Business Commons^™

Editorial: Investigating The Effect Of The Physical Context On Customer Experience, Helen L. Bruce, Ewa Krolikowska, Tara Rooney

Articles

This editorial introduces a special issue of the Journal of Services Marketing, dedicated to articles discussing the effect of the physical context on customer experience. The editorial identifies diverse areas of extant knowledge which researchers might draw upon when investigating the effect of the physical context on customer experience. to inform future research agendas.

Women Microbusiness Owners’ Entrepreneurial Marketing Decision-Making During A Crisis, Helen L. Bruce, Tara Rooney, Ewa Krolikowska

Articles

Understanding effective marketing decision-making is key to driving business performance. However, knowledge of marketing decision-making by microbusiness owners is limited. Moreover, little is known about how microbusiness owners make marketing decisions under crisis conditions. This article explores entrepreneurial marketing decision-making by women microbusiness owners during the COVID-19 pandemic, through qualitative interviews with providers of children’s activities, who migrated their services online during lockdown. Findings shed light on their marketing decision-making by highlighting transitions between causation and effectuation approaches and identifying key resources leveraged in effectuation decision-making. We also observe how distinct principles of effectuation may be combined to make effective …

How Has Entrepreneurship Opportunity Formation Amongst Immigrants Been Influenced By The Covid-19 Pandemic?, Osa-Godwin Osaghae, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurship opportunity formation amongst immigrants has been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, given that environmental changes and irregularity can contribute to entrepreneurship opportunity formation in the immigrant set-up.

Entrepreneurial Competencies In Action: Online Fundraising Initiatives By University Students, Thomas M. Cooney, Martina Brophy

Articles

It has been argued that entrepreneurship educators are inclined to let students learn in a safe controlled environment, with no pressure except to pass the module. Students working in groups of three were given 12 weeks (Target 1) to develop a fundraising initiative, work with various stakeholders, and execute their online fundraising initiative to meet a target goal of €2000 (Target 2) per group. Employing approaches such as Effectuation, Lean Start-Up and the Business Model Canvas, a self-directed learning approach ensured students were able to take ownership of their learning journey with the lecturer acting as coach or facilitator. The …

Facilitating Programme-Level Assessment Working Teams To Develop Shared Rubrics Across A Ug And Pg Programme Portfolio In Business Education, Roisin Donnelly, Colin Hughes

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter is a reflective study reporting on a College-wide common rubrics initiative in a Technological University (TU) in Ireland. Assessment and feedback are enduring issues for the higher education sector both in Ireland (as well as internationally). By addressing these priorities, we are focusing on the connected areas of marking practices and feedback processes in a College of Business. The chapter highlights the collaborative nature of an initiative on programmatic assessment design, its breadth of scope, and the high levels of support provided to staff and students through the design process. In particular, rubrics are the main focus of …

The Influence Of The Physical Work Environment On Retail Employees, Treasa Kearney, Joseph Coughlan, Aileen Kennedy

Articles

Despite repeated calls for research to explore the effects of the physical work environment on employees within the servicescape literature, gaps in knowledge remain. There is a need to understand the nature, influence and impact of environmental stimuli (e.g. music, colour) on employees. Extant research remains ambiguous on whether employees perceive individual stimuli within their work environment or perceive and interact with their physical work environment as a holistic experience. This study aims to explore the influence of environmental stimuli on employees within their physical work environment and the effect on their satisfaction and loyalty.

Constructing The ‘Public Interest’: (De)Legitimizing The Acquisition Of Aer Lingus By Iag, Joseph K. Fitzgerald

Articles

This article assesses how the ‘Public Interest’ was used to (de)legitimize the acquisition of a national airline. It does this by adopting a case study approach that analyses the acquisition of Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). This acquisition is part of a broader trend of international consolidation that the aviation industry has experienced in recent years. The article also critiques whether the ‘Public Interest’ was constructed on valid grounds. Its analysis found that the public interest was constructed as the continuance of routes between Irish airports and London Heathrow as a means for Ireland to maintain international …

Automation, Ai, And Future Skills Needs: An Irish Perspective, Raimunda Bukartaite, Daire Hooper

Articles

This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The study also seeks to understand what human resource policies and educational interventions are needed to support and take advantage of these changes.

