At the Insitute of Retail Management, students of the University of St. Gallen have the opportunity to write their Bachelor or Master Thesis under supervision of Prof. Thomas Rudolph and his research team.
Fall 2023:
Application start: September 4, 2023
Application stop: September 24, 2023
Kick-off meetings: October 5 and October 11, 2023, 10:00–12:00
Registration at the student administration: until November 3, 2023*
Latest submission: November 18, 2024*
Spring 2023:
Application start: January 16, 2023
Application stop: February 05, 2023
Kick-off meetings: February 15 and February 23, 2023, 10:00–12:00
Registration at the student administration: until May 05, 2023*
Latest submission: May 21, 2024*
Fall 2022:
Application start: September 8, 2022
Application stop: September 25, 2022
Kick-off meetings: October 04 and October 12, 2022, 10:00–12:00
Registration at the student administration: until November 04, 2022*
Prerequisites: Applicants who attended at least one course offered by the Institute of Retail Management (Prof. Dr. Thomas Rudolph) will be selected preferably. In addition, we expect all applicants to be familiar with the basic rules of academic writing (e.g. citation rules). Finally, we expect that all students complete their final thesis within two semesters after the kick-off meeting.
Topics: We only accept applications on topics listed below on this website. We do not accept applica-tions with self-developed topics. Please apply for up to three topics.
Timing: We will supervise about 10 theses every semester. Every semester, you can apply for one of these topics during our application periods. For the spring semester, the applications period opens mid-January and closes mid-February. For the fall semester, that period commences from the start of September and ends at the end of September. We will notify all applicants af-ter the application period has ended. After a successful application, we invite you to discuss your topic together with Prof. Rudolph and a PhD-student during a 20 min Kick-off meeting.
Familiarize yourself with our application process and the important information described above.
Carefully choose up to three topics from our list below that interest you.
Please consider the application deadlines (see Timing).
Send your application (including CV, grades, thesis application form) to abschlussarbeiten-irm<at>unisg.ch. Please note that we only accept applications sent to this email address. Ap-plications sent to Prof. Rudolph directly or to the administration office can unfortunately not be considered.
After getting notified about your acceptance (one week after the application deadline), you will be contacted to schedule the Kick-off meeting with Prof. Rudolph and your assigned advi-sor (PhD student). We will offer you time slots for this meeting (see above). The 20 min slots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis.
During the kick-off meeting, you will discuss and focus your topic together with Prof. Ru-dolph and an advisor (PhD student) from the IRM. You will officially start your thesis after this meeting. Please bring the filled-out official application form and our publication permis-sion to this meeting.
Please note: Our internal process does not replace the University’s official thesis process. You still have to officially register your topic at the student administration
Familiarize yourself with the IRM fact sheet. The fact sheet provides you with detailed infor-mation on the writing process and our requirements for excellent theses.
After the first meeting with Prof. Rudolph and your advisor (PhD student), you will start with your literature review.
As soon as you have gained a good overview over the literature, you will start writing the dis-position (structure), the problem definition (two pages), and the approach (one page) of your thesis. Send this document at least 2 working days prior the meeting to your advisor and schedule a meeting with her/him. She/he will give you feedback in a 30 min meeting.
The second meeting should take place not later than six months after you have started with your thesis. Here again, send the required documents (introduction/disposition of the main part/theoretical framework/methodological approach) at least 2 working days prior the meet-ing to your advisor via email.
Finalize and submit your thesis.
In case you conducted qualitative interviews for your thesis, please enter all your interviewees in this form after you submitted your thesis: https://forms.office.com/r/T5YfRDBZkf
Prof. Dr. Thomas Rudolph: Topics for Bachelor Theses
1. Retail monitor switzerland: conception and implementationexpand_less
2. D2C concepts in retailing: identification and analysis of promising business modelsexpand_less
3. Social media and influencer marketing metricsexpand_less
4. Customer inspiration in the metaverse: Opportunities, challenges and recommendations for actionexpand_less
5. A comparison of university courses in retail management: characteristics, future orientation and oppor-tunities for cooperationexpand_less
6. Revolution in retail advertising: farewell to the leafletexpand_less
7. How in-store technology will transform retailexpand_less
Prof. Dr. Thomas Rudolph: Topics for Master Theses
1. The influence of shopping cart design on purchasing behavior - an empirical surveyexpand_less
2. Using employees as influencers? Conceptualization and evaluation of the use of corporate influencersexpand_less
3. Shopping cart abandonment in retailing – extent and recommendations for actionexpand_less
4. Satisfaction with retail in Switzerland: concept for an annual online panel in Switzerlandexpand_less
5. Data protection in the EU and legal consequences for the retail sectorexpand_less
6. Customer inspiration and customer experience: differentiation of 2 new marketing constructsexpand_less
7. Social media and influencer marketing metricsexpand_less
8. Customer inspiration in the metaverse: Opportunities, challenges and recommendations for actionexpand_less
9. Cross-selling products within or across product categories: Differences, challenges and recommenda-tionsexpand_less
10. How in-store technology will transform retailexpand_less
11. Implications for grocery retailersexpand_less
12. Generative Artificial Intelligence in customer service – Challenges, best practices, and recommendationsexpand_less
13. Social Commerce in food retailing - Challenges, best practices, and recommendationsexpand_less
14. The human touch of brands: An exploration of anthropomorphism's influence on customer inspirationexpand_less
