Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Turning To Case Studies As A Mechanism For Learning In Action Learning, Denise O'Leary, Paul Coughlan, Clare Rigg, David Coghlan

Articles

Case studies are a useful means of capturing and sharing experiential knowledge by allowing researchers to explore the social, organisational and political contexts of a specific case. Although accounts of action learning are often reported using a case study approach, it is not common to see individual case studies being used as a learning practice within action learning sets. Drawing on a network action learning (NAL) project, this paper explores how the process of coaching, articulating, authoring, sharing and editing case studies provided a vehicle for learning and research within a NAL set. The intended contribution of this paper to …

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs In Ireland, Thomas M. Cooney, David Halabisky, Sarah Kenny

Reports

Entrepreneurship development is an important requirement for achieving the goal of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth set out in the Europe 2020 strategy. It is also a means to respond to new economic challenges, to create jobs and to fight social and financial exclusion. The impact of the global financial and economic crisis calls for giving entrepreneurship and self-employment a stronger role in economic and social development policies. Inclusive entrepreneurship policies and programmes are particularly relevant for women who continue to face challenges in the labour market and are under-represented in entrepreneurship activities. However, the effectiveness of national, regional and …

Strategy/Enterprise Discourse Bounds In Business Talk., Brendan O'Rourke

Articles

Corporate strategy emerged as large non-owner managed firms became economically important (Knights and Morgan, 1991). Strategy became the substitute for the earlier enterprise discourse, which depended on the dominance, in entrepreneurial capitalism, of owner-managed firms. The discourses of strategy and enterprise developed as separate academic areas and as logics of two very different economic domains. From the late 1970s however, large organizations (Kanter, 1983:27) and governments have been urged to be more entrepreneurial (Klein et al., 2010; Osborne and Gaebler, 1993). Meanwhile, small firms were encouraged to be more strategic (Carr, 2000). This article looks at evidence from small …

A Techno-Economical Appraisal Of A Pv Domestic Plant On A Irish Dwelling, Roberto Sandano

Articles

A comprehensive study of a domestic PV installation is addressed in this paper. A series of economic results are presented for a domestic installation in Ireland.

Towards Entrepreneurial Learning Outcomes In Business Education And Beyond – Next Practice? Design & Guidance, Anthony Paul Buckley

Other

High growth economies can be differentiated from low growth economies by their high investment in knowledge, low knowledge filter and high levels of entrepreneurial capital. These states help create entrepreneurial capital by providing their citizens with opportunities to learn to be more enterprising in their pursuit of value creation and capture. What should be taught, how and what are the appropriate learning outcomes of entrepreneurship education and training (EET) then become the relevant questions. This paper reviews the relevant EET literature, assesses current thinking and practice and concludes, in the absence of empirical evidence in favour of a particular pedagogical …

An Entrepreneurial Context For The Theory Of The Firm: Exploring Assumptions And Consequences, Arturo E. Osorio, Paul Donnelly, Banu Ozkazanc-Pan

Articles

While entrepreneurship may be driven by personal interests and lifestyle choices, entrepreneurial actions are not only economically driven opportunity-searching processes but also enactments of social transformation that may or may not lead to socioeconomic benefits. We advance that exploring these entrepreneurial processes can inform a theory of the firm that may explain how socioeconomic processes shape the socioeconomic environment of communities while serving individuals. This article discusses several understandings of the firm, as theorized in extant literature. Guided by these different conceptualizations, we present a case study of an artist and artisan cluster in Western Massachusetts to demonstrate various understandings …

The Process And Problems Of Business Start-Ups, Natasha Evers

The ITB Journal

“… there is little known about the initial phases of the process (of entrepreneurship). The conception, birth and early development of new ventures are very much an uncharted territory”. (Reynolds and White, 1997:1). This paper sets out to examine the process and problems encountered by new business start-ups. A didactic overview, based on past and current literature in the field, identifies the most common theoretical frameworks frequenting the academic literature and assesses their contribution to explaining and understanding the Process and Problems of New Venture Creation. The founding of a new organisation is not instantaneous and the process is a …

Who Wants To Be An Entrepreneur?, Maura O Connell

The ITB Journal

So you want to be an Entrepreneur? What does it take? Are you suited to entrepreneurial life? Have you got the required personality characteristics and what social factors influence whether or not you become an entrepreneur? While many studies have tried to answer these questions the results are somewhat mixed.

