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Small businesses are at the heart of the UK economy generating more than half of output and employing more than 60% of the workforce. It is well established that small business owners rely on their personal networks for essential backing especially during the emergent phase, but not clear why greater use is not made of other sources of available support, including public sector support. This thesis goes to the core of this question by viewing small businesses in the context of support networks. Research interest in the small business sector has grown concomitantly with the proliferation of small businesses over the last 20 years. However, research into the small business sector has been overshadowed by a pre-occupation with the study of large businesses. This is because large businesses are easy to identify and may be considered as rational economic entities operating in a classical economic framework. In contrast, the motivations of the owners of small businesses are more closely linked to lifestyle choices than simply pecuniary reward. As such, it is more appropriate to think of them as essentially socio-economic entities. This realisation has ramifications for the way in which small firms should be studied and, in particular implies that the model of classical economics is inappropriate. Accordingly, this research adopts the economic sociology model, wherein small firms are seen as embedded in social networks which provide support vital for their survival. Researching the support environment of small forms from the perspective of network theory, a cornerstone of economic sociology, constitutes an original line of enquiry in this field. It is a relatively straightforward task to identify key support providers. However, it is much more difficult to assess their value to small firms. This research is aimed at improving the understanding of the support environment of small firms including the use made of different providers and what small businesses think of them. This research involved the construction and completion of a large scale survey of UK businesses using a novel on-line design. The findings of the empirical study reveal that small firms make extensive use of an inner circle of support providers and that they find the proliferation of products available from other sources confusing and frustrating. Despite recent initiatives to simplify public sector support services 4 including grouping products under the banner of “Solutions for Business,” small firms continue to favour use of their close personal networks over government schemes. The application of network theory to inform this research has produced a number of valuable new insights. Notably, the findings of this research have been used to suggest a number of policy changes for the delivery of public sector support schemes and ultimately the radical re-envisioning of the entire business support structure such that the responsibility for Business Link is ultimately transferred into private ownership.

The use of theatre- and drama-based techniques in organisations for supporting learning, development and change in organisations has been a growing phenomenon over the past fifteen years. However, there has been limited empirical research into the process and effectiveness of such interventions. The starting point for this research was exploring organisational theatre - an umbrella term to cover any organisational intervention which involves the use of theatre and drama. The review of the literature led to some preliminary questions concerning the nature and form of organisational theatre and established forum theatre as the focus of this research. There were a number of reasons as to why this was an appropriate focus, including the extent to which its ‘political’ origins translate to the organisational setting, the potential tensions within its delivery and the resource-intensive nature of the activity. Through undertaking qualitative interviews with key stakeholders (consultancies, actors and facilitators, commissioners and participants) the research explores the different perspectives of forum theatre, how it is constructed, what are the espoused aims and objectives and what is the actual impact on participants. The research highlights tensions between the ‘ideal’ of forum theatre interventions, which aims to provide more participatory learning experiences and achieve participant-led learning and change, how commissioners and practitioners construct and implement such interventions, and how forum theatre approaches are experienced by participants. Overall, I conclude that while forum theatre has the potential to provide a valuable learning experience, unless the tensions are fully acknowledged and addressed, it will not achieve the changes that commissioners look for. Furthermore, there is a need for greater understanding by commissioners of the purpose and potential uses of forum theatre, clarification of the role of the facilitators (who often perform a dual role as actors), more innovative approaches to evaluation and the need for follow-up activities to be an integral part of such events.

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The knowledge-based economy, where everything and everybody is just one click away, has formed the foundation for a new organisational form. The term ‘virtual organisation’ (VO) reflects the emergence of a new organisational form with a record of success in the modern business environment, where knowledge has become a key component. Managing knowledge is the main driver in the knowledge-based economy. One of the best examples of such organisational forms with successful knowledge sharing processes is open source software (OSS) communities. This justifies my thesis, which undertakes primary research in OSS communities via qualitative and quantitative studies to find out how and to what extent knowledge is shared in those communities, in order to develop a Model for successful knowledge sharing processes in the VOs. The following factors in the Model, which influence the level of personal contribution in the OSS communities, were found. The level of personal contribution as an indicator to knowledge sharing for product innovation is a result of a combination of individual factors as well as individual opinion on the organisational factors. Factors such as an education level/explicit knowledge, incentives/benefits for the future and monetary reward do not play a role on their own, but they influence the level of roles and the level of activeness, which in turn influence the level of knowledge sharing, which is important for the level of personal contribution on product innovation. Personal and work related motivations are important factors to successful knowledge sharing inside OSS communities. However, most importantly, the level of personal contribution towards product innovation is a result of the satisfaction of individuals by the management of the OSS communities, identification with these communities and trust inside of these communities. The developed Model shows that organisational factors are more important than individual factors for successful knowledge sharing inside OSS communities from an individual’s perspective.

