Business Commons^™

Precursors Of Employee Engagement In Travel Agencies To Enrich The Religious Tourist Experience, Shiwani Singh, Dr. Taruna, Jyoti Singh Bharti

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Employee engagement among travel agency employees is integral to the successful promotion of religious tourism. Religious tourism is a niche sector that demands a deep understanding of diverse faiths, cultures, and traditions, as well as a high degree of sensitivity to cater for the spiritual and emotional needs of travellers. Engaged employees possess a profound knowledge of religious destinations, historical context, and cultural nuances, allowing them to offer insightful guidance and recommendations to travellers. Moreover, engaged employees are more inclined to deliver exceptional customer service, by attentively addressing the specific requirements and preferences of religious travellers in ways that resonate …

Ijrtp Volume 12(Iii) Table Of Contents, Dr. Taruna, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Special Issue: Papers Presented at International Conference on Religious Tourism (ICRT-2023), held at the Department of Management Studies, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University Lucknow, (U.P), India, 27-28 March 2023

Review Of: Neo-Traditionalism In Islam In The West Orthodoxy, Spirituality And Politics, By Walaa Quisay, Sri Dewi Priwarti Siregar

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Review of: Neo-Traditionalism In Islam In The West Orthodoxy, Spirituality and Politics, by Walaa Quisay

An Empirical Investigation Of Religious Tourism As A Multiplier For Development, Nivi Srivastava, Namita Nigam, Pankaj Kumar Tripathi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism, as a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing social, cultural, and economic dimensions has emerged as a driving force behind global socioeconomic development. Within this framework, religious tourism stands out as both a historically significant and contemporary form of travel with profound implications for host communities. Religious tourism refers to trips which individuals or organisations take for spiritual or religious purposes. It is no coincidence that many of the world’s most visited attractions are associated with ancient temples or the sites of miracles. These trips hold religious significance because of the rites associated with it. Pilgrimages and visits to holy sites are …

Review Of: Museums As Ritual Sites: Civilizing Rituals Reconsidered, Edited By Lieke Wijnia And James S. Bielo, Maaike De Jong

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Review of: Museums as Ritual Sites: Civilizing Rituals Reconsidered, edited by Lieke Wijnia and James S. Bielo

Forecasting Foreign Tourist Arrivals In India: A Strategic Analysis For Sustainable Religious Tourism Growth, Vishwajeet Singh, Dr. Taruna, Tarushree Bari, Subhash Kumar Yadav

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The exponential growth of the tourism industry in India significantly impacts the nation’s economic landscape. This study presents an analysis of tourism arrival trends from 2000 to 2019 to forecast foreign tourist arrivals, aligning with the broader scope of religious tourism and pilgrimage. Employing the Box-Jenkins methodology, the research aims to project short-term forecasts for inbound tourism. Diverse modelling techniques are explored to capture the nuances of the time series data, including the assessment of stationarity using the Dickey-Fuller Test to discern underlying trends. The study culminates in identifying the A.R.I.M.A (0, 1, 1) model with drift as the most …

Evolving Trends In Sustainable Religious Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis, Anita Kumari, Pooja Thakur

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

As the world strives to overcome the pressing challenges of sustainable development, the tourism industry, with its substantial environmental and social impacts, calls for renewed attention. Within this domain, religious tourism has emerged as a distinctive and integral component of the sustainable tourism discourse. This study employs bibliometric analysis to examine the growth, key themes, and emerging trends in research on sustainable and religious tourism from the year 2011 to 2022, using the open-access Dimensions database. The findings indicate a continuous and steady growth in the body of literature pertaining to sustainability in religious tourism. The key themes and potential …

Review Of: Pilgrimage As Spiritual Practice: A Handbook For Teachers, Wayfarers, And Guides, Edited By Jeffrey Bloechl And André Brouillette, Wayne E. Arnold Ph.D.

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Review of: Pilgrimage as Spiritual Practice: A Handbook for Teachers, Wayfarers, and Guides, edited by Jeffrey Bloechl and André Brouillette

Perception Of Confidentiality In Fintech Usage Among Religious Tourism Entrepreneurs Of Puri, Durga Prasad Singh Samanta, B.C.M. Patnaik, Ipseeta Satpathy

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The adoption of fintech and digital payments by religious tourism entrepreneurs in India offers various benefits, including improved customer experience, convenience, and increased financial inclusion. By offering digital payment options, entrepreneurs can streamline the payment process, automate tasks, and focus on other aspects of their business. To gather data, a survey was conducted with a sample size of 129 entrepreneurs over a 4-month period. Results showed awareness, attitudes, and usage of fintech solutions. To address challenges, education, training, government regulations, and industry partnerships are recommended. The study’s findings can guide the tourism industry, fintech companies, and governments in supporting fintech …