Using Sequential Mixed Methods In Enterprise Policy Evaluation: A Pragmatic Design Choice?, Anthony Paul Buckley

Articles

How might policy instruments contribute to indigenous firm growth and how can the effects of these instruments be evaluated at both firm and policy level? This paper illustrates how a mixed methods research design and data analysis strategy can pragmatically address the research questions outlined above. The advantages and challenges of employing quantitative research methods (what happened?) followed by confirmatory qualitative research methods (how and why did it happen?) in a multiphase sequential explanatory design is explored. The data analysis strategy is firstly to analyse the data generated from a ‘before and after’ quasi-experiment (with statistical controls), then data from …

Development Of A Framework To Facilitate A Collaborative Peer Learning 2:1 Model Of Practice Placement Education, Ann-Marie Lynam, Clare Corish, Deirdre Connolly

Level 3

Aim: The educational approach towards practice placement education in health-related disciplines has changed in recent years. The use of collaborative or peer learning models has increased, associated with positive effects on desired outcomes such as learning, competence and reflective practice. At present, there is little published literature on the implementation or use of such models in dietetics practice placement education. The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot study of a collaborative peer learning 2 students to 1 educator (2:1 model). Methods: Experienced practice placement educators from four clinical sites in the discipline of dietetics in the Republic …

An Investigation Into The Tacit Knowledge Transfer Process In An Open Plan Office Environment, Caroline Bernie

Level 3

The research described in this article aimed to investigate the link between the internal organisational layout and its impact on the tacit knowledge transfer process in an open plan administrative working environment. In recent years academic literature in the area of Knowledge Management has concentrated on the management of knowledge within the organisation with particular focus placed upon management systems and the introduction of knowledge measurement tools.

Aligning Aims In Innovation Management: A Participatory Approach To Defining Mission And Vision Statements, Colm O’Kane, Pearl M. O'Rourke

Level 3

The problem of ensuring management and employees have clearly defined goals to work towards is one which has engaged management practitioners for some time. It is a challenge which engages organisations across industry sectors and business types (Prahalad 1999; O’Gorman 1999). This article describes the development of a framework for the identification of guiding goals for organisations using the principles of participatory design. The framework described involves internal and external stakeholders in the development of mission and vision statements. A pilot study using the initial stages of this framework was implemented with academic staff of an undergraduate academic programme in …

Economic Recession As A Catalyst To Increased Collaboration In Rural Tourism, Catherine Gorman, Ziene Mottiar

Books / Book chapters

Purpose: This chapter illustrates the collaborative strategies used by a rural village and community to counteract the rapid decline in economic and social activity in tourism that occurred during and after the recession in Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach: A review of literature focuses on collaborative strategies evident within a rural context, and considers benefits, challenges, inter and intra- relationships including ties, structure and communication. Motivational factors relating to social and economic need are also discussed. The case study is set in context with a brief review of the Irish economic environment, rural policy and rural tourism.

Findings: In a community rich in …

Connected: An Enhanced Online Interface For Engagement Between Industry And Academia, David Kirk, John J. Keogh, Terry Maguire

Conference Papers

The drive for third level education institutes to engage with industry, enterprise and the community recognises their interdependence and need for continuous knowledge exchange. The extent to which students are capable of embracing their post-qualification roles, may be determined by the currency of the curriculum and work-readiness, which is informed by the context of the ‘real-worlds’ however they are shaped. Similarly, the activities that challenge industry, enterprise and the community could find support in the broad the spectrum of knowledge, skills and expertise that resides in the domain of formal education.

