This study investigates different approaches to University business partnerships in the United Kingdom (UK). The research documents links universities have with companies in terms of industrial research, knowledge transfer, and other forms of external collaborative partnerships, and what these links are. The objectives of the paper are to provide accurate information on university business partnerships for business professionals, industrial policymakers, management students, researchers, and academicians. The research was carried out in three stages including i) the nature of university business partnerships, ii) an overview of the university/business inter-organizational relationship, and iii) university-industry relationships and the different approaches to university business partnerships. Comparison is made between universities in order to benchmark and assess “good/best practice” and potential barriers. Investigation of the commercialization of Intellectual Property (IP) is undertaken with insights for improvements. Recommendations to improve the management of university knowledge transfer are given.

Multi-National Companies (MNCs) seek to optimise their return on overseas investment by applying stringent techniques for assessing the suitability of new markets. The growth over the last decade in global foreign direct investment (FDI), points to an increasing need by MNCs to find appropriate overseas locations to serve fragmented local markets and to be closer to key customers. The scope of this research is to conduct an exploratory investigation into the factors that specifically influenced decisions by MNCs to invest in Research and Development (R&D) facilities in Ireland. In order to focus the research, a decision was made to explore this question as it relates to the technology sector. The investigative methodologies employed saw the application of both primary and secondary research. An initial review of the relevant literature focused on FDI in the global and Irish contexts. Primary research, in the form of in-depth interviews, was undertaken with existing MNCs in Ireland and a number of key stakeholders from policy makers to academia, whilst a focus group was conducted within IDA Ireland. The results of the research indicate that whilst Ireland has been extremely successful in attracting manufacturing and service-related activity, it has not done as well in securing large scale R&D investment. Equally, the factors that conspired to attract existing R&D investment in Ireland do not follow the more traditional and expected investment requirements matrix as applied by MNCs in seeking new investment locations.

This research study is a timely exploration into the factors affecting the sustainability of the Medical Technology FDI Company base in Ireland, delving into the reasons why FDI chooses to locate and remain in a location. The Medical Technology sector was specifically chosen as it is an important sector for Ireland both in terms of employment and exports and is of primary interest to the authors. Primary and secondary research has been undertaken in executing this investigation with the authors following a qualitative methodology. Following a review of the available literature examining the context of FDI and the issues surrounding sustainability, the authors undertook a series of semi-structured depth interviews with existing FDI Medical Technology based companies. These were further complemented by additional interviews with industry stakeholders and a focus group consisting of Medical Technology team members from the FDI investment promotion agency, IDA Ireland. The results of the research proved interesting in demonstrating that whilst Ireland remains a good place for Medical Technology investment, especially in the higher value areas of manufacturing and R&D for example, there are at least nine potential factors that could affect the sustainability of the FDI base in the country’s Medical Technology sector. Of these factors, cost competitiveness and corporate tax retention proved to be of prime importance. The research has also shown that the sector is looking to Government and the IDA to assist in retention strategies, primarily through broader incentive programmes and support.

This study seeks to investigate firm-level innovation, exploring whether social relationships located in knowledge networks influence the transfer of university knowledge to Ghanaian firms. Firms’ informal relationships with universities have been under-researched in developing economies. The extant literature suggests that informal relationships in the context of economies with advanced regional and national innovation systems have a positive association with firm level innovation performance. The research project employs a cross-sectional survey of 245 firms in Ghana. The aim of the project is to explore the influence of informal mechanisms of university knowledge transfer on firm level innovation performance in Ghana. The study adopts a structural model with partial least squares as an analytical technique. The findings reveal that to deliver positive results in a firm’s innovation performance by informal means, a well-coordinated social system to attract research knowledge from all aspects of the university system is required. The research project’s implications for Ghana’s innovation system include a need to be aware of the impact of corruption and lack of intellectual property rights on the efficacy informal knowledge transfer.

