This doctoral thesis describes five years of research on an undergraduate accounting information systems module at the China campus of Nottingham University Business School. The central research question is ‘How can small group interactions be designed to improve student engagement in information systems education?’. To this end, an interpretive philosophical paradigm is adopted to address three research questions which are explored in distinct phases: In the first phase a grounded approach is taken to address the question - What influences engagement in small group interactions? The second phase takes the themes identified in the first phase and addresses the question - What strategies might be adopted to address these influences? In the third and final phase, a longitudinal study is conducted, in which the strategies identified in the second phase are then applied, in 3 cycles of action research, addressing the question – How, why and what would be good practice in implementing such strategies? This research finds 36 themes that influence engagement in small group interactions, strategies are then identified to address those themes and those within the scope of control of the researcher are tested. This research confirms that the findings in the extant literature relating to mainland Chinese undergraduate student engagement, in Western undergraduate programmes overseas, also apply to such programmes conducted in the mainland Chinese context. In addition a sense of student empowerment over influencing pedagogy to suit preference in terms of classroom environment, interaction timing, second language use, and tutor focus is found. Among the strategies tested, a problem-based group project, set within a familiar context and informed by an evidence-based design approach, which values the opinion and experience of the student as designer of the proposed problem solution, was found to be the most effective in promoting early engagement in the desired learning process. This study supports the argument that case study approaches, where those studies are set in unfamiliar contexts, may not be best suited for undergraduate programmes due to their inherent contextual uncertainties. This research finds that, through adopting an evidence-based approach to research for such group projects, student evaluation of their own experience and insights changes positively, enabling more rounded and reflective critical argument and decision-making. This work may be seen to contribute to fill gaps both in evidence from practice and in the body of ‘scientific’ evidence in respect of the following contexts, such gaps having been identified by the cited authors as follows: Theoretical contributions 1. Research into the area of Chinese student engagement in Western educational settings e.g. Li and Campbell (2008). 2. Qualitative research methods in general and the adaptation of western approaches to the Chinese context e.g. Watkins-Mathys (2007). 3. Literature relating to evidence-based design in teaching and learning e.g. Groccia and Buskist (2011), Rousseau and Mc Carthy (2007), Wastell (2011) and Ahmadi et al. (2012). 4. Literature relating to alignment of the expectation gap between tutors and students in cross-cultural settings e.g. Zhou et al. (2008). 5. Literature relating to evidence-based design in information systems and accounting literature e.g. Marr (2009), Baskerville (2011), Wastell (2011). Practical contributions 6. The call for case studies that “lionise” evidence-based design and avoid the contextual challenges of [case study] approaches e.g. Starkey and Tempest (2009) and Wastell (2011). 7. Further evidence from the process of adapting British teaching and learning practices for use in the Chinese undergraduate context (Zhou et al., 2008). 8. Further evidence to inform both student/staff induction processes and the body of research on the design of teaching and learning practices at NUBS in China e.g. Waters (2007).

Ongoing research has identified a potential disconnect in academic and pedagogic expectation between academic staff and students. At the same time a context of higher tuition fees and changing student expectations renders this relationship even more important to the success of higher education institutions. This research investigated the sources of student expectations for the pedagogic relationship, the alignment between staff and student expectations and the potential impact of expectation fulfilment and frustration on the student experience. The study used the Psychological Contract as a theoretical framework, responding to recent calls for the further use of psychological contracts in education. The author has taught business in both secondary and university contexts for a number of years. This experience informed the phenomenological positioning of the thesis, its focus, its location in a large post -’92 business school, its mixed methods and an analytical method (template analysis) which has enabled both anticipated and emergent themes to be explored. Data was collected from a sample of students at regular intervals throughout their first year of study and from staff. Both exploratory statistical analysis of survey data and template analysis of interviews suggested that staff and students’ initial expectations broadly concur. However the practical implications of such notions as ‘independent learning’ develop significantly over the first year and it is contended that pre-entry expectations are significantly influenced by students’ experience of the pedagogic relationship at tertiary education level. The initial pedagogic psychological contract changes significantly over the first year as post entry experiences (or the ‘reality shock’) reshapes and reconfigures their expectations. The research developed a series of recommendations to both secondary schools and universities to improve the management of expectations.

