Course Manual

Bachelor’s Thesis IB 2023-2024 (course code: EBB737B10)

Organization
Course coordinator: R.W. de Vries: r.w.de.vries@rug.nl
Administrative coordinator: R. van Poelgeest, r.r.m.van.poelgeest@rug.nl
Secretarial support: GEM secretariat, gem.feb@rug.nl

Aim
In the last phase of your studies, you are required to write a bachelor’s thesis which
constitutes of 10 ECts. While writing a bachelor’s thesis, your skills are tested with respect to
conducting research in the field of International Business in an independent and scientifically
appropriate manner.

Participants must demonstrate proficient ability to:

 develop and justify a proper research question;
 use a systematic approach when answering this research question;
 apply the research methods they have selected;
 report their findings in writing as well as orally and justify them.

The bachelor’s thesis concludes the Bachelor Program. Skills previously acquired in other
courses should be applied in an independent and interdisciplinary manner. However, in this
aspect, the context is more complex, and the supervision regarding content will be more
limited than previously experienced by participants.

Regular course
It is best to regard the bachelor’s thesis as a separate course (within the curriculum) that is
concluded by the thesis. This means that you are required to officially register for this course
in ProGRESS. The bachelor’s thesis is supervised by lecturers who supervise approximately
fifteen students during the process of writing the thesis.

The process of supervision occurs within a specified timeframe; this indicates that there are a
predetermined start date and end date. You are (just as in any other course) required to work
on your thesis within this timeframe.

Format
To write a bachelor’s thesis, you will conduct research on an individual basis within your
selected research theme (these themes will be published on Brightspace). Your planning,
progress, and preliminary results will be discussed individually as well as in groups on a
regular basis under the supervision of the lecturer. Within the research themes, seminars are
organized in which you must be present, and you will have to participate actively in these
seminars.

Instructions and interaction mainly take place in groups. Feedback regarding particular issues
may also be provided individually. As a rule of thumb, each individual student will be offered
6 interaction opportunities during which progress is reported and feedback is provided. Most
of these interaction opportunities are plenary sessions with other students which allow
students to hear about other projects and learn from each other. An important element of the
course is students reviewing each other’s work which helps them to understand the evaluation
criteria, teaches them to critically evaluate research in progress, and allows them to receive
feedback from their peers.
1 (V. 12/05/2022)
If a student does not meet the general deadlines or the specific deadlines indicated by his/her
supervisor or delivers clearly substandard work, the supervisor can give students a no-go
advice: this means that your supervisor thinks that there is no chance to finish the project
before the end of the semester. This is a serious advice to stop with the project. If you insist
you can continue and you will receive feedback on your work, however you cannot expect
your supervisor to give you extra supervision nor will you be allowed to start all over again.
At the end of the semester, you can submit a thesis and it will be assessed. After a go or no-go
advice a grade will be registered on ProgRESS, also if you decide not to continue with the
project.

Students should work 280 hours (10 ECTS) on their thesis, which indicates that they should
spend considerable time on this course already from the outset. The contact hours constitute
only a minimal fraction of the time to be spent on the thesis. Therefore, please note that a
significant amount of time must be devoted to this course by self-studying. Postponing this
until the last two months will almost invariably lead to an insufficient final version of the
thesis.

Practical Exercise
The thesis course contains a so-called practical exercise. This means that there are certain
elements of the course that you should participate in to be granted the opportunity for your
thesis to be assessed. Completion of the practical exercise is based on active engagement in
interaction with the supervisor to explain and defend steps in the process, such as choices
made, literature search strategy, etc., which needs to be satisfactory so that content of the
thesis can be assessed.

The elements of the practical course are as follows:

1. Students submit an introduction by the deadline stated in the theme course manual,
and interact with the supervisor to discuss the process by which the introduction was
developed (e.g., what issues guide the research question, positioning relative to extant
work) as well as receive feedback on the introduction.
2. Students submit a draft chapter (e.g. the literature review) and interact with the
supervisor to discuss the process by which the literature review was developed (e.g.
the literature search strategy), as well as receive feedback on their draft chapter. The
deadlines for submission of draft chapters are determined by the thesis supervisor.
3. Students submit another draft chapter (e.g. the methods chapter) and interact with the
supervisor to discuss the choices made as well as receive feedback on their draft
chapter.
4. Students submit a final draft chapter (e.g. the findings or results chapter), and interact
with the supervisor to discuss how the analysis was conducted, before receiving
feedback on the full draft.

For completion of the practical exercise to be deemed satisfactory, you need to have
completed at least three out of four elements of the practical exercise, one of which MUST
include the first element, related to the introduction.

