Business Commons^™

Factors Affecting Non-Attendance In Irish Primary Schools And Reasons For Differences Between Urban And Rural Levels Of Non-Attendance, Anne Marie Gurhy, Glen Perry, Mark Farrell

Reports

This study will investigative the factors that influence school non-attendance, in designated disadvantaged Irish primary schools (DEIS1). Currently, no comprehensive data exists on the factors contributing to the levels and types of non-attendance within the Irish context. Since 2003/2004, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB, Appendix A) the agency with responsibility for school attendance, has collected specific data on attendance levels and the frequency of non-attendance across all Irish schools. However, this does not provide information at the individual student level (NEWB, 2007).

Stakeholder Involvement: An Identified Invaluable Resource In The Management And Conservation Of Ireland's Natural Religious Heritage Croagh Patrick: Insights And Challenges, Vreny Enongene, Kevin Griffin

Conference papers

This paper seeks to explore how the concept of stakeholder involvement has been applied for the very first time in the management and conservation of the 800 years old Ireland's Holy mountain Croagh Patrick. In doing so, it explores factors that facilitate and hinder the effectiveness of this new-found partnership towards the sustainable management of this sacred natural site, which simultaneously serves as a place of pilgrimage and tourism. Crucial given scholarly demand for greater understanding of the opportunities and barriers that stakeholder involvement may entail, Woodland & Acott (2007), and even more crucial given that routes and directions for …

Research Methodology In Business: A Starter’S Guide, Mohamed Af Ragab, Amr Arisha

Articles

A cardinal requisite of successful research lies in the proper selection of the research methodology applied to achieve research objectives using the available resources. In addition to acquiring sufficient knowledge of their specific research topic, researchers are urged to develop good understanding of alternative research methodologies at their disposal to be able to identify the best-suited methods to address the research question. This, however, often poses a challenge for novice researchers who face difficulty in grasping the vast methodology landscape and its encompassing array of debates. The purpose of this paper is to provide new researchers with a comprehensive overview …

Understanding Market Inefficiency In The East Asian Region During Times Of Crisis, Lucia Morales, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan

Articles

The study of financial market efficiency has important implications in terms of global macroeconomic stability. The case of six selected East Asian stock markets (China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea) during the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) and Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is analysed here using a battery of well-known econometric techniques that starts with traditional unit root testing for random walk behaviour. The six countries were selected on the basis of market capitalization to offer insights into the behaviour of the most relevant markets in the region. The results show that during both crises, these markets exhibited …

B2b Social Media Marketing: From Information To Decision To Retention, Roisin Vize, Monique Sherrett

Books/Book Chapters

Social networks in a business context, are referred to as two or more connected business relationships, where an ‘exchange’ exists between business partners. The concept of a ‘network’ is based on the establishment of ties between individuals, groups of people, organizational departments or corporations, that leads to the creation of social networks (Michaelidou et al., 2011:1154). Advances in web-based technology and innovation have changed the nature of social networks. Where traditional social networks involve personal and social interaction of people these interactions are now mediated by computers and web connected devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and e-notebooks. The advent …

Understanding How Immigrant Entrepreneurs View Business Opportunity Formation Through Ethnicity, Kingsley C. Njoku, Thomas M. Cooney

Books/Book Chapters

Given that international research is now consistently showing higher rates of entrepreneurial activity from immigrants above native people, research regarding our understanding of how immigrant entrepreneurs view business opportunity formation remains underdeveloped. Based upon a review of the literature, this chapter examines how ethnicity relates to business opportunity formation through constant interactions. It also introduces the Visual Mixed Embeddedness Framework as an empirical lens for understanding the differences in the business opportunity formation process models between immigrant and native entrepreneurs. By explaining how factors and traits from both home and host countries impact upon the immigrant entrepreneurial business activity process, …

Secular Authority: Economists In Irish Public Discourse, Joseph K. Fitzgerald, Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

