Research topics and projects
Find a topic you can investigate and see what our students are researching in the QUT Business School.
Within each area of interest, you can find open topics at your study level: PhD, Masters, Honours or the Vacation Research Experience Scheme (VRES) for eligible undergraduates.
Choosing a topic does not exempt applicants from providing a full research proposal in the application.
117 matching student topics
Displaying 1 - 12 of 117 matching student topics
The effect of information representation on the success of crowdfunding campaigns
Crowdfunding provides a unique opportunity to acquire financial resources online and is often used by entrepreneurs aiming to finance a project or a venture by parties. These investors make their funding decision based on the crowdfunding campaign entailing a textual description and a video pitch. This research seeks to determine which financial information should be included in the campaign, how this information should be presented, and how it affects the judgment and decision making of the potential investors. Detailed insights …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy
What makes new venture ideas successful?
An important perspective in entrepreneurship research focuses on the nexus of individuals and the “opportunity” or “new venture idea” they are trying to realize. While we have good knowledge about how individuals can be characterised and how to assess the effects of these characteristics, the state of knowledge is much less developed for the other part of the nexus. Can we develop effective ways of categorising new venture ideas and assess their impact on entrepreneurial behaviour and success? …
- Centre/School
- Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
- Study levels
- PhD
- Master of Philosophy
Experimental evidence on entrepreneurial skills and cognitions
An important perspective in Entrepreneurship research focuses on the entrepreneurial mindset, underlying skills and cognitions, and the potential to train these skills. What is particularly needed are experimental designs that develop and test a certain training method in randomized-controlled trials. This can deliver important implications for practice and education, given that entrepreneurship education has become a key topic on the political agenda around the globe.
- Centre/School
- Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
- Study levels
- PhD
- Master of Philosophy
Youth entrepreneurship
Politicians around the globe define entrepreneurial thinking and acting as 21st century skills that help future generations to be successful in the changing world of work. Research shows that the early formative years are particular important for the development of an entrepreneurial mindset (e.g., entrepreneurial cognitions, skills, and motivation). What is the role of early learning experiences in adolescence and young adulthood? What is the role of socialization and personal agency for youth entrepreneurship? How can we develop age-appropriate training …
- Centre/School
- Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
- Study levels
- PhD
- Master of Philosophy
Well-being, stress, and entrepreneurship
Stress processes and psychological well-being are key factors in the entrepreneurial process that relies on the agency and motivation of the individual entrepreneurs. Why many entrepreneurs are more satisfied with their job than employed individuals are? How do entrepreneurs cope with the various stressors during the founding phase and how could one help them to build relevant psychosocial resources?
- Centre/School
- Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
- Study levels
- PhD
- Master of Philosophy
Regulatory Mode and the Endowment effect
Consumers often demand a higher price for items they own, than what they would be willing to pay to buy the same item (Kahneman et al., 1990). This effect is commonly known as the endowment effect. While the endowment effect is well established (e.g. Bar-Hillel & Neter, 1996; Chan, 2015; Horowitz & Mcconnell, 2002), and some studies have attempted to explain it by considering the effects of psychological ownership (Kirk et al., 2015), there are still questions about when, for …
- Centre/School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
- Study levels
- PhD
- Master of Philosophy
Risk management and financial systems integrity. Enhancing outcomes for indigenous not-for-profit organisations
This topic examines the NFP sector, in particular, indigenous organisations and the risk associated with incidents of fraud. As funding to these organisations is limited, a fraudulent event can have dire consequences on employees as well as impact future funding opportunities. Scant attention has been paid to the NFP sector in relation to fraud risk management. The study will help to address this.If you are interested in researching this topic as part of a Master of Philosophy (Accountancy), and you …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy
Compensation consultants: Whom do they serve? New evidence on pay for performance
It is common that companies routinely retain compensation consultants to provide guidance in setting executive pay packages. Most importantly, they offer recommendations about formulating appropriate compensation contracts for top management. Research shows that the size and structure of CEO compensation packages significantly affect firm performance (known as pay-for-performance) and, in particular, excessive CEO compensation is associated with the destruction of shareholder wealth. It is, therefore, interesting to investigate whether the use of compensation consultants actually benefits shareholders (e.g. improve firm …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy
Blockchain and Accounting Information Systems - Challenges and Opportunities
Blockchain is considered a major technological innovation and has the potential to transform Accounting practices substantially. However, several questions regarding the practical implications remain unanswered. This thesis will examine the potential of blockchain technology in Accounting and its influence on related tasks in risk and business process management. Using empirical data that enables a deep understanding of blockchain in different business contexts, the research will examine challenges and opportunities for its implementation and adoption. The findings will assist businesses in …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy
An insight view on board faultlines: company secretaries' perception of board faultlines, their effect on board performance and strategies to increase board cohesiveness
According to faultline theory, imposing board diversity criteria on corporate board can split the board into subgroups, which negatively impact on board performance by reducing effective communication between directors, instigating frictions and negative group dynamics. The role of the company secretary has been found to be pivotal in managing information blows and brokering meaningful relationships between board members. Company secretaries are therefore in a key position to provide insights into what can potentially cause frictions on boards and offer guidance …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy
Partnering with Health Consumers: Conceptualizing and Measuring Health Engagement
In Australia healthcare facilities are required to ‘partner with consumers’ to improve service experiences. To meet this accreditation requirement, a new type of healthcare management professional, referred to as an engagement advisor, is emerging alongside existing patient advocates. As boundary spanners between healthcare facilities and consumers, the capabilities of health engagement professionals and their understanding of health engagement are critical to the success of consumer partnering.Commensurate with current healthcare engagement research, this study will gather data from consumers, healthcare staff …
- Centre/School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
Making machine learning understandable for human decision support in credit risk assessment
Credit risk assessment is an important aspect in personal loan applications because of an increase in loan applications and a decline in risk appetite of lending institutions. Traditionally, predictions of credit risk (i.e. the weighted probability of loan default) are based on individual socio-economic information, loan application information and dynamic transaction data. Although machine learning models have been applied to the evaluation of credit risk, there is a gap to their use for decision making because many of these methods …
- Centre/School
- School of Accountancy