Thesis Topics

Description: Mergers and Acquisitions are among the most critical and value-driving strategic decisions for firms, yet empirical evidence on the role of financial advisors remains ambiguous. The aim of this thesis is to systematically review the academic literature on the influence of financial advisors on M&A outcomes. By synthesizing findings across studies, you will assess under what conditions advisors create value, when they may have no effect (or negative effect), and which advisor characteristics (e.g. reputation, number of advisors, experience) matter most. The resulting structured literature review should offer guidance both for academic research and for practitioners contemplating advisor engagement in M&A deals.

Prerequisites: Interest in M&A, financial advisory/investment banking, good command of English, independent and structured working style

Methodology: Systematic Literature Review

Language: English

Start: ASAP

Application: Please stick to the regular application process via our chair’s online form

Contact: Pablo Ruf (pablo.ruf@tum.de)

First literature to start with: 

• Golubov, A., Petmezas, D., & Travlos, N. G. (2012). When It Pays to Pay Your Investment Banker: New Evidence on the Role of Financial Advisors in M&As. The Journal of Finance, 67(1), 271–311.
• McCarthy, K. J., & Noseleit, F. (2022). Too many cooks spoil the broth: on the impact of external advisors on mergers and acquisitions. Review of Managerial Science, 16, 1817–1852.
• Rau, R. (2000). Investment bank market share, contingent fee payments, and the performance of acquiring firms. Journal of Financial Economics, 56(2), 293-324

Description:
Carbon accounting standards are currently being revised, prompting firms to adopt new accounting systems and approaches. Accounting systems can be viewed as organizational technologies—requiring implementation, user acceptance, and structural adaptation. In technology adoption research, the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework is widely used, but its applicability to carbon accounting system adoption remains underexplored.

Aim:
Conduct a systematic literature review that synthesizes TOE-based technology adoption literature and links it to “accounting as a technology” research. Based on this, assess how well the TOE framework explains the adoption of new carbon accounting system approaches and where adaptations may be needed.

Research Questions:

• How is the TOE framework used to analyze technology adoption, and what are its core determinants?
• How does literature conceptualize the adoption of accounting systems as technologies?
• Does the TOE framework adequately capture drivers and barriers of adopting new carbon accounting approaches under evolving standards?

Methodological Approach:

• Systematic search, screening, and synthesis of TOE literature
• Targeted review of accounting-as-technology and carbon accounting adoption research
• Integrative discussion of TOE’s applicability and limitations in this context

Key Data:

• Type: Bachelor thesis (3 months)
• Method: Systematic literature review
• Language: English or German
• Start: ASAP (Preferably Mid December)
• Application: Via our chair’s online portal
• Contact: Hanna Scholta (hanna.scholta@tum.de)

Description:  Germany’s energy transition relies heavily on wind and solar power, but achieving a fully decarbonized and reliable electricity system also requires firm low-carbon generation. This thesis explores the potential role of nuclear energy as part of Germany’s future power mix. Using the open-source PyPSA framework, the project models alternative decarbonization pathways to assess how nuclear power would interact with variable renewables, storage, and cross-border exchanges. The goal is to evaluate implications for system costs, reliability, and emissions under different nuclear deployment strategies.

Methodology: You will use an open-source energy system model called PyPSA-eur

Prerequisites: Strong python skills, Interest in energy system modelling, energy transition, Independent working style  

Start: ASAP

Contact: Sophie Westphal (sophie.westphal@tum.de) . Please follow the official application process as described here.

Relevant literature: 

• Brown, T., Hörsch, J. and Schlachtberger, D. (2018) PyPSA: Python for Power System Analysis. Journal of Open Research Software, 6, 4.
• Victoria, M., Zeyen, E. and Brown, T. (2022) Speed of technological transformations required in Europe to achieve different climate goals. Joule, 6, 1066–1086.
• Kamilla Aarflot Moen, Martin Hjelmeland, Jonas Kristiansen Nøland,The total costs of energy transitions with and without nuclear energy, Applied Energy, Volume 402, Part A,2025,126888,ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126888.

Description: Germany’s energy transition increasingly depends on variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. To maintain system stability and ensure a reliable, fully decarbonized electricity supply, additional flexible resources are needed. Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles (SAEVs) could provide such flexibility through Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) services, offering distributed storage and balancing capabilities. This thesis investigates the potential contribution of SAEV fleets to the German power system through V2G. Using the open-source PyPSA-Eur model, the project integrates SAEV charging (already exists at our chair) and discharging behavior (to be implemented) into the energy system framework and analyses how different adoption levels and operating strategies affect system costs, reliability, and emissions. 

