategy Execution, Change Management & Organizational Transformation, Dispersed/Virtual Organizations, Organizational Change & Temporality, AI-Enhanced Strategizing & Decision Making, Exploration & Exploitation

You can find specific topics that we currently offer below.

Formalia

For information on formatting, please check the ILO Style Guide.

Please note that we have updated the style guide (24.04.2025).

Our style guide (PDF, 991 KB) offers you insights into:

• how to structure your text and which formatting requirements we have;
• which citation style you should use; and
• how the declaration of honour should look like.

You will also find a template for the title page of your paper.

We will need following information from you in advance:

• Statement of purpose: Where do you want to apply (incl. address of the organization) and why? For this purpose, why would you be a suitable candidate? Why do you want a letter of recommendation from our Institute in particular? In how far can we contribute to your application?
• List of courses taken at our Institute incl. grades and names of the respective lecturers/thesis-advisor.
• Current transcript incl. failed courses, if applicable your graduation certificate.
• Current curriculum vitae, if applicable job references.
• Recommendation standards: Different organizations request a variety of distinct formalities and formatting requirements for letters of recommendation. It is your responsibility to inform us about these and provide us with all relevant information. Please also note the relevant deadlines and inform us in a timely manner.

Please read the above listed prerequisites for obtaining a letter of recommendation from our Institute. If you meet all of them, please send all required documents and relevant information to the respective assistant or supervisor of your thesis. We will check your eligibility and subsequently contact you in order to discuss the next steps.

Please ensure sufficient time for this process, as the completion of the letter of recommendation may take a few weeks.

In principle, we offer all topics as empirical papers. When applying, please send the relevant keywords only.

Leading People

• Experiencing Work: How do individuals experience thrive and meaning in and outside the job? (Keyword: Thrive & Meaning)
• Emotions in Online Communities: How do emotions manifest in online communities? How do they develop or spread over time? (Keyword: Emotion & OC)
• Being seen when being virtual: How does virtual work influence the process by which people (e.g., managers, collaborators, etc.) distribute their attention toward others? (Keyword: Virtuality & Attention)
• Being understood when being virtual: How can virtual teams overcome miscommunication and misrepresentation? (Keyword: Virtuality & Understanding)
• Leading from a distance: How do various leadership styles play out when leader-follower interactions are mediated by communication technologies? (Keyword: Virtuality & Leadership)
• Collaboration in Hybrid Work Environments: The effects of hybrid work on employee engagement and organizational outcomes (Keyword: Collaboration)
• Looking behind closed doors: Examining the role of CxOs in coporate behavior and performance (Keyword: Top Management Teams)
• Technology & People: How does technology innovation perception change over time (Keyword: Technology & Time)
• Workplace ethicality: What factors influence or regulate ethicality at the workplace? (Keyword: Workplace ethicality)
• The changing nature of work: How does virtual work affect performance? (Keyword: Virtuality and performance)
• Stress at the workplace: What are the costs or benefits of stress at work? (Keyword: Workplace stress)

Leading Innovation

• Perceptions and reactions to datafication: How does datafication in and of organizations look like? How do individuals react to datafication approaches? (Keyword: Datafication)
• Sensemaking and digital transformation: How do individuals make sense of digital transformation of organizations? How does their sensemaking differ from current findings? (Keyword: Sensemaking)
• Innovation and Organizational Performance: How is innovation linked to overall organizational performance? (Keyword: Innovation Performance)
• Technology & People: How does technology innovation perception change over time (Keyword: Technology & Time)
• Growing technology expertise: which behavioral patterns show online users when new technology is introduced? (Keyword: Technology & User Behavior)
• Reimagining innovation: How Artificial Intelligence transforms human creativity (Keyword: AI creativity)
• Intellectual properties, creativity, and AI (AI training) (Keyword: Intellectual Properties & AI)

Leading Organizations

• Transparency and visibility through quantification of change: How do transparency and visibility differ? What is the role of quantification regarding transparency and visibility endeavors? (Keyword: Transparency)
• AI orientation of firms and its impact on employer attractiveness (Keyword: AI Employer Attractiveness)
• The role of secrecy in organizing (Keyword: Secrecy)
• The political identity of firms: How can we identify/quantify the political orientation of corporate organizations? (Keyword: Political Orientation & Firm)
• The political identity of CEOs: How can we identify/quantify the political orientation of CEOs? (Keyword: Political Orientation & CEOs)
• Offensive silence: When is not speaking out on sociopolitical issues costly? (Keyword: Signaling Theory & Firm Activism)
• In what market circumstances are organizations most willing to explore new technologies? (Keyword: Technology & Innovation)
• Innovation in the digital era: How companies foster and manage (digital) innovation (Keyword: Digital Innovation Management)
• AI in the boardroom: Analyzing drivers or outcomes of a strategic AI orientation (Keyword: AI Strategy)
• Network dynamics in online communities (Keyword: Network Dynamics)
• How can homogeneous organizations become more diverse? (Keyword: Diversity)
• How can leaders successfully drive organizational change? (Keyword: Organizational Change Leadership)