Business Commons^™

Ict And Innovation Processes In Small Italian Logistics Companies, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Retailer Adoption Of The Internet In Ireland, Roisin Vize, Joseph Coughlan, Aileen Kennedy

Conference papers

To date, most of the commentary on the impact of the Internet on retailing in Ireland has been anecdotal and there is a paucity of academic empirical research examining the factors affecting Internet adoption by retailers in Ireland. The primary aims of this research are to identify the key factors perceived as being influential in determining the resultant level of adoption among traditional retailers in Ireland and to examine the extent and level of its’ adoption in the Irish retail sector. This paper represents the results from an exploratory investigation employing multiple case studies as the first of a two-stage …

Servicescapes: A Review Of Contemporary Empirical Research, Treasa Kearney, Aileen Kennedy, Joseph Coughlan

Conference papers

This paper reviews forty three extant contemporary empirical servicescape studies conducted in the area. The review is limited to articles which focus on the servicescape as defined by Bitner (1992) and Mehrabian and Russell (1974) Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance (PAD) dimensions from environmental psychology. The publication time frame covers the period from 1980 to 2007. The review observes key patterns and trends within the literature. The content was analysed on the basis of issues such as research variables, methodological approaches, sampling methods, research origin and the theoretical frameworks underpinning the research. The analysis highlights gaps and further research directions that …

Logistics Innovation In Small 3pls: What Is The Role Of Ict?, Pietro Evangelista, Alan Mckinnon, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Supply Chain Management Diffusion Among Firms In The Republic Of Ireland, Edward Sweeney, Claudia-Maria Wagner, Bernd Huber

Conference papers

The changing business environment has sharpened the focus on the need for robust approaches to supply chain management (SCM). This is particularly the case for Ireland which has a natural disadvantage of a location peripheral to significant markets and sources of raw material which result in higher transport costs. Therefore, in order to gain unique insights of current levels of awareness / diffusion of SCM and the potential impact SCM could have on the competitiveness, a survey was conducted among 776 firms in the Republic of Ireland. The empirical results suggest that there is a need for more widespread adoption …

Exploring The Linkage Between Work Flexibility And Work-Life Balance In The Hospitality Industry, Kathleen Farrell

Conference papers

A debate within the hospitality industry currently centres around the question as to whether human resource policies are progressing and developing. In the context of work flexibility and work-life balance programmes, the question arises as to whether work flexibility is a mutual gains enterprise for employers and employees. The thesis extends the debate on the flexible firm to incorporate the work-life balance agenda. The extent of numerical and functional flexibility is correlated with the extent of work-life balance supports. Company benefits are not linked to numerical flexibility, but in both the employer and employee surveys they are consistently associated with …

International Transmission Effects Of Volatility Between Financial Markets In The G-7 Since The Introduction Of The Euro, Lucia Morales

Conference papers

This paper investigates the nature of volatility spillovers between stock returns and a number of exchange rates changes for the G-7 countries for the 1996-2006 period. We divide our sample into a number of sub periods, prior to and after the introduction of the Euro, we use EGARCH modelling which takes into account whether bad news has the same impact on volatility as good news. Our results show that in terms of volatility spillover effects from stock returns to exchange rates returns, there is a large degree of consistency across countries and time periods with significant spillovers found for all …

A Case Study Analysis On Information And Communication Technology Usage In Small Logistics Service Companies, Edward Sweeney, Pietro Evangelista

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

The Dynamic Relationship Between Stock Prices And Exchange Rates: Evidence From Four Transition Economies, Lucia Morales

Conference papers

This article examines the dynamic relationship between exchange rates and stock prices in four Easter European markets, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, using stock price and exchange rate data from these countries, as well as stock prices from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The data set consists of daily data over a 7 year period from 1999 to 2006. Both the long-run and the short-run association between these variables are analyzed. We employed the Johansen cointegration technique, Vector Error Correction Modeling and the standard Granger causality test to analyze the relationship between these two financial variables. …

Integrated Logistics And Supply Chain Management: The State Of Practice In Ireland, Austin Smyth, Bernd Huber, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were provided with aid to offset locational disadvantages in the run up to the Single European Market. Since then the Republic has emerged as the fastest growing member of the E.U. Success has not been underpinned by the transport system, suggesting that business has had to overcome locational disadvantages by strong performance elsewhere in the supply chain. The evidence indicates that there are Irish firms operating supply chain management techniques at a truly international standard. The problem is that there are so few in that category Meeting Ireland’s competitiveness challenge means closing the …

Destination Website Emetrics, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

The priority of the research is thus to establish which criteria are important for destination websites and to determine a mechanism for their measurement. These criteria are divided into both macro- and micro- level metrics which each combine to provide information that is actionable from a business’ perspective. This work lays the foundation for the anticipated outcome of this research, a robust methodology for measuring the effectiveness of destination websites coupled with a suite of actionable eMetrics that will accurately relate to the key business goals of a destination website.