2 (V. 12/05/2022)
Type of research
Students may conduct different types of research, but the selected research must always be in
accordance with the theme offered by the supervisor. In the list of themes that will be made
available, a number of them will contain the label ERS (Ethics, Responsibility, Sustainability:
faculty-broad educational themes for the next years). Themes with such labels will pay
attention to issues related to ERS, at least to a certain extent. It is the supervisor’s prerogative
to decide whether or not your subject is acceptable. The project should address a relevant
problem and/or include the collection and analysis of empirical data related to this. The
literature review requires more than just summarizing the literature. For instance, when doing
a literature review, students are required to develop a conceptual model, develop a research
agenda, or design an empirical study for further research in the area.

Thus, the bachelor’s thesis may consist of:

 applying a scientific approach to a practical situation;
 analyzing a management problem and designing a solution;
 allowing the student to design and conduct a research project that is in accordance with
the supervisor’s current research;
 allowing the student to conduct a literature review and develop a conceptual model.

Examination
The final grade is based on the quality of your thesis, and your active participation in the
seminars. To evaluate the thesis, a uniform assessment form will be used, please refer to the
information on Brightspace.

Thesis format
The thesis should be written according to the format of a scientific article and your main text
(excluding the list of references, tables, etc.) should contain 6,000 words at maximum.
Students are advised to use the format prescribed by a respected academic journal (see, e.g.,
the Style Guide of the Academy of Management Journal and the Guidelines for writing a
thesis posted on Brightspace), and to choose a format in accordance with their supervisor’s
preferences.

Process of enrolment
Please note that you must meet the entry requirements before you can begin with your BSc
thesis IB.

For single degree BSc IB students the entry requirements are:

1. definitive admission to the post-propeadeutic phase;
2. the BSc IB programme has been approved;
3. at least 120 ECts from the approved courses (including propaedeutic courses and
exemptions)

For students who take part in the 90 EC double degree programme with KEDGE, ITB, UGM
or UI the entry requirements are:
1. the BSc IB programme has been approved;
2. at least 45 ECts from the approved courses in Groningen (including exemptions) have been
earned.

For students who take part in the 120 EC double degree programme with UI the entry
requirements are:

3 (V. 12/05/2022)
1. the BSc IB programme has been approved;
2. at least 65 ECts from the approved courses in Groningen (including exemptions) have been
earned.

After having enrolled for the Bachelor’s thesis IB the programme management checks if you
meet these entry conditions. If there is a problem, you will receive an e-mail. Next, on the
Brightspace site “Bachelor’s Thesis IB” it will be announced when and how you can register
for a theme of your preference. You will be asked to rank the available themes: your most
preferred theme will be number 1, your 2nd choice will be number 2, etc. If the number of
students that have ranked a certain theme as their first preference is higher than the group size,
the students with the highest grade point average will be assigned to that theme, and the
remaining students will move to their 2nd choice. Again, if the popularity of the theme of
your 2nd choice is too high, the students with the highest grade point average will be
assigned, etc. Not all groups have the same group size, the size depends on the availability of
the supervisor.

Commitment
Starting your BSc thesis project assumes that you are also submitting your thesis in the same
semester. It is not acceptable to stop in the middle of a project. Students and supervisors have
a commitment, and both parties are expected to respect this commitment. If you decide to stop
with your project, the work that has been done will be graded, and an insufficient grade will
be registered on ProGRESS.
If you still decide to stop with your thesis project, you will have to notify your supervisor and
the IB management (please contact r.r.m.van.poelgeest@rug.nl).

Submitting and assessing the thesis

The final version of the thesis must be submitted before the deadline. Students must submit
the thesis on the Brightspace-site “Bachelor’s Thesis IB”. A plagiarism check will be done. If
the thesis passes this check, it will be assessed by the supervisor and a co-assessor. The
supervisor and co-assessor may reject the thesis and include recommendations for
improvement. These must be dealt with by the student, again before the deadline that applies
for such “repairs”. This can be regarded as a second chance for submission; each student is
entitled to only one second chance. Students can only resubmit when the thesis has been
rejected; students cannot improve the thesis when it is marked 6 or higher. When the
improvements are sufficient, the thesis will be marked with a 6; a higher grade is not possible
upon resubmission. When the improvements are insufficient, the student must register again
for the course and will be assigned to a different theme.
The thesis must be submitted digitally (on Brightspace). You supervisor may ask you to send
it as an email attachment as well. After approval (so when the thesis has been marked with
a 6 or higher), the final version must also be submitted to the Brightspace site: “FEB
Thesis Evaluation and Archiving”. This final submission also requires the student to fill out
an evaluation form.

