The emergence of the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in the United Kingdom (UK) in the past twenty years has heralded a significant departure in the approach to doctoral level business research. Key to the development of the DBA is its focus on engagement with organisations. This study explores a specific aspect of this engagement, a DBA’s potential contribution to the development of strategists. The thesis is based on fourteen in-depth unstructured interviews with key respondents in the DBA community, namely, students, academic staff and staff from quasi-governmental agencies. Care was taken to select a purposeful sample of respondents who represented the range of informed perspectives on DBAs and their potential relationship with the development of strategists. An inductive approach to analysing the interview transcripts was initially applied. This was done to explore the subject from as wide a perspective as possible. This inevitably produced some findings that may appear peripheral to the central research focus of this work but are in themselves worth reporting. The thesis also developed a conceptual frame consisting of key characteristics of strategists drawn from the extant literature. This frame formed the basis of a deductive analysis of the interviewee texts in order to form a perspective focused on the research aim and attendant research objectives. The study identifies that there are a number of different forms of DBA and the structures of the award are still evolving. Several assumptions about the recruitment of students, such as numbers, age and experience and the relationship between the DBA and the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) are questioned. The evidence in this study indicates that the DBA can have a positive influence on strategists’ key skill sets. Critically, DBAs can improve the reflective and reflexive abilities of individuals, particularly in the strategically important areas of creativity, analytical skills, communication, and strategic thinking. This, vii however, has not been identified by the key stakeholders within academia or outside the sector. The findings of this study might have important implications for those delivering DBAs, those intending to take a DBA, the organisations within which DBAs are placed and for government and sponsors of this form of high-level research. Thus, this study contributes to both practice and knowledge.

Sharing Knowledge is considered an important part of managing new product development (NPD) research on the process of NPD and Knowledge Management methods have influenced industry in various ways. For example the management of the NPD process, the use of tools, techniques and the organisation of teams, and the integration of the marketing and manufacturing have resulted in considerable progress within NPD process. Prior studies on the NPD problems have delivered various models of the NPD process and a variety of supporting methods, tools and techniques in a generic context. A more realistic scenario however, is to consider the needs of firms that develop products on a Make-to-Order (MTO) or Engineer-to-Order (ETO) basis. The research methodology adopted was based on extracting a preliminary ETO model supported by variety of Knowledge Management methods, tools and techniques from the review of literature. To examine the applicability of these models and methods and also the influential factors on the NPD process a survey by questionnaire and structured interviews in UK industrial companies was carried out. Findings were bound together to provide a generic model of the ETO process and a framework for the knowledge sharing on the specific needs of ETO manufacturing companies. IDEFO technique was used to develop the preliminary and the generic models. The objective of this research is to construct a structured and practical framework for supporting the opportunity for knowledge sharing within one-off projects. The knowledge sharing framework referred to as 'Sharing-ETO-Knowledge' (SETOK) was translated into a computer program using the "MS Visio' enterprise modelling systems. It was examined by applying the system program to the data of the two cases that had been obtained at the case study stage. The framework has been fruitful in the provision of a guideline for the implementation of the knowledge sharing in various NPD-ETO projects. The SETOK framework may be viewed as a practical, robust generic tool to assess the process performance of ETO manufacturing projects. The outcome of this study would help ETO manufacturing companies in their knowledge sharing and decision making processes with regards to NPD-ETO manufacturing projects.

The IT outsourcing market has experienced staggering growth over recent years; however, evidence suggests that this IT outsourcing movement has been problematic. (Gartner (2002) estimated that 80% of IT Outsourcing deals failed to deliver their original anticipated business objectives). This thesis examines organisational outsourcing trends within a wider organisational context, for example the positioning of outsourcing within the 'flexibility offensive' (Atkinson and Gregory (1986)). The focus then shifts to IT outsourcing and specifically how the IT outsourcing environment is governed. This research programme utilises action research as the research method. This involves the adoption of the '4 moments of action research' (Carr and Kemmis (1986)) namely 'planning' 'acting', 'observation' and 'reflection'. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), initially developed by Checkland in 1969, is adopted as the theoretical framework. This framework enables the development, implementation and subsequent reflection on 'A Systemic Governance Framework for IT Outsourcing'When this research programme was initiated, Royal Mail was at the early stages of considering an IT outsourcing route. Royal Mail subsequently entered into a £1.5Billion (over a ten-year period) outsourcing deal in June 2003. Within my role as Royal Mail Head of Governance I had a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between theoretical/academic and practitioner perspectives and to provide a unique and original application or practical intervention within the Royal Mail IT outsourcing environment. This intervention has the objective of utilising an original IT Governance Framework, which is designed and applied as part of this research programme, as a practical toolkit within the Royal Mail IT outsourced environment. From a theoretical perspective, the use of SSM and systems thinking in developing a systemic governance framework for IT outsourcing represents an original approach which offers new insights into this area of research. This thesis should be of significant interest to both academic and practitioner communities within the IT outsourcing and specifically IT governance fields. This research programme sheds new light on the conundrum of why IT outsourcing is expanding despite the apparently poor levels of benefits realisation. Further, the systemic IT Governance Framework, which is developed and implemented, emerges as a new and leading edge model of control which is capable of operating effectively within the Royal Mail highly complex and commercial IT outsourced environment.

