Academic Year 2018/19

Author: Mag. Viktoria Steffen, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Traditional banks are currently faced with the challenge that customer behaviour has changed as a result of digitisation. Customers can compare products and services and choose those that best meet their needs. Due to the modularization of financial services and the increasing specialization of providers and products, the focus is now on the customer interface. Therefore, special priority must be given to bank customers. This master thesis answers the question of what effects digitisation will have on the bank-customer relationship in ten years' time. Within the framework of a generation-specific analysis through literature research, the needs and values of current working generations are analysed. The focus is on millennials (birth years 1986-2000), since these account for approx. 36 percent of the labour force in Austria in 2028. This makes them an important customer group for banks over the next ten years. Millennials have been shaped by globalisation and the development of digital media and are driving the progress of digitisation. They grew up in the world of multi-option consumption and expect market transparency and offer individualization. To expand the results of the literature research, two focus groups with students were carried out. Although the results are not statistically significant, knowledge about motives, opinions, wishes and needs of millennials can be gained. To sum up, millennials are accustomed to multi-channel communication and expect banks to be accessible through numerous communication channels as well. Nevertheless, a personal relationship with the consultant is valued so that trust can be built. In addition, millennials expect individual offers and transparency from banks regarding discounts.

Supervisor of the Master's Thesis: ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Roland Mestel, Department of Banking and Finance

Author: Christof Haar, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Investors have to pay attention to risk and risk/return ratio in order to assess the value of securities. The higher their risk, e.g. due to the default possibility of the issuer, the higher the return should be. In case of bonds, which are the focus of this thesis, risk can be measured by spreads as type of risk premia. Therefore, spreads are different return outcomes between specific types of bonds depending on various kinds of underlying risks. Rating agencies can help to estimate the risk of bonds as they rate companies and countries by use of different criteria and publish credit ratings. Even today, rating agencies partly use the sovereign ceiling principle that limits companies’ ratings by the rating of the country where they are based. One aim of this thesis is to show differences in the levels of risk premia between corporate bonds and sovereign bonds in the Eurozone and the possible reasons for such disparities. Spreads are much dispersed comparing the Eurozone countries, especially in times of crises like the global financial crisis and the subsequent euro crisis. The thesis illustrates that the activities undertaken by the European Central Bank and the European Union have contributed remarkably to the narrowing of spreads of countries and companies. It also compares risk premia between countries and country-based companies for some Eurozone countries. Another aim of this thesis is to show the implications of risk assessment results for investors, especially by using the example of Italy. This is because for most of the examined time period bonds of Italy based companies do have similar or even smaller risk premia than Italian sovereign bonds have themselves. This can be classified as an anomaly, because countries are generally perceived to be less risky than their domestic companies. As a result, investors are advised to take closer looks at the risks of sovereign bonds and corporate bonds in order to achieve higher and convincing risk/return ratios.

Author: Johanna Rath, B.A. (Econ.) MSc (Econ.)

Study Program: Political and Empirical Economics

Abstract:

Blockchain technology enlarges the information base and facilitates transactions as it substitutes the need for trust. It is a new mode of governing (economic) interactions of agents, leading to an overall evolution of capitalist institutions. The first stage of analysis summarizes the most important fields of research and points to certain potentials and non-potentials the innovative technology has. The literature review analyses potential shifts of transactions from institutions to blockchain based applications. In settings of complete contracts execution via blockchain lowers transaction costs and increases efficiency of market price allocations. Additionally, blockchain technology is able to increase contractibility by securing commitment to designed revelation and renegotiation mechanisms, solving the implementation problem. Still, the degree of verifiability of contractual content is not only a question of technological feasibility but also a question of choice. In a second step potential effects of making contracts complete are analysed. So far, decentral social norms mechanisms of fairness and trust have successfully addressed coordination failures by promoting cooperative behaviour. An evolutionary game theory model shows how these social norms are formed in the presence of incompleteness in contracting. The degree of completeness in contracting situations is interrelated with the need for trust and thus with the distribution of behavioural traits within the society. The more complete the informational content, the lower the need for trust and the greater the proportion of rational, self-interested individuals. Consequently, the opportunities for cooperation vanish. A completion of contracts to execute them efficiently via blockchain application supersedes incompleteness and thus the emergence of social norms and further consequences associated with them.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Supervisor of the Master's Thesis: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Richard Sturn, Depatment of Public Economics