Research into formal and informal technology transfer between universities and industry in economical developed counties is well-documented. However, such studies are limited in number in developing economies. In the context of developing economies, this study analyses technology transfer offices’ role in university technology transfer to Ghanaian firms. We incorporate informal mechanisms as a moderating variable to explore the role of human interaction in the technology transfer value chain. In a cross-sectional survey in Ghana, using structural equation modelling with 245 firms, our research finds a negative moderating effect of informal mechanisms on the effect of technology transfer offices on innovation performance in firms. The findings are of significance to universities and corporate bodies in economically developing nations such as Ghana. Policies to improve the effect of informal mechanisms of university technology transfer offices are proposed in developing economies.

This article explores the role of 'periodisations' in the development of HRM in the Latvian public sector and consists of a series of 'elite interviews' with leading 'actors' identifying further 'periodisations' which are 'mapped' in an evolutionary framework. Immediately following independence in 1990 was a 'void' period and a time of turmoil. The 'transition' period followed from the mid-1990s, characterised by up-skilling and an emerging awareness of HRM. The 'emergence' period began circa 2008, with more consideration of the role of HRM and the importance of the acquisition of skills related to HRM, previously transactional in nature. The 'emergence' period is highly significant for the modern development of HRM in the Latvian public sector. The elite interview methodological approach does however have some limitations for generalisability, and future quantitative validation may be required. This knowledge informs and enhances understanding of post-Soviet behavioural factors and residual cultural effects offering a framework for future research.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the importance of research and development activity in Health sector small and medium-sized companies in Wales. Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach involved extensive examination of the phenomenon of research and development in the organisations researched. Data for the case studies has been obtained from information relating to the organisations investigated. These have been combined with secondary and internal data sources from the organisations for completeness. Three case studies have been undertaken in the health sector in Wales and these are reported according to the company background, research and development (R&D) activity and the importance of R&D. Findings – The health companies studied reported that they undertook R&D in partnership with other companies, universities and the NHS. In particular universities were considered to be important sources of knowledge and technological expertise. In fact, R&D in universities has the important aim of providing postgraduate students with research skills, and related to this, public R&D creates considerable knowledge spillovers to small health businesses through “tacit” knowledge, training of researchers and collaborative ventures. Originality/value – A significant policy research question regarding the importance of R&D activity for health sector small and medium-sized companies asks to what extent domestic technology progress is influenced by global developments or domestic R&D. The answer appears to be that domestic technology progress is influenced by a combination of both global developments and domestic R&D.

The research reported in this paper was undertaken to investigate the importance of teleworking as an innovative work practice in small business enterprises (SBEs) in South Wales. In order to accomplish this the research uses a qualitative research approach which employed an online focus group and in-depth interviews through questionnaires and interviews with various organizations, employees and employers and key policy makers in Wales to construct a framework to provide greater understanding of this phenomenon. The research concludes that teleworking is regarded to be important for the advancement of SBEs in Wales. It is the first study to investigate and evaluate the practice of teleworking and how its innovative application framework affects SBEs directly in Wales to help businesses succeed.

This paper presents part of theoretical and practical analysis of the influence of Arab Islamic culture on employees’ effectiveness in Jordanian commercial banks. It considers two of the Islamic values: Intention (Neyyah) and Justice Trust (Amana) from the employees’ perspective. The influence of religion on both: practices of management and its role in human behaviour within work organizations has been ignored (Ababneh & Avramenko, 2016). This paper tries to fill part of this gap by considering its influence on organizational performance in general and employee’s effectiveness in particular. In a country such as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, religion plays an important role in everyday life, being supported by Government. Interest is in the prevalent behaviour at work and beyond. The question is ‘what’ is the degree of influence of commitment to religious practices? This paper explores the relationship between the dominant religion and management practices in paying particular attention to Arab Islamic culture and employees’ effectiveness. This is an important sector to study, as it plays a key role in supporting societies and is arguably the most important service sector affecting the Jordanian economy. Data was analysed from managers, assistant managers, divisional heads, branch heads and other employees from five commercial banks in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with a sample size of 174. Therefore, descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and other statistical tests were utilised to test research hypotheses. The empirical results of the research show there is no statistically significant effect to Intention (Neyyah) and Justice Trust (Amana) on HR performance in the commercial banks in Jordan.