Has the construction of a European level playing field in terms of policy solutions in the merger control field led to a de facto standardisation of European corporate modes of representation? This study challenges scholars who have predicted the development of a European mode of representation that would accompany the shift of competences from the national to the European level of governance. Following the establishment of a generic framework of design of corporate political strategies – based on the management literature – and adapted to the European merger control regime context, French and British firms’ corporate political strategies are thoroughly analysed. The comparison refines the original analytical framework. Moreover the conclusions of the comparative study show differences in corporate political strategies along national lines, although a certain degree of convergence can be identified. There are traditional tendencies in choosing strategies – although the efficiency of strategies can be assessed case-by-case. These conclusions are, in turn, analysed in terms of Europeanization. The latter concept is defined as a horizontal and vertical process related to the existence of the European level of governance. Unlike current conclusions of the Europeanization literature this research project highlights five main themes of differences between French and British corporate political strategies. In light of these themes the extent to which the Europeanization process affects interest intermediation needs to be qualified. Both the horizontal and vertical flows have an impact on corporate political activity. However, this impact should not be over stated. National constructs and traditions still matter in the design of corporate political strategies.

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This thesis raises the question of Corporate Social Responsibility: it asks what it is. This is done for the sake of attempting to come to terms with what seems to be Corporate Social Responsibility’s contemporary prevalence. Today, Corporate Social Responsibility is largely approached as a pragmatic question. That is to say, Corporate Social Responsibility is largely approached as a concern for practitioners, rather than theorists. To raise the question of Corporate Social Responsibility today is to therefore raise it in the midst of a predominantly held anti-theoreticist pragmatic stance. This stance, for its part, is challenged here. Against the notion that so-called pragmatism is a natural, correct or even superior disposition to adopt towards the question of Corporate Social Responsibility, this investigation posits the need to raise the question again. It does this by accounting for the historical development of the pragmatic claim upon Corporate Social Responsibility, on the one hand, and by positing the reliance of this historically determined pragmatism upon a more general project of interrogating Corporate Social Responsibility, on the other. Addressing this dual task is shown to be a matter of attempting to approach the question in the right way, of demonstrating what it means to approach Corporate Social Responsibility as a question first and foremost. To do this is not to proceed in ignorance of the fact that this question has been both asked and answered many times before. It is rather to proceed precisely on the basis of how the question has been addressed so many times before. It is ultimately demonstrated that today’s prevalent pragmatic priority stands, somewhat paradoxically, as the greatest barrier to Corporate Social Responsibility. It is ultimately argued, therefore, that to approach Corporate Social Responsibility as a question is to preserve its possibility, albeit without directly seeking to actualise it.

This research discusses the adequacy of the present body of knowledge of security in business and industry. It offers a set of concepts and a methodology by which the existing approaches can be organised into a scientific discipline and upon which further research can be based. Three main reasons are submitted for undertaking this task. First, academic approaches to the study of security are scarce and disagree on basic security concepts. Second, operational approaches originate from a multitude of actors responding to specific problems. Hence, security activities tend to be contingency-focused and to lack vision. Third, security is widely interpreted as an all-embracing topic covering all negative aspects of life. Thus, the attribution of responsibility and blame is subjective, where interest and emotion may prevail over rationality and justice. All these limitations raise problems of theorisation, explanation and justification. These can be addressed only by scientific methodology. This is the starting point of the research. The research examines the evolution of security concepts and outlines the general and operational features of security in business and industry. The main problem areas (definition and methodology) are identified and related to the principles and methods of science. The scientific reliability of the present security reasoning is examined against a framework of scientific methodology. It is found wanting. A new approach is offered conforming to the principles of scientific methodology, in order to establish general principles applicable to all security situations, and to facilitate further study. It starts with a definition of security, identifies the components of a security context and analyses its processes. It reviews the impact of management and decision-making processes upon security decisions, and offers a general methodology. It examines whether a model can be induced through which to interpret, and reasonably explain, the majority of cases in security management. A model is offered, on whose basis a security problem can be addressed, and which can be used for verification and further studies. Thus, the research seeks to contribute to the foundation of a science of security.