Author: Mag. Dr. Stefan Dreisiebner

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

Information is becoming a major business asset, which requires employees to be able to deal with a growing amount of data. The skills to find, manage, and create data and information can be summarized under the term Information Literacy (IL). As existing studies show IL skills of students are still weak. Online-based technologies like Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) would make it possible to further enhance students’ IL skills. This cumulative doctoral thesis aims to further explore the possibilities of MOOCs for the facilitation of IL in the subject-specific context of economics and business administration. In order to approach the underlying problem of the lacking availability of MOOCs on IL for economics and business administration, this thesis first analyzes previous research projects, the IL skills of students and content and instructional design of MOOCs on IL, before going to propose a concept for a multilingual MOOC on generic IL skills that is extended through subject-specific materials in the context of economics and business administration. This is followed by an evaluation from a two-fold perspective: first concerning the practical employability; second, concerning the acceptance among stakeholders by evaluating the perceptions of MOOC certificates among employers. The results of this cumulative doctoral thesis confirm that MOOCs are a promising approach for developing IL skills on both a generic and in the subject-specific context of economics and business administration. Furthermore, they are recognized by employers. The findings can also provide avenues for both subject-specific and multicultural MOOC projects in the future.

Author: Carina Liebisch, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

More and more online apparel retailers are confronted with high return rates. These returns are mainly due to the fact that the products cannot be physically examined before the purchase. To reduce the acquisition and processing costs associated with returns stricter return policies can be used. However, this has a negative effect on the buying behaviour of the customers, the recommendation rate as well as on the customer relationship and can thus reduce the long-term profit of the company. If unsatisfied customers do not return, the company also misses the opportunity to eliminate the dissatisfaction or learn from it for the future. This master‘s thesis therefore deals with the question of why some customers do not return products, even though they are unsatisfied, and how companies can motivate this target group to return products. To answer this question, selected theoretical explanatory approaches for return behaviour such as the C/D paradigm, the theory of cognitive dissonance, the risk theory and the transaction cost theory are presented and an empirical research carried out through an online survey is conducted. The survey included both standardized questions on the purchase and return behaviour of apparel, as well as tasks in the context of a conjoint value analysis. It was preliminary confirmed that the product price, the transaction costs for a return (postage and time), the attribution of blame, the severity of the problem, the attitude towards returns, and the product involvement influence the return probability in case of dissatisfaction.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Author: Florian Deopito, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Age discrimination in the context of personnel selection is becoming increasingly important, especially due to the background of an ageing society and the legal prohibition of discrimination. The literature is increasingly concerned with this topic, mainly in areas that proof and explain age discrimination in the context of personnel selection. However, concreate measures for reduction and elimination are rather short in supply and are usually handled as a by-product in the literature. The aim of this thesis is to find out how Austrian companies can create a non-discriminatory personnel selection process in terms of age discrimination. For this purpose, five expert interviews were conducted with HR experts and public institutions relevant to discrimination and after that, the interviews were subjected to a qualitative content analysis. In terms of contents, many aspects and concrete measures have been identified for companies in order to avoid age discrimination in the context of personnel selection as well as to prevent the appearance of a possible age discrimination. Among others, central findings show a risk of age discrimination against younger applicants when work experience is required, show how to deal with the age question in the context of the job interview or show the need to create a concrete requirement profile for the justification of refusals. In general, there is a need for a large amount of measures that complement each other in order the create a non-discriminatory process of personnel selection in the context of age discrimination.

Author: Anna Elisabeth Kastner, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

For a reduction in environmental pollution and dependency on petroleum, electric vehicles (EV) present an advantageous alternative to traditionally fossil-fuel powered automobiles. Rapid growth in the number of EVs requires an urgent need to develop an adequate charging station infrastructure to stimulate and facilitate their usage. Due to restricted investments in the development of a sufficient infrastructure, locations have to be chosen deliberately. In this thesis, four extensions considering different objectives and various constraints to the deterministic flow refuelling location problem (DFRLP), described by de Vries and Duijzer (2017), are introduced, described and implemented. Furthermore, the model extensions are analysed using randomly generated problem instances. The research shows that, when considering location-dependent costs, results heavily depend on the relation of said cost differences. Tests for different cost scenarios are carried out and policy implications are discussed. The basic DFRLP, which is proven to be strongly NP-hard, assumes that the availability of a single charging station is sufficient to refuel all flows using it, regardless of the EVs number, which wants to be refuelled there and their distance travelled since the last refuelling process. Furthermore, increasing acceptance of EVs requires the consideration of restricted capacity at charging stations. Capacity is defined by calculating the energy demand at a charging station for each EV and therefore simultaneously taking decisions concerning the placement and size of stations. One further extension considers the probability of failures at potential facility locations while deploying an infrastructure in order to guarantee a minimum path reliability for a certain number of EVs.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Author: Sophie Schimpfhuber, BSc MSc B.A. (Econ.)