A key obstacle to collaboration between higher education institutes …

‘Enterprise Engagement In Education (Eee) Pathways And Supports Project, Anushree Priyadarshini

Reports

The EEE Pathways and Supports Project is a collaborative initiative between CEEN and HECA, focused on promoting enterprise engagement within the HEI, to both inform and contribute to the delivery of entrepreneurship education. From a teaching and learning perspective, enterprise engagement is integral to the development of activity based pedagogies; a critical component of ‘learning by doing’ entrepreneurship education approaches. Working across HEI partners, the project seeks to map and document approaches to enterprise engagement across the CEEN/ HECA networks.

Taking A Step Back From The Individual Social Entrepreneur, Ziene Mottiar

Conference papers

An investigation of how a national tourism policy resulted in the emergence of new social entrepreneurs in destinations across Ireland.

Using Sequential Mixed Methods In Enterprise Policy Evaluation. Special Mixed Methods Edition., Anthony Paul Buckley

Articles

How might policy instruments contribute to indigenous firm growth and how can the effects of these instruments be evaluated at both firm and policy level? This paper illustrates how a mixed methods research design and data analysis strategy can pragmatically address the research questions outlined above. The advantages and challenges of employing quantitative research methods (what happened?) followed by confirmatory qualitative research methods (how and why did it happen?) in a multiphase sequential explanatory design is explored. The data analysis strategy is firstly to analyse the data generated from a ‘before and after’ quasi-experiment (with statistical controls), then data from …

‘I Just Want A Job’: The Untold Stories Of Entrepreneurship, Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo, Lucia Sell-Trujillo, Paul Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

In this chapter, we explore the untold stories of Spanish and Irish necessity entrepreneurs to better understand the process of becoming an entrepreneur. Working with narratives, media articles, and policy documents, we illustrate how necessity entrepreneurs do not recognize themselves in the institutionalized entrepreneur narrative as empowered, creative and independent individuals. It is necessity, not opportunity that is pushing, not pulling, them to become entrepreneurial. The process is experienced as more fragmented than official narratives outline. In exposing these untold stories, the chapter expands our understanding of entrepreneurship, presenting a more nuanced view of both entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process.

The Power Of Words In Tension: Enterprise/Strategy As A Dilemma In Neoliberalism’S Persistence., Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

We address how enterprise is related to, another important discourse, strategy. From a discourse analysis of the talk of small firm owner-managers, emerges a view of strategy and enterprise as a single, integrated entity, bound together by some commonalities but more importantly by paired opposites reminiscent of ideological dilemmas (Billig, Condor, Edwards, Gane, Middleton & Radley, 1988). This dilemmatic nature of enterprise/strategy discourse adds to explanations for the persistence of the neoliberal form of enterprise, with the entrepreneur as the heroic saviour of all, based on the entrepreneur as an empty signifier (Jones & Spicer, 2009; Kenny & …

An Indigenous Women Perspective Of Work And Organisation: The Maya Way, Jennifer Manning, J. Miguel Imas, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Western literature in management/organisation studies focuses primarily on gender issues that affect inequalities experienced by women at work. Adopting, in some cases, critical and feminist theoretical positions, the gender debate unfolds questions on the prevailing male discourse that is dominant in management and business organisations. Most of these theoretical assumptions tend to influence, subsequently, the way in which we understand the experiences of women in the developing or under-developed world. That is, these theoretical positions occupy a privileged voice upon which to write, describe and analyse the experiences of women in contexts where these Western discourses seem either alien or …

Motivations Of Social Entrepreneurs: Blurring The Social Contribution And Profits Dichotomy, Karla Aileen Boluk, Ziene Mottiar

Articles

Research has typically identified social entrepreneurs as characteristically superior to conventional entrepreneurs as they are motivated by making a contribution to society rather than by profits. Yet, few published papers investigate the motives of social entrepreneurs and explore if there are indeed any additional motivations aside from community interests. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the additional motives, aside from the social interests that motivate social entrepreneurs. This paper does so by using an inductive approach and specifically carrying out a re-examination of two pieces of research examining social entrepreneurship that were carried out independently by the …

Games Development Mentoring Programme, Bob Jackson

Case studies

The aim of the Games Development Mentoring programme is to provide students with access to professional advice on; workflows, project management, professional development and an awareness of current requirements in the Games industry.