Methodology: You will use an open-source energy system model called PyPSA-eur

Prerequisites: Strong python skills, Interest in energy system modelling, electric mobility, Independent working style  

Start: ASAP

Contact: Sophie Westphal (sophie.westphal@tum.de) . Please follow the official application process as described here.

Relevant literature: 

• Brown, T., Hörsch, J. and Schlachtberger, D. (2018) PyPSA: Python for Power System Analysis. Journal of Open Research Software, 6, 4.
• Victoria, M., Zeyen, E. and Brown, T. (2022) Speed of technological transformations required in Europe to achieve different climate goals. Joule, 6, 1066–1086.
• Li, Y., Li, X. and Jenn, A. (2022) Evaluating the emission benefits of shared autonomous electric vehicle fleets: A case study in California. Applied Energy, 323, 119638.
• Pruckner, M. and Eckhoff, D. (2020) Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles and the Power Grid: Applications and Research Challenges, 2020 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe), pp. 1151–1155: IEEE.

Description:
Achieving deep decarbonization of the U.S. electricity system requires rapid deployment of wind, solar, storage, and transmission. However, the necessary speed of technological transformation remains poorly quantified, especially under different climate targets. This thesis investigates which build-out rates of renewable generation, interregional transmission, hydrogen storage, and battery capacity are required for the United States to meet certain CO₂ reduction scenarios by mid-century.
Using the open-source PyPSA-USA modeling framework, the project analyses multiple decarbonization pathways and quantifies the implications of deployment constraints, regional resource potential, and technology cost trajectories. The goal is to identify which technologies and regions drive bottlenecks and to evaluate how realistic policy-driven build rates compare to optimal system needs.

Methodology:
You will use the open-source energy system model PyPSA-USA to simulate future U.S. electricity systems under several CO₂ reduction targets. The analysis includes:

• setting up scenarios with different decarbonization levels (80%, 95%, 100%)
• optimizing build-out of wind, solar, batteries, hydrogen storage, and transmission
• conducting sensitivity analyses on cost assumptions, technology learning rates, and infrastructure permitting constraints
• comparing optimal modelled build rates to historical deployment rates
• assessing system-wide effects on costs, curtailment, and reliability

Prerequisites: Very strong Python skills, interest in energy system modelling, and an independent working style.

Start: ASAP
Contact: Lars Nickel (lars.nickel@tum.de). Please follow your institution’s application process here.

Relevant literature:

• Victoria, M., Zeyen, E. & Brown, T. (2022) Speed of technological transformations required in Europe to achieve different climate goals. Joule, 6, 1066–1086.
• Brown, T., Hörsch, J. & Schlachtberger, D. (2018) PyPSA: Python for Power System Analysis. Journal of Open Research Software, 6, 4.
• Larson, E. et al. (2021) Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts.
• NREL (2023) Renewable Energy Futures and Build Rate Analyses.

Description:
Long-term energy planning must account for variability in weather patterns, extreme events, and multi-year renewable resource fluctuations. While many studies focus on single weather years, a robust decarbonized U.S. electricity system must remain reliable under diverse conditions such as prolonged wind droughts, heatwaves, or winter storms.
This thesis uses PyPSA-USA to evaluate the cost-optimal generation and storage mix for a 100% renewable U.S. power system across multiple historical weather years. The project examines how weather extremes influence renewable siting, long-duration storage needs, transmission requirements, and overall system costs. The goal is to identify technology portfolios that perform consistently well across a wide range of meteorological conditions.

Methodology:
You will employ the open-source PyPSA-USA model and integrate multi-year weather datasets to simulate U.S. electricity operations. The workflow includes:

• preparing renewable availability time series for 10–20 historical weather years
• modelling a 100% renewable electricity system with optimal investments in wind, solar, storage, and transmission
• identifying extreme-event stressors (e.g., “Dunkelflaute” periods, polar vortex conditions)
• performing robustness and sensitivity analyses
• comparing fluctuating system costs, storage requirements, and curtailment across years
• determining a portfolio that minimizes risk from weather variability

Prerequisites: Very strong Python programming skills, interest in variable renewable integration and extreme weather impacts, experience with data handling, and an independent working style.
Start: ASAP
Contact: Lars Nickel (lars.nickel@tum.de). Please follow your institution’s application process here.

Relevant literature:

• Brown, T., Hörsch, J. & Schlachtberger, D. (2018) PyPSA: Python for Power System Analysis.
• Brown, T. et al. (2020) Robust multi-year weather analyses for high-renewables systems (PyPSA-EUR). Energy Policy, various publications.
• Collins, S. et al. (2018) Weather variability impacts on power system planning. Nature Energy.
• Staffell, I. & Pfenninger, S. (2016) Long-term patterns of variability in wind and solar. Energy.