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

The transport process is one of the most important parts of the logistic sector of any company. Considered from the outside it does not seem to be very complex to establish an efficient transport design. Either a company uses its own vehicles and designs its own transport network, or it outsources the transport activity to third parties. But on closer examination it comes out that mainly the internal structures drive the efficiency of the transport process. The following master thesis analyzes the whole transport process of the company Egger, which manufactures wood-based materials. After an initial detailed evaluation of the process, in which all steps of the involved departments were described, a critical evaluation of the efficiency of current working practises was made. The focus was on figuring out potential problem fields and inefficiencies. Overall seven topics with optimization potential arose. These identified problems have repercussions on the own department as well as on upstream and downstream ones. Consequently, all of them influence each other and therefore have to be understood as interdependent and not as self-contained subproblems. Furthermore, quantitative as well as qualitative consequences of the problems were revealed. Therefore, extensive research of the persisting literature, various analysis of the data provided by the company and interviews with employees working on the operational as well as on the strategical level of the company were made. For all of them different suggestions to tackle or to reduce the effects of the considered problem were discussed. Again, the aim was to point out the effects of the possible solutions from a holistic point of view and in consequence of this, these implications were evaluated from the different perspectives of all concerned parties.

Author: Antonia Schirgi, BA MA MA

Study Program: Sociology

Abstract:

Taking into consideration the growing interest of philosophers and sociologists in historical and systematic connections between Phenomenology and Pragmatism as well as the ubiquitous call for interdisciplinarity in academia, this thesis deals with the following question: How far is George Herbert Mead’s concept of gestures compatible with Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s respective concept? The aim is to compare the two concepts from a theoretically neutral (so neither from a phenomenological nor from a pragmatistic) point of view. First, Mead’s and Merleau-Ponty’s concepts of gestures are described separately, within the context of their respective philosophies, with a particular focus on their understanding of intersubjectivity. Secondly, their understanding of gestures is compared systematically; starting with a comparison of their methodological approach and proceeding with a comparison of their understanding of gestures. The main focus of this investigation is, however, the reciprocity of me and the other in our communication by means of gestures; this reciprocity is central to Meads concept of gestures, but it is only one aspect of Merleau-Pontys much broader concept. This comparison not only shows substantial similarities between Mead’s and Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of gestures, it also brings to light some shortcomings of both concepts and possibilities to supplement one concept with some aspects of the other concept. This project is important to theoretical sociology, because of the non-deterministic nature of Mead’s and Merleau-Ponty’s concept of gestures as well as because of its opposition to rational and norm-oriented action models. Furthermore, it is relevant to sociology, due to the fact that it paying attention to both: aspects of the situation and aspects of socialization. Last, this paper has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of gestures in sociology, which has often only drawn upon Meads philosophy and traditions based on it.

Author: Dr. Zorica-Iva Sirocic

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

Scholars, activists and general audiences locate the third and fourth generation of feminists to century long liberal-capitalist democracies. This study, in contrast, examined the continuity of feminist politics in a context that has undergone radical and multiple socio-economic and political transformations. It did so through research on festivals of gender contention, examining how this particular genre of political expression became favored by the post-Yugoslav millennial generation of feminists. The festival – as a genre that epitomizes employment practices based on short-term contracts and volunteering – is an expected choice for the post-socialist generation of creative and intellectual workers facing post-transitional neoliberal conditions of life. This study argues that the activists used the potential and flexibility of the festival to create hubs of exchange that would adapt feminist politics for millennial circumstances thus working in relation to their activist community and in relation to their local community. Findings indicate that within the spaces of festivals’ communities millennials could experiment with redefined emotional approaches to politics, organizational practices, and interpretive frames to reach and challenge existing hierarchies and heteropatriarchal norms in the settled activist as well as in the mainstream cultures. The findings of this study have implications for the existing research in the field of sociology of social movements, contentious politics in Southeastern Europe, critical event studies and decentralized knowledge production on transnational feminism.