The advantages of the Mentoring Programme are that it provides students with valuable access to mentoring from recognised industry experts. This real-world experience is essential in order to develop the student’s professional skills. It also inspires students and provides them with an opportunity to develop a network of professional contacts which ultimately improves their employment prospects once they graduate.

Internationalising Family Run Business: Overcoming Conflict, Embracing Cohesion And The Role Of Entrepreneurship, Marty Reilly, Pamela Sharkey Scott

Conference papers

Family run businesses, despite their importance to both local economies and at a broader national level have traditionally received significantly less attention in business research than either Small to Medium Enterprises (SMES) or new venture business start-ups.

The study proposes to examine the internationalisation of family run businesses with a focus on cohesion, leadership and the role of entrepreneurship, both during and directly thereafter the critical interim of expanding operations across international borders.

Proposing a multiple case study methodology, we intend to explore the practicalities of how family run enterprises expand beyond their national borders and embrace wider, international markets. …

Offering Minority Communities Equal Opportunities Through Entrepreneurship, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

A substantial body of research has been undertaken in recent years giving prominence to the additional and distinctive challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and by ethnic entrepreneurs. However, other groups of minority entrepreneurs have received relatively little attention and so remain underexplored within entrepreneurship literature. This article introduces some of these minority communities (Ex–Prisoners, Disabled People, Travellers/Gypsies, Grey and Gay) and highlights the research opportunities that exist for entrepreneurship academics who might wish to analyse such ‘silent’ minorities. These communities are all relatively large in terms of population numbers, require tailored support to overcome distinctive economic, social and personal obstacles, …

The Strategic Planning Process In Complex Settings: The Case Of Construction Professional Service Firms, Roisin Murphy, Iain Henderson

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Two Decades Of Rpl/Apel In Ireland: Practitioner Views, Deirdre Goggin

Level 3

My initial involvement was as an RPL assessor of an application for a marketing subject I was delivering through the Continuing Education Department. At the time RPL was not as developed as it is now within CIT. I received the required paper work and sat down with Phil O’Leary, CIT’s RPL Officer, who familiarised me with the process. In later years I moved from the private sector into the RPL office of CIT. I assisted staff and students in the RPL process, in preparing and assessing material. In conjunction with Phil O’Leary we developed an updated student handbook for circulation …

The Leadership Style Of Thatcher And Lincoln As Portrayed In Film, Abilmagzumova Anel

Level 3

My work is based on a psychological analysis from the point of view of theories of leadership, and includes an analysis of the political style of Margaret Thatcher and Abraham Lincoln. These theories have been covered in the lectures on the psychology of leadership which took place in April 2013 in the PSU. Analysis in this paper is based on nine major theories, the key points of which are described below. The main context of the study was examining the movies "The Iron Lady" (2012) and "Lincoln" (2013). The main conclusion is the confirmation of the truth of those theories …

Two Decades Of Rpl/Apel In Ireland: Practitioner Views, Maeve O’Grady

Level 3

The process led with the supply of forms written in a formal language that the participants were not used to. The RPL was to be done first, before there was any familiarity with the formal language and requirements of third-level. Their experiential knowledge was tacit and needed to be brought to a cognitive level.

Two Decades Of Rpl/Apel In Ireland: Practitioner Views, Phil O’Leary

Level 3

I was first involved with RPL in 1996. I began working in CIT in July of that year to run a project trialing APL. It was a two year project, funded under the EU Adapt programme to develop and deliver policy and procedures for APL and to trial its use. The project proposal was written by CIT staff members Ray Coughlan and Michael Delaney.

Two Decades Of Rpl/Apel In Ireland: Practitioner Views, Oran Doherty

Level 3

In 2006, I commenced employment at Letterkenny Institute of Technology as the RPL Facilitator. This position was funded by Líonra (Higher Education Network for the Border Midlands and Western region of Ireland). The purpose of the project was to recognise with a third level qualification learning that occurred in the workplace – specifically learning in IT and Business