This paper explores how the authority of Economics Experts has developed over time in Ireland. The identity of ‘expert’ serves as a powerful authority device for an individual’s discourse (Montgomery 2008). Although the definition of who is considered an expert has become broader and more inclusive (Collins and Evans 2007), the authority derived from the label of expert is usually reserved for Contributory Experts (Collins, Evans, and Weinel 2016). This authority has traditionally allowed such experts to engage with society from a position of authority and prestige that is not afforded to other societal actors. Such authority has been acknowledged …

Becoming A Decolonial Feminist Ethnographer: Addressing The Complexities Of Positionality And Representation, Jennifer Manning

Articles

Abstract Organisation and management scholars are often preoccupied with developing, refining and advancing knowledge, and in so doing, the empirical process through which knowledge is advanced can be ignored together with the impact this process can have on participants and scholars. This article draws attention to how management scholars might negotiate the complexities of positionality and representation through an illustrative case: my experience of becoming a decolonial feminist ethnographer. Drawing upon my doctoral research, I share the experience of my ethnographic journey to become a decolonial feminist ethnographer. Developing a decolonial feminist approach to ethnography enabled me to identify positionality …

A Scientometric Analysis Of Knowledge Management Research And Practice Literature: 2003 – 2015, Ahmed Ramy, Jenni Floody, Mohamed Af Ragab, Amr Arisha

Articles

The purpose of this paper is to explore the current research trends in Knowledge Management (KM) through a scientometric analysis of all literature published in KMRP between 2003 and 2015 (506 articles). The review framework explores three sets of review questions addressing Research Productivity, Research Themes and Methods, and Citation Analysis. The study elucidates wide global interest in KM and an increasing trend towards multi-author collaboration. Although more than 55 different industries have featured in the journal, certain knowledge-intensive sectors remain underrepresented. Country productivity shows few nations taking the lead with an interesting correlation between research activity and economic prosperity. …

Embedding Career Competencies In Learning And Talent Development: Career Management And Professional Development Modules., Sue Mulhall, Mark Campbell

Books/Book Chapters

The chapter researches the theoretical positions and practical applications that enable educators to equip students with the knowledge and skills to self-manage their careers and develop professionally, thus facilitating the successful transition of undergraduates and postgraduates from the academic environment to the workplace. It locates the discussion within a context that recognises the different models that business schools can adopt when providing learning and talent development generally, and career and professional development specifically. The main focus of the chapter relates to three inter-related themes that underpin career management and professional development. First, situating career management and professional development within a …

Taxation For Whom?:A Diachronic Analysis Of Taxation In Ireland And The United Kingdom From 1970-2015., Ewan Macdonald, John Hogan, Brendan O'Rourke

Other

This paper explores the discursive development of taxation within budget speeches in two countries, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, from 1970 to 2015 by means of a corpus-assisted discourse analysis. We ask the following questions; how have discourses of taxation developed diachronically in both countries, what are the similarities and differences in the observable discourses across both countries, and for whom and how are these discourses legitimised? In answering these questions, this paper makes use of Corpus linguistics, a methodological approach which utilises computational analysis of large bodies of text to draw statistically significant conclusions about the …

Certain But Stable? A Diachronic Analysis Of Taxation In Ireland From 1970-2015, Ewan Alexander Macdonald, John Hogan, Brendan O'Rourke

Other

Certain but stable? A diachronic analysis of taxation in Ireland from 1970-2015

This paper explores the discursive development of taxation within budget speeches in Ireland from 1970 to 2015 by means of a corpus-assisted discourse analysis. We ask the following questions; how have discourses of taxation developed diachronically and what are the similarities and differences in the observable discourses? In answering these questions, this paper makes use of corpus linguistics, a methodological approach which utilises computational analysis of large bodies of text to draw statistically significant conclusions about word usage. It is expected, though not taken a priori, that …

