Offene Themen / Open topics (Stand: 23. September 2016)

Offene Themen / Open topics (Stand: 29. November 2016)
Die ausgeschriebenen Themen für Bachelorarbeiten gliedern sich nach den Forschungsinteressen
des m.core Institutes folgendermaßen:
The advertised topics for bachelor theses are structured according to the m.core institute’s
research pillars:
m.core‘s Research Pillars
Consumer
Behavior & Psychology
Marketing
Communication
Brand
Management
Alle Themen können nach Absprache mit dem/der Betreuer/in auch auf Englisch geschrieben werden.
After consultation with the supervisor all topics can be written in English as well.
Einzelne Themen sind nicht zwingend nur einer Kategorie zuzuteilen, sondern können auch auf mehrere
zutreffen.
Single topics are not necessarily assigned to only one topic, but may be eligible for others as well.
Themenüberblick/ Topic Overview:
Consumer Behavior
& Psychology
1. Scent marketing: communicating through smell
2. The power of praise: The compensatory role of recognition in product choice
among cognitively depleted individuals
Marketing
Communication
Brand
Management
Achtung: Wie eine Bachelorarbeit an unserem Institut abläuft ist genau im „Leitfaden für die
Erstellung einer Bachelorarbeit“ beschrieben und kann von unserer Institutswebsite herunter
geladen werden (Rubrik „Teaching – Downloads“)!
Bitte beachten Sie unbedingt die Informationen zu Plagiaten!
Consumer Behavior & Psychology
1. Scent marketing: communicating through smell
Although often neglected, the sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses. It is the only sense that is directly
hardwired with brains, making different scents to be one of the most effective communication tools. No wonder
why different companies, such as Abercrombie & Fitch or Hard Rock Café, have recently started to exploit scent
marketing, as a tool to attract and engage more customers. Although scent marketing has also attracted increasing
researchers’ interest there are still a number of open and unexplored questions.
The student willing to investigate this theme would be eligible to choose a topic based on any of the research
questions below:
1) How does scent affect advertising effectiveness?
2) What influence does scent have on our environment perception?
3) Could smell imagery substitute scent of the product?
This bachelor project requires basic knowledge of empirical research methods as students are expected to
conduct and analyze the results of a small-scale experiment. 2 students are eligible to work on the topic. The
language of the project is English.
Supervisors and contact persons: MSc. Ruta Ruzeviciute ([email protected]) and Prof.
Bernadette Kamleitner ([email protected]).
2. The power of praise: The compensatory role of recognition in product choice among
cognitively depleted individuals
The temporary impairment or depletion of cognitive abilities has been associated with a number of potentially
harmful psychological states such as powerlessness, lower perceived status and self-esteem or weakened (self)
control. These have been found to influence many unhealthful and negative behaviors like overeating,
impulsivity or aggression. Recent research in consumer behavior provides evidence that an increase in status
might compensate for feelings of powerlessness and lack of self-esteem stemming from depleted cognitive
resources. Rucker and Galinsky (2008), for example, found that people who feel powerless have an increased
desire for high-status products and a higher willingness to pay for them.
Literature on human motivation and esteem suggests that recognition may have similar effects, possibly
through an increase in status and prestige as well as self-worth, personal satisfaction and perceived
competence. Consequently, this bachelor thesis seeks to investigate the following research questions:
1) Does temporary cognitive resource depletion influence individuals’ preferences for recognition when
making product choices?
2) Can recognition mitigate the effect of cognitive resource depletion on product choice through an
increase in perceived self-esteem?
This bachelor project requires basic knowledge of empirical research methods as students are expected to
conduct and analyze the results of a small-scale experiment. 2 students are eligible to work on the topic. The
preferred language of the project is English.
Supervisors and contact persons: Mag. Carina Thürridl ([email protected]) and Prof. Bernadette
Kamleitner ([email protected])
2
Marketing Communication
Brand Management
3