You are generally welcome if you are interested in a dissertation supervised by Prof. Franke. Below you will find some important information.  

What is a dissertation?  

A dissertation is an independent, general scientific research contribution on a relevant topic. In addition to a theoretical part, a quantitative empirical part is generally expected, for example in the form of a survey, secondary analysis of existing data or meta-analysis of existing research results.  

Conceptually, a dissertation consists of two parts. In the first step, you develop a scientific question. To do this, you create a state-of-the-art analysis of a specific topic area. This reflects the global state of research and helps to identify a research gap. As a rule, such a gap is narrow, meaning there is a very specific research question. In this part, you explain why this research question is relevant and therefore worth investigating. 

In the second step, you answer your research question. You fill the previously identified gap by deriving preliminary answers from theory and gaining your own empirical insights. It is therefore necessary to plan and carry out an empirical study precisely. This is your most important personal contribution. However, your research contribution arises from the entirety of a precise inventory, thorough identification of the gap, theoretical penetration of the problem, your own empirical study, and the connection of the results with the state of research.  

Scientific state-of-the-art articles in renowned international journals should act as models for a dissertation. These often clarify the requirements better than many existing dissertations, even if they are, of course, very condensed.  

Your goal: an international research contribution  

Your goal should be to expand the state of international research with your dissertation project and thus create new, relevant knowledge. This means that one should seek scientific discussion. It is a shame and a waste of energy for dissertations to mold away in archives.  

First of all, it thus makes sense to seek discussion at international conferences. You can benefit greatly from feedback, especially with preliminary results. Examples of conferences at which the institute's doctoral students have presented in the past include the Academy of Management Conference, the American Marketing Association (AMA) Conference, the R&D Management Conference, the RENT Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference, and the European Academy of Management (EURAM). 

The next step is to publish the results in written form. The crowning achievement of your scientific contribution should be the publication of an article in an international journal. This is the most effective and direct way for the scientific community to gain access to your research results.  

These goals are very demanding. However, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. At the Institute, there is a lot of know-how, process knowledge, experience, and contacts that can help you and are available to you as part of your dissertation supervision. The successes of young scientists at the institute (including American Marketing Association Best Paper Award, Stephan Koren Prize, Rudolf Sallinger Prize) show that as a doctoral student, you can very quickly be in a position to make significant research contributions. The prerequisites for this are high skills, the willingness to learn, and a clear performance orientation.  

Your qualifications should be very high  

It should be clear that a dissertation is expected to mirror remarkable scientific achievement, both on a national and international scale. Your qualifications for scientific work should be correspondingly high. A dissertation is by no means just a 'continuation of your previous studies', but rather something completely new in terms of quality. Solid knowledge of empirical methods (empirical social research, statistics, econometrics, etc.) is particularly important. Further formal requirements must be clarified with the WU dissertation office.