Search

Many academics cite research gaps in the literature concerning the strategies used by Born Global (BG) organisations to enable competitive advantage and business continuance. (Andersson et al 2020; Eggers et al, 2020; Ibeh et al, 2019; Oyna and Alon, 2018). For the purposes of this paper, the definition of the Born Global is taken from Gabrielsson et al, (2008): "the organisation should be an independent small or medium sized business, have a global vision from inception and demonstrate internationalisation with precocity and speed". Purpose: This paper investigates Domain Redefinition (DR) a component of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), as a viable construct to explain competitive advantage and business sustainment in Born Global Firms (BG). Design Approach: This paper will take the form of a short literature review, charting the journey through the literature which led to the discovery of the link between Domain Redefinition and Born Global firms. Findings: The shadow of Schumpeter is imprinted within DR, it is the one form of CE whose behaviour prerequisite is the constant drive to create new markets offering unique products and services (Kuratko and Andretsch, 2009). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing social capital is critical to knowledge management (KM) to assist in network capabilities and the understanding of systematic interactions amongst people, individually and collectively. Social capital places value on social relationships and social structures, permitting access to resources that promote innovation, such as knowledge, funding and moral support. Various types of social capital (bonding, linking and bridging) provide different sorts of exchanges, and tailored and targeted support to those who avail of social capital initiatives and innovative activities. The purpose of this PhD research is to explore the value of social capital for innovation within Agri-Food Business Support Networks. Adopting a qualitative research methodology, an in-depth case study approach of six support network programmes across the Island of Ireland will be utilised to assess interactions and change within producer and collaborative activities. Selected cases will be representative of key areas of the all-island Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). Core to the AKIS concept is that it functions by complex and systematic interactions of many actors and infrastructures. Social capital will break down these interactions with the aim of educated business support programmes on farmer’s needs, innovation capabilities and level of adaptability. Limited research to date has explored how business support programmes can aid the development of social capital and consequently lead to increased innovation capacity. This research will fulfil this existing gap. Practically, this research will support programmes to proactively assess farmer’s capacities with the use of social capital. Support programmes will have further knowledge on farmer’s attitudes, adaptability and attitudes towards innovative activities. This paper presents a systematic literature review and details plans of the proposed qualitative research study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the strategic role of HRM as a facilitator of more creative behaviours amongst employees. Although creativity has broadly been recognised as an essential ingredient of long-term organisational success (Aleksić et al, 2016; Curado, 2017), evidence suggests that much remains hidden in the current state of research (Martin and Wilson, 2017). For instance, it is still unclear whether and how creativity enhancing strategies can reduce the negative effect of less creative behaviours of employees on their performance and overall organisational effectiveness. The scant research to date highlights that certain Human Resource Development (HRD) interventions can evoke an opportunity of organisational and personal growth, due to developing and unleashing untapped human expertise (Gilley et al, 2011). However, no previous work has empirically tested the fit between strategic HRD and individual creative behaviours (Loewenberger, 2016). This paper adopts a mixed method research design, demonstrating a more inclusive approach to the challenge of human creativity at work. By encouraging participants to complete a multi-faceted self-assessment tool and engage in creative HRD interventions (workshop) we aim to detect changes in individual creative behaviour. Quantitative data is based on analysis of individual responses to the self-assessment tool, and qualitative data emerges from the workshop. The preliminary results of the pilot study suggest that participants find such a research approach a useful exercise, contributory to their creative thinking. As a result of the study, a model of creativity will be generated, grounded on the insights from the dynamic componential model of creativity (Amabile and Pratt, 2016), the model of creative problemsolving (Treffinger et al, 2008), and the concept of human flourishing (McCormack and Titchen, 2014). A complex self-assessment tool will be developed, allowing for the simultaneous and in-depth evaluation of various creativity-related parameters: personality traits, self-concept characteristics, and perceptions of the work environment. Research findings will be published in 3-star journals and a PhD thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing role of the third sector, driven in part by funding changes, creates service quality challenges (Haley and Grant, 2011). Contracts now constitute the main form of relationship between government and the third sector with increasing emphasis placed on effective service delivery (Dacombe, 2011). Additionally, joint service commissioning has broadened the stakeholder set for third sector collaborators demanding a deeper consideration of stakeholders' competing claims, influences and expectations (Taylor and Taylor, 2013), perpetuating a move toward value demonstration. This paradigm shift however presents further problems not least because of a confused understanding of what value is and how it is specified and assessed in TSOs. Consistent with these challenges, much discussion and interest is taking place, regarding how to cope with and respond to these problems. Whilst the 'Big Society' perspective reflects government's intention to place TSOs more centrally in the role of public service delivery (Mohan, 2011; Alcock, 2012), new ideas, models and perspectives from different research disciplines are required to enable TSOs to both reap the advantages of new opportunities for service delivery whilst simultaneously satisfying polarities and temporal shifts in stakeholder interests. One field under investigation as a potential contributor to TSO development is Knowledge Management (KM). This paper aims to inform future practice by examining how KM can contribute to collaborative practices and service quality by multiple stakeholders of a third sector service delivery consortium, exploring associated service quality enablers and challenges. A conceptual model is presented and findings from a qualitative case study with a non-profit consortium are delivered. This paper will be of interest to academics and practitioners challenged with value-adding knowledge management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To survive in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive global marketplace it is necessary for organisations to have access to accurate and timely information. The focus of this paper is to present Knowledge Management (KM) as an enabler for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which in turn facilitates customer service excellence. The paper considers a large US print company as a case example of how customer relationship management has successfully been applied with a positive impact on customer service excellence. Understanding CRM to enhance growth and profitability is not only a priority for organisations, but a critical area for academic research. This paper presents empirical data from CRM implementation, which has been attributed to the companys' success, especially within the customer service department. Adopting KM principles to successfully build and develop core business practices, enhanced customer knowledge is used to deliver a superior service and product range to their customer base. Preliminary findings reveal that at the centre of the business success is the strong focus on their customer. The company identifies how strategically significant each customer is and focuses on knowledge about, for and from customers. Customer data is stored in IT-based systems and extracted and transformed into customer knowledge (as phase one of the CRM approach). Combining clean and focused data with human expertise (phase 2) has lead to good KM practice. Lesson learnt from Company A include being focused on customers and the importance of having a strategic and operational business focus on CRM implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]