Harnessing Ireland’S Food Heritage – The Role Of The Artisan Food Producer In Ireland’S Food Tourism Offering, Margaret Connolly, Rebecca O'Flynn

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

This research paper examines the role of the artisan food producer, not just as an entrepreneur and service provider but with a focus on how they contribute to the preservation of Ireland’s food culture and heritage. Using a qualitative methodology and in keeping with a phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of ten artisan food producers from different parts of Ireland. A thematic analysis of the responses was carried out, with a desire to let the voice of the artisans themselves tell their story. The research shows that through the conservation and use of traditional ingredients, …

Exploring The Significance Of The Traditional Chef’S Uniform In Making Sense Of Professionalism In Culinary Arts Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Orla Mc Connell

European Journal of Food Drink and Society

Previous studies have found that professionalism is an important success factor for chefs. Yet, research on what professionalism “means” to chefs, and how they “make sense” of it, is currently underexplored. While there is some evidence of the significance of the traditional chef’s uniform in professional identity formation, it also needs further consideration. Culinary arts lecturers and chefs have already contributed to these discussions, but the student voice remains largely unknown. Alongside this, there is no prior research specifically on professionalism in culinary arts in Ireland. Therefore, a research gap emerged, which this paper intends to address. Using interpretative phenomenological …

Micron Agritech, Thomas M. Cooney, Martina Brophy

Case Study

Daniel Izquierdo Hijazi, CEO of Micron Agritech, sat at his desk and reflected on the future of his high potential agri-tech start-up. The company had evolved from humble beginnings as a student-led undergraduate degree project to a university spin-off, having secured its latest round of seed investment worth €1.5 million. The “cash runway” had been extended and the young founding team could now look to commercialisation and bringing their patent pending technology, the Micron Kit, from working product to market. However, there were some major decisions to tease out and challenges to overcome regarding the future strategic direction of this …

Rethinking Core Curriculum Design In An Undergraduate Business And Management Programme In A Technological University In Ireland, Pat Kenny, Joe Fitzgerald, Eoghan Fitzgerald, Roisin Donnelly

Presentations

This presentation will share current design thinking on a longstanding, highly regarded undergraduate programme in Business and Management in a Technological University in Ireland. Technological universities offer programmes that are vocationally and professionally oriented. The 4-year programme has remained consistently popular with students throughout the life cycle of recruitment, orientation, delivery and performance. There is a strong legacy in case teaching and inquiry learning in this programme. This is evidenced through group discussion and solving of complex problems, and current case studies facilitate development of the higher levels of cognitive, interdisciplinary learning. They are used to highlight connections between specific …

Framing A Feminist Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Lived Experiences Of Women Entrepreneurs, Edicleia Oliveira, Serge Basini, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

Purpose – This article aims to explore the potential of feminist phenomenology as a conceptual framework for advancing women’s entrepreneurship research and the suitability of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to the proposed framework.

Design/methodology/approach – The article critically examines the current state of women’s entrepreneurship research regarding the institutional context and highlights the benefits of a shift towards feminist phenomenology.

Findings – The prevailing disembodied and gender-neutral portrayal of entrepreneurship has resulted in an equivocal understanding of women’s entrepreneurship and perpetuated a male-biased discourse within research and practice. By adopting a feminist phenomenological approach, this article argues for the importance …

Future Potential Of Immigrant Entrepreneurship In Ireland, Thomas M. Cooney, Martina Brophy

Books/Book Chapters

International data shows that immigrant owned enterprises are an important feature of developed economies. Immigrant entrepreneurs generally report a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than the incumbent population, and their businesses, though traditionally concentrated in low skilled industries, can and are increasingly featuring in high value sectors of the economy. The motivation of immigrants to engage in entrepreneurship is informed by a myriad of reasons, but is traditionally associated with “push” factors or necessity. This diverse population of entrepreneurs can encounter various obstacles to entrepreneurship, some of which pertain to their immigrant status, in addition to the mainstream challenges of …

Meeting The Sustainability Challenges: An Assessment Of Entrepreneurial Education, Anna Zherdeva, Intesar Madi, Abrar Alzankawi, Lucia Morales Dr, L. Pop, A. Soler-Dominguez, J.C. Saez

Conference papers

The importance of sustainability and entrepreneurship education is highlighted in this study. The world economies are facing significant challenges as they try to enable the transition towards more sustainable economic and business models. Therefore, at the centre of the transition process, it is critical to consider the role that business education can play and, more specifically, the role of business schools in integrating and supporting the development of skills and competencies that align with our contemporary society's needs. In this paper, we initially assess the need to connect entrepreneurial and sustainability education by exploring the educational offerings at Technological University …

