Business Commons^™

What Is The Entrepreneurship Process For Communication Design Enterprises?, Con Kennedy

Doctoral

The literature indicated that entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic development and that understanding what entrepreneurship is has changed with the development of society and entrepreneurship theory (Murphy et al., 2006). However, there is an identified skills deficit in understanding entrepreneurship in the communication design sector (Design Enterprise Skillnet, 2021; Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, 2016; Intertrade Ireland, 2009; Design Council, 2007; Enterprise Ireland, 1999). Nevertheless, within each of these studies, the deficit has not been addressed, nor is the entrepreneurship process for communication design enterprises established. The literature on entrepreneurship generally ignores entrepreneurship in the design sector, …

Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness: Antecedents And Outcomes, Jennifer Dann

Doctoral

This thesis brings together concepts from both international business and entrepreneurship to develop a framework of the facilitators of subsidiary innovation and performance. This study proposes that Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness (SEA) facilitates the recognition of opportunities (the origin of subsidiary initiatives). First introduced by Kirzner (1979) in the context of the individual, entrepreneurial alertness (EA) is the ability to notice an opportunity without actively searching. Similarly, to entrepreneurial alertness at the individual level, this study argues that SEA enables the subsidiary to best select opportunities based on resources available. The research further develops our conceptualisation of SEA by drawing on …

An Investigation Of Teenagers’ Advertising Literacy In The Context Of The Brand-Rich Environment Of Social Media, Emma Sweeney

Doctoral

Teenagers are avid consumers of social media and consequently, constitute attractive target audiences for marketers. On social media, advertising can be integrated into content such as YouTube videos and Instagram posts which means the boundary between commercial content (the advertisement) and non-commercial content (e.g., the video in which the ad appears) becomes increasingly blurred. Therefore, in this context, the consumer must be able to navigate a minefield of overt and covert advertising that is disseminated by a range of sources, including brands and social media influencers. A resulting concern for academics, parents and policy makers alike relates to young people’s …

Sports Franchises As Catalysts For Tourism In An Urban Setting, David Proctor

Doctoral

This research investigates the leverage of sports franchises by destination marketing organisations for their tourism potential. It adds to the literature in covering a hitherto under scrutinised field of tourism enquiry focusing on the role of globally renowned professional football teams as agents of tourism in the cities that host them. In doing so the study links theory to practice and provides policy makers with options for implementing initiatives in collaboration with sports franchises, resulting in benefits across the wider stakeholder environment.

Underpinned by a pragmatic philosophy, the research employs a mixed methods approach within a multiple case study design …

Constructing The Social In The Fiscal: A Discourse Analysis Of Irish Budget Speeches (1970-2015), Ewan Alexander Macdonald

Doctoral

Budget speeches are important discursive institutional practices in which fiscal and monetary policy are presented to parliaments on an annual basis. The issue of ideology and the contingent nature of discourse is rarely considered with budgets delivered in specific policy contexts presented as pragmatic truth statements unhindered by the distorting lens of ideology. Employing contributions from post-structural discourse theory, dialogism, critical realism and corpus linguistics this thesis addresses three research questions: what discourses are employed in Irish budget speeches from 1970 to 2015? How are these discourses structured? How are social imaginaries and subject positions constructed through these discourses? Methods …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role And Contribution Of Absorptive Capacity Levels In The Commercialisation Of Knowledge In Knowledge Intensive Smes, Francis Martin Behan

Doctoral

Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) is a construct introduced by Cohen and Leventhal in 1990 to describe the process by which an organisation recognises and absorbs new external knowledge to increase its current stock of knowledge, thereby giving it increased capability to create value for its customers, stakeholders and wider society. ACAP, as a construct, has gained widespread acceptance within academia and the construct has been further refined and developed over the last thirty years. However, the application and testing of the construct, is in practice, still in the early stages of development. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate …

Consumer Reactions To Alcohol Advertising Health Warnings In Ireland: An Experimental Research Study, Vania Filipova