Eepic - Enhancing Employability Through Positive Interventions For Improving Career Potential: The Impact Of A High Support Career Guidance Intervention On The Wellbeing, Hopefulness, Self-Efficacy And Employability Of The Long-Term Unemployed - A Study Protocol For A Randomised Controlled Trial, Nuala Whelan, Sinead Mcgilloway, Mary P. Murphy, Colm Mcguinness

Student Success

Background: Labour market policy (LMP) and its implementation have undergone rapid change internationally in the last three decades with a continued trend towards active LMP. In Ireland however, this shift has been more recent with ongoing reforms since 2012 and a concomitant move toward active labour market ‘work-first’ policy design (i.e. whereby unemployed people are compulsorily required to work in return for their social welfare benefits). Labour market policies vary from those that require this compulsory approach to those which enable the unemployed to move towards sustainable quality work in the labour market through upskilling (human capital approach). Despite this, …

Developing A Unified Approach To Sustainable Consumption Behaviour: Opportunities For A New Environmental Paradigm, Vivienne Byers, Alan Gilmer

Articles

Politicians and national policy makers seek to encourage individuals to engage in a wide range of pro-environmental practices to address both discrete environmental problems and major global challenges such as climate change. Theoretically, the field of behavioural management in environmental consumption which seeks to change holarchic open human systems, is much contested. This paper proposes to develop a synthesized conceptual framework embracing a unified approach that addresses the systematic, structural, and institutional perspectives on how consumption, through public policy initiatives, can be developed and changed to reflect a deeper ecological foundation. This approach considers the debate regarding policy and behavioural …

A Review Of Type 1 Diabetes (T1d): To Assist Patients’ And Carers’ Understanding Of This Condition, Eileen O'Donnell, Liam O'Donnell

Articles

The diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) will come as an unwelcome surprise to most people. Within a short period of time, the person will have to come to understand and manage this chronic illness. The terminology associated with the T1D condition will also be totally new to the person: diabetes mellitus, pancreas, hyperglycaemia (hyper), hypoglycaemia (hypo), bolus (fast acting insulin), basal (slow acting insulin), ketones and blood glucose levels. The purpose of this article is to assist newly diagnosed patients’ understanding of T1D, people who are already living with T1D, carers of people with T1D, partners and family members …

Technological Mediated Applications At Sacred Heritages: Usefulness And Challenges- A Managerial Perspective, Vreny Enongene

Conference papers

The rapid development of technologies introduces smartness to all organisations and communities (Buhalis, & Amaranggana, 2014. P. 553), for which sacred heritages are no exception, as evident in their increasing use of technological mediated applications towards enhancing the visitors experience and data generation. This development in the use of technological applications, has in part been triggered by the identified changing needs and expectations of contemporary sacred site visitors, as well as their importance and role in changing the nature of the consumers expectations and the nature of the visitor’s experience.

Thus, applying these smart tourism concept in addressing the changing …

A Proposed Framework For Measuring The Effectiveness Of Social Media: A Study Of Irish Tourism, Colm Barcoe

Practitioner Journals

Over the past five years, visitations of American holidaymakers to Ireland have grown exponentially owing to the online strategies of Tourism Ireland, a Destination Marketer (DMO) with a meagre budget which is extended by their understanding of best practices to maximise their monetary allowance. This suggested framework incorporates a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as financial, marketing and operational that offer a scale of measurement from which the Irish DMO can monitor the success of each promotional campaign when targeting the US and Canada. These are presented not as final solutions but rather as suggestions based on empirical …

Service Charge Collection In Multi-Unit Developments, Adele Mckeown, Lorcan Sirr

Articles

Multi-unit developments (MUDs) – typically developments of apartments, or apartments and houses, but also sometimes including a commercial component – differ from traditional housing as they have three distinct characteristics: individual ownership of a unit, shared ownership of common property, and collective membership of a corporate body that assumes responsibility for the management of the development (Christudason, 2004). In the Irish case, this corporate body is known as the owners’ management company (OMC). The legal framework for ownership in MUDs is based on leasehold, which means that the purchaser owns the property but not the land on which it is …

Introduction, Lorcan Sirr

Articles

Over many decades, it has been rare for a week to pass without housing-related issues being close to, or at, the top of news and political agendas. As everybody has to live somewhere, housing – and its related elements of property, building, planning and finance – is a topic in which everybody has both a stake and an opinion. It is the most personal of subjects – in many respects, our housing shapes our lives.