Description: In the impact venture capital ecosystem, clear changes can be observed in how funds publicly communicate about impact, climate, sustainability and social issues. Impact investing funds increasingly shift their linguistic focus – for example, from classic “sustainability” rhetoric towards terms such as “resilience”, “risk mitigation” or “long-term value”. At the same time, certain topics – such as social indicators or diversity – are emphasized more strongly or communicated more cautiously depending on the market context.

These shifts reflect broader political and economic developments, including growing polarization around ESG in the United States, regulatory changes in Europe, and geopolitical events such as wars or energy crises. Such developments are particularly visible in public communication on LinkedIn, where funds position themselves towards LPs, portfolio companies and the wider public.

The aim of this thesis is the systematic analysis of LinkedIn posts of selected impact investing funds in the USA and Europe (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) since 2019. The data will be collected in a structured way, categorized, and used for an initial exploratory analysis of changing narratives and themes.

Prerequisites: Interest in Impact Investing and new narratives due to geopolitical/macroeconomic changes, Independent working style  

Methodology: Discourse analysis using qualitative content analysis and quantitative text analysis

Start: ASAP 

Application: Please stick to the regular application process via our chair’s online form

Contact: Lubna Al-Duri (lubna.al-duri@tum.de)    

First literature to start with:

• Agrawal, A., & Hockerts, K. (2021). Impact Investing: Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 33(2), 153-181.
• Barber, B. M., Morse, A., & Yasuda, A. (2021). Impact investing. Journal of Financial Economics, 139(1), 162–185.
• Kovner, Anna and Josh Lerner, “Doing well by doing good? Community development venture capital,” Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2015, 24 (3), 643–663.

Description: 

The thesis will be embedded in a larger study examining how companies with significant Scope 3 emissions profiles respond to strategic and institutional uncertainty. The project investigates how firms navigate limited control over their value chain, increasing regulatory pressure, and growing demands for climate legitimacy—and what strategies, mechanisms, and trade-offs emerge in the process.

Research Questions:

• How do companies identify barriers and leverage points in Scope 3 governance?
• What role do stakeholders play in value chain decarbonization?
• Which strategic response mechanisms do companies adopt—accept, improve, avoid, explore, or reflect?
• To what extent do firms perceive Scope 3 frameworks (e.g., GHG Protocol, CSRD, SBTi) as fit for purpose?
• How do Scope 3 strategies vary by industry, supply chain position, or governance maturity? 

Prerequisites: Good German and English language skills, Interest in ESG, corporate sustainability strategies, and climate policy, Independent working style  

Methodology: 

You will conduct a qualitative case study based on expert interviews and company documents (e.g., climate reports, SBTi targets, ESG ratings). Your thesis will contribute to the theoretical understanding of corporate responses to Scope 3 complexity and complement an ongoing multi-case study

Start: ASAP 

Application: Please stick to the regular application process via our chair’s online form

Contact: Victoria Fohrer (victoria.fohrer@tum.de)     

First literature to start with:

• Hettler, M. & Graf-Vlachy, L. (2023). Corporate scope 3 carbon emission reporting as an enabler of supply chain decarbonization: A systematic review and comprehensive research agenda. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 263–282.
• Buchenau, N., Oetzel, J., & Hechelmann, R.-H. (2025). Category-specific benchmarking of Scope 3 emissions for corporate clusters. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 208, 115019.
• Vieira, L.C., Longo, M., & Mura, M. (2024). Impact pathways: The hidden challenges of Scope 3 emissions measurement and management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 44(13), 326–334.

Description: The incorporation of ESG criteria has been the most significant change in executive compensation in the past years. However, the empirical literature on executive compensation primarily focuses on US companies. There is a lack of research for companies outside the US. The aim of this thesis is to collect compensation data (from remuneration reports) for german companies (DAX40, MDAX) for the last decade. On the basis of this database, the data should be quantitatively evaluated with regard to the development of ESG criteria in management board remuneration. 

Methodology: Data collection, Quantitative analysis  

Start: ASAP

Contact: Victoria Fohrer (victoria.fohrer@tum.de) (Please follow the official application process as described here)

First papers to start with: 

Beck, D., Friedl, G. & Schäfer, P. Executive compensation in Germany. J Bus Econ 90, 787–824 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-020-00978-y 

Cohen, S., Kadach, I., Ormazabal, G. & Reichelstein, S. Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International Evidence. Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), 805-853 (2023), DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12481.