The aim of the research program is firstly to aid better understanding of the public perception of the Egyptian government's web portal and, through this understanding, secondly to clarify the relationship between the ease of doing business and the usage of e-government services in Egypt. The lack of similar research conducted in Middle Eastern countries in general and in Egypt in particular is a good reason to conduct this research. Previous Egyptian studies have focused on the context of local channels for e-government provision. A questionnaire survey measures on five scales the perception of a small, purposive sample of educated Egyptian citizens to the e-government portal. The outcomes from this questionnaire include demographic statistics and use of technology. The survey finds the respondents mostly satisfied with the e-government portal, which may encourage Egypt to apply more e-government solutions in order to accomplish different business processes. A correlation analysis illustrates the relationship between the UN E-Government Readiness Report and the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report. The correlation tests the statistical relationship between the rankings of countries in the two reports. The report analysis examines more deeply the indicators and indexes to identify a basis for the correlation between e-government services and business procedures. A limited case study focuses on two business processes in Egypt. By exploring the full cycle of these processes the findings identify the social and economic context of Egypt plus the importance of using e-government solutions. The findings indicate that Egypt's e-government program should be enhanced to make business processes easier. The overall perception of educated Egyptian citizens is that the e-government portal is satisfactory. The link between e-government services, business readiness and citizen perceptions is demonstrated in the thesis. Future investment in this is only held back by the rate of illiteracy in Egypt and the perceived corruption of government employees. This research concludes with a number of recommendations to the Egyptian government for the future development of e-government services to make doing business easier. Future research should focus on involving citizens more closely in e-government through Citizen Relationship Management (CiRM) and investigating Egypt's knowledge economy in business development.

This thesis seeks to obtain a greater understanding of the development and management of business relationships in a high-risk and uncertain market. It is suggested that the existing literature on business relationship development has been mainly developed from a basis of conceptual works. Empirical works are still limited and were mainly based on deductive-quantitative approaches. The contribution of this study lies in the use of a different perspective, which emerged from inductive logic of theory development. A range of literature is reviewed to search for understandings of business relationship development. It is suggested that current theory mainly explains business relationship development in stable markets, which offers a rather deterministic view. Understanding was not obtained on how an unstable market environment could affect business relationships although the literature suggested that the environment might have an effect on the development. Therefore, this study aims to provide a richer understanding of the underlying process that triggers the development. The experience of six British manufacturing companies exporting to a high-risk and uncertain market (Indonesia) was explored in order to develop understandings and explanations of the phenomena observed. The literature did not dictate the process of the theory development, which led to an investigation of greater depth from a different perspective (learning orientation) to obtain understanding of the development of business relationships. The main contribution of the thesis is that the findings suggested that business relationship development was influenced by intangible firm elements, namely: learning orientation, market orientation and risk behaviour. The orientations triggered development of business relationship elements, such as: trust, commitment and satisfaction. High level of intangible firm elements led to stable business relationships since the elements, particularly learning orientation, stimulates exporters to commit to a relationship, to trust partners and promote mutual satisfaction. In contrast, to some extent, low levels of intangible firm elements led to unstable business relationships since exporters could not maintain commitment, trust or satisfaction in the relationships. The study contributes to the understanding that experiential and continuous learning processes facilitate knowledge building and create understanding of the market and that customers stimulate the development of business relationships. In order to cope with environmental uncertainty, exporters need to learn to build knowledge, which can be used to create a sustainable impact on a company's operation in the market. The current study contributes to theory by suggesting that exporters who lack learning orientation are not only less able to cultivate stable working business relationships but also less able to provide ongoing supports that directly aids their customers/partners in winning and keeping their business in an uncertain market.

