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The sports industry has seen exponential growth in a number of areas (Heitner, 2015), the most evident of which is its capability to use data and technology to inform performance and decisionmaking (Agrawal, 2015; Hill, 2018). This trend has increased as a result of improved technological innovations and Horrocks et al. (2016) postulated that the sports industry is reaching a plateau in terms of physical fitness (measuring performance). There is therefore a need to better understand the acquisition of decision-making abilities and a need for players to make swift appropriate decisions in time constrained and high-pressured environments. However, a challenge present in sports is better informed individual and team decision-making skills. Although literature is published in this area, and has contributed to the understanding of the phenomenon (Williams, 2007; Horrocks et al., 2016), it has only really been explored with little reporting on how digitalisation influences the decision-making of coaches and players in a team setting (James, 2006: Richards et al., 2012, 2017). Consequently, the central purpose of this research is to investigate the utilisation of data and technology in sports, with a focus on how it influences decision-making of players and coaches. This research takes an evolutionary perspective by way of investigating the evolution and possible future of digitalisation in the sports sector. The research employed a qualitative approach using the learning organisation theory as a lens. 33 semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders from elite football (Premier League, Championship), cricket (First-Class County Clubs) and rugby (Rugby League). These included: Sport Directors, Managers, Head Coaches, Players, Performance Analysts, Medical Staff and also some Sport Data Companies. The findings of this study produced an account of the ways in which data and technology is being utilised in sports from training, performance management, injury prevention to on-pitch decision making and implications for team and opposition strategy. This research demonstrates that digitalisation influences the decision-making processes of players and coaches and goes further to show how and to what extent this occurs. Furthermore, this research demonstrates how sports teams are learning entities and how effective use of digitalisation enables the development of learning capabilities. The actual level of utilisation of data within sports is very varied, with football appearing to have higher utilisations and more initiatives. Challenges such as lack of resources and expert personnel have been underlined as issues still being experienced by sports teams. The findings are used to develop recommendations on how to best utilise data analytics and technology for on-pitch improvement of decision-making and how current methods can be improved. A conceptual framework is presented regarding the successful implementation and utilisation of data and technological tools. It is recommended that sports teams implement the framework and use it around their current team philosophy and strategies. However, it is equally important for sports teams to keep working and adjusting the framework. Moreover, the theoretical and practical contributions to the literature and the sports industry are highlighted. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed, while also emphasising recommendations for future research.

The aim of this research is to study 'potential absorptive capacity' (PAC) and 'realised absorptive capacity' (RAC) concepts within Thai SMEs in the 'low-medium-tech' (LMT) sector. This research has two main objectives: 1) to explore Thai dessert SMEs' motives and knowledge domains in relation to inbound open innovation (OI) access, and 2) to understand the effect of search breadth and search depth, local search experience, and innovation capability on PAC and RAC. A mixed methods approach with an exploratory design was employed in this research. It was based on a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. The 14 sets of interview data were gained from three agencies: Thai dessert SMEs, government agencies responsible for the promotion of technology and innovation in Thai SMEs, and a large company possessing one production line for an innovative Thai dessert product. The thematic analysis findings revealed three key motives engaging Thai dessert SMEs in the inbound OI access in support of new product development (NPD): brand building, product quality, and improvement. Significantly, the findings also revealed that internal factors (employee and technology management) and the type of OI practice (openness) were two key elements that Thai dessert SMEs engaged with, along with the motives. Using a quantitative approach with a survey of 211 Thai dessert SMEs, the findings of structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis revealed that search breadth was positively related to PAC, but was not found to relate to RAC. On the other hand, search depth was found to positively relate to RAC but was not found to relate to PAC. In addition, the effects of innovation capability and local search experience were examined. The findings revealed that local search experience through frequent searching in the oriented-knowledge domain significantly influenced the PAC, while there was no moderating effect of innovation capability on the relationship between the RAC and new product performance because the linear relationship of RAC and new product performance was found to be non-significant. This research contributes to the existing literature in three ways. Firstly, it advances the research on absorptive capacity by linking the concept of PAC and RAC with two distinct dimensions of search: search breadth and search depth, which corresponds to organisational learning, namely exploration learning and exploitation learning, respectively. To the researcher's knowledge, this is the first study examining the effects of search breadth and depth on PAC and RAC. Secondly, it contributes to the research on absorptive capacity by examining the moderating role of innovation capability in the relationship between RAC and new product performance. Prior research has never before examined the interaction effect of innovation capability and RAC on new product performance. This is potentially the first study examining this interaction effect. Thirdly, the study contributes to the knowledge of the implementation of inbound OI, in particular within the context of low-medium-tech (LMT) SMEs. To date, studies regarding inbound OI access of low-medium-tech SMEs are scarce. This research bridges this gap in knowledge by providing qualitative evidence of motives and knowledge in inbound OI access.

An increasing number of product recalls due to improper quality has inspired decision makers to expand their quality management (QM) practices across supply chains (SC) to continuously improve their products and processes. Specifically, a great source of concern in the pharmaceutical industry is to ensure the quality of their products within SC and avoid operational problems that are caused by poor medicine quality. To accomplish this, companies need to generate value from their SC, and more precisely, assimilate and absorb the SC knowledge. However, the present understanding of the absorptive capacity (AC) role in supply chain quality integration (SCQI), and its impact on operational performance is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold: i) to explain the role of AC processes within SCQI practices in the pharmaceutical sector. ii) to investigate the impact of AC onto SCQI and operational performance. The evidence was collected from global pharmaceutical manufacturers in Jordan and the UK, through a mixed methodology approach, using two rounds of interviews (54 interviews) and a survey (264 questionnaire). The results demonstrate that AC is essential for SCQI through developing the companies' abilities to exploit valuable knowledge that is important for their internal quality integration, because it is involved in improving the production's products and processes. Thus, the companies' become more able to build consistent internal products/processes quality and design their quality, along with robust partnerships with SC members in order to continuously improve their products and processes. Further, the findings demonstrate differences in the AC implementation between Jordan and the UK, where by these differences have significant impacts on internal and external quality integration, as well as the companies' operational performance. Unlike previous studies, this study reveals a series of mediations between AC and operational performance through internal and external quality integration. Interestingly, this result further demonstrates that internal quality integration is important to a company's success; however, it is insufficient in improving operational performance. As a result, companies need to develop their AC and integrate their quality process with their key SC partners in order to improve operational performance. The study concludes that there is a lack of perception in the importance of building the AC process and a limited view of the quality implementation inside the companies as well as within the SCs in Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturers. This leads to a significant gap in the implementation of AC processes and SCQI practices between the pharmaceutical manufacturers in Jordan and the UK, in addition to significant differences in operational performance. This study proposes and tests a model that explains how AC can be used to improve SCQI practices and how the AC process impacts the SCQI along with operational performance. Moreover, this study compares the results between a developed and a developing country in order to guide the decision makers in developing countries to the importance of building their AC process with a view to facilitating the SCQI and improve their operational performance. Through the lens of the dynamic capability theory, the study identifies the processes and the resources that increase the companies' competencies, since previous studies fall short in explaining these processes and resources. Finally, this study offers guides for implementing AC and SCQI, which can facilitate future studies in this field.