Doctoral

Introduction and Aims As part of several measures to inform consumers about the health risks of alcohol and reduce alcohol consumption, the Irish Government signed into law the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, with Section 13 requiring the implementation of multiple health warnings in all alcohol ads. While health warnings on product labels have been subject to intensive political discussion and academic research, health warnings in alcohol ads have received little attention and empirical support. This doctoral dissertation investigates whether health warnings in alcohol ads can promote cognitive and affective reactions in consumers. Furthermore, this thesis also examines whether the …

An Empirical Analysis To Control Product Counterfeiting In The Automotive Industry's Supply Chains In Pakistan, Saad Akhter Jaffery

Doctoral

The counterfeits pose significant health and safety threat to consumers. The quality image of firms is vulnerable to the damage caused by the expanding flow of counterfeit products in today’s global supply chains. The counterfeiting markets are swelling due to globalization and customers’ willingness to buy counterfeits, fueling illicit activities to explode further. Buyers look for the original parts are deceived by the false (deceptive) signals’ communication. The counterfeiting market has become a multi-billion industry but lacks detailed insights into the supply side of counterfeiting (deceptive side). The study aims to investigate and assess the relationship between the anti-counterfeiting strategies …

How Does Convergence Influence Cluster-Based Economic Growth In Regions?, Jamie Meehan

Doctoral

This thesis is a novel study examining the influence of convergenceon cluster-based economicgrowth in regions. The goal of which isto provide exploratory insights frombothnational and international perspectives. This research study examines the relevant literature in thefieldsof convergence,clusters,and regions. It thenadoptsideologies from the most salient studies,to create a conceptual framework. There is limitedextantliterature currently available on the connection between convergence, cluster-based economicgrowth,and regions. AnOECD (2011) report identified the importance of regions as they are themost effective place to make economic decisions. The convergence approachof moving towards equality, bottom-up growth,and co-opetition can be regarded as being imperative to the successful augmentation of …

A Comparative Case Study To Determine The Correlation That Exists Between The Irish Ppp And The Uk Pfi Policies, Alan Kirby

Doctoral

This research attempts to examine the previous pathway and current state of play in relation to the Irish PPP policy. Commentators have identified that the origins and progression of the Irish PPP programme can be traced back to the UK PFI (PPP) policy. The focus of this study is to examine the relationship, notably ‘the correlation’ that exists between both the Irish PPP and the UK PFI policies. In doing so we examine the components of both policies to try to ascertain what drove Ireland and the UK to introduce such measures, alongside the subsequent amendments that were deemed necessary. …

The 2p-K Framework: A Personal Knowledge Measurement Framework For The Pharmaceutical Industry, Ahmed Ramy

Doctoral

Knowledge is a dynamic human process to justify our personal belief in pursuit of the truth. The intellectual output of any organisation is reliant upon the individual people within that organisation. Despite the eminent role of personal knowledge in organisations, personal knowledge management and measurement have received little attention, particularly in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the pillars of the global economy and a knowledge-intensive sector where knowledge is described as the second product after medicines. The need of measurement to achieve effective management is not a new concept in management literature. This study offers an explanatory …

Assessing The Financial Mechanisms For Innovation Support In The Republic Of Uzbekistan: A Comparative Analysis Of Enablers And Constraints To Innovation Across Two Industries, Ravshan Rakhmonovich Khaydarov

Doctoral

Innovation is fundamental not only to individual firms but ultimately to a country's economic growth and stability. Innovation Systems assert that innovation depends not only on how individual firms and external actors operate, but also on the dynamics of their interaction as part of the system. While funding for innovation is a central theme of Innovation Systems models, there is a gap in the literature on this topic, particularly in regard to the role played by government in transition economies (Bruton, Su, & Filatotchev, 2018). The majority of the research has focused on micro/meso-level support, but there is a significant …

