University of Oulu Sustainable Marketing Master's Thesis Guide: 721430S, 30 ECTS, Three Reports, Research Methods and Laturi

Quick answer: the exact Sustainable Marketing thesis route

For the University of Oulu Sustainable Marketing master’s programme, the current 2026-2027 programme is 51822 / IMP2026MARKETING, a two-year 120 ECTS Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration). The exact thesis is 721430S Master’s Thesis, Marketing, object 8381, worth 30 ECTS, with current implementation 721430S-3007 for 2026-08-01 to 2027-07-31. Seminar work is embedded in the thesis course, which explicitly requires three staged reports. The related maturity course is 721010S, 0 ECTS.

1. What this guide covers

This guide is bounded to the 2026-2027 Sustainable Marketing MSc structure and the current Oulu Business School thesis process. It combines the exact Peppi programme, thesis and maturity objects, current OBS supervision instructions, Laturi, graduation guidance and programme-specific evidence from qualitative methods, quantitative marketing research, sustainable marketing, branding, services, networks, technology and responsible business. The separate KEDGE double-degree opportunity is treated as an optional route, not the default structure.

2. Exact Sustainable Marketing programme

The programme root is 51822, code IMP2026MARKETING, named Sustainable Marketing (MSc) 2026-2027. The public programme page identifies the award as Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration), with a two-year duration and 120 credits. Peppi also reports exactly 120 ECTS. The programme frames sustainability through environmental, social and economic dimensions rather than treating sustainability as a single marketing claim.

3. Programme structure and KEDGE boundary

The regular degree contains Advanced Studies in Sustainable Marketing, 51823 / IMP2026MARKETING-1001, 114 ECTS, plus General Studies, 51825 / IMP2026MARKETING-1002, 6 ECTS. The public programme page separately offers a competitive double degree with KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux. Students apply separately during the first year and, if selected, complete second-year studies at KEDGE. Those arrangements should not be assumed for every student on the regular 51822 route.

4. Exact thesis object

The exact thesis is 721430S Master’s Thesis, Marketing, object 8381, worth 30 ECTS. Its subject is Marketing, the primary teaching language is English, and the qualification is 723020A Bachelor’s Thesis or another university degree. This is the controlling thesis object for Sustainable Marketing. Do not substitute the thesis code from Finance, Accounting, International Business Management, Responsible Economics and Finance or an engineering programme.

5. Current thesis implementation

The current realization is 721430S-3007, running 2026-08-01 through 2027-07-31. These dates identify the verified 2026-2027 implementation window, not a promise for later cohorts. The course starts with a kick-off and says discipline-based kick-off or information sessions are organized in September. Detailed timing of the reports and seminar work is agreed in the kick-off.

6. Entry qualification

The thesis course lists 723020A Bachelor’s Thesis or another university degree as its qualification. Use that exact course statement rather than importing a prerequisite from another programme. If prior studies, transferred credits or a previous degree create an unusual case, resolve eligibility through the current programme and PSP before planning the thesis timetable.

7. Seminar is embedded in 721430S

Sustainable Marketing does not use a separate engineering-style thesis-seminar course in the regular 51822 tree. The 721430S thesis itself includes seminar sessions in which students present progress and receive supervisor guidance and feedback. Seminar work is therefore part of the 30 ECTS thesis. Do not import a separate engineering thesis-seminar code or add separate seminar credits.

8. The three staged reports

The 721430S course explicitly requires three reports: Research Plan, Intermediate Report and Manuscript. Under the current course wording, the research plan and intermediate report are presented online, while the manuscript is presented face-to-face. The wider OBS guidance also treats these as mandatory milestones. They are not three versions of the same introduction: each stage should reduce uncertainty about theory, data, method, results and the final argument.

9. OBS group supervision

Current Oulu Business School guidance says the primary master’s-thesis supervision model is group supervision including seminar work. Supervised groups start in autumn under the current instructions, and a supervisor is appointed at the initial stage. Group supervision does not mean the thesis becomes group-authored. Each student still owns an individual research problem and manuscript, while the group provides structured presentation, discussion, opponent feedback and supervisor interaction around defined milestones.

10. The four OBS stages

OBS describes four supervision stages: topic selection, research plan, intermediate report and manuscript. Topic selection is the exploratory stage where a feasible research problem is shaped with supervisory input. The remaining stages combine group and individual supervision. For planning purposes, this means the thesis should be managed as a sequence of decisions, not as one long writing task. Each stage should reduce uncertainty about scope, method, evidence and interpretation before the next stage.

