Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

Your way to a master thesis with us A guideline that you should read carefully

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp

Marburg, May 2014

Das elektronische und mechanische Vervielfältigen, Aufzeichnen und Speichern der vorliegenden Präsentation als Ganzes oder in Teilen sowie die Weitergabe an Dritte bedarf der vorheriger expliziten Zustimmung des Autors. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright © 2014 by Marc Steffen Rapp. All rights reserved.

Monday, September 01, 2014

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Agenda

1

Some general remarks about the aim of a master thesis @ the IMA

2

The process of selecting a topic for a master thesis

3

Details about the topics proposed by the IMA

4

Details about the process of writing a master thesis @ the IMA

5

Two final hints

IMA = Institute of Management Accounting Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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Monday, September 01, 2014

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In the course of your master thesis you should demonstrate three abilities, which in the end represent the essence of your master studies

The three abilities are… (i)

to clearly structure an economic or business-related problem,

(ii) to define a research question, which – if answered – may help to tackle the problem, and (iii) to apply scientific methods in a way to answer the research question.

In the end, the master thesis must represent an individual and scientific piece of research, characterized by (a) an interesting research question, (b) a discussion of the existing related literature and (c) the application of scientific methods to answer the research question

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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Monday, September 01, 2014

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There are two main ways to find a topic for your master thesis

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Description

The Institute of Management Accounting regularly offers opportunities for master theses within to the following research areas (for more details please refer to the following slide):

Topic proposed by the Institute of Management Accounting

 Value-based Management and Performance Management  Corporate Valuation and the Cost of Capital  CEO and Chairman characteristics  Mergers & Acquisitions  Cost behavior  Regulation and firm behavior

Finding a topic for your master thesis

You are invited to propose your own topic for your master thesis, whether you are interested in a topic beyond the ones proposed above (and explained in more detail on the next slide) or whether you are interested in writing your thesis in co-operation with an industry partner. However, in both cases it is important that you carefully prepare the project. Specifically, carefully

Individually proposed topic

 think about the research question you are interested in

 check the related literature and  propose a research method applicable for the research question. We are happy to accept your proposal, which should be presented in a written exposé of two pages (plus titlepage, plus references)

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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Monday, September 01, 2014

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Some details about the topics provided by the Institute of Management Accounting Value-based Management and Performance Management

Corporate Valuation and the Cost of Capital

Mergers & Acquisitions

Selected research questions:

Selected research questions:

Selected research questions:



Which firms do adopt value-based management systems?



What is the optimal definition of peer groups for multiple valuation?



Which firms are actively engaged in the market for corporate control?



How to design performance measures?



What explains the cross-section of the cost of capital of firms?



Which firm get acquired?

Recommended literature: 



Rapp et al (2011), Considering the shareholder perspective: Value-based management systems and stock market performance, Review of Managerial Science Rapp (2010), Information asymmetries and the valuerelevance of cash flow and accounting figures , Problems and Perspectives in Management,

Recommended literature: 



CEO and Chairman Characteristics Selected research questions:

Bhojraj & Lee (2002), Who Is My Peer? A ValuationBased Approach to the Selection of Comparable Firms, Journal of Accounting Research

Masulis et al (2007), Corporate Governance and Acquirer Returns. The Journal of Finance

Regulation and firm behavior Selected research questions: 

What is the functional form of empirical observed cost functions?



Do family firms hire “different” CEOs (CFOs, chairmen)?



What explains cross-sectional differences in cost structures?

Recommended literature:

Bandiera et al. (2014). Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work, NBER Working Paper



Selected research questions: 



Andrade et al (2001), New Evidence and Perspectives on Mergers, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Cost behavior

What is the typical background of a listed firm‘s CEO (CFO, chairman)?

Betrand & Schoar (2003). Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies. Quarterly Journal of Economics



Hou et al. (2012). The implied cost of capital: A new approach. Journal of Accounting and Economics





Recommended literature:

Recommended literature: 

Anderson et al (2003), Are Selling, General, and Administrative Costs “Sticky”?, Journal of Accounting Research



Calleja et al. (2006), A note on cost stickiness: Some international comparisons, Management Accounting Research

How does regulation of product and capital markets affect firm behavior?

Recommended literature: 

Available upon request

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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Monday, September 01, 2014

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To ensure a smooth and reliable procedure, we have defined a structured process [Note, however, that some topics will require closer collaboration between the student and the IMA] Activity

Process owner

Make sure you comply with the regulations to write your master thesis

Student

Think about writing your master thesis with us

Student

Send us your request with all the documents (e.g. CV, transcript of records or your proposal, if you are interested in your own research topic)

Student

Make an appointment with us to discuss topics or your exposé Make sure you comply with the regulations of the "Prüfungsamt" to start your master thesis on time

Student and IMA

Month >-3

Month -3

Month -2

Month -1

Start

Month +1

Month +2

Month +3

Month +4

Month +5

Month +6

Month +7

Month +8

Month +9

X

Student

Start screening the literature, and prepare a plan (incl. milestones) for the thesis Arrange a second appointment ("Kick-off") with us to discuss the milestones and final issues before the start

Student and IMA

Start working on your thesis (full time)

Student

Arrange a third appointment with us to discuss the first steps

Student

Work on your thesis (collect the data, get familiar with the research methods, etc)

Student

Arrange a fourth meeting with us

Student

Work on your thesis

Student

Arrange a fifth meeting with us to discuss final issues

Student

Finalize your thesis (make sure that you carefuly save back-ups, check the formatting, typos, etc)

Student

Hand in your thesis (two printed versions; CD with electronic version of the theses, the data and the relevant literature for the IMA)

Student

Grading of thesis

X

X

X

IMA

X

X

X

IMA = Institute of Management Accounting

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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Monday, September 01, 2014

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Two final hints



Generally, your project may start at any time during the year, once you comply with the formal requirements to start your master thesis. However, there might be some capacity constraints. Thus, contacting the IMA early may help you to safeguard a smooth process.



For further details (application process, etc.) please check our homepage http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/bwl10/, specifically http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/bwl10/teaching_agenda/index3_html

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp Philipps-Universität Marburg | School of Business and Economics | Accounting and Finance Area | Institute of Management Accounting

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