Supervised thesis topics

The Chair in Business in Asia supervised students’ work on a range of thesis topics.

Business strategy

Alliances and acquisitions

  • Impact of firm level competition on product and international diversification, and acquisition (Grigorij Ljubownikow; PhD)
  • Practice variation and individual agency: CEO compensation and the choice between isomorphic vis-à-vis nonisomorphic strategies (Mirko Benischke; PhD)
  • Impact of strategic group membership on alliance decisions and performances (You Shao; PhD)
  • The configuration of alliance portfolio: The effect of alliance strategies and the competitive intensity (Alicia Kang; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)
  • Effects of R&D intensity on alliance and acquisition decisions (Cindy Ko; Master of Commerce)
  • Slack resources, acquisition strategies and firm performance (Khanh Tran; Master of Commerce)
  • The impact of competitive intensity and research and development intensity on the choice of alliance and acquisition strategies (Cindy Ko; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)
  • Horizontal acquisition decisions and firm performance: Market power and the resource-based perspectives (You Shao; Master of Commerce)
  • Effects of technological and organizational slack resources on acquisition premium (Wu Shunna; Master of Commerce)
  • Impact of alliance attributes on alliance governance mode: Evidence from Asia Pacific IT industry (Cecilia Chang Hsin-Yun; Master of Commerce)

Diversification

  • Competitive intensity, diversification and firm performance (Grigorij Ljubownikow; Master of Commerce)
  • The effects of competitive blind-spots from related-linked diversification strategies (Allen Liao En-Yi; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)

Others

  • The use of information technology and its alignment with business strategies (Juan Rodriguez Arenas; Master of International Business)
  • The impact of research and development expenditure on patent interdependence (Chen Xiaochen; Master of Commerce)
  • Actual and investee companies’ perceptions of venture capitalists’ investment processes in New Zealand (Dwayne Pitman; Master of International Business)
  • Outsourcing and the value chain (David Jensen; Master of International Business)
  • Market readiness of wireless networked applications in New Zealand (Macneil Mendes; Master of International Business)

International business

Market entry

  • The role of director interlocks on a firm’s choice of foreign market entry mode (Andrea Hooi Wai Leng; PhD)
  • The impacts of transaction costs and institutions on entry mode choices: Evidence from emerging market firms (Ivy Liu Yang; Master of Commerce)
  • Interaction effects of regulative distance with experience and imitation on market entry mode decisions (Jackie Chen Yalun; Master of Commerce)
  • EasiYo’s food service entry strategy into China (internship with EasiYo) (Vivian Xu Ning; Master of International Business)
  • International business strategy for New Zealand research institute to engage offshore markets in the Health ICT services sector (internship with National Institute for Health Innovation) (Xie Jiao; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Experience and imitation effects on entry mode decisions: Evidence from emerging market firms (Mirko Benischke; Master of Commerce)
  • The impact of the cultural distance on the choice of cross-border alliance governance modes (Veit Wohlgemuth; Master of International Business)
  • Pre-acquisition target selection and post-acquisition integration in cross-border acquisitions: An institutional perspective (Wang Qing; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)

Emerging markets

  • Global air cargo industry with special emphasis on the emerging markets (internship with Glidepath) (Tanmay Mittal; Master of International Business)
  • The impact of prior acquisition experience on mimicking behavior in different institutional contexts (Wu Weiwei; Master of Commerce)
  • EE firms’ cross-border strategic choices from the institutional theory perspective (Alice Ren; Master of Commerce)
  • The effects of experience on cross-border acquisition performance: An EE firm’s own prior experience vs. other EE firms’ experience (Wu Weiwei; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)

Others

  • Knowledge outflow of MNC subsidiaries: Dual network perspective (Zaidah Mustaffa; PhD)
  • Born globals and early stage venture capital: A review of the current literature and implications (David Anker; Master of International Business)
  • Building successful business relationships with Chinese firms: Bridging culture gaps between New Zealand and Chinese firms (internship with Uniservices, University of Auckland) (Avantika Gupta; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Acculturative stress among Chinese immigrants in New Zealand (Fei Cai; Master of Commerce)
  • Supply and value chain analysis for New Zealand colostrum products exported to China (internship with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) (Ding Ning; Master of International Business)
  • Free trade agreements and internationalisation of New Zealand technology SMEs (Konstantin Selitskiy; Master of International Business)
  • Impact of international diversification on shareholders’ wealth: Transaction cost and agency theory perspectives (Natalie Au; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)
  • Geographical dispersion and sales network efficiency (internship with Fonterra) (Deng Wei; Master of International Business)
  • Ethical methods in competitive intelligence: A cross-cultural study (Glen Slater; Master of International Business)
  • Impact of subsidiary affiliations on exporting and diversification behaviour (Lou Nan; Master of Commerce)
  • International expansion through FDI: Impacts of organizational life cycle and unabsorbed organizational slack (Jason Huang; Master of Commerce)

Reputation and brands

  • Creating a competitive advantage for small nations through branding (internship with Interbrand) (Tom Warden; Master of International Business)
  • From familiarity to intimacy: The heart of brand relationships in internal brand management (Richard Liaw; Master of Management)
  • Reputation asymmetry on opportunism in strategic alliances: An integrated perspective (Glenn Degama; Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)
  • The effect of vendor size and reputation on outsourcing deals awarded (Zeng Xiaoxia; Master of Commerce)

Biotechnology and related

  • Challenges faced by small New Zealand biotechs during product development: A qualitative study (internship with MP Biomedicals) (Victoria Lam; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Financial decision making and investments of Ahu Whenua Trusts: An exploratory study’ (internship with Uniservices, University of Auckland) (Tamsin Hiria Simpson Bateman; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Intellectual property strategy in New Zealand’s bioenergy sector: An exploratory study (internship with Baldwins Intellectual Property) (Harriet McIntosh Sandstad; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Industry-academic collaboration in dairy functional food and bioactives industry (internship with New Image Group Limited) (Ellise Woon Sze Yin; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Founder succession in biotechnology firms (internship with Kerridge & Partners) (Wared Seger; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Protecting intellectual property and appropriating value from natural health product innovations (internship with BioPacific Ventures) (Awarded the NZTE Best Thesis Award) (Stephanie Marshall; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Value creation and the role of collaborations, patents and licensing (internship with Uniservices, University of Auckland) (Awarded the NZTE Best Thesis Award) (Ashlee van der Heyden; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • New Zealand’s place in the biofuels world: A comparative analysis of potential feedstocks (internship with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) (Nicole Chen; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Biotech business models and their alliance capital: A quantitative analysis of the biopharmaceutical industry (internship with Ernst & Young Germany) (Raphael Greiner; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • The value chain sweet spot (internship with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) (Tom Brothers; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Evaluation criteria of business opportunities: Comparison of biotechnology and high-technology sectors (internship with Cranleigh Investments) (Sue Cho; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • Making dollars and sense: Analysis of business models in the New Zealand human health biotechnology sector (internship with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) (Tim McCready; Master of Bioscience Enterprise)
  • The impact of venture capital syndication on biotechnology company outcomes (Yeung Yat Wan; Master of Commerce)