This thesis describes the development of a technical standard to aid in the design of inclusive commercial fitness equipment. It was driven by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative, a charitable organisation leading the way in the mainstream delivery of an inclusive fitness culture in the UK. Confirmation of the widespread inaccessibility of existing products to disabled people is provided through a literature review, which additionally highlights the importance of considering a range of product types and impairment categories in providing a feasible design solution. The review also upholds the thesis' premise that the fitness industry's adoption of more inclusive practices is being hindered by the lack of relevant and coherent design information. With the inclusive design of mainstream commercial fitness equipment in its infancy, the work necessarily draws on predominantly qualitative and inductive investigation methods. Advocated for use in new fields, a consortium approach was used to develop an inclusive design standard in consultation with relevant stakeholder groups. Data has been drawn from 5 practical testing sessions involving 122 users examining a total of 209 products. Questionnaires have been employed to capture the needs of individuals with a range of physical, sensory and cognitive impairments and the findings used to identify the foremost sources of design exclusion. Concurrently, commercial perspectives on the viability of an industry-specific inclusive design standard have been solicited from 15 equipment supplier organisations, representing approximately 65% of the industry, via a series of 9 focus group sessions. From analysis of the collective data, the first draft of the standard was created by the author. Subsequent revisions were guided by an equipment expert panel, convened to offer professional opinions and synthesise user and supplier data, until a consensus on technical content was reached. Substantive conclusions are drawn from the research with regard to the use of an independent and multidisciplinary expert panel to mediate between multiple stakeholder groups and to determine a level of inclusion that can be reasonably and practicably achieved. Further conclusions examine the changing attitudes of leading supplier organisations towards new ways of working, with the uptake of the standard, product design changes and feedback from product design staff indicating the efficacy of the research approach in promoting inclusive design practice. Finally, case study and survey data are presented to confirm the subsequent effectiveness of the standard in supporting inclusive equipment design. The value of the standard is further demonstrated by its inclusion in the bibliography of EN 957:1, the European Standard governing the safety of fitness equipment, alongside the creation of an associated class of product. In addition, the content of the standard has formed a considerable proportion of the new inclusive fitness standard under development by sub-committee WK19803 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

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Reliable productivity rates for construction trades are essential for contractors to accurately estimate the time and cost of construction projects. These rates vary considerably based on the complexity of the structure, project site constraints, and other technical, managerial, social and cultural factors. Predicting the effect of these factors will enhance the ability of the contractor to optimally utilize resources. This research therefore aims to evaluate the most significant factors that affect productivity of key construction activities namely: excavation, formwork, reinforcement, concreting, blockwork, plastering and tiling. The research focuses on the construction industry in the UAE (United Arab Emirates).

The manufacturing sector is of enormous economic and social significance to any state economy and its people. In the UK, the manufacturing sector accounts for about 13% of GDP and employs about four million people representing approximately 14% of the working population. Manufacturing processes depend on the performance of the facility (machines, equipment and tools) and the human resource (labour). These machines and equipment degrade with age and usage and, therefore, require maintenance. Despite the strategies adopted for their maintenance, there comes a time due to age, operating/environmental conditions and statutory requirements when the entire facility had to be shut down for necessary repairs, maintenance and project works. This is called Shutdown Maintenance also known as Turnaround Maintenance (TAM).Although several works have been carried out by organisations and professionals in recent times to optimize TAM projects, organisations are still struggling with TAM projects with reported alarming rates of failure. A preliminary literature review and pilot studies identified that the major cause of TAM project failures are attributed to the use of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project management methodologies to manage TAM projects without considering their unique features. Findings from a comprehensive literature review, questionnaire survey and case studies in major process plants in the UK, were used to develop a unique best practice framework (and its components parts) which were validated by very experienced, proactive and industry-based hands-on TAM professionals. The conclusions which are drawn from this research study includes establishment of TAM evaluation criteria, TAM critical success factors, TAM manager selection criteria, TAM management methodologies and the TAM project implementation framework. This best practice framework which is a major contribution to knowledge in this area is recommended for all operators of engineering facilities to ensure the successful implementation of their TAM projects. The findings from the study are also of significant importance to contract organisations, TAM managers and aspiring TAM professionals, government bodies, training organisations and tertiary institutions who are involved in maintenance management in engineering facilities.