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The application of Critical Theory in Information Systems (IS) research is comparatively recent and is still at a very early stage, having hardly progressed much beyond a critique of existing approaches to systems development. It has been argued that from the perspective of Critical Theory the challenge of developing a more rational society involves the transformation of institutions so that computer-based systems facilitate emancipation rather than providing more powerful systems of control. Utopian visions of autonomy, creativity and democracy may be much removed from the realities of everyday life for participants in an IS implementation but this does not mean that certain principles cannot be adopted to facilitate emancipation at a 'micro' level. The potential of critical theory for IS implementation study can be found in the work of Hirschheim, Klein and Lyytinen who have been some of the main advocates of its importance. They believe that the design of information systems is dependent upon a process of free and open communications guided by an appreciation of the presence and value of each of the three knowledge constitutive interests identified by Habermas. Although not detailing a way forward they do suggest a number of ways of mitigating socially unnecessary impediments to and distortions of rational discourse. One such course of action could be the systems analyst acting as an `emancipator' within an IS implementation. This thesis is a result of research which has explored how the systems analyst can develop emancipatory practice within the context of integrated information systems implementation. The organisational context for this research was three NHS acute hospitals in the North East of England that were beginning the process of implementing integrated information systems (IS). Action Research was the methodology adopted and utilised to explore a framework of emancipatory practice within these IS projects. One particular objective, facilitating emancipation through less distorted communication, was explored in detail utilising IDEFO, a process modelling tool. The thesis concludes by developing reflexive insight into the research as a whole and the use of the emancipatory framework by the researcher who was also the systems analyst. It draws attention to the difficulties of carrying out this type of research for the organisations concerned, the individual actors and the systems analyst.

This doctoral study aims to build on extant theory within the area of knowledge management. Specifically, the need to gain value from knowledge consumed from outside of the typical organisational boundary, consider the internal value of knowledge as an independent asset and continuous enrichment via a cyclic process. By focussing on specific elements of knowledge management processes, extant literature has not addressed gaps within the knowledge domain that bring together key capabilities to introduce an effective cyclic enrichment framework. Gaps in previous research fail to address issues on the value of knowledge as an independent asset and as part of a cyclic framework of enrichment. Extant literature has investigated knowledge as a directional flow supporting key organisational processes such as supply chain or value chain capabilities. Such approaches limit opportunity for growth in both the value and richness of knowledge. This is due to focus being moved away from enriching the knowledge asset itself and moving it onto the success of the processes it supports, thus missing opportunities to gain a richer knowledge environment. Furthermore, a lack of empirical evidence to address how external knowledge resources are consumed as knowledge assets internally and the impact on knowledge processes. This study uses a qualitative methodology to address the research environment and get a deeper insight into the research problem. The research environment limits scope to operations within the UK, consisting of 450 locations. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with 19 participants throughout the UK. Participants who agreed to be involved were selected based on their role as knowledge workers. The questions posed focused on issues faced by the organisation relating to issues impacting knowledge processes. It was determined that this approach would give a more in-depth view of underlying issues allowing the researcher to probe deeper into knowledge workers experiences. Findings extend the work of extant research by addressing key issues of knowledge management from a different approach than those considered previously. An inductive approach during the data analysis identified five key contributions, including a) a theoretical framework called the KSC (knowledge supply chain), b) de-coupling of knowledge from other organisational capabilities, c) capability to consume knowledge from a large number of sources, d) knowledge relationship types for the consumption of knowledge e) a consumer knowledge provider type to address issues in making the approach cyclic in nature. Rather than focusing on organisational determinants or technological capabilities, this research highlights the importance of types of knowledge providers and their associated relationships.

Higher education institutes (HEIs) and external employer organisations are increasingly recognising the benefits of engaging in work-based learning (WBL) partnerships. However, significant challenges associated with this form of engagement have meant such partnerships are not as widespread as they could be. One of the major challenges identified relates to organisational culture. The purpose of this study is to consider how WBL partnerships between an Irish HEI (HEI X) and external employer organisations can be enhanced by a deeper understanding of organisational culture. An ethnographic methodology combining a number of different data-gathering methods, including observation, reviewing of documents and interviews with eight HEI X staff, eight WBL learners and five employer representatives, was adopted. The findings reveal how cultural differences in relation to assumptions, timeframes, languages, objectives and general attitudes can be a source of difficulty for the three stakeholders (learner, employer and HEI). According to the findings, cultural issues within the HEI and external employer organisation can also create significant challenges when attempts are being made to initiate or coordinate a WBL partnership. Johnson’s cultural web (1988) is used as a framework to present the findings. The study makes a valuable contribution to knowledge by recognising the requirements of all three stakeholders and discussing the usefulness of the cultural web as a framework for considering organisational culture in WBL partnerships. The study also makes a valuable contribution to practice by presenting recommendations to the HEI and external employer organisation. The recommendations for the HEI involve a change in the “way we do things around here” due to the unique characteristics of WBL programmes, which may mean adapting existing policies, procedures and systems. Recommendations for the employer organisation include providing support to the learner, understanding and respecting the HEI’s requirements, and ensuring that internal policies, procedures, practices and priorities support WBL.

