MSc Innovation Management Master thesis

Ed Nijssen / Hans Berends

Master thesis research

Master thesis is may be the most exciting part of the master phase!

•Integrate knowledge gained•Complete for the first time research cycle

•Focus of the IM group is along chairs, on: - NPD - Entrepreneurship/new venturing - Marketing - Purchasing

Broad orientation

• In the Item group different research approaches prevail− Multivariate− Systems Dynamics− Design− Case analyses

• With roots in organization studies, marketing and economics a broad field of study is included; however a joint element is focus on new products and new venturing

• Most researchers specialize in particular area and approach

Brief overview of people /subjects

• Entrepreneurship − (Duysters, Podoynitsina, van Burg; Verhoef, Reymen, Mahieu)

• Knowledge management/organization − (Berends, Reymen, Weggeman, Romme)

• Purchasing/supply chain − (v Weele, Van der Valk)

• Marketing/Sales/FLE − (de Jong, Nijssen, Scheepers, Wouters)

• Alliances/Open innovation − (Duysters, Cloodt, Sabadoussi)

• NPD − (Langerak, van Oorschot, Keizer, Konus)

For complete list please consult personal pages of the Item members

• ….Courses related to New Product Development Management− Knowledge Processes & Management (o.a. Berends)− New product development (o.a. Langerak)− Strategy & Technology management (ITEM)− Service Engineering & Marketing (o.a. Wouters, Scheepers)

• ….Courses related to Open Innovation− Innovation Networks (o.a. Cloodt, Duysters)− Strategic Sourcing & Supply Management (o.a. v Weele, van der Valk)− Strategy & Technology Managament (all)− Innovation & Intellectual property (TIW)

• ….Courses related to Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship

− Technology Entrepreneurship (o.a. van der Burg, Podoynitsina, Reymen)− Entrepreneurial Finance (o.a. Mahieu, Sabidussi)− Service Engineering & Marketing (o.a. Wouters, Scheepers, de Jong)− Selling New Products (o.a. de Jong, Nijssen)− Marketing & Innovation (o.a. Wouters, Nijssen, Konus)

Courses people teach is good indication and guide

However, Internet will provide you with the complete picture

Examples of thesis areas and subjects

• Strategic Alliances− network relationships between a research lab and technology suppliers

• Entrepreneurship− success or failures of technopreneurs

• Knowledge Management− managing knowledge in a product development lab

• Marketing/Sales− launch of radical new products in the marketplace and role of sales in this

process− Service requirements after speeding up NPD processes− Channel decisions (deleting/adding channels)

• New Product Development− possibilities to reduce lead time in innovation projects− Performance measures at each stage of stage gate

• Supplier involvement− NPD in the relationship between a hi-tech company and three key suppliers

Developments in our domain…

• It would be presumptios to be able to provide complete picture• For ideas see e.g.

− Journal of Product Innovation Management− Academy of Management Review/Journal− Journal of Marketing, Journal of Service Research− Purchasing management journal− Organization Science

• Google on researcher names to see what they have published and are working on (apart from their personal pages).

Specifics of mentor process

• Make appointment with potential mentor (timely and focused set of appointments)

• Having a topic /idea helps.• Make sure there is some alignment with the professor’s research

interest− Please consult personal pages

For more advice, email Professor Hans Berends or me

Questions