The Efficacy Of Financial Futures As A Hedging Tool In Electricity Markets, Jim Hanly, Lucia Morales, Damien Cassells

Articles

Abstract This paper estimates and applies a risk management strategy for electricity spot exposures using futures hedging. We apply our approach to three of the most actively traded European electricity markets, Nordpool, APXUK and Phelix. We compare both optimal hedging strategies and the hedging effectiveness of these markets for two hedging horizons, weekly and monthly using both Variance and Value at Risk (VaR). Our key finding is that electricity futures can effectively manage risk only for specific time periods when using hedging strategies that have been very successful in financial and other commodity markets. More generally they are ineffective as …

Hong Kong Unrest And Implications For The Hang Seng Index, Lucia Morales, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan

Articles

With the September 2014 ‘Umbrella Revolution’ in Hong Kong, China faced one of the biggest political challenges since the Tiananmen Square events. Beijing’s proposed electoral reform was perceived as a direct attack to democracy, and the ensuing protest triggered concerns amid local and international investors; the financial sector took the hardest hit, with stocks of companies exposed to the Hong Kong market facing significant losses. Volatility continued to increase to a seven-month high over worries that the student blockade in Hong Kong’s streets could drag on for longer than expected. The econometric-based analysis in this paper looks at the implications …

The Impact Of Brexit On The Stock Markets Of The Greater China Region, Lucia Morales, Jean Monnet

Articles

An examination of Brexit and its initial impact on the main stock markets in the Greater China Region (GCR) was conducted using augmented market models that integrate Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and implied volatility (VIX). The results do not seem to align with research in the field that has suggested that the EPU index helps to identify if market participants are reacting to political events. The main research findings suggest that Brexit does not appear to have an impact on the performance of market returns in the region and the influence of economic policy uncertainty in the GCR appears to …

Lessons From The Global Financial Crisis–The Case Of Mainland China And Hong Kong, Lucia Morales, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan

Articles

The analysis of the intertwined reactions of Hong Kong and Mainland China to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis is considered in this study through the lenses of their stock markets. The GARCH-based analysis of stock market performance over the period December 2011–December 2014 shows that trade and equity sectors were the sectors most affected by the global recession; volatility was prevalent on the Shanghai stock market, whereas volatility persistence characterised the Hong Kong stock market. The results also show that the two stock markets recovered quite quickly. Tight controls applied by the financial authorities helped ensure some stability during the …

The Contribution Of Higher Education-Based Technology Start-Up Incubators To The Co-Production Of Knowledge, Innovation And Growth: Experiences From The Edge, Anthony Paul Buckley, Stephen Davis

Articles

Start-up incubators are one of a number of micropolicy interventions used by states to support their technology entrepreneurs. Since 2000, the number of incubators in the United States has almost trebled while that in Europe has more than doubled. This article outlines the challenges involved in attempting to evaluate the contribution of the higher education technology start-up incubator process. It advocates theory-based evaluation (TBE) methodology as a possible solution for effective evaluation (and policy learning) in complex research settings such as this, where a study is unable, for myriad reasons, to meet the stringent requirements of experimental research design. TBE …

Self-Concept Orientation And Organizational Identification: A Mediated Relationship, Chun Guo, Jane K. Miller, Melissa S. Woodard, Daniel J. Miller, Kirk D. Silvernail, Mehmet Devrim Aydin, Ana Heloisa Da Costa Lemos, Vilmante Kumpikaite-Valiuniene, Sundhir Nair, Paul Donnelly, Robert D. Marx, Linda M. Peters

Articles

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test a mediated model of the relationship between self-concept orientation (individualist and collectivist) and organizational identification (OrgID, Cooper and Thatcher, 2010), with proposed mediators including the need for organizational identification (nOID, Glynn, 1998) as well as self-presentation concerns of social adjustment (SA) and value expression (VE, Highhouse et al., 2007).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 509 participants in seven countries. Direct and mediation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (AMOS 25.0).