The aim of this thesis is to develop a theoretical model to explore how sociomaterial networks, involving large-scale automation, come into being, persist and change over time, within a healthcare environment. It does so by bridging the gap between design, implementation and use of large-scale pathology automation (LSPA) within two United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) laboratories. A longitudinal, multi-site, ethnographic approach was used, along with semi-structured interviews, template analysis and participant observation of LSPA ‘in-practice’. This research has suggested that design features, embedded within the material properties of LSPA, were purposefully intended to bring about organisational change. In both user organisations, the material affordances of LSPA resulted in anticipated skill mix changes. However, material constraints required the enforcement of changes to organisational routines, creating operational difficulties, which were then subsequently transferred across organisational boundaries by the researcher/manager. The identification of these sociomaterial affordances and constraints, in conjunction with humans acting as boundary objects, had the unintended consequence of influencing strategic decision making and initiating structural and cultural change. The development and practical application of the resulting SociomANTerial model allowed the researcher to trace the analytical history of these organisational changes over time and consider the impact of broader social structures such as power. Ultimately it is suggested that a greater emphasis on collaboration between users, designers and corporate agents will result in more innovative approaches for technology adoption and improved organisational design.

Since 1952 students at English universities have received grants towards covering the cost of their university education. Nevertheless, in September 1998, students for the first time were expected to contribute towards the cost of their undergraduate education in the form of tuition fees. More recently, the student contribution has increased to the point where in 2012 students will be paying a major contribution to their undergraduate tuition fees and by many people may be considered as ‘customers’ of education. The aim of this marketing thesis is to investigate how ‘Discrete Choice Experiments’ provide an alternative approach within consumer behaviour theory to estimating course level decision making in English Higher Education. To do this, it introduces the marketisation of the English Higher Education sector, and explores the consumer behaviour literature in the areas of student choice and consumer reservation price. Whilst the attributes that influence student choice of university have been explored, explicit research has failed to use discrete choice theory to examine the attributes that influence choice of course. Furthermore, despite the practical importance of knowing how much prospective students would pay for their undergraduate course, there remains limited research into estimating consumer reservation price in the marketing field. This thesis establishes a preliminary model which provides a greater insight into the attributes and levels that have a significant influence on student choice of course. This model is then used to underpin the primary research conducted within this thesis using a discrete choice experiment. The sample population was Years 12 and 13 students based at two North-east secondary schools. Although the study was restricted to only focusing on the North east of England, findings reveal students are willing to pay more for degree course that have better access to good quality student accommodation and have a higher number of teaching hours. This suggests that universities that offer newly refurbished accommodation and offer greater levels of contact time could justify charging higher fees. Based on the findings of the discrete choice experiment the contributions to theory and methodology of this thesis are the development of a checklist containing the factors to consider when constructing a discrete choice experiment along with the application of a discrete choice experiment contextualised for the English Higher Education sector. Moreover this provides a basis for future discrete choice experiment research in the marketing field.

This work constructs a bridge across the "knowing-doing gap" of international staff exchange: the gap between strategy formulation and its execution within the constraints of a post-1992 university business school in the UK. It goes beyond the common, well-intentioned and yet vague statements involving the "encouragement" of international staff exchange to propose a model of execution through strategic entrepreneurship. The promotion of international staff mobility is a founding principle of the "Bologna Process", designed to create a converged system of higher education across Europe. Many UK "new" (ie post-1992) universities are engaged in the development of internationalisation strategies which include staff exchange. Meanwhile, the failure to execute strategy is increasingly acknowledged as a major problem in organisational performance. Using a first-, second and third-person Insider Action Research (AR) approach, the author initiated, planned, organised and implemented an international staff exchange between universities in the UK and France. Data generated were subjected to a double process of analysis in order to construct the new model. A policy of "subjectivity with transparency" and transcontextual credibility throughout enables the reader to judge transferability. Duality is the nature of this "bridge" and the simplistic transplant of the expatriation policies of commercial organisations is avoided. Concepts from the theoretical literature in three domains - strategic management and entrepreneurship in higher education, internationalisation of higher education and strategy execution through strategic entrepreneurship - are combined with the research analysis to propose that "strategic entrepreneurs" can execute the riskier elements of an internationalisation strategy, such as staff exchange. Members of the creative class, strategic entrepreneurs are attracted and motivated by the foundation of a diverse environment and entrepreneurial culture promoted by a university's values-driven, holistic approach to internationalisation. Their autonomous strategic behaviour must be facilitated by an execution-focussed organisational architecture. In a university, the overall approach to staff exchange should combine central and local (school-based) functions and resource both to develop strategic initiatives and to exploit tactical opportunities. This work broadens AR from education into strategic management, specifically linking the areas of strategic execution and strategic entrepreneurship.

The published work in this thesis is based on a number of studies that utilise a suite of (related) “best practice” benchmarking tools, providing an evaluation of the North East England’s manufacturing and service sectors and the UK Further Education sector. Within this submission, a supporting commentary in the form of a critical literature review is provided. The complementary review initially provides an introduction and background to the studies that as a whole comprise this PhD by publication. Consideration is then given to the literature specific to benchmarking, particularly in terms of its role in facilitating organisational improvement and learning, as well as its take-up and applications. The studies described above relate to the implementation of related “best practice” frameworks, yielding data from the self-assessing participating organisations. This leads to the third part of the literature review where the association between practice and performance is assessed relating to certain connected themes. The final part of the commentary assesses the contribution to knowledge that is made by this PhD submission in terms of the literature that existed at the time the constituent papers and reports were developed, along with my specific contribution to these outputs and the potential future research that could lead from this contribution. A key contribution of this work to the benchmarking literature rests in the deployment of a framework in two new sectoral contexts, the regional application being underpinned by a novel approach to supported self-assessment. This complemented the case-based literature dominant at the time, the review providing a critical comparison of “best practice” frameworks and the adoption of generic benchmarking metrics. The empirical assessment of practice against performance suggests that the former does impact on the latter, but with greater influence internally. The association between excellence achievement and stakeholder satisfaction is holistically positive, although the findings are perhaps both less than clear-cut and unexpected. The contribution to knowledge provided here relates to the assessment of the broader service sector, including dual consideration with stakeholder perception and examination of additional performance areas, such as corporate social responsibility, thus moving this evaluation into areas under reported at that time.