Human resources (HR) management professionals have been using different methods of social media (SM) in their recruitment strategies with varying degrees of success. Through examining SM and its effect, this can support the development of a more effective HR recruitment strategy. This research investigates effects and issues associated with SM and recruitment and whether SM is effective as an innovative e-entrepreneurship method of hiring the best job applicants for enterprises. Professionals, recruiters, and employees were questioned on their views of SM from a personal and professional perspective through a variety of methods including focus groups and questionnaires. It is argued that the advantages of using SM for online recruitment include increased efficiency and convenience for both potential employees and enterprises, whereas where the systems are not designed correctly, it can create increased difficulties for the enterprises in communicating with potential employees. A framework is provided that can be used by enterprises in order to create their own SM recruitment cycle.

This paper describes an academic study into the wealth of successful technology entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom. Here we are concerned with the dimensions of wealth in terms of its measurement. The methodology used involved three stages to determine the nature of the wealth involved. Initial sources (predominantly literature) and further sources (mainly business information) were considered in stage one to understand the measurement of the wealth of successful technology entrepreneurs. Analysis and synthesis of data undertaken in stage two determined the net wealth for technology entrepreneurs in different areas of activity. The nature and importance of the measurement of the wealth of technology entrepreneurs were examined in stage three to formulate conclusions. The research question investigated “what is the average net wealth of successful technology entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom?” The contribution of the study is to bring together findings of the research in terms of the measurement of the wealth of successful technology entrepreneurs.

This paper investigates the significance of cultural events for the development of tourism on the Isle of Man. Historically the Isle of Man captured tourists from areas around the Irish Sea including England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This was especially the case with working-class tourists from the industrial North of England, North Wales, Dublin and Belfast. These tourism markets were prominent in the late 19th, and early and mid 20th centuries. Recent tourist data shows a fall in visitor numbers to the Isle of Man which has taken effect in post war years. In order to explore this decline, and the significance of cultural events for the development of tourism in recent years, a number of research methods have been deployed involving secondary data to assess tourism development and tourism sector growth determinants. As a consequence an investigation was undertaken involving sequential parts. Part one considered trends in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries drawing primarily on secondary data, existing research and archival material. Part two investigated cultural events to provide findings and analysis for the tourism industry on the Island. Lastly, part three assessed the nature and importance of events according to the modern evolution of the sector. External (international) and internal (island) influences on development were considered. From the findings conclusions showing prominent issues from the trends observed have enabled consideration of the importance of cultural events for tourism development.

This paper examines the association between university–industry collaboration and firm innovation performance, and the effect of informal mechanisms of knowledge transfer on such an association, using data from a survey of 245 firms in Ghana and employing partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results are of significant relevance to the business community and policy-makers in Ghana and West African. We find that while university–industry collaboration is positively related to innovation performance in firms, informal mechanisms of university knowledge transfer do not and negatively moderate the positive association between university–industry collaboration and innovation performance in firms. It is also found that to facilitate innovation outcomes, formal, legal binding contracts are required. The study recommends that university knowledge generation and innovation policies in Ghana encourage formal collaboration between knowledge exchange actors. It is also suggested that improvements need to be made to the efficacy of intellectual property legislation in Ghana.

The aim of this paper is to compile an up-to-date and academically grounded study into organizational ecosystems in terms of employee innovativeness.Here we are concerned with the dimensions of innovation involving traditionally measured forms of innovation, hidden innovation and social innovation including interactions and relationships.The methodology used involved systems model formulation following the stages of the identification of the main structures, relationships and components, model building, development of an evolved organizational ecosystem model, and analysis of the model.The research question addressed 'what are the main components of organizational ecosystems in terms of employee innovativeness?'The contribution of the paper is to bring together findings on the characteristics of organizational ecosystems in terms of the dimensions of employee innovativeness.