The Onus On Coal Consumption And The ‘Beautiful China Initiative’: Economic And Policy Implications, Daniel Rajmil, Lucia Morales, Bernadette Andreosso-O'Callaghan

Articles

China’s need for rapid economic growth and its hunger for natural resources significantly challenge its economic and policy vision of sustainability, social stability and economic development. The ‘Beautiful China Initiative’ plans to put China on the path of sustainable development in line with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. The Chinese authorities are expected to reconsider traditional economic policy models to integrate environmental protection while ensuring that their economy proliferates. The shift from a traditional and heavy coal-dependent economy towards greener energy and a sustainable economic model brings additional challenges to China due to its historical …

Watchdogs Of The Economy: The Development Of Irish Economics Profession’S Independent Voice, Joseph K. Fitzgerald, Brendan O'Rourke

Articles

Histories of the development of professions show a profession’s relationship with the state as key to its authority. Yet professions, to gain technocratic authority, also strive to depoliticise their discourses to gain technocratic authority. This dilemmatic tension is particularly true for the economics profession. The historical development of the Irish economics provides an interesting case, where a complicated relationship with the state ultimately strengthened the profession within a society. An initial formalisation trajectory of Irish economics was thrown off course by the formation of an independent Irish state in the 1920s. This marked a period of isolation for the profession …

Sustainability In Supply Chain Management: Using Drawings To Understand Undergraduates’ Perceptions Of Sustainability, Sharon Feeney, John William Hogan

Articles

Purpose – This paper presents an interpretation of freehand drawings produced by supply chain management undergraduates in response to the question: “What is sustainability?” Having to explain sustainability pictorially forced students to distill what the essence of sustainability meant to them and provided insights into how they perceived sustainability and their roles in achieving sustainability in the context of supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – Students were asked to draw and answer the question “What is sustainability?” These drawings were discussed/interpreted in class. All drawings were initially examined quantitatively, before a sample of four were selected for presentation here. Findings – …

Vying For And Forgoing Visibility: Female Next Gen Leaders In Family Business With Male Successors, Martina Brophy, Maura Mcadam, Eric Clinton

Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the identity work undertaken by female next generation to navigate (in)visibility in family businesses with male successors. To enhance understanding of gendered identity work in family businesses, the authors offer important insights into how female next generation use (in)visibility to establish legitimacy and exercise power and humility in partnership with male next generation in their family business. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical qualitative paper draws upon in-depth interviews with 14 next generation female leaders. Findings – This study offers a model to show how female next generation establish their legitimacy amongst …

Exploring Zero-Shot And Joint Training Cross-Lingual Strategies For Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis Based On Contextualized Multilingual Language Models, Dang Van Thin, Hung Quoc Ngo, Duong Ngoc Hao, Ngan Luu-Thuy-Nguyen

Articles

Aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA) has attracted many researchers’ attention in recent years. However, the lack of benchmark datasets for specific languages is a common challenge because of the prohibitive cost of manual annotation. The zero-shot cross-lingual strategy can be applied to solve this gap in research. Moreover, previous works mainly focus on improving the performance of supervised ABSA with pre-trained languages. Therefore, there are few to no systematic comparisons of the benefits of multilingual models in zero-shot and joint training cross-lingual for the ABSA task. In this paper, we focus on the zero-shot and joint training cross-lingual transfer task for …

The Value Of The Serious Leisure Perspective In Understanding Cultural Capital Embodiment In Festival Settings, Giulia Ressetti, Bernadette Quinn

Presentations

Festivals have been conceptualised as serious leisure activities as well as arenas for cultural capital acquisition and embodiment. However, there is still theoretical confusion surrounding the process of cultural embodiment, especially in leisure practices. This paper suggests that the serious leisure perspective, in combination with cultural capital ideas, offer a means of deepening understanding of how cultural capital can be embodied in festival settings. To make its arguments, the paper draws on qualitative data collected at two long-established literary festivals, one in Ireland and one in Italy. Observations and interviews with festival participants were used to develop an understanding of …

Bringing The Past To Life: Co-Creating Tourism Experiences In Historic House Tourist Attractions, Jacqueline Doyle, Felicity Kelliher