11. Choosing a Sustainable Marketing topic

A strong topic should connect a clear marketing phenomenon to a sustainability, responsibility, technology, customer, network or societal question that can be investigated within 30 ECTS. Current courses support branding, sustainable consumption, B2B networks, services, digital and AI-enabled marketing, ethical selling, procurement, sustainability reporting, brand co-creation and marketing theory. Course themes are idea sources, not a requirement that every thesis use an ESG label or climate variable.

12. Research plan

The research plan should align a bounded marketing question, relevant theory, prior evidence, feasible data, an appropriate method and a realistic contribution. The thesis learning outcomes require appropriate research methods rather than one prescribed design. A useful plan therefore explains what is being studied, whose perspective matters, how concepts such as sustainability or customer value are defined, how evidence will be collected or selected, how it will be analysed and where the design’s limits lie.

13. Intermediate report

The intermediate report should demonstrate that the thesis has moved beyond planning. Depending on the design, that may mean a developed literature framework, a cleaned dataset, defined variables, preliminary descriptive analysis, an implemented model, an experiment design, or a completed first empirical pass. The purpose is not to present final conclusions too early. It is to expose problems while there is still time to repair the research design, narrow the question or improve the evidence.

14. Manuscript stage

The manuscript stage should function as an integrated research argument rather than a collection of disconnected chapters. The research question, theory, hypotheses or expectations, data, method, results and conclusions should point in the same direction. Claims in the discussion should be traceable to the analysis, and limitations should identify where the evidence stops. Because OBS requires manuscript presentation in the seminar, the student should also be able to explain the study orally without relying on dense slides or unexplained statistical output.

15. Presentation requirement

OBS treats presentation as a mandatory part of the supervision process. Oral presentation skills are evaluated at the latest in the intermediate or manuscript stage, and the final manuscript must be presented in a thesis seminar. A strong presentation should state the problem, why it matters, the data, method, core result, limitation and contribution in a compact sequence. If the student cannot explain what a coefficient, factor, portfolio result or valuation output means, the written analysis is probably not yet sufficiently clear.

16. Opponent duty

Current OBS instructions require students to act as an opponent to another student’s thesis at least once and prepare an opponent report of about one A4 sheet. This is not just an attendance formality. Opponent work develops the same critical-reading skills needed for the student’s own literature review and discussion section. Useful comments address the clarity of the research question, consistency between theory and method, evidence quality, interpretation, missing robustness checks and whether the conclusions stay within the limits of the design.

17. Independent route boundary

OBS allows an independent alternative only after separate discussion with the Head of master’s thesis research. Under the current wording, a student using that route gives up the right to the normal process supervision and commits to working more independently, while still preparing the required manuscript presentation. This is an exception, not the default. A student should not quietly stop attending the normal process and assume that an independent route has been created automatically.

18. Laturi

The University uses Laturi for the master’s-thesis process. Current general guidance says the process is started there and that guidance, monitoring, reviewing, Turnitin Similarity and publication are handled through the updated Laturi workflow. OBS guidance also links final upload permission to the supervisor’s comments and any required corrections. Therefore, a locally saved PDF or a supervisor-approved draft is not automatically the same thing as a formally submitted and processed thesis in Laturi.

19. Maturity test object

The related maturity course is 721010S Maturity Test, Master’s Degree, Business, object 5194, worth 0 ECTS. Current course information lists Teck Ming Tan as the Marketing person in charge. The current realization is 721010S-3006 for 2026-08-01 to 2027-07-31. The maturity test is a separate requirement from the 30 ECTS thesis.

20. When to take the maturity test

Current OBS instructions say the master’s maturity test can be completed after the manuscript presentation has been accepted by the supervisor. That sequencing matters. The maturity test is not a substitute for a thesis stage and should not be scheduled merely because the course is visible in Peppi. Agree the timing with the supervisor after the required manuscript presentation milestone has been reached and verify that the correct 721010S exam has been created for the student.

21. Maturity test practical process

OBS currently describes the maturity test as an electronic exam in the camera-supervised room PR106. The student agrees the timing with the supervisor. The supervisor creates a personal exam in the Exam system and publishes it for a defined period, after which the student receives the notification and reserves a date, time and workstation through the Exam calendar. Because this is a managed examination workflow, students should follow the current booking instructions rather than treating it like an ordinary take-home assignment.

22. Maturity language rule

The maturity-course API lists Finnish as the primary teaching language, but that field must not be turned into a universal rule. Current OBS-specific guidance says the maturity test is written in Finnish or Swedish, unless the student received previous education in a foreign language, in which case English can be used. The student’s own language route therefore depends on the current OBS rule and personal education-language background, not on one isolated API label.

