Business Commons^™

Standardisation In Construction Cost Control (A Method Of Approach), Charles Mitchell

Other Resources

As construction projects became larger and more complex the need to control their costs became greater. As a result, cost control professions such as the cost manager and the quantity surveyor emerged. Cost control mechanisms have evolved with changes in the construction sectors. It is now apparent that the output of the construction sector plays an important part in the economic stability and growth of both national and international economies. Recently a coalition was formed to produce an international construction measurement standard (ICMS). All member organisations of the ICMS have pledged to mandate the standard amongst their membership and seek …

Standardisation In Construction Cost Control, Charles Mitchell

Other Resources

Poster presentation submitted as to the School of Surveying and Construction Management Research and Innovation Industry Evening, March 2019.

Austerity For All Seasons: Communicating On The Economy In Ireland, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan, Joseph K. Fitzgerald

Conference papers

What is clear is that in Ireland it has been a good crisis for economists, in the sense that the status and power of the profession has increased, especially in public discourse and state bureaucracy. This is not to deny that the academic critique and public questioning of the status of economics, that has followed the failure of the profession internationally prior to the crisis. It would be interesting to see if the rise of economists status has taken place in other countries and if there is a pattern to the profession’s fortunes in its different fields across, for example …

#Thisisirishfood - The Flavour Of Ireland's West Coast, Anke Klitzing

Articles

In the West of Ireland, a new awareness for quality ingredients and indigenous flavours are drawing out the potential of local produce and craftsmanship.

A Comment On: Arts Festivals, Urban Tourism And Cultural Policy, Bernadette Quinn

Articles

When I wrote the 2010 article 'Arts Festivals, Urban Tourism and Cultural Policy' for the special issue of JPRTL&E in 2010, the focus on the ‘urban’ in the brief that I was given very much reflected the prominent attention being given to festivals and events in urban contexts at that time (Johansson & Kociatkiewicz, 2011; Stevens & Shin, 2012). I start this brief comment now by noting that this imbalance in the literature is being addressed by a recent rise of research interest in the arts, including festivals, in rural areas (including forthcoming special issues/sections in the Journal of Rural …

Dining Out, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

Books/Book Chapters

Dining out during the 1980s in Ireland could be summarised gastronomically by prawn cocktails, Chicken Maryland, Black Forest gateau and bottles of Blue Nun or Mateus Rosé. All this changed with the Celtic Tiger when the Irish public was introduced to Caesar salad, tomato and fennel bread, tapenade and Chardonnay. From 1989 to 1993, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud was like a lone beacon of consistency in the Irish edition of the Michelin Guide. However, in 1994, five Michelin stars were awarded on the island of Ireland. Change was afoot. Many young Irish chefs and waiters emigrated during the 1980s although some, …

An Examination Of The Role Of Placemaking In Tourism On The Entrepreneurial Eco System, Ziene Mottiar, Theresa Ryan

Conference papers

Place-making is a topic of increasing interest in the tourism literature as national and local governments and DMOs continue to focus on the competitiveness and attractiveness of their destination. While the focus in the entrepreneurship and innovation literature is on individual entrepreneurs, policies and networks, place is a vital element in the tourism nexus and this concept is explored in this paper. As Solfield et al. (2017, p.2) note ‘place making in tourism.. creates an identity, an image, a difference from other places’. This paper examines how place making can encourage innovation by investigating the case of the Wild Atlantic …

Bio-Waste To Bio-Based, Anushree Priyadarshini, Gaurav Rajauria, Wen Le, Brijesh K. Tiwari

Articles

Research projects are currently underway in Teagasc and UCD todevelop cleaner and greener pre-treatment technologies forconversion of ‘bio-waste’ into ‘bio-based’ products withpotential applications in food, feed and biofuel. These projectshave the potential to significantly reduce the burden on land usefor protein and biofuels, not only in Ireland/Europe butworldwide, along with dramatically improving the conversionefficiencies of current bio-based production technologies.Moreover, these can significantly reduce the ever-increasingenvironmental problem of waste management and landfill usefor waste deposition.