Articles

This ethnographic study concentrates on the co-creation of experiential value between the tourist and tour guide in a single historic tourism site; Huntingdon Castle, Ireland. Built upon the principles of service dominant logic, the research explores how storytelling acts as an engagement platform and value enhancing strategic resource. In doing so, it impels the value co-creation journey and shapes the tourist’s experience. Observation is coupled with qualitative interviews to capture the dual perspective of both guides and tourists. Findings exhibit the co-creation process through the performance of stories; how and when people derive pleasure (value); the influencing aspects of the …

Beyond Competing For Talent: An Integrative Framework For Coopetition In Talent Management In Smes, Stefan Jooss, Julia Lenz, Ralf Burbach

Articles

This paper aims to unpack how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can operationalise coopetition in talent management, addressing ongoing talent shortages in the hospitality industry which were intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic

Consulting Staff On Change Management Initiatives Takes A Lot Of Valuable Time And Effort - Why Not Just Let The Decision Makers Get On With The Task?, Gerard Glynn, Kevin Byrne, Edward Sweeney

Conference proceedings

Purpose: The disciplines of organisation development (OD), organisational behaviour (OB) and supply chain management (SCM) share much in terms of the ongoing occurrence of change and how it is facilitated and managed. This paper utilises scenario foresight planning as an instrument of change management through the lens of OD, OB, and SCM. It gives particular emphasis on how the involvement and engagement of the people dimension [human supply chain continuum], contributes to the achievement of satisfactory outcomes. It seeks to outline progression in terms of both research into the fields and business process improvement. Design/Methodology/approach: The authors commenced an assessment …

Putting The Individual And Context Back Into National Human Resource Development Research: A Systematic Review And Research Agenda, Thomas Garavan, Jia Wang, Ciara Nolan Dr, Yanqing Lai, Fergal O'Brien, Colette Darcy, Gerri Matthews-Smith, Gary Mclean

Articles

Conceptualization of national human resource development (NHRD) emphasizes that it is an ongoing development process of the individual that is shaped by context. However, the extant literature has focused primarily on describing and evaluating NHRD policies and interventions in different countries with limited consideration of NHRD across the lifespan and the interaction of life stage with context. Using ecological systems theory (EST) and a lifespan development perspective (LDP), we present a systematic review of the NHRD literature based on 310 sources. We identify key themes and gaps in research across the lifespan and at distinct levels of the ecological system. …

A Simulation-Based Tdabc Model To Manage Supply Chain Costing: A Case Study, Siham Rahoui, John Crowe, Amr Mahfouz

Conference Papers

Effective management of supply chain costing is crucial for decision-making during times of disruption. It provides accurate cost indicators, enabling organizations to adapt to the risks of disruptions and mitigate their adverse effects. The supply chain costing literature has shown that traditional cost accounting approaches are inadequate in addressing the dynamic and complex nature of supply chain performance and the nonlinear behavior of the involved processes. Consequently, this paper presents a simulation-based supply chain costing framework that integrates discrete event simulation and time-driven activity-based costing to explore the dynamics of management accounting tools in a real context with all their …

Finally, It Seems To Be Working – The Evolving Valuation Effect Of The European Union’S Emissions Trading System, Benjamin Lynch

Articles

This research examines the market reaction to the publication of firm-specific environmental news for participating firms in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) during its third phase. Our sample of 123 publicly listed participating firms, located in 21 European countries, accounted for 45.43% of emissions in the EU ETS in 2020. Using an event study methodology during the period 2014–2021, we find that positive news was rewarded with increased returns for publication events related to the latter years of the phase (2017–2020) while it had an insignificant impact for earlier year (2013–2016). This indicates that the EU ETS …

A Systematic Literature Review Exploring The Barriers And Challenges To Open Innovation Within The Financial Service Industry, A.Omar Portillo-Dominguez, Peter Cantwell

Other

Open innovation is a common practice among nearly 80% of large firms, yet the exploration of innovation within financial services remains limited in existing literature. Similarly, while the potential benefits of innovative distributed ledger technology (DLT) are widely recognized, its adoption within the financial services industry has been sluggish. This systematic literature review aims to examine whether financial services firms engage in open innovation, particularly focusing on outside-in innovation over inside-out innovation, and to uncover potential barriers to DLT adoption at the industry level. Drawing from peer-reviewed journals between 2017 and 2022, the review synthesizes findings to address key questions. …

2022 School Of Culinary Arts And Food Technology Newsletter - Winter Edition, James Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, Winter Edition Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special civic and community activities which the students and staff members of the school have successfully completed up to the Winter period of 2022. The successful completion of these activities would not be possible without the active and on-going support of the 'INSPIRED' friends of Culinary Arts (school supporters) and our school's industry association supporters. If you would like to support our school and the next Generation of Food, Culinary and Horticulture students, contact us at e: scaft@tudublin.ie

Infographic: Site Planning For Outdoor Events, Rachelle O'Brien

Other resources

Infographic describing the key considerations in site planning as part of the site management process for large outdoor events.