23. What the maturity test evaluates

For OBS master’s students, the maturity task is designed to test written presentation of the thesis outcome in relation to prior scientific research and its possible use in business life or economic decision-making. The practical implication is that the student should be able to explain the thesis contribution without reproducing the whole manuscript. A concise answer needs the central result, its relationship to existing research, its limits and a reasoned statement about practical or decision-making relevance.

24. Method choice is not one-size-fits-all

Sustainable Marketing has both qualitative and quantitative method support. 721064S Qualitative Methods in Business Research covers research design, ethics, literature review, data collection and qualitative analysis, while 721473S Quantitative Methods in Marketing Research covers measurement, quantitative data, validity, reliability, generalizability and tools such as Excel and SPSS. Neither course means every thesis must use its method. The research question, theory and evidence should determine the design.

25. Principles of Sustainable Marketing

BO00AR21 Principles of Sustainable Marketing provides the programme’s conceptual foundation. It links marketing with social, ecological and economic sustainability, systems thinking and sustainability transitions, and asks students to evaluate sustainable marketing strategies in real company contexts. A thesis can use this material to define what kind of sustainability is being studied and which marketing mechanism is expected to create or destroy value.

26. Qualitative Methods in Business Research

721064S Qualitative Methods in Business Research covers research planning, ethics, literature review, data collection, qualitative analysis and conclusions. This directly supports interview, focus-group, document, case and other qualitative thesis designs. Students should make sampling logic, data-generation procedures, coding or interpretive steps and researcher choices transparent rather than presenting themes as if they appeared automatically from the data.

27. Quantitative Methods in Marketing Research

721473S Quantitative Methods in Marketing Research covers concept measurement, quantitative data collection, market-analysis tools, validity, reliability, generalizability and reporting. The course explicitly mentions Excel and SPSS. These tools are available evidence, not mandatory thesis software. A quantitative thesis should define constructs, items or variables, sampling, missing data, model choice and the inferential limits of the design.

28. Customer-Driven Service Innovation

BO00BB78 Customer-Driven Service Innovation connects service theories and service design with technology-enabled services, AI-human interactions, customer journeys and biomarketing or physiological data perspectives. This supports service and customer-experience thesis topics. If physiological, behavioural or personal data are involved, privacy, consent, data minimization and ethical safeguards should be designed before collection rather than added at the end.

29. Business Marketing in Networks

721469S Business Marketing in Networks covers B2B networks, value co-creation, strategic nets, key account management, relationship portfolios, sustainability and resilience. A network thesis should identify focal actors, relationship boundaries and level of analysis. Claims about one dyad, supplier network or ecosystem should not be generalized to all B2B settings unless the evidence and sampling support that move.

30. Technology and Marketing

BO00BB79 Technology and Marketing addresses current and emerging marketing technologies including VR/AR, data analytics, AI and agentic AI, linked to marketing planning frameworks. Technology-focused thesis work should separate what the technology does from how customers, employees or organizations respond to it. AI-generated output, platform metrics and managerial decisions are different evidence layers and should not be collapsed into one construct.

31. Business Ethics

BO00AR22 Business Ethics provides ethical and moral-philosophical perspectives for business decision-making and connects ethics with law, sustainability and responsible business. Marketing theses can use ethical frameworks to analyse targeting, persuasion, data use, green claims, vulnerable consumers or responsible selling. Ethical analysis should specify the framework and stakeholders rather than treating ‘ethical’ as a self-evident positive label.

32. Strategic Sustainable Branding

BO00BB80 Strategic Sustainable Branding integrates brand-management theory with sustainability, stakeholder interdependencies, circularity and societal impact. A branding thesis should distinguish intended brand strategy from stakeholder perceptions, brand image, reputation and observed behaviour. Sustainability claims also need a defined construct and evidence source; a corporate statement alone does not prove how customers or other stakeholders interpret the brand.

33. Sustainable Consumption

Sustainable consumption is a programme domain that can support research on consumer practices, choices, meanings and transitions toward more sustainable patterns. Consumer-oriented thesis work should define the population and consumption context, distinguish attitudes from reported intentions and observed behaviour, and avoid assuming that environmentally positive attitudes automatically translate into purchases or reduced consumption.

34. Marketing Theory and Society

BO00BB82 Marketing Theory and Society examines marketing as a scientific discipline and critically considers its role in sustainable development, including hyperconsumerism, digital marketing, AI and data concerns, social marketing, vulnerable markets and corporate responsibility. This supports conceptual and critical thesis work where the contribution may be theoretical clarification or societal analysis rather than only managerial prediction.