PurposeThis study attempts to create new insights into innovation management through the integration of innovation management processes and sustainable, iterative circles. Through the exploration of the use of sustainable, iterative circles in a manufacturing environment, this paper explores their role in facilitating customer-focused innovation practices. Other supporting antecedences for innovative behavior are reviewed, and their combined effect upon delivering cost-effective product developments are assessed.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through semi-structured interviews in manufacturing organizations from the automotive industry. Interviews were conducted with senior functional managers to interpret the application of sustainable, iterative development circles. Analysis of the data was undertaken via thematic analysis based upon pertinent and emergent themes.FindingsSustainable, iterative development circles overcame the inherent path-dependency of traditional linear development approaches, whereas, traditional approaches structure the involvement of key business functions, iterative circles facilitate more flexible approaches to product development that more closely met the requirements of the customer, especially when those requirements are in a state of flux.Practical implicationsThis iterative, customer-centric approach to product development reflects the increasingly dynamic market environments in which manufacturing organizations operate. Using this approach helps to focus the organization’s attention upon customer requirements rather than the challenges of adhering to the rigid dogma of a chosen development methodology.Originality/valueThis study proposes a new approach toward the development of innovations in manufacturing organizations utilizing the sustainable, iterative circles, and therefore, contrasts with the traditional, linear development methodologies that are usually employed.

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the movement of senior staff and their competencies between enterprises in a high technology cluster (HTC). An analysis has been undertaken of the movement of senior staff between high technology enterprises. The mobility of senior staff in the cluster is considered with reference to the growth of the cluster. The findings of the research show that a local production network exists around cluster enterprises. An extensive knowledge network has been built around the enterprises facilitated by senior staff movement between them. Here it has been found that knowledge diffused by the mobility of labor involving senior staff in the high technology cluster has contributed to the cluster performing better through the generation of spinouts and the accumulation of knowledge. The approach highlights the importance of the movement of labor between enterprises in a high technology cluster in terms of understanding cluster growth dynamics and the cluster's contribution and importance to international industry.

The Business of New Process Diffusion explores entrepreneurship, innovation and process diffusion through the example of the development of float glass. The significance of the glass industry as a vehicle for studying innovation activities has been recognised for some time. By using it as an example to draw out the key themes of innovation and diffusion theory, this book uses its specific industrial history to form an illuminating case study. Little has been written in terms of the management of the early float glass start-ups, resulting in a gap in the literature. This book seeks to remedy this by recounting developments through the lens of one of the leading glass technologists involved in the process at the time, using historical and archival material, and artefacts from the period. It illustrates the business origins of the process and its invention, progressing to innovation, competition in the market, first successful production, licensing and patents, and the management of the start-ups leading to market leadership: all significant to the study of technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. This short-form volume provides a concise but rich resource for researchers and students of the theory and practice of innovation, new process diffusion and start-up management.

The aim of this chapter is to compile an up-to-date and academically grounded study into organizational ecosystems in terms of innovation and social capital dimensions. The authors are concerned with the dimensions of innovation involving traditionally measured forms of innovation, hidden innovation and social innovation, and social capital including collaboration, cooperation, as well as bridging and bonding social capital and network ties. The methodology used involved systems model formulation following the stages of the identification of the main structures, relationships and components, model building, development of an evolved organizational ecosystem model, and analysis of the model. The research question addressed the question, What are the main components of organizational ecosystems in terms of innovation and social capital dimensions? The contribution of the chapter is to bring together findings on the characteristics of organizational ecosystems in terms of the dimensions of innovation, and social capital including trust, collaboration, cooperation, and social network ties.