Competency-Based Training Within The Prison System: Enhancing The Likelihood Of Entrepreneurial Activity Upon Release, Martina Brophy, Ana Pérez-Luño, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

Recidivism rates across the world remain high, and one of the key reasons for this situation is that people leaving the prison system have great difficulty in securing employment. Addressing this issue must be explored from a broad perspective, but one potential career option that is under-explored is self-employment, with few entrepreneurship programmes available within prison systems. This study explores a competency-based approach to training, examining the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to enhance the prospects of persons with lived experience of prison becoming entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis on ten in-depth interviews, this article identifies three categories of competency (generic,specific, …

Exploring Links Between Foreign Direct Investment And Host Country Economic Development, Thi Ngoc Dao

Doctoral

The thesis explores links between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the economic development of host country, analysing both direct and indirect effects. Concerning direct effects, FDI has been recognised as an important driver of exports and job creation for the host country. In terms of indirect effects, however, a consensus has not been reached on the spillover effects and competition effects that FDI generates in indigenous firms. Evaluating these effects has been critical for small open economies due to their heavy reliance on external markets and factors. There is a need for comprehensive research investigating the impacts of FDI on …

Exploring The Spiritual Dynamics Of Orthodox Religious Tourism: An In-Depth Study Of Visitor Experience At Osovica Monastery, Ivan Kosta, Anđelina Marić Stanković, Danijel Pavlović, Marija Bratić, Slobodan Čerović

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is increasingly becoming a significant component of global tourism trends, contributing to a substantial increase in tourist traffic worldwide. This study focuses on analysing the motives, reasons, effects, and expectations of visiting Osovica Monastery, a recently renovated sanctuary of the Serbian Orthodox Church within the Banja Luka Diocese in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through a comprehensive literature review and empirical analysis, this research explores the motivations behind visiting the monastery, the impacts of these motivations on visitor satisfaction, and the factors influencing revisits and positive feedback. Utilising a methodological approach that incorporates both psychological and …

Ailim Healing, Thomas M. Cooney, Martina Brophy

Case Study

For Niamh Malone, her challenges are typical of a high-tech start-up (i.e., raising funding, building an entrepreneurial team, creating a successful business model). However, these challenges are exacerbated by the additional difficulties associated with her disabilities. For instance, Niamh has difficulty securing financial lending due to her poor financial history as a result of not being able to work and having significant medical expenses. This case study requires a student to identify and address key issues in a business start-up, but they must also take cognizance of the additional and distinctive challenges faced by entrepreneurs who have a disability.

Reflections On Channelling Innovation Through Learning Development Support In Business Education In A Pandemic Landscape, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

The pandemic has undoubtedly challenged higher education (HE) in a multitude of ways but bringing lessons forward from that time can enable HE institutions and their staff to not lose sight of what innovative practices emerged that had a positive influence on student learning. Discussed from the perspective of a Head of Learning Development in a Business College which is now located in what is a new Technological University in Ireland, this reflective narrative discusses supporting staff across the diversity of Business disciplines during the impact of, and response to, the pandemic. The focus of the piece is on supporting …

The Role Of Interpersonal Conflict As A Cause Of Work-Related Stress In Construction Managers In Ireland, Patrick J. Bruce, Victor Hrymak, Carol M. Bruce Dr, Joseph Byrne

Articles

Construction is a project-driven industry that places a high premium on product delivery on time, within budget and to required standards. Modern construction projects have become more complex in nature, the complex relational and lengthy process of designing and building makes construction a process in which conflict is virtually ensured (Jaffar et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2023). These characteristics of the industry contribute to workplace stress. Therefore, it is not surprising that research has confirmed a strong presence of workplace stress within the industry, (Lingard and Francis, 2004; Vaux and Dority, 2020). Many construction managers experience excessive levels of …

Ireland, Intellectual Property And The Political Economy Of Information Monopolies, Kenneth W. Murphy

Articles

Ireland’s policies towards US-owned global digital intermediaries (Big Tech) have emerged as an international political issue and received global media attention. So far, political and media focus has been on the impact of Ireland’s tax policies on the revenue-raising ability of other European states and perceptions of light touch regulation of those corporations based in the Republic. The current paper will focus on how Ireland’s switch to a focus on capital allowances for the sizeable American tech corporations has enabled the latter to sustain their dominance in the digital transition through incentivizing and subsidizing their switch to assetization as a …

An Analysis Of The Public Participation Processes Employed For An Urban Greenway Project, Maeve O'Connell