35. Globally Responsible Business

721070S Globally Responsible Business provides a multidisciplinary view of social, environmental and economic responsibility across business disciplines. For Sustainable Marketing, it helps connect marketing decisions with wider organizational and societal outcomes. A thesis should use such responsibility concepts only when they are analytically relevant, and should avoid attaching generic sustainability language to a study whose variables and evidence do not actually measure it.

36. Sustainability Reporting and Assurance

BO00AV06 Sustainability Reporting and Assurance covers sustainability-reporting requirements, ESRS, IFRS S1 and S2, assurance and research evidence on reporting. This can support theses on disclosure, credibility, corporate communication or stakeholder responses. Published reports are organizational documents, not neutral measures of actual sustainability performance, so their use requires careful interpretation and often triangulation with other evidence.

37. Sustainable Procurement

BO00BB86 Sustainable Procurement covers responsible purchasing, supplier selection, regulatory frameworks, ethical sourcing and sustainable supply networks. It supports B2B or supply-chain thesis topics where marketing and procurement interfaces matter. Researchers should define whose decisions and outcomes are being studied and distinguish supplier-policy commitments from observed sourcing practices or downstream sustainability outcomes.

38. Strategic Sales Management

BO00BB83 Strategic Sales Management covers value-based selling, ethical and sustainable selling, sales strategy and small-scale research. A sales thesis can examine salesperson behaviour, customer value, pricing, relationship development or digital change. Self-reported sales practices, manager evaluations and actual sales outcomes are different types of evidence and should not be treated as interchangeable.

39. Brand co-creation and stakeholder meaning

721477S Advanced Perspectives in Brand Co-creation covers multi-actor brand meaning in digital, community and ecosystem contexts, along with sustainability and ethics. It is particularly relevant to brand-focused thesis work. A co-creation study should distinguish firm-controlled communication from stakeholder interpretation, interaction and possible co-destruction, and should define which actors and platforms are inside the analytical boundary.

40. Data analytics and AI as optional tools

Optional courses such as 812364A Data Analytics and Business Intelligence and BO00AR29 AI in Business and Organizations show that data analytics and AI are available contexts and tools. They do not make programming or machine learning compulsory for Sustainable Marketing theses. If analytics or AI is used, document data provenance, preparation, model or tool role, validation and limitations, and keep confidential or personal information out of inappropriate systems.

41. Data selection and access

Sustainable Marketing evidence may come from interviews, focus groups, surveys, experiments, customer or platform data, company documents, campaign records, sustainability reports, physiological measures, observation or public datasets. Select data after the research question and theoretical mechanism are clear. Before committing to a design, verify access, sampling frame, identifiers, time coverage, consent needs, missingness, confidentiality and whether the data actually represent the construct being claimed.

42. Reproducibility and audit trail

For qualitative work, preserve a transparent trail from sampling and data collection through coding, interpretation and theme development. For quantitative work, document source data, item or variable construction, cleaning, transformations and analysis steps. Reproducibility does not mean confidential material must be published. It means a competent reader should be able to understand how the evidence was produced and how it supports the reported interpretation.

43. Survey and measurement design

Marketing surveys often measure latent constructs such as trust, brand attitude, perceived sustainability, customer value or behavioural intention. Define each construct theoretically before choosing items, explain scale sources and adaptations, report sampling and missing-data decisions, and examine reliability and validity where relevant. A significant relationship between two survey constructs does not by itself establish that one causes the other.

44. Qualitative interviews, focus groups and cases

Interview, focus-group and case-study designs can be especially useful for understanding meanings, processes, organizational practices and stakeholder perspectives. State who was selected and why, how consent and recording were handled, how material was transcribed or summarized, how coding or interpretation proceeded and what alternative readings were considered. In company cases, distinguish documented facts, participant accounts and the researcher’s analytical conclusions.

45. Experiments, biomarketing and behavioural evidence

Experimental or biomarketing designs need especially clear procedures. Define treatment or stimulus conditions, measures, participant recruitment, timing and analysis before interpreting effects. Physiological measures may indicate attention or arousal without directly proving attitudes, emotions or purchase intention. If personal or sensitive data are involved, privacy, consent and ethical-review requirements must be checked against the actual study rather than assumed from the method label.

46. Digital, platform and AI evidence

Digital marketing studies may use platform metrics, web analytics, social-media material, AI outputs or customer-interaction data. These sources can be powerful but their definitions and access conditions can change. Record extraction dates, platform rules, filtering decisions and the meaning of each metric. Do not treat impressions, clicks, sentiment scores, AI classifications and customer decisions as interchangeable outcomes. Automated output should be validated against the research purpose.