How Does Ethnicity Influence Entrepreneurship Opportunity Formation Amongst Immigrant Entrepreneurs In Dublin?, Kingsley C. Njoku

Doctoral

In today’s world, entrepreneurship is considered an engine of growth and government policies shape the ecosystems and environments that facilitate entrepreneurial activity (Minniti, 2008). Thus, entrepreneurship is of increasing importance to policy makers and academic researchers due to its influence on economic growth. There has been a significant change in migration patterns over the last half century and the rate of immigration between countries has increased dramatically in recent years. This has also resulted in a dramatic increase in the rate that immigrants engage and practice entrepreneurial activities in their host countries. Consequently, numerous studies have focused on the value …

Developing And Empirically Testing A Sales Pipeline Execution Process Framework, Kieran Sheahan

Doctoral

Every customer-facing organisation must have some means of developing customer interest in their offerings (Monat, 2011). Growing sales and finding new qualified customers (Sohnchen & Albers, 2010) is the lifeblood of any company (Monat, 2010; Hummel, 2011; Blake, 2013; D’Haen & Van den Poel, 2013; Moncrief, Bedford, & Bedford, 2017). For start-up companies and established firms looking to open up new markets, salespeople play a major role in acquiring these new customers (Harmon, Hammond,Widing, & Brown, 2002). The sales process is an essential tool to clarify the steps required to win sales. However, there is little emphasis on the front-end …

Valuation Of American Options And Employee Stock Options, Qianru (Jennifer) Shang

Doctoral

Options play an important role in the financial world and are actively traded with huge trading volume. Most of the options traded on exchanges are American options. Spanning over a few decades, the American option pricing problem continues to intrigue scholars and practitioners in finance. The employee stock options (ESOs), a variant of American options, has been increasingly popular for firms to compensate, motivate and retain employees. ESOs importantly do not trade in markets nevertheless fair value must be determined – often by accountants. Unique features of ESOs however complicate the valuation. Our research, consisting of three papers, focuses on …

The Role And Contribution Of Knowledge And Knowledge Management Practices In Policing. The Case Of An Garda Síochána, Paul Mc Evoy

Doctoral

Thisresearch was undertaken in response to knowledge, and particularly knowledge management practice in policing that finds it complex, multifaceted, under researched and lacking in structure and cohesion. This exploratory research sets out to evaluate the role and contribution of knowledge and knowledge management practices in policing, and using An Garda Síochána, (the Police Service ofthe Republic of Ireland), as the underlying case exemplar in this work, it will contribute to the extant literature and understanding in the area by use of a study which contains unprecedented insider access to a modern police force, practical findings for knowledge change predicated on …

Recognising The Place Of Food Tourism In Ireland: An Autoethnographic Perspective, John D. Mulcahy

Doctoral

This is an autoethnographic account, utilising prior publications, of my role in positioning food as a critical ingredient in Ireland’s tourism policy and strategy since 2009. As the architect and instigator of this project, my priorities were threefold: first, working from the ground up identifying local activists across the food tourism landscape to create an active and vibrant network; second, providing thought leadership for food tourism; and third, encouraging and funding others to conduct and disseminate similar research. I have chosen six book chapters, published as a result of my advocacy strategy, for this PhD by prior publication. They are …

What Is The Relationship Between Immigrant Enclaves And Transnational Diaspora Entrepreneurial Activity In Ireland?, Osa–Godwin Osaghae

Doctoral

This thesis is a pioneering study, exploring the relationship between immigrant enclaves (IE) and transnational diaspora entrepreneurship (TDE) in the unique context of a Nigerian immigrant community in Dublin. The study reviews the relevant literature in the field of immigrant entrepreneurship, adopting principles from the most significant studies in order to develop a conceptual model for understanding the relationship between an IE and TDE. The study employed qualitative semi-structured interviews with eleven participants in order to generate data, which was then processed through the six phases of thematic analysis described by Braun and Clarke. The researcher’s own experience as a …