A Platform Approach In Solution Business: How Platform Openness Can Be Used To Control Solution Networks., Ruiqi Wei, Susi Geiger, Roisin Vize

Articles

This paper explores how customer solution providers leverage digital platform architectures and particularly platform openness to exert control over complex organizational networks. A multiple case-study approach studies three companies with digital platforms that orchestrate solution networks in the LED and ICT industries. Our findings show that the features of product modules (core or peripheral), service modules (relationship intensity and customization), and knowledge modules (explicit, tacit and codified) have differential influence on the levels of platform openness. By managing platform openness of different subsystems accordingly, the solution providers can achieve different control benefits, including ensuring module quality, increasing offering variety, reducing …

The Same But Different: Understanding Entrepreneurial Behaviour In Disadvantaged Communities, Thomas M. Cooney, Michelle Licciardi

Books/Book Chapters

While entrepreneurship is widely viewed as being equally accessible in all contexts, it could be questioned if potential or nascent entrepreneurs from minority and disadvantaged communities experience entrepreneurship in a similar manner to the mainstream population. This chapter examines immigrant, people with disability, youth, gay and unemployed communities to explore how their entrepreneurial behaviour might differ from the practices of mainstream entrepreneurs. What emerges is that marginalised communities can frequently find it difficult to divorce business from social living. This can have both positive and negative connotations for an entrepreneur, plus they face additional and distinctive challenges that mainstream entrepreneurs …

Challenges And Opportunities Brought To The Chinese Economy By Brexit And The New Us Administration, Lucia Morales, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan

Articles

The impact of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US president in the context of stock market reactions and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) within three key zones in ‘the Greater China Region’ (Hong Kong, Taiwan and China Mainland) are examined in this article. The chosen research period is from January 2014 to June 2017, and the EPU Index in the USA and the UK is used as a proxy to measure political uncertainty in two of the world major economies and how they impact on the Chinese stock market. The main contribution of the article can …

The Impact Of Brexit Debates On Irish Exports: A Causality Analysis, Rawayda Abdou, Klavs Ciprikis, Lucia Morales, Damien Cassells

Conference papers

The UK decision to leave the EU has larger implications for Ireland due to its significant exposure to the UK economy. As such a no-deal Brexit scenario raises significant concerns regarding the impact, the magnitude and the lasting effects of the shock to the Irish economy. Leading up to the final weeks before the UK leaves the EU, this study explores the relationship between economic and political uncertainty surrounding Brexit and its potential causal effects to the Irish economy. The agriculture, manufacturing, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are the focus of attention as they are considered to be the most exposed …

Un(Der)Employed Youth: From Precariousness To Resilience, Alia Weston, Miguel Imas, Jennifer Manning, Paul Donnelly, Kudzayi Ngwerume

Articles

In this paper, we explore the experiences of Irish and Zimbabwean youth who live and work in precarious economic conditions. We study these youths’ experiences in a manner that traverses contexts under the question: How do un(der)employed youth in the Global South and Global North enact resilience and agency while navigating economic precarity? The paper builds on youth literature from both the Global North and Global South, emphasizing socio-economic precarity, youth agency, and resilience. We collected our data from interviews conducted in Ireland and Zimbabwe. Methodologically, the paper follows a postcolonial narrative approach to study these experiences. Our findings show …

Ex-Post Service Contract Performance Management, Brian Forbes, Malcolm Brady

Articles

This paper highlights how contract incompleteness can threaten the performance of public procurement facilities management contracts during their implementation stages, based on a multiple case study comprising five public procurement services contracts. The paper takes a principle-agent view and with the unit of analysis being the contract itself. The paper shows that contract contingencies are almost inevitable and may stem from the written contract or from the participating organisations. Written and unwritten contract management mechanisms were used in practice to deal with contingencies as they arose in the services case studies examined. The paper found that written contracts do not …

External And Internal Networks And Access To Hrd Resources In Small Professional Service Firms, Ciara Nolan Dr, Thomas Garavan

Articles

A key challenge facing small professional service firms (PSFs) in the context of implementing human resource development (HRD) is access to resources. The use of external and internal networks represents an important means of identifying and acquiring needed resources. We utilize resource dependency and network theories to explore the types of networks used by owner-managers to acquire HRD resources and the types of resources that are acquired. We investigate these issues utilizing three case study organizations located in the Republic of Ireland and interview data from owner-managers and employees. We found that small PSFs derived resources from both coercive and …

Expanding University Entrepreneurial Ecosystems To Under-Represented Communities, Emma O'Brien, Thomas M. Cooney, Per Blenker

Articles

Purpose – Entrepreneurship education has moved from an elitist view focussing on a start-up and picking-the-winners philosophy towards a broader enterprising behaviour approach; recognising entrepreneurship as an activity of relevance for everybody. The purpose of this paper is to extend this development and identify how university entrepreneurial ecosystems can be expanded to support communities that are under-represented in entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach – Based on an integrative literature review (Torraco, 2005), this paper draws together and synthesises literature from the field of entrepreneurship, higher education studies and under-represented communities in an integrated fashion, leading to the development of a new conceptual model. …

