Call for Master Thesis: Technology Acceptance of 3D-Printing

Your master thesis will contribute to the research of acceptance of potentially disruptive technologies. You will focus on the example of additive manufacturing (3d-printing). We will provide you with a short questionnaire in German language and a list of companies. With this questionnaire, you will approach decision makers within these companies. The data collection will be conducted by five master students in parallel. For your thesis, you will focus on a specific aspect of the overall project but you can use the full sample. This way you will be able to base your analysis on 600+ observations. That way a series of individual theses will emerge that each has a unique focus but is based on rich empirical data.

To apply for a master thesis within this research initiative, please send your CV and short motivation statement with the reference “Master thesis: Technology Acceptance 3DP” to johannes.gartner@jku.at until October 30th 2018.

Short Research Overview:

Research Question: What motivates SMEs to adopt new and uncertain technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing)?

Theory:

  • Technology Acceptance Model
  • Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) theory

Method:

  • Telephone, online and personal questionnaire survey (Structured questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions)
  • Sample: SMEs in Austria
  • Language: German