4 (V. 12/05/2022)
The course in brief:

Subject name Bachelor’s Thesis IB

Subject code EBB737B10 (code IB)
Size of study load 10 ECts
Start Each semester
Duration One semester
Condition of entry 120 ECts for regular BSc IB-students
45 ECts for double degree students doing a 90-ECts-programme
65 ECts for double degree students doing a 120-ECts-programme
Registration Via ProGRESS (registration for this subject)
Via Brightspace (registration for the research theme)
Examination Bachelor’s thesis.
Upon failing the course, there is one possibility to improve the
thesis before a fixed deadline. The thesis must be submitted in
digital form on Brightspace. After a sufficient grade has been
obtained, the final version must be submitted on the Brightspace
site: “FEB Thesis Evaluation and Archiving”.
Aim While writing a bachelor’s thesis, a student’s skills are tested with
respect to conducting research in the field of International Business
in an independent and scientifically appropriate way.
Procedures Course enrolment takes place via ProGRESS after which you can
indicate the theme of your choice on the Brightspace site
“Bachelor’s Thesis IB”.

For every research theme, there is a lecturer who supervises a group

of fifteen students or less. The supervisor organizes sessions that
must be attended. In addition, students are given assignments to
support them in the process of writing a thesis.

The result is a bachelor’s thesis which must be submitted at the end

of the semester. The thesis is then assessed by the supervisor and a
co-assessor. In the event of an insufficient grade, the student
receives one opportunity to improve the thesis.

An assessment form is used to assess the thesis.

5 (V. 12/05/2022)
Schedule of key activities in 2023-2024

Overview of key activities

Semester 1 Semester 2 Event

Date Date
August 27, 2023 January 28, 2024 Registration deadline ProGRESS Enrolment
Bachelor’s thesis

Before and on Before February 5 Check if students meet entry requirements + open
September 4 theme enrolment on Brightspace
Tuesday September t.b.a. introductory lecture
5
9:00-10:00
September 6, 8 am February 7, 8 am Students must have submitted their theme
preferences (via Brightspace). Students who did not
submit any preferences will be assigned to themes
according to availability of slots.

September 8 February 9 Students will be informed about their group via e-

mail.

September 11-15 February 12-16 Start-up week for Bachelor’s thesis groups.
(week 37) (week 7)
October 16-20 March 18-22 (week Go/no-go advice. Students who have not made any
(week 42) 12) progress so far and students who have been
provisionally admitted to the thesis and do not meet
the entry requirements yet, will get a ‘no-go’ advice.
December 4-8 April 29 - May 3 Students submit a full draft of their Bachelor’s
(week 49) (week 18) thesis. The exact submission date will be announced
by supervisor.
December 11-22 May 6-17 (weeks Final presentations draft Bachelor’s thesis / feedback
(weeks 50-51) 19-20) on draft Bachelor’s thesis (usually during your
meeting with the supervisor in one of these weeks).

January 9, 2024 May 28, 2024 Students submit the final version of their Bachelor
(week 2) 9 am. (week 22) thesis. Students submit an electronic copy via
9 am. Brightspace BSc thesis IB (“thesis upload”).
Supervisors may request a copy via email.
Before Tuesday Before Tuesday Supervisor communicates grades and feedback to
January 23 June 11 students.

Before or on Friday Before or on Friday In case of a grade lower than 6, students submit
February 2 July 5 improved versions of their Bachelor’s thesis.
Students submit via Brightspace BSc thesis IB
“thesis upload” “upload repair”
Before or on Friday Before or on Friday Supervisor communicates grades and feedback to
February 9 July 12 students.
If the thesis has If the thesis has Students submit on the Brightspace site “FEB
been graded 6 or been graded 6 or Thesis Evaluation and Archiving”.
higher higher

6 (V. 12/05/2022)
List of addresses

The most up-to-date information on telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and room numbers
of staff at the Faculty of Economics and Business can be found at the following website:
http://www.rug.nl/feb/Faculteit/medewerkers

Faculty of Economics and Business

Visiting address: Duisenberg Building
Nettelbosje 2
9747 AE Groningen, The Netherlands
Postal address: P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
Telephone +31 (0)50 363 7098
Website: http://www.rug.nl/feb/

BSc International Business

Programme Director: Dr. Liane Voerman
Programme Coordinator: Dr. Rudi de Vries
Programme Coordinator: Raoul van Poelgeest
Secretarial support: Secretariat Global Economics and Management
E-mail: gem.feb@rug.nl

Department Global Economics and Management

Visiting address: DUI (5411) room 538
Telephone: +31 50 363 3458
Opening hours: Daily from 09.00-17.00 h. closed between 12.15-13.00 h.
E-mail: gem.feb@rug.nl
Website: http://www.rug.nl/feb/organization/scientific-departments/gem/

Student Support Desk

Visiting address: Duisenberg Building, Plaza ground floor
Telephone: +31 (0)50 363 8900
Website: http://www.rug.nl/feb/education/support/

Study Advisors (Ms. Baas)

Via Student Support Desk

Board of Examiners
Address: Faculty of Economics Business
c/o Drs. F.P. Bakker (Secretary)
P.O. Box 800
9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
E-mail: examencie.feb@rug.nl

7 (V. 12/05/2022)