First Supervisor of the Doctoral Thesis: Univ.-Prof. Dr.habil. Libora Oates-Indruchová, PhD, Department of Sociology
Second Supervisor of the Doctoral Thesis: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stephan Moebius, Department of Sociology

Author: Julia Maria Hofer, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

The daily covering of high distances regarding routes of transportation as well as the identification of warehouse locations are significant cost factors for organizations. Therefore, planning and optimizing those long-term and complex decisions is of high importance. The domain of graph theory offers numerous models and algorithms including multiple objectives for dealing with these issues. This thesis aims at testing and analyzing the applicability of essential methods to the practical case of newspaper logistics. This problem can be represented as the k-Chinese-Postman Problem with multiple warehouses. The determination of k tours of minimal costs starting and ending from each warehouse respectively, covering in sum every edge at least once, is distinctive of this problem. After clarifying the initial position and elaborating on the problem statement, the thesis reviews the current state of research and introduces the opposing approaches of “Route-First-Cluster-Second” and “Cluster-FirstRoute-Second”. The model has been implemented with OSMnx and PuLP using Python. As a result, “Route-First-Cluster-Second” turned out to be the superior approach for the investigated use-case consisting of three test areas in Graz.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Author: Kristof Berndt Pipam, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Not only do pharmaceutical companies and research facilities play a crucial role regarding questions of health and general well-being of today’s society, but they also add value to the national economies. Nevertheless, there still exists little knowledge about business practices and requirements in the pharmaceutical high-tech area. The main aim of this master thesis is firstly to contribute to a better understanding of important pharmaceutical topics and secondly, to analyse the pharmaceutical sector in Styria in detail. Therefore, the main focus of the analysis lies upon the current status, strengths, areas of improvements and strategic development opportunities. The systematic approach of this thesis is based on a combination of theory and practice. On the one hand, this work draws upon an extensive review of the literature about the pharma business and location theories. On the other hand, it is informed by research on economic statistics in the life-science and pharmaceutical sector. Additionally, an empiric study was carried out which comprises twenty web-based questionnaire replies and three ex-pert interviews. The analysis of the theoretical and empirical findings reveals that there are five areas of activity including nine measures that could lead to an improvement of the Styrian pharmaceutical sector. The main target group of this thesis are companies and research facilities of the Styrian pharmaceutical sector, as well as regional authorities and further interested parties. Consequently, it can be said that the findings could encourage a discussion for the successful implementation of a mutual location strategy. The findings also revealed research gaps which when further analysed would lead to improvements within the sector.

Author: Theresa Wittreich, BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

In terms of corporate accounting aggregated information has been regarded as disadvantageous for a long time due to the loss of information, while potential benefits have been ignored. It has to be pointed out that the effects of using aggregated information have to be considered according to the assumptions underlying and conditions occurring. For this reason there cannot be made final statements whether aggregated information is beneficial or not. An important field of aggregated information is the disclosure of voluntary and mandatory financial statements. Depending on the assumptions made an enterprise can benefit from using aggregated information as investors’ expectations can be distorted in an advantageous way. Furthermore aggregated information can be considered in terms of agency-problems occurring in many organizations. Under appropriate conditions aggregated information can be used in explicit incentive systems or via implicit incentives to solve the problem of asymmetric information and divergent targets between principal and agent. Finally costing systems can be regarded as important field of using aggregated information. Under appropriate conditions it can be shown that using more aggregated costing information can lead to a more accurate costing system.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Author: Damaris Forcher, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

The main goal of this Master's thesis is the investigation and the analysis of management decisions of the company AHT Cooling Systems GmbH in the USA. The aim is to determine a congruence between the literature and the situation found in the company. The focus is placed on the internationalization process, to answer the questions about why (causality of internationalization), how (modality), when (temporality) and where (locality) in relation to the location decisions for the US business expansion on the basis of the “follow-your-customer-strategy”. Three research questions were investigated, which resulted from the synthesis of the respective problems, to analyse the five interviews critically. Accordingly, the focus is on AHT Cooling Systems GmbH, which has made the decision, to comprehensively accompany the market entry of one of its key customers as a technology partner in the USA. In addition, the company wants to include the experience gained on its home market in Europe to the expansion in the USA. The focus of the master thesis lies on the selection of the strategic tools necessary and the underlying decisions inclusive a location discussion for the satisfaction of the extended customer needs. Furthermore, the focus is on the challenges and influencing determinants of the company's strategy. In summary, the AHT Cooling Systems GmbH has changed from a medium-sized company to a global company group with a clear expansion strategy, based on several strategic foundations, like organic growth, a high degree of innovation and a high quality product range. By the decision of the key customer, the company has made the decision, to accompany the expansion to achieve the company’s strategic goal.