47. Ethics, privacy and confidential data

The 721430S learning outcomes explicitly include good scientific practice, confidentiality, informed consent, responsible data management and ethical use of AI. These obligations are particularly relevant when a Sustainable Marketing project uses customer data, employee data, interviews, digital traces, physiological measures or confidential company information. Ethics-committee review is not automatic for every Marketing thesis; compare the actual design with current University guidance and resolve review needs before data collection.

48. Responsible use of AI

The Sustainable Marketing programme explicitly engages with AI in services, marketing technology and marketing theory, while the thesis learning outcomes require ethical AI use. AI can support searching, coding, ideation, transcription or analysis only within current University and course rules. Protect confidential and personal data, verify outputs, retain source traceability and explain material analytical use where required. The student remains responsible for evidence, interpretation and final claims.

49. Literature review

A Sustainable Marketing literature review should synthesize research around the exact phenomenon, theoretical mechanism, stakeholder context and sustainability dimension rather than summarize papers one by one. Compare competing perspectives, measurement choices and findings. Distinguish research on attitudes from behaviour, B2C from B2B settings, firm communication from stakeholder interpretation and sustainability claims from measured outcomes. The review should justify the design rather than merely demonstrate that many papers exist.

50. Interpreting results

Interpret findings in relation to the chosen marketing theory, sustainability framing, evidence and context. Qualitative themes should be tied to transparent interpretation, not presented as universal customer truth. Quantitative results should include practical meaning and measurement limitations, not only significance tests. Platform or campaign metrics should be interpreted within their operational definitions. If findings differ from prior research, consider sample, market, culture, period, measurement and digital environment before claiming a theory has failed.

51. Thesis assessment boundary

The 30 ECTS 721430S thesis and 0 ECTS 721010S maturity test are separate requirements. The thesis is examined through the written research report under the defined assessment criteria, while written and oral communication skills are also evaluated for programme learning objectives. The three staged reports belong to the supervision process and are not separate credits. Students should use the current course and OBS rubric for exact grading criteria.

52. Company-linked and stakeholder projects

The programme emphasizes collaboration with companies and real marketing problems, so company-linked thesis topics can be a natural fit. That does not make the sponsor’s commercial objective the academic standard. Clarify data access, confidentiality, publication rights, stakeholder expectations and the independent research question early. A useful managerial recommendation should follow from transparent theory and evidence rather than being predetermined by the company brief.

53. Graduation after thesis completion

Once required studies are completed and registered, graduation is handled through the Peppi Graduation service. Current University guidance emphasizes reviewing the PSP, study registrations, maturity-test status and faculty-specific schedules before applying. Thesis review and graduation deadlines can change. Use the current instructions for the intended graduation month rather than copying dates from an older guide or another faculty.

54. 2027-2030 curriculum transition

The University of Oulu is moving to a three-year curriculum period covering 2027-2030 from academic year 2027-2028. This guide is deliberately tied to verified 2026-2027 Sustainable Marketing objects. Students beginning under the new curriculum should recheck programme structure, thesis realization, KEDGE route, maturity procedure and graduation instructions before relying on these exact codes, course combinations or dates.

55. Practical thesis workflow

A practical current sequence is: verify 51822 / IMP2026MARKETING and the live 721430S-3007 implementation; enrol under OBS instructions; attend the September kick-off; agree the topic and supervision; prepare and present the Research Plan; collect and analyse evidence; present the Intermediate Report; revise the full Manuscript; complete opponent work; present the final manuscript face-to-face; make required corrections; proceed through Laturi; complete 721010S under the current OBS procedure; then use Peppi Graduation.

56. Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid importing another programme’s thesis code or seminar, treating the KEDGE double degree as the default route, forgetting that 721430S requires three reports, assuming every Sustainable Marketing thesis must be qualitative or quantitative, treating Excel or SPSS as compulsory, equating a sustainability claim with measured sustainability performance, inferring customer behaviour from attitudes alone, feeding confidential data into AI tools, or copying 2026-2027 dates into the 2027-2030 curriculum without rechecking.

57. Final checklist

Before final submission, confirm the current 721430S implementation, supervisor and three-report seminar requirements; ensure the research question, theory, sustainability framing, data and method still align; document qualitative or quantitative procedures transparently; complete presentations and opponent work; resolve privacy, consent and confidentiality issues; obtain final supervisor feedback; use the current Laturi workflow; complete 721010S under the correct language and Exam procedure; verify study registrations; and check the current graduation timetable.