Articles

The purpose of this study is to examine the public participation mechanisms employed for a proposed new infrastructure project. Public participation is a core characteristic of a contemporary democratic society as policy makers are increasingly encouraged to engage with citizens for learning and legitimacy. Participation is a loose concept with many forms and interpretations. This study explores the key characteristics of public participation formats, challenges to and the criteria for success. This analysis is then applied to the proposed local infrastructure consultation process. An additional survey is designed and its role in the public participation process is assessed. The processes …

Professionalism In Culinary Arts: An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Mature Part-Time Degree Students In Industry And Academia In Ireland Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Orla Mc Connell

Doctoral

The purpose of the research is to explore the experiences of mature part-time culinary arts degree students in Ireland to examine the phenomenon of professionalism. While other researchers have sought the views of culinary arts educators and practitioners, the student voice is underexplored. The research focuses on a particular context: a major transition in the participants’ lives: their return to education, while working full-time as chefs. Their experiences are considered unique since they, as a group, navigate between two worlds: industry and academia. Notably, a recent study in Ireland found that professionalism is an important career success factor for chefs. …

Entrepreneurship As Collective Action: The Next Frontier., Cyrine Ben-Hafaïedh, Claire Champenois, Thomas M. Cooney, Leon Schjoedt

Articles

Collective action in entrepreneurship is lacking in the extant literature. Despite entrepreneurship research progressively moves away from the focus of a lone heroic entrepreneur, scholars have yet to absorb the full potential of entrepreneurship as collective action. Also missing is a collective stance on key entrepreneurship concepts such as opportunity discovery or construction and entrepreneurial agency. Accordingly, this article reviews and critiques five articles that constitute this Special Issue seeking to establish ‘entrepreneurship as collective action’ as the next frontier of entrepreneurship theory development. The articles in this Special Issue each investigate a specific instance of collective action in entrepreneurship. …

Enhancing Inclusive Entrepreneurial Activity Through Community Engagement Led By Higher Education Institutions, Emma O'Brien, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

While supporting entrepreneurship through government intervention has become a global phenomenon, the OECD (2021) has identified that several communities (including women, youth, seniors, unemployed and immigrants) remain under-represented in terms of entrepreneurial activity. Inclusive entrepreneurship policies seek to enhance economic and social inclusion and emphasise the significant contribution that people from within these communities could make to local and regional development if appropriate support was offered. The purpose of this study is to examine how higher education institutions (HEIs) can co-create inclusive entrepreneurial training initiatives with local communities that support economic and social inclusion.

A Review On Machine Learning Methods For Customer Churn Prediction And Recommendations For Business Practitioners, Awais Manzoor, M. Atif Qureshi, Etain Kidney, Luca Longo

Articles

Due to market deregulation and globalisation, competitive environments in various sectors continuously evolve, leading to increased customer churn. Effectively anticipating and mitigating customer churn is vital for businesses to retain their customer base and sustain business growth. This research scrutinizes 212 published articles from 2015 to 2023, delving into customer churn prediction using machine learning methods. Distinctive in its scope, this work covers key stages of churn prediction models comprehensively, contrary to published reviews, which focus on some aspects of churn prediction, such as model development, feature engineering and model evaluation using traditional machine learning-based evaluation metrics. The review emphasises …

Front-Line Management In The Irish Public Service: Realities, Challenges, And The Role Of Social Capital, Arpita Pal

Doctoral

This study investigates the evolving role of Front-Line Managers (FLMs) within the Irish public sector as they adapt to devolved Human Resources Management (HRM) responsibilities amidst a backdrop of fiscal austerity, staff reductions, and organisational restructuring. Policy initiatives such as the One Civil Service Approach and the Civil Service Renewal Plan have shifted HRM responsibilities to FLMs without adequate formal training or resources, compelling them to rely heavily on social capital—networks of relationships and informal interactions—to bridge knowledge gaps and manage operational demands.

The Lived Experience Of Acculturation And Transnationalism Of The First And Second Generation Of Post-2004 Polish Migrants In Ireland. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Joanna Kossykowska

Doctoral

This thesis intersects the theoretical fields of migrant acculturation and transnationalism. The key research question guiding this study is: How do the first and second-generation Polish migrants in Ireland make sense of the experience of acculturation and transnationalism? Despite much research on immigrants in Ireland, qualitative studies still need to be done on Ireland's 'new' communities. Psychological research is scarce on the lived experience of acculturation and transnational connections with the home country of first and secondgeneration Polish migrants. Thus, this thesis considers migration at a micro level, and the focus is to explore the phenomenon of psychological acculturation at …