Author: Mag. Dr. Rebekka Sarah Kager

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

Due to norms of confidentiality and privacy, corporate tax information is generally not released to the public although they might be useful for various economic decisions and for better monitoring of corporate transactions. The first paper discusses whether tax balance sheets and the stock of unused tax losses can be derived based on publicly available information of DAX30 and ATX listed companies. Our findings suggest that, in theory, an approximation of tax values using information provided by IFRS accounts seems to be possible. In the second paper, we investigate Austrian, German and Dutch firms that predominantly operate in the domestic market. This approach enables conclusions about accounting differences between IFRS and tax rules of the analysed countries. We find that estimated tax equity is mostly lower than IFRS-equity suggesting that an IFRS-based taxation would mostly increase a firm’s tax burden. Furthermore, we find that IFRS-tax differences (ITD) especially occur in case of intangibles and provisions. The third paper addresses the usefulness of ITD in identifying earnings management and tax avoidance. I also investigate the relation between reporting aggressiveness and the level of depreciation of deferred tax assets (LEVELDEPR). The results suggest that total ITD are only selectively able to identify earnings management (e.g. to avoid a decline compared to historical earnings level) and are hardly informative regarding tax aggressiveness. The findings also suggest that ITD relating to single balance sheet items are not incrementally useful to total ITD in identifying reporting aggressiveness. For the LEVELDEPR, the tests provide evidence consistent with firms taking a set of criteria (e.g. future taxable income, financial distress) into account when setting the depreciation. Furthermore, the test results suggest that managers use the depreciation of deferred tax assets to smooth current income toward historical earnings level.

Author: Anna Kasmanhuber, BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

Stakeholders of corporations are facing several risks, including information risk. When using provided financial statement information in decisions, investors and other concerned parties are facing the risk of incorrect information. To reduce information risk companies can install internal control systems or use external auditors to raise the reliability of their financial statements. The influence of risk and risk control on audit effort of publicly listed companies in Austria will be analysed in this master thesis. Corporate governance, internal control and enterprise risk management are the most important monitoring systems, which companies frequently use. There are many regulations addressing the design of corporate governance systems in Austria, while other internal control systems are hardly regulated. Due to the mandatory application of the International Standards of Auditing, auditors need to apply the risk-oriented audit approach in Austria. This approach indicates that more risk should lead to an increase of audit effort, while better internal controls should reduce it. In literature about the audit market, many papers lead to contradictory results. Some argue that internal control and auditing substitute each other, while others consider, that both control instruments are consumed complementary (e.g. based on the demand approach). In a case study, variables to represent risk, corporate governance and enterprise risk management were collected, to find out, which of the two ap-proaches is more applicable on the Austrian capital market. Based on the paper of KNECHEL/WILLEKENS (2006) the influence of those variables on the audit fee was analysed. The results indicate that some control systems are substitutes, while others are complementary goods to external audits.

Author: Philipp Ulbing, B.A. (Econ.) MSc (Econ.)

Study Program: Polical and Empirical Economics

Abstract:

This thesis examines the role of external imbalances and competitiveness differences for the emergence and development of the three crises the Eurozone has faced over the last decade. I argue that these crises, namely the banking crisis, the sovereign debt crisis and the growth crisis, are deeply intertwined and cannot be treated separately. A thorough analysis of the three crises and their connections is given in the first part of this thesis. Afterwards, different indicators for an ex-ante exposure to the crises are examined. It is shown that the current account is the best indicator for an ex-ante exposure to the crisis and it is therefore necessary to study its dynamics and determinants in more detail. Then a broad theoretical foundation of the current account and its dynamics is provided. The analysis starts with the basic principles of intertemporal trade that determine the current account. In the second part an overlapping generations model is introduced, in which the demographic structure of the economy plays an important role. The last part deals with the effects of relative price changes on the current account, by distinguishing between a tradable and a non-tradable good. This theoretical foundation is linked to the empirical findings on the development of the current accounts in the crisis countries. This approach is motivated by the fact that there does not exist any literature that reconciles the empirical findings with proper current account theory. It is found that the reasons for the pre-crisis build-up and the post-crisis reversals of the current account differ to some extent, which might indicate that the recovery process is not sustainable. In the last section different policy approaches, that address the current problems in the Eurozone, are discussed. This is done by presenting different ways of thinking about potential solutions, starting with a macro-oriented and concluding with more micro-oriented structural approaches.