Fifty Years Of The Strategic Trade-Offs Model: In Memory And Honor Of Wickham Skinner, Roberto Sarmiento, Garvan Whelan, Matthias Thürer, Francisco Arturo Bribiescas-Silva

Articles

In 1969, Professor Wickham Skinner, whom many consider as “the father of manufacturing strategy,” published a seminal paper entitled “Manufacturing-Missing Link in Corporate Strategy.” Among the many interesting insights outlined in that article, Skinner is particularly careful to explain the importance of acknowledging the existence of specific trade-offs in the design of production systems. For example, he warns that a failure on the part of executives to recognize the limitations and compromises that are inherent to all technology and human based systems will inevitably result in a diminished ability of firms to compete successfully in the marketplace. Fifty years after …

The Battle For Commercial Hearts And Minds And The Internal Brand Within A Charity Shop Network In Ireland, Edmund O'Callaghan

Articles

Charities are increasingly adopting commercial branding strategies to capture consumer hearts and minds for competitive gain, with little attention on the internal organisational battle for hearts and minds within a not-for-profit context. This paper explores the internal brand of a charity that currently operates 227 charity shops on the island of Ireland, using Hankinson’s 2004 framework that focuses on functional, symbolic, behavioural and experiential components. An exploratory case study was developed based on a survey of organisational members (n = 138), interviews with six regional shopmanagers, observation in retail stores and supplemented by organisation documentation. Findings indicate a clarity of …

Environmental Sustainability Of Logistics Service Providers: A Systematic Literature Review On Indicators For City Logistics, Xu Zhang, Nikolaos Valantasis Kanellos, Eoin Plant

Conference Papers

The increasing logistics and transport activities in the city significantly impact on the environment we live in. Providing green and sustainable logistics services is at the top of the logistics service provider’s agenda. Both academics and industry have shown increasing attention to measuring sustainability in logistics operations in the recent decade, yet LSPs' sustainability performance measurement methods and relevant indicators need to be assessed and updated particularly in the context of city logistics. This paper identifies and evaluates the current frameworks and indicators that reflect the performance of LSPs’ environmental sustainability using a systematic literature review. A total of 61 …

Digitally Engaged Consumers: A Multi-Level Perspective Of Higher Education Actors And Their Technology Readiness, Treasa Karney, Roisin Vize, Taeshik Gong

Conference papers

Advances in digital technology and innovation have fundamentally changed the way Higher Education (HE) communities, interact, consume and co-create value (Freberg and Merle 2016; Neier and Zayer 2015). However, differences have persisted between the potential of technology enabled learning and the less consistent realities of technology use within university learning and teaching (Henderson et al. 2015). Therefore, a key aim of this research is to examine how technology readiness of students influences their interaction, engagements, and value co-creation with staff. Through applying the lens of value co-creation, i.e. where value is co-created among actors through their active role of engagement, …

Entrepreneurship Book Of Vietnamese Cases, Thomas M. Cooney, Vũ Thế Dũng, Trần Hoàng Hải, Vũ Văn Thiệu, Lê Hà Như Thảo, Huỳnh Thị Kim Hà, Tạ Hùng Anh, Đinh Nguyễn Khánh Phương, Huỳnh Minh Nhựt

Books/Book Chapters

This publication ‘Entrepreneurship Book of Vietnamese Cases’ is part of the ‘Supporting Entrepreneurial Development in ICT in Vietnamese HEIs – ICTentr’ project, an initiative which aims to support the national goals of Vietnam to modernise higher education systems and improve skills in ICT through capacity development. The overall objective of this project is to provide ICT students with an entrepreneurial mindset, soft skills and a professional attitude when graduating from the university. The activities are targeted both to students and teachers involved in enhancing innovation. The project is coordinated by the University of Turku (UTU), Finland. The consortium is also …

Visions Of The Future In Budgetary Discourse, Ewan Macdonald, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan

