Business Commons^™

Why Is Community Entrepreneurship Worth Debating?, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

In early 2008, the author was asked to speak at a conference in an economically disadvantaged area of Ireland. The conference was part of a series of events aimed at boosting enterprise in the region. Frequently, at such events, the ire of the speakers is targeted at government or European policies for not doing enough to help build economic success locally. In terms of who is to blame and who is responsible for changing the current situation, the finger is usually being pointed at someone else. However, the author spoke at length about the qualities of entrepreneurship involving positive, proactive, …

Are Government Laws Consistent With The Laws Of Supply And Demand, Thomas Power

Other Resources

Government laws are not always consistent with the laws of supply and demand and when enacted have unintended consequences. Three real world examples provide illustrations of policy makers implementing policies that have unintended consequences. When households and firms look at prices when deciding what to buy and sell, they unknowingly take into account the social benefits and costs of their actions. As a result, prices guide these individual decision makers to reach outcomes that maximize the welfare of society as a whole.

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

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

The Protean Career: Exemplified By First World Foreign Residents In Western Europe?, Marian Crowley-Henry

Articles

This article presents findings from a qualitative study exploring the career-related motivations and experiences of a sample of 20 expatriates living and working on a permanent basis in the South of France (Sophia Antipolis) and in Germany (Munich). By virtue of their having established local links in the host country, either in having local working contracts or being installed in the area on a permanent basis (home owners; children born/being schooled in the host country), these expatriates could also be termed foreign residents in the host country. The study’s sample of highly educated workers originating from the United States of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Gaining Competitative Advantage Through Your Supply Chain: The Key To Further Enhancing Shareholder Value, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Geo-Politics, The ‘War On Terror’ And The Competitiveness Of The City Of London, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

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 …

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. …

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

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

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 …

A Moveable Feast: The Changing Dynamics Of Food Supply Chains In Ireland, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Rationales For Collaboration; Implications For The Irish Road Freight Industry, Eoin Plant, Jim Mcgovern

Conference Papers

The European Union has made a commitment to promoting sustainable mobility through advanced transport logistics. One of the principal areas yet to be addressed is that of the potential barriers to advanced transport logistics and the attitudes of industry to this advancement. This paper addresses some of these concerns and argues that competition for high-value contracts can be very tough, especially where the contracts are from large organisations that often prefer to develop a relationship with only one transport service provider. The paper attempts to put the research into a theoretical framework of Resource-Advantage Theory. Empirical evidence is presented from …

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 …

Using The Technology Of The Confessional As An Analytical Resource: Four Analytical Stances Towards Research Interviews In Discourse Analysis, Brendan O'Rourke, Martyn Pitt

Articles

Among the various approaches that have developed from FOUCAULT's work is an Anglophone discourse analysis that has attempted to combine FOUCAULTian insights with the techniques of Conversation Analysis. An important current methodological issue in this discourse analytical approach is its theoretical preference for "naturally occurring" rather than research interview data. A FOUCAULTian perspective on the interview as a research instrument, questions the idea of "naturally-occurring discourse". The "technology of the confessional" operates, not only within research interviews, but permeates other interactions as well. Drawing on FOUCAULT does not dismiss the problems of the interview as research instrument rather it shows …

What The Transport And Logistics Industry Needs Going Forward, Bernd Huber, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Indicators Of Sustainable Development For Tourism, June Phelan

Masters

Sustainable tourism development has been recognised as the dominant paradigm for developing the tourism industry in the twenty first century. This concept gained importance in response to increasing environmental awareness and unease at the rapid use and depletion of natural resources. The United National World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) identifies sustainable tourism development as a preferred means for the future development of the industry. Indicators are an established means of achieving and measuring progress achieved towards sustainable tourism development. Consequently, indicators of sustainable development for tourism have been proposed as the building blocks for sustainable tourism development. Information derived from indicators …

The Entrepreneurial Process: An Assessment Of A Real Life Case Study And A Theoretical Model, Kevin Neary

Masters

The purpose of this work is to record and document the development cycle of an entrepreneur focusing specifically on the point of start up of the entrepreneurs business through to a key juncture when the entrepreneur sells a portion of his business. The work then examines the Klofsten Business Platform Model, a model that might be described as a self diagnostic tool for new start up ventures by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur then analyses his business development in light of Klofstens’ Model and comments on how he feels his real life experience fits into the proposed model. After a period of …

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.

Understanding Supply Chain Management, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Does Understanding National Business Cultures Help Build Regional Development?, Amanda Ratcliffe, Thomas Cooney Dr.

Conference proceedings

An EFER report in 1995 observed that little of the growth ofEurope’s top 500 companies came from existing products in existing markets, but almost two-thirds of the growth came from entering new markets. A large majority of Europe’s 500 are active in export markets, with exports accounting for 40% of their turnover as opposed to the 10% export share for SMEs overall. One of the critical reasons for the poor performance of SMEs within the international arena is their ignorance of local business cultures. Yet for a country – or a specific region – to achieve strong economic growth, it …

The Need For Wider Supply Chain Management Adoption: Empirical Results From Ireland, Bernd Huber, Edward Sweeney

Articles

Purpose - Empirical results are provided which suggest that there is a need for more widespread adoption of supply chain management among Irish firms.

Design/methodology/approach - The Republic of Ireland is a small, open, trade-dependent economy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world. However, due to rising costs, there is an increasing trend in Ireland to outsource lower function manufacturing processes to lower cost locations but to retain high skill functions (such as R&D). This trend, together with other factors such as its peripheral location, suggests that supply chain management is critical from an Irish …

The Evolving Supply Chain Management Context, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Re-Engineering The Supply Chain: Making Scm Work For You, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Preface To Perspectives On Supply Chain Management And Logistics :Creating Competitive Organisations In The 21st Century, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.