Degree Project in Retail Management

Course Director: Sara Rosengren

In this course you will write and defend a bachelor thesis in Retail Management. The degree project runs throughout the Spring semester and is written in pairs. The thesis is 15 ECTS, which corresponds to ~400 hours of work per student. Plan to spend around 20 hours per week on average, with some weeks more intense than others. Expect to work on the thesis continuously across the semester. Alongside your thesis work, you will receive support through supervision and methodology tutorials. A timeline with milestones is provided here, use it as a guideline when planning your work week by week.

The bachelor thesis (main course component)

Your thesis is an independent academic project. You will:

• define a research problem and purpose
• develop a research question
• choose and apply relevant theory
• design and conduct an empirical study using scientific methods
• analyse your data and draw conclusions
• discuss implications for theory and practice

Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are welcome; what matters is a coherent design, appropriate data, and a clear contribution to theory and/or practice.

Supervision

You will be assigned a supervisor from the SSE faculty at the start of the course. You can expect to meet your supervisor four times during the semester. The supervisor’s role is to support your work by responding to your questions and providing advice throughout the process. Supervisors typically help you:

• refine your purpose and research question early in the semester
• identify and use relevant literature and theory
• ensure appropriate scientific methods for data collection and analysis
• improve the academic quality and structure of your writing

You are expected to write notes documenting each meeting, at the 60% deadline you need to have at least 2 such notes documented and in order to present your thesis there must be 3 documented notes by the thesis deadline.

Supervisors do not grade your thesis. Your final grade is determined by an independent examiner who has not been directly involved in your project.

Methodology Clinics

Two methodology clinics are offered during the semester and are bookable by students via Canvas. The clinics are led by Sara Rosengren:

• Clinic 1: focuses on study design and research setup
• Clinic 2: focuses empirical analysis and interpretation of results

Q&A Sessions

We offer three volontary Q&A sessions where you may ask general questions regarding more or less anything about the course. Example questions are related to work processes, methodology issues, report format, and writing style.

The Q&A sessions are not replacing meetings with your supervisor. Questions that are specific for your project such as checking if your purpose is relevant or your own interview guide or is relevant are to be discussed with your supervisor.

Thesis Defense Seminars

Participation in thesis defense seminars is mandatory. During the defense seminars, all students are expected to:

• present their thesis
• act as opponents on other theses.

Each defense includes a 5 min presentation by the authors, followed by opposition and discussion led by opponents (10-15 min) and the examiner (5-10 min).

AI support

SSE and its Library offers several AI resources that can be helpful for thesis work. Please see separate Module on Canvas for more information.

Course administrator: Karl.Strelis@hhs.se, alexandra.svahn.alberts@hhs.se

Students must have 120 ECTS credits registered in connection with the start of the Degree Project in Semester 6.
Students who go on student exchange in Semester 6 will do their Degree Project in Semester 5. They must have 105 ECTS in connection with the start of the Degree Project in Semester 5. The Degree Project will replace two of the courses in Semester 5. The program director decides which courses every year.

Jones, Charles (2024), Macroeconomics. Sixth Edition. Norton,

I suggest you buy the paperback version, approximately 1000 SEK ISBN 9781324063636 International Student Edition, (it also exists in hard cover (more expensive)) or as an e-book (somewhat cheaper).

Note: the course is based on the 6th edition. It should be ok to use the 5th edition but note that every new edition differs somewhat from earlier ones and the course is based on the 6th edition.

Additional reading (short articles) may be distributed via Canvas.

A core part of the thesis work is to identify, evaluate, and use relevant academic literature. You are responsible for finding suitable research and building your theoretical framework, in dialogue with your supervisor. To support this process, the course includes library training focused on effective literature searching, source evaluation, and referencing.

When developing your methodology, start browsing and reading textbooks on methods, for instance Bryman's social research methods and Marketing Research (Malhotra) to identify appropriate methods for your study. You are then expected to deepen your methodological knowledge by engaging with more specialized methods literature, such as method-focused chapters, journal articles, or handbooks relevant to your chosen approach.

As a rough guideline, most theses draw on 25–50 academic sources, primarily peer-reviewed journal articles, but books and high-quality industry reports can be used when relevant. Please note that literature searching is iterative, thus you can expect to refine your reading list as your thesis work develops.

Your written thesis report is the main basis for grading. The quality of your defense and opposition during the defense seminars may also influence your final grade. In order to be eligible to present and defend you must pass the 60% hand-in, share and use a Onedrive Folder for your thesis work, and include at least three (3) documented notes from meetings with your supervisor in this folder.

To receive a final grade in the degree project course, you must also have passed all the requirements for (Retail Club and Tutorials) during the sixth semester.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).