How Can Higher Education Institutions Utilise Community Engagement To Support The Learning Of Enterprising Behaviour In Disadvantaged Communities?, Emma O'Brien

Doctoral

It is broadly agreed that entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic and societal development. Supporting entrepreneurship has become a global phenomenon, and governments and policy makers have paid increasing attention to it. Yet, despite such policy developments, the OCED (2019) has identified that several communities (including women, youth, seniors, unemployed and immigrants) remain disadvantaged and under-represented in entrepreneurial activity. Inclusive entrepreneurship policies recognise the significant economic and social contribution these communities could make if greater encouragement and appropriate support was offered. This study investigates the supportive role that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can play in strengthening social inclusion through …

Essays In Energy Economics And Policy, Michael Chesser

Doctoral

The world is currently going through an ‘Energy Transition’ and it is changing how our economies, culture and society operate. The research presented in this thesis emanates from large scale changes and is investigated through three distinct research papers, with separate but interlinked themes. Research paper 1 (Chapter 2) profiles households that have adopted of micro renewable energy systems (micro-RES) and examines whether micro-RES installations have impacted energy consumption based on data from the Irish Household Budget Survey. Our findings indicate that some revision of energy policy is needed, as the presence of micro-RES doesn’t affect total energy usage. Research …

Mechanisms Driving Digital New Venture Creation & Performance: An Insider Action Research Study Of Pure Digital Entrepreneurship In Edtech, Kisito Futonge Nzembayie

Doctoral

Digitisation has ushered in a new era of value creation where cross border data flows generate more economic value than traditional flows of goods. The powerful new combination of digital and traditional forms of innovation has seen several new industries branded with a ‘tech’ suffix. In the education technology sector (EdTech), which is the industry context of this research, digitisation is driving double-digit growth into a projected $240 billion industry by 2021. Yet, despite its contemporary significance, the field of entrepreneurship has paid little attention to the phenomenon of digital entrepreneurship. As several scholars observe, digitisation challenges core organising axioms …

The Case Of Inter-Expert Creative Collaboration In Science Gallery Dublin: A Discourse Analytical Approach, Diane Tangney [Thesis]

Doctoral

The phenomenon of creativity has been a focus of enquiry by psychologists for many years. Compared with individual creativity, much less is known about creativity in collaborative contexts (Glăveanu, 2010; Sawyer, 2010). Taking a sociocultural view of creativity, this study contributes to an emerging strand of research that focusses centrally on how creativity unfolds in the performance of creative collaboration.

The research design followed an inductive path conducive to theory building and employed a single case study method (Yin, 2009). Science Gallery Dublin, part of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), is presented as a special place for creative collaboration.

In response …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Political Events On Oil Price Volatility And Consequential Spillover Effects On Selected Gcc Stock Markets: An Emphasis On The Case Of Kuwait, Yousef Abdulrazzaq

Doctoral

The purpose of this research is to identify how episodes of sustained market uncertainty due to political events can affect oil price behavior and potentially generate spillover effects to the stock markets of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the UAE. Three major events associated with significant levels of market uncertainty are examined: the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 2003, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC or the US Financial Crisis) in 2008, and the Arab Spring Revolution in 2011 – with the aim of identifying interlinkages between oil prices and the performance of the Kuwaiti, Saudi and the …

Understanding Crude Oil Spot And Futures Prices Dynamics During Major Crises, Miroslava Zavadska

Doctoral

This thesis examines crude oil, the dominant energy resource worldwide, its historical behaviour and the resulting implications for world economies. It analyses the role of spot and futures oil prices and their dynamics during periods of market uncertainty. The focus of attention is the understanding of the lead-lag relationship of crude oil spot and futures prices during major crises periods (the first Gulf War in 1990/91, the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98, the US terrorist attack in 2001 and the global financial crisis in 2008/9), and its implications for investors and policy-makers. The mix of applied econometric models gives strength …