Findings

Individualist self-concept orientation was positively related to VE and collectivist self-concept orientation was positively related to nOID, VE …

Informing Quality In Emergency Care: Understanding Patient Experiences, Esmat Swallmeh, Vivienne Byers, Amr Arisha

Articles

Purpose: Assessing performance and quality in healthcare organisations is moving from focussing solely on clinical care measurement to considering the patient experience as critical. Much patient experience research is quantitative and survey based. The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study gathering in-depth data in an emergency department (ED).

Design/methodology/approach: The authors used empirical data from seven focus groups to understand patient experience as participants progressed through a major teaching hospital in an Ireland ED. A convenience sampling technique was used, and 42 participants were invited to share their perceptions and outline key factors affecting their journey. …

European Power Markets–A Journey Towards Efficiency, Lucia Morales, Jim Hanly

Articles

The liberalization process of European electricity markets has been a work in progress since early reforms beginning in the 1990's. A key goal of these reforms was to enable increased integration and attendant efficiency within these markets. In this paper, we analyse three major European electricity markets - (APXUK, NordPool and Phelix) – before and after the 2009/72/EC Directive was introduced, to examine the extent to which those markets are efficient and whether they have become more integrated. We find little evidence of significant long run relationships between the different markets. We also find that the NordPool and Phelix markets …

Relating Group Size And Posting Activity Of An Online Community Of Financial Investors: Regularities And Seasonal Patterns, P. Racca, R. Casarin, Pierpaolo Dondio, F. Squazzoni

Articles

Group size can potentially affect collective activity and individual propensity to contribute to collective goods. Mancur Olson, in his Logic of Collective Action, argued that individual contribution to a collective good tends to be lower in groups of large size. Today, online communication platforms represent an interesting ground to study such collaborative dynamics under possibly different conditions (e.g., lower costs related to gather and share information). This paper examines the relationship between group size and activity in an online financial forum, where users invest time in sharing news, analysis and comments with other investors. We looked at about 24 million …

University-Based Technology Start-Up Incubators – Evaluating Their Contribution To The Co-Production Of Knowledge, Innovation And Growth. Experience From The Edge, Anthony Paul Buckley, Stephen Davis

Articles

Policy makers in developed economies see merit in supporting the innovative abilities of technology entrepreneurs. It is hoped that from these highly–educated entrepreneur(s), new technology and service–based firms (NTBFs) can emerge. Indeed empirical evidence suggests that it is fast-growing young innovative firms which provide the bulk of new employment growth (Henrekson & Johansson, 2010; Storey & Greene, 2010). Start-up incubators are one of a number of micro-policy interventions with which states attempt – primarily through publically funded higher education Institutions - to support technology entrepreneurs to develop and commercialise their innovations. Incubator numbers have grown globally from their first appearance …

Beauty Bloggers And Youtubers As A Community Of Practice, Valerie Gannon, Andrea Prothero

Articles

Much consumption-related activity online is outside of what is understood traditionally as community and is via user-generated content (UGC), of which blogs and YouTube channels in particular dominate in the beauty sphere. Community of practice (CoP) theory from social learning and organisation studies offers an alternative way to understand these consumption-based UGC practices. This study combines data from 25 interviews with bloggers and YouTubers and their blog posts and videos. Among these UGC creators we find mutual engagement, shared repertoires and joint enterprise. This paper theorises consumption-based UGC creators as a CoP and contributes insights for mangers as to how …