Complete Thesis in the University of Graz Library

Author: Verena Platzer, Bakk. MA BSc MSc

Study Program: Business Administration

Abstract:

This thesis investigates Tchibo’s development when turning from a coffee trader into a retail giant. The company founder Max Herz and his son and also successor Günter Herz are considered in this historical-critical analysis in detail and hermeneutical discussed. By analysing more than 250 newspaper (Hamburger Abendblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and journal articles (Spiegel, Die Zeit, Tradition), the time before incorporation (from 1945 to 1948), up to the death of Max Herz (from 1949 to 1965) and under the leadershop of Günter Herz (from 1965 to 2001) are investigated. The analysis focuses on the historical context and coffee trade between 1945 and 2001, to illustrate Tchibo’s development in the coffee business and identify reasons for the development and choice of the diversification strategies. The port city of Hamburg turned out to be the perfect foundation place for two main reasons: on the one hand, Hamburg is the German city with the highest green coffee turnover figures. On the other hand, Hamburg was besides Bremen in the post-war period the place, where the for the coffee business important ‘Verein der am Caffeehandel betheiligten Firmen‘ was located. The company founder Max Herz started between 1949 and 1965 with a value-based focusing strategy on the product ‘coffee‘ and gained an edge over the main and longer existing competitors Jacobs and Eduscho. As from 1965, Günter Herz followed at first the paternal course, before the coffee business saturation in the late 1960s and new ideas and also risk spreading strategies drove him to diversification decisions. Owing to Günter Herz, Tchibo became a multinational, diversified concern, which confined itself not only to the coffee business, but also became a consumer goods and an equity participation giant.

Author: Carina Schöllauf, BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Business Education and Development

Abstract:

Empirical findings in general education domains prove the importance of pedagogical content knowledge for high teaching quality and learning progress of pupils. As in business education, accounting plays a vital role for a broad economic understanding of students, this paper deals with the current state of research on pedagogical content knowledge of teachers in accounting. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a part of professional knowledge and differs from pedagogical knowledge because it is related to the subject and it differs from content knowledge because it refers to teaching and learning. Based on the model of professional competence of teachers by Baumert/Kunter (2006), this master thesis first theoretically substantiates the professional knowledge of teachers, which is regarded as an important part of professional competence. Using the method of systematic literature review with a criteria-based search strategy, 24 articles on pedagogical content knowledge of teachers were then identified as relevant for answering the research question and were subsequently analysed, related and discussed on the basis of theoretical foundations. For example, empirical studies on the development and promotion of PCK in the context of scientific pre-vocational training, on the importance of PCK for teaching quality and on competences of teachers to explain knowledge were presented in more detail. Although there has been a rising interest in this topic within the recent years, the literature review revealed that research in this area is still in its infancy. Consequently, efforts for further research in pedagogical content knowledge should be fostered, for example by promoting international economic education projects in accounting.

Author: Dr. Gernot Dreisiebner, BSc MSc MSc

Study Program: Doctoral Program

Abstract:

The dissertation thesis addresses the research domain of gender segregation within the career choices of young Austrian adults. At an age of 15, ongoing apprentices decide on one of approximately 200 apprenticeship trades. With regard to this career decision, gender-stereotypical patterns become apparent: Craftsmanship and technical trades are mostly male-dominated, whereas commercial and administrative trades represent female-dominated vocational fields. There exists a wide field of explanatory approaches, for exploring the choice processes underlying these career decisions. One possible explanation might lie in the existence of gender-typical career values. Out of this field arises the leading research question, which frameworks of orientations are underlying the career choice processes of adolescents with gender(un)typical career preferences. The qualitative-reconstructive research design is based on group discussions with students at Styrian Pre-Vocational Schools. The group discussions are followed by interviews approximately six months after the young adults have entered the labour market. The analysis is conducted utilizing the documentary method of reconstructive social research with its three consecutive steps of interpretation: formulating and reflecting interpretation, formation of types. Four distinctive types of career choice processes could be derived through the interpretation. These types are distinguished by different career values, the extent of self-determination as well as the guiding intentions based on the experiences of the adolescents during their first year of training. Only young adults of type one were able to realize their career choice as planned. These young adults show inter alia a high extent of self-determination. Practical implications of the results arise particularly with regard to facilitating individualized learning experiences in order to reduce the bias of gender stereotypes on students’ career choices.