International Transmission Effects Of Volatility Spillovers Between Stock Returns And Exchange Rates: Evidence From Greece, Portugal And Spain Since The Introduction Of The Euro, Lucia Morales

Conference papers

This paper investigates the nature of volatility spillovers between stock returns and exchange rate changes for Greece, Spain and Portugal for the 1999-2006 period after the introduction of the Euro as well as the 1999-2001 and 2002-2003/May and 2003/June-2006 periods since the Euro has been introduced. We use an EGARCH model which takes into account whether bad news has the same impact on volatility as good news. We also investigate whether volatility spillovers between exchange rates and equity markets is stronger for some currencies than others. We find that there were no significant volatility spillovers from stock returns to exchange …

The Effect Of Different Inputs To Factor Analysis: An Example Using Service Quality In Uk Branch Banking, Joseph Coughlan, Estelle Shale, Robert Dyson

Conference papers

Factor analysis has long been used in service quality research to understand the dimensions of the construct. This research reinvestigates this construct using two different methodologies (classical test theory and item response theory) in order to assess the homogeneity of the dimensions across the methodologies in a retail branch banking sample taken from a larger network in the UK. The findings show that the two methodologies give different results. Furthermore the choice of correlation matrix to input into Confirmatory Factor Analysis may be more important than is currently thought in the literature as they give different results in this sample.

Landscape And Geotourism: Market Typologies And Visitor Needs, Catherine Elizabeth Gorman

Conference papers

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore Geotourism (landscape tourism) in the context of the Irish tourism experience, to develop visitor typologies and propose an approach that will ensure greater sustainability by addressing market value and requirements through the use of marketing techniques and tools.

Methodology/Approach: An evaluation of existing geotourism resources and information was undertaken. A gap was identified in terms of marketing the Geotourism product. This gap is identified as a break the delivery of the experience to the most suitable customer and is addressed by identifying specific typologies, their requirements and making suggestions …

Destination Website Effectiveness – A Delphi-Based Emetric Approach – A Dms Perspective, Patrick Horan, Andrew Frew

Conference papers

This paper outlines the development and evaluation of a comprehensive set of eMetrics for measuring the effectiveness of a Destination Management Systems’ (DMS) websites from the perspective of small and medium-sized hotel enterprises. Ultimately, from a hotel’s viewpoint, website effectiveness depends on how well a site performs with respect to the related business goals. The priority of the research is thus to establish which criteria are important for destination websites and to determine a mechanism for their measurement. These criteria are divided into both macro- and micro- level metrics which each combine to provide information that is actionable from a …

Engaging The Academic Heartland:A Key Factor In The Effectiveness Of Strategic Planning And Self Study Programs., Deirdre Lillis

Conference papers

Conventional wisdom in the literature attests to the importance of involving academic staff in strategic planning and self study programs but there is a lack of empirical evidence to substantiate this argument. This paper reports on the findings of an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of three strategic planning and three self study programs, undertaken in one Higher Education Institute (HEI), between 1997 and 2006. It was found that the level of engagement of academic staff was a key factor in the effectiveness of the programs – the more engagement the more effective the programs were. The research methodology was …

An Examination Of The Role Of Intuition In Individual Decision Making In Organisations, Rory Martin, Philomena Hanlon

Conference papers

The feeling of knowing without knowing has often been described as listening to your heart, trusting your gut, or using your intuition. As decision makers face more turbulent and complex environments, rational analysis may not always be able to assist in yielding optimal results. In cases where sufficient data is not available or the situation is one that the decision maker or the organisation has not faced before, the decision maker may utilise intuition to guide them through uncertainty (Lank & Lank 1995:19). This paper looks at the role that intuition plays in individual decision making in organisations. The primary …