School Of Culinary Arts & Food Technology Newsletter (Autumn Edition 2022), James Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, Autumn Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special civic and community activities which the students and staff members of the school across our (3) three campuses have successfully completed up to the Autumn period of 2022. The successful completion of these activities would not be possible without the active and on-going support of the 'INSPIRED' friends of Culinary Arts (school supporters) and our school's industry association supporters.

Robotics: The Ponderings Of An Hospital Ceo In The Netherlands, Gerard Van Der Star, Arjen Van Klink Dr

Case Studies

A CEO of a Dutch public hospital contemplates about what he just read. This is disrupting news! It will have major consequences when this way of surgery becomes common good. It requires not only surgeons to rethink their profession but what is more important it requires a total new vision on healthcare in particular. The speed of development in the healthcare robot industry is impressive. How much longer does it take before developers find a way to transform robotic systems from being dependent to semi-autonomous to eventually, fully autonomous systems, like what he just read?

Glendalough Distillery: The Internationalisation Challenge, Aileen Kennedy Dr, Tara Rooney Dr

Case Studies

This case study focuses on the emergence and growth of an Irish-owned start-up challenger brand Glendalough, entering the highly competitive global whiskey market. From their origins in 2011, this small enterprise has gained global attention for their innovative products, their strong focus on branding and their rapid success. The case centres on their acquisition by Mark Anthony Brands, a major North American drinks producer and distributor, who took a stake in the business early on.

The next phase for Glendalough will focus on how to maximise this relationship with Mark Anthony Brands. While this will give them increased access and …

Birkman.Nl: Crafting The Future, Helen De Haan Dr

Case Studies

Birkman.nl is a small branch of a large US-Based consultancy company Birkman.nl. In an increasingly overcrowded and fragmented assessment market. Despite this challenge, Birkman.nl has maintained a stable competitive position. However, the competition coming from the consulting and software industries has created new entrants and substitutes for Birkman in the European market. Meanwhile, the lack of marketing strategy and budget does not help to address the large heterogeneity in different European countries. The CEO of Birkman.nl Mr. van der Loo is actively searching for new customers in the Dutch and surrounding markets, and, if possible, is looking to enter the …

What Makes A Great Strategy? Gea Farm Technologies Road To Smart Farming, Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. Senior management of the hidden champion gets approval for an accelerated acquisition strategy to boost growth and innovate the business model vis-á-vis strong competitors in order to lead and develop the market. However, the existing strategic management of internal technology development would be altered and a significant part of management attention would be shifted towards M&A as well as post-merger integration efforts. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and …

Portwest’S Future Strategy: Achieving €1billion Turnover – Portwest And The Global Workwear Market, Fiachra Coll, Damian O Reilly

Case Studies

Portwest is a global manufacturer and innovator of workwear, safetywear and PPE and one of the fastest growing workwear companies in the world. The company has pursed growth successfully for the last 20 years, successfully employing new market entry strategies along with strategic acquisitions to gain footholds in over 130 countries worldwide. The company has also maintained a vertically integrated supply chain, owning factories and distribution centres.

Growth can come at a cost- increasingly complex operations, a growing product portfolio and an increased exposure to risk in terms of business continuity. Should Portwest continue to aggressively target growth through new …

Two To Tango Is Not Enough: How To Build Ecosystems For Smart Service Innovation?, Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

Senior managers of two German mid-sized world market leaders in sensor electronics (ifm electronic) and mechanical engineering (GEA Group) discuss the opportunities and barriers of developing smart service innovations. The case study addresses different roles and patterns in ecosystems of multiple collaborating actors in different stages of development. The open-end discussion invites learners to evaluate the opportunities from different perspectives based on industry-specific experiences.