Conference papers

Whilst there is ample precedent to argue against the common-sense notion that the ideological leanings of political parties are congruent with their implementation of fiscal policy (Boix, 2000; Garrett & Lange, 1991; Hibbs, 1977; Liargovas & Manolas, 2007), there is a relative dearth of research on the role of discourse in shaping fiscal policy with one notable exception by Maatsch (2014). With this in mind, we approach the issue of examining fiscal policy through a fixed, contested and subverted within particular texts” (Howarth, 2005, p. 341). This paper examines how the future is constructed in Irish budget speeches delivered between …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role And Contribution Of University Knowledge Transfer Offices (Ktos) In Knowledge Transfer And Value Creation, Anthony Paul Buckley, Paul Maguire, David Gardiner

Conference papers

Developed European countries place emphasis on innovation as an important growth driver. Higher educational institutions, within these developed countries, actively participate in regional economic initiatives to proactively transfer and commercialise knowledge to business and society. This knowledge transfer is now performed in a more direct way than heretofore and the commercialization remit is now regarded as the Universities 3rd mission. This is in addition to its traditional remits of education and research. This study explores the effectiveness of the University knowledge transfer process and the contribution that knowledge transfer offices play in knowledge transfer and commercialisation (Value creation).

This study …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Attitudes Of Rural And Urban Consumers Towards Cultured Meat, Elaine Shaw, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis on the attitudes of rural and urban Irish consumers towards cultured meat.

Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods exploratory sequential design was used. This involved collecting qualitative data first, through group interviews, and using the results of these to design the questionnaires for the quantitative data collection, which was analysed using SPSS 24.0 ®.

Findings – Urban consumers were more receptive towards cultured meat and more concerned about the environmental impact of current meat production practices. Rural consumers were more concerned about the possible damaging effect cultured meat …

Learning At Literary Festivals, Giulia Rossetti, Bernadette Quinn

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Consumer Wine Choice: The Case Of Wine Tourism, Margaret Connolly

Books/Book Chapters

This research was undertaken to examine the relationship between the wine tourism activities of consumers and their subsequent wine choices. Exploratory research was undertaken giving specific attention to wine tourism, first, as a factor of influence on decision-making, second, on levels of consumer involvement and third on long-term consumer loyalty. A convenience sample of 12 wine consumers in Dublin participated in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather the qualitative data used. The findings clearly establish links made by consumers between their wine tourism experiences and their subsequent wine purchase preferences. The findings highlight the importance of facilitating …

The Missing Entrepreneurs 2019 “Ireland”, Thomas M. Cooney

Reports

This country profile benchmarks self-employment and entrepreneurship data for women, youth, seniors and immigrants in Ireland against the European Union average. It also highlights current inclusive entrepreneurship policy issues and recent policy developments.

A Post-Brexit Transportation Scenario Analysis For An Agri-Fresh Produce Supply Chain, Amr Mahfouz, Declan Allen, Amr Arisha, Ralf Elbert, Michael Gleser

Conference papers

The ever-increasing demand for fresh and healthy products initiated an urgency for effective planning for Agri-Fresh Produce Supply Chains (AFPSC). However, AFPSC faces many challenges, including product vulnerability to market disruption and limited shelf-life. In case of a no-deal Brexit (i.e., the UK leaving the EU without an agreement), trade between Ireland and the UK will most probably be subjected to customs control. In effect, transportation delays and products deterioration rates will increase. Based on interviews with an Irish AFPSC forwarder, a simulation model was developed to investigate different systems' dynamics and operating rules under different delay patterns on the …

Moving Modalities: An Exploration On How Switching Modes Of Reader, Writer And Reviewer Can Enhance Academic Writing Pedagogy., Roisin Donnelly, Claire Mcavinia, Ita Kennelly

Papers, presentations and other resources

For over a decade, the Academic Writing & Publishing (AWP) module has been delivered for academic staff and postgraduate students in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), now part of the new Technological University Dublin. The module aims to support students to enhance their academic writing and to develop an academic paper to the standard of publication for a peer-reviewed journal of their choice. Module delivery comprises workshops and a range of supports and feedback mechanisms built in to give students opportunities to critically evaluate and develop their own work and to assist in the development of their peers’ writing. …

Segmentation Of Quantity Surveying Professional Services For Focus Strategy And Diversification, Michael Adesi, De-Graft Owusu-Manu, Frank Boateng

Articles

Purpose – Notwithstanding that numerous studies have focused on strategy in quantity surveying (QS) professional service firms, there is a paucity of investigation on the segmentation of QS professional services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the segmentation of QS services for diversification and a focus strategy formation.

Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts the positivist stance and quantitative approach in which a simple random sampling technique was used to select participants. In total, 110 survey questionnaires were administered to registered professional QS, out of which 79 completed questionnaires were returned for analysis.

Findings – The paper identifies three …