Final Theses and Research Internships

You can download the list of topics on the subject Market research and marketing in the agricultual and food industries here

Market research and marketing in the agricultual and food industries

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• Garden types: Characterization of different types of gardens and their owners
• Consumer assessments of non-marketable fruit and vegetables
• Market analysis for non-plant segments of the garden market in Germany (e.g. seeds, plant treatment products, substrates and soils, machinery, furniture and furnishings, “seasonal markets”)
• Situation and perspectives of organic horticulture in Germany
• FairTrade young plants – market and acceptance by producers
• Willingness to pay for FairTrade bedding and balcony plants
• Design of marketing measures for individual club varieties of apples – a state-of-the-art analysis
• Possibilities of transferring “club varieties” for other products (fruit, vegetables)
• Opportunities and problems with direct sales of different horticultural products (ornamental plants, vegetables, fruit, etc.)
• Characterization of customers for floristry/cut flowers (e.g. lifestyle-oriented characterization)
• How do consumers deal with plants? Motivation, knowledge, actions
• Quantification of the market for professional interior greening in Germany (B2B)
• Interior greening in Germany: A market overview
• Attitude and significance of indoor greening for corporate customers (and their decision-makers)
• Development of the market for ornamental plants in Germany and the Netherlands over the last 30 years – an overview
• Faire Rosen im LEH: Concepts, actors, dissemination
• Horticulture in Eastern Europe (Romania/Bulgaria, CIS countries etc.)
• Multi-cultural and social differences in the purchase (or use) of plants and horticultural products and the resulting recommendations for action for an adapted marketing strategy (method: e.g. group discussion or oral interview)
• Life cycle analyses for horticultural products (especially ornamental plants, fruit, vegetables): methodology, example analyses, data
• Relevance of organically produced ornamental plants / perennials / woody plants from a consumer perspective
• Special promotions in the pricing policy for horticultural products: Special offers and reactions from competitors
• Studies on the quality definition of ornamental plants from a consumer perspective
• Investigations into the quality definition of fresh fruit in food retailing from the consumer’s point of view
• Marketing concepts for young plant producing companies – overview and potentials
• Consumer interest and awareness of various (young) plant concepts (e.g. Herbstzauber, etc.)
• Consumer perception of the origin of fresh vegetables and effects on purchasing behaviour
• Consumer Values – how values influence the purchase of plants!
• What does “sustainability” mean for buyers of ornamental plants?
• Importance of different ecologically or ethically motivated purchasing intentions for buyers of ornamental plants
• Peat-free, peat-reduced, organic soil: What demands does the end consumer have on a plant substrate?
• Who uses urban gardening and sharing in horticulture?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Agnes Emberger-Klein

• Increase biodiversity in the garden! What do consumers think?
• Saving water in the private garden? Is this an issue for private garden owners?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• How do private owners of tiled stoves, pellet stoves or other individual firing systems view their supplementary heating?
• What is the image of wood pellets (e.g. owners of pellet heating systems compared to oil heating systems)?
• What factors determine the replacement of heating systems in rental housing?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Thomas Decker

• How does the consumer want to be mobile in the future?
• Do supplementary heating systems have a chance in energy-efficient houses?
• What role do energy cooperatives play in the implementation of the energy transition?
• Motives for participation in energy cooperatives?
• Citizens’ interest in citizen loans to promote renewable energies or grid expansion
• Analysing different financing models in relation to wind power, PV,…
• Synthetic fuels – an option for private consumers or commercial users?
• Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): A model for the future?
• Hydropower / PV / geothermal energy / wind power / biogas – development in selected countries
• Heat pumps / solar thermal energy / wood combustion – development in selected countries
• Biofuel / e-mobility – development in selected countries
• Increasing fuel prices: How do consumers feel about the energy transition?
• Plug-in PV systems: market analysis & consumer acceptance
• Solar tiles – opportunities & possibilities
• Private PV systems for own electricity consumption – market development
• Political measures to support renewable energy

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• Preferences and motives for the purchase and use of organic cosmetics by women and men
• Standardisation: What framework conditions and standards do bioplastics need for larger market shares?
• Can bioplastics not replace conventional plastics or are there other reasons for hesitation? An analysis of the problem of bioplastics vs. plastics under political and socio-economic aspects
• Current market analysis on bioplastics and plastics in Germany / Europe / World
• Are there perceptible individual benefits of bioplastics and plastics for the consumer?
• How do consumers see Wood Plastic Composites?
• How do users of e-cars see the interior of their vehicles?
• Do outdoor athletes particularly like/frequently use products made from renewable raw materials?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Agnes Emberger-Klein