Global Talent Management The Identification Process Of Pivotal Talent In Multinational Hotel Corporations, Stefan Jooss

Doctoral

Global talent management (GTM) has become a critical factor of organisational practice in multinational corporations. The key assumption is that GTM is a source of competitive advantage for organisations. The aim of this research is to explore and understand the talent identification process in multinational hotel corporations (MNHCs). Drawing from multiple theoretical perspectives – human and social capital as well as agency and social network theories – the study takes an interpretivist stance to examine critically the talent identification process. By means of a qualitative collective case study design, three MNHCs were selected and 73 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted …

Developing And Assessing The Drivers Of Usage Of Computer-Assisted-Audit-Techniques (Caats) And The Factors That Impact Audit Quality Perceptions In Government Internal Audit, Ashraf Alhabsi

Doctoral

This research aims to develop two models, the first of which is capable of predicting the internal auditor’s intention to adopt audit technologies, and second of which is to predict the factors that impact on the internal auditor’s perception of internal audit quality in the context of public sector auditing in Oman. The models proposed by this research are developed from existing research on technology adoption in general, as well as research on technology adoption specific to the internal audit context (Curtis & Payne, 2014; Dowling & Leech, 2014; Mahzan & Lymer, 2014). Given that Oman is only in the …

An Integrated Framework For Staffing And Shift Scheduling In Hospitals, Wael Rashwan

Doctoral

Over the years, one of the main concerns confronting hospital management is optimising the staffing and scheduling decisions. Consequences of inappropriate staffing can adversely impact on hospital performance, patient experience and staff satisfaction alike. A comprehensive review of literature (more than 1300 journal articles) is presented in a new taxonomy of three dimensions; problem contextualisation, solution approach, evaluation perspective and uncertainty. Utilising Operations Research methods, solutions can provide a positive contribution in underpinning staffing and scheduling decisions. However, there are still opportunities to integrate decision levels; incorporate practitioners view in solution architectures; consider staff behaviour impact, and offer comprehensive applied …

Patient Experience Informs Health Care Strategies In Irish Hospitals, Heba Habib

Doctoral

Patients are central to health care facilities and institutions; therefore, a dire need arises to include feedback of their experience in the decision-making process. Patient experience is increasingly recognised as one of the three pillars of quality in healthcare alongside clinical effectiveness and patient safety. A comprehensive literature review (more than 2500 peer-reviewed articles) has identified five key frameworks for patient experience including: UK Picker Institute Principles and US H-CAHPS. The frameworks have enabled the identification of a potential range of patient experience dimensions and helped in grouping them into nine categories. However, there are still opportunities to address research …

Hybrid Simulation-Based Planning Framework For Agri-Fresh Produce Supply Chain, Mohammed Mesabbah

Doctoral

The ever-increasing demand for fresh and healthy products raises the economic importance of managing Agri-Fresh Produce Supply Chain (AFPSC) effectively. However, the literature review has indicated that many challenges undermine efficient planning for AFPSCs. Stringent regulations on production and logistics activities, production seasonality and high yield variations (quantity and quality), and products vulnerability to multiple natural stresses, alongside with their critical shelf life, impact the planning process. This calls for developing smart planning and decision-support tools which provides higher efficiency for such challenges. Modelling and simulation (M&S) approaches for AFPSC planning problems have a proven record in offering safe and …

An Integrated Retail Supply Chain Risk Management Framework: A System Thinking Approach, John Crowe

Doctoral

It is often taken for granted that the right products will be available to buy in retail outlets seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Consumer perception is that of a simple service requirement, but the reality is a complex, time sensitive system - the retail supply chain (RSC). Due to short product life-cycles with uncertain supply and demand behaviour, the RSC faces many challenges and is very vulnerable to disruptions. In addition, external risk events such as BREXIT, extreme weather, the financial crisis, and terror attacks mean there is a need for effective RSC risk management (RSCRM) processes …