• Political framework conditions for the material use of renewable resources in selected countries
• Acceptance of genetic engineering in the use of renewable raw materials for material use in the German population
• The use of renewable raw materials in textiles – market overview / consumer acceptance
• Microplastics in cosmetics – Knowledge of users of cosmetic products
• The cultivation of medicinal plants in Germany – a market overview
• willingness of private customers and industry to pay for various products made from renewable raw materials (e.g. biogenic lubricants, cosmetics, packaging materials)
• Plastics recycling versus plastics from renewable resources: Consumer acceptance
• The media discourse on bioplastics – possible effects on their acceptance

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Thomas Decker

• Clay – opportunities and applications in the building sector
• Building houses with beetle wood – opportunities and risks from the consumer’s point of view

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• Are e-cars an opportunity for private users of photovoltaic systems after the abolition of the EEG subsidy?
• Are buyers of e-cars interested in the origin of their electricity?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Agnes Emberger-Klein

• Use of renewable energies in artisanal food businesses – possibilities for use in marketing

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Thomas Decker

• Analysis of the population’s acceptance of network expansion in Bavaria (examples of protests, citizens’ petitions, citizens’ initiatives etc.)
• What role do energy cooperatives play in implementing the energy system transformation?
• Motives for participation in energy cooperatives?
• Citizens’ interest in citizen loans to promote renewable energies or to expand the grid
• Comparative acceptance analysis for power lines (in Bavaria): Residents of hypothetical vs. actual power lines
• Latin America – Growth market for renewable energies?
• Analysis of various financing models in relation to wind power
• Electric mobility – mobility of the future? A consumer analysis
• The social rise of e-bikes
• Analysis of successful green communities
• Reasons for buying a specific heating system
• Renewable energies in the media
• Actionism or strategy? Political framework conditions for renewable energies

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• What is the interest in energy-saving measures in small and medium-sized industrial enterprises in view of the low energy prices?
• Are there rebound effects in the industry? How do managers deal with them?
• Are there rebound effects in the everyday office life of employees? What can you do about it?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Thomas Decker

• Home Energy Management Systems: Status Quo
• Motivation and behaviour of buyers of smart house systems
• Comparison of energy-saving measures by tenants and landlords
• Educating children to save energy
• Saving energy – consumer knowledge
• How do consumers save energy?
• How do consumers save electricity?
• Energy savings in the rebound trap?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

• Attitude towards sustainable consumption of selected products/product groups
• Supply and demand for sustainable consumption of selected products/product groups
• Rebound effect vs. sustainable consumption for selected products/product groups
• Lifestyle vs. sustainable consumption with selected products/product groups
• Environmental awareness and environmental behaviour at individual level
• Disadvantages of efficiency increases – How can rebound effects be reduced?
• Which policy measures can contribute to an increase in environmentally sound behaviour?

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Agnes Emberger-Klein

• Reduction of their own CO2 footprint – What do consumers know about their own scope for action?
• Car-Sharing in urban and rural areas – Status-Quo and Potental
• CO2-reduced/sustainable consumption of selected products/product groups: City vs. country
• Analysis of selected existing data on different topics (suitable for small research internship

If you are interested in these topics, please contact Dr. Thomas Decker

• How do consumers deal with plastic packaging?
• How important are sustainability topics in social media channels?
• The role of social media / influencers in the energy transition
• Renewable raw materials, renewable energies, energy efficiency, agriculture…. In the media
• Prepping – who, why and what?
• What difficulties do consumers have when sorting and separating plastic packaging?
• Sector coupling – possibilities and areas of application
• Voting green and driving an SUV – how do they go together?
• Electric air taxis – opportunities & risks
• How does emissions trading work? Moreover, what are the benefits of emissions trading?
• How does climate change affect the health of the population?
• From politics to the real world: implementing measures to combat climate change
• Sufficiency: How does it work?
• Klimakleber (Climate stickers): What do citizens say?
• Is Generation Z acting in a climate-friendly way?
• What are local authorities doing to reduce the consequences of climate change?
• Which political system is most effective in combating climate change?