Given the increasing importance of international higher education (HE) markets from a business perspective (Chadee and Naidoo, 2009; Anonymous, 2011a, 2012a), this research responds to the review of Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2006) that highlighted a lack of holistic approaches and theoretical models to address the nature of the HE service; and built on scholarly work (Mazzarol and Hosie, 1996; Mazzarol, 1998; Naude and Ivy, 1999; Ivy and Naude, 2004; Ivy, 2008) relating to HE marketing strategies. The research moves from the traditional marketing approach adopted predominantly in the existing literature of HE marketing (i.e. Mazzarol et al., 2003; Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2006) and instead adopts a relational approach. This offers an alternative way of investigating the HE service, and contributes towards a broader theoretical perspective on HE strategy and a deeper understanding of the complex nature of the HE service. The theoretical background of this research was based on both the Interaction Approach (Håkansson ed., 1982) and the Relationship Life-Cycle Model (Ford, 1980; Wilkinson and Young, 1994). In response to limited existing research on the students’ perspective in HE (Trowler, 2010), this study provides a means of exploring HE marketing from the perspective of a markets-as-networks tradition (Håkansson and Snehota, 1995; Ford et al., 2002). Due to the adoption of a social constructivist epistemological stance (Gergen, 1985; Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998), a case studies research approach (Yin, 2003, 2011) and semi-structured interviews (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994; Miles and Huberman, 1994) were utilised. Template analysis was chosen for data examination and interpretation (King, 1998, 2004), from a longitudinal contextual time-space of prospective students, current students and future alumni viewpoints (Halinen and Törnroos, 2005). The research findings suggest that the HE service is interactive and relational by nature, comprising six key relationships that are fundamentally important from the perspective of students being the focal-actor. These include relationships with alumni, other students, academic staff, administrative staff, multi-national companies (MNCs), and overseas exchange partner higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the multiple roles of students, as clients (Mills et al., 1983; Hill, 1995), producers (Armstrong, 1995), products (Emery, et al., 2001; Modell, 2005) and customers (Kotler and Fox, 1985; Conway et al., 1994) of the HEIs, students are the users of these networks. They are also the beneficiaries of these key relationships, as they perceive and seek the added-value of the HE service, such as knowledge enrichment and employability enhancement. The synergy of these relationships and networks collectively contribute to the added-value of the HE service, enhance students’ overall positive experience and satisfaction with their institutions, and also have the potential to significantly impact on the HEIs’ competencies and business strategies. Practically, managing and influencing these relationships provide an opportunity for HE managers in resource allocation, strategic planning and policy-making, and the quality of service provision at the operational level.

While the financial returns to education have been widely studied since the 1960s, the research on students‟ earnings expectations is relatively scarce. This study examines students‟ earnings expectations and their perceptions of the link between education and labour market outcomes. A mixed-methods approach was adopted – questionnaires and focus groups were used for data collection. First year and final year Business students were surveyed at two universities in England and two universities in the Czech Republic. A repeated cross-sectional study design was used - the survey was conducted every year between 2011/2012 and 2014/2015. In addition, focus groups with students were carried out to supplement the survey results. Several personal characteristics were found to influence students‟ expectations. Female students had lower earnings expectations and the expected gender pay gap was found to increase with work experience. The effect of gender on earnings expectations was found to be stronger in the Czech Republic. First years students expected to earn more on average compared to their final year counterparts. Ethnicity was found to be an important factor – black British and Asian British students had higher earnings expectations compared to white British students. Students from high-income families expected to earn significantly more compared to those from less affluent backgrounds. Students expected their earnings to grow with education and experience. Students expected to earn more after graduation compared to what they would expect had they decided not to go to university. Final year English students who expected to achieve a first class honours degree had higher expectations compared with the rest of the sample. In both countries, final year students who expected to be overeducated after graduation anticipated a pay penalty. The evidence of a so-called sheepskin effect was found in final year students‟ expectations – they believed they would have been financially punished for leaving university during their final year. Students who intended to stay in their home regions after graduation had lower earnings expectations compared to those who were willing to relocate to the capital city or move abroad. Students‟ perceptions of the link between education and labour market outcomes were evaluated in the light of human capital theory, the screening hypothesis and credentialism. Students in both countries favoured the credentialist explanations of the relationship between education and future socio-economic status. English students believed that employers prefer graduates from elite universities. On the other hand, Czech students believed that graduates from more affluent families are advantaged in the graduate labour market due to their economic capital. This study has some implications for both policy and practice. However, while the sample size was relatively large, the results cannot be generalised to the entire population of Business students in England and the Czech Republic since non-probability convenience sampling was used to collect the data.

For the global business school community, the twenty-first century inaugurated a season of introspection. As global sustainability concerns grew in prominence, critical debate about the purpose of business and its role in society could not be left without an educational response. At the same time, however, it raised the question of whether business schools were at all ready to equip their students for leadership in a world faced by crucial economic, social, and environmental challenges. The answer is not self-evidently positive. Various authors grapple with questions on the purpose of business schools and their relationship with business and society. This empirical study examines the influence of EQUIS accreditation standards on business school practices in the areas of institutional strategies, programmes, faculty, research, and development, as well as in responsible management education at large. Although accreditation is not the only factor that determines what business schools believe, do, and become, it is an important shaper of the direction in which they will find their way forward in the face of twenty-first–century management education imperatives. This has especially become the case since the inclusion of ethics, responsibility, and sustainability (ERS) in the revised EQUIS standards. The analysis is drawn from a qualitative multi-case study where the author outlined a theoretical framework by developing an understanding of the organisational responses to EQUIS standards, using interviews and document review as the primary source of information. The case study included private, public, stand-alone, and university-embedded business schools. The findings show that business schools engage in a variety of ERS activities in their research and education portfolio. However, different stakeholder expectations pressure business schools to become more ethical, responsible, and sustainable, which leads to a decoupling of the schools’ “ERS talk” from their “ERS actions”. The decoupling can be seen as the consequence of a school’s translation, editing, and imitation activities in order to appear committed to society’s demands. Despite budget constraints and limited autonomy, public business schools seem to be more engaged in ERS education and research as compared to private institutions. Also, a multidisciplinary environment further supports ERS development as compared to stand-alone business schools. The research proposes core changes and developments that business schools may take into consideration to provide a systematic response to EQUIS ERS standards and criteria.

The purpose of this research is to identify the influence of emotion on Margaret Archer's 'Modes of Reflexivity' (2003, 2007, 2012). As such, the study scrutinises, critiques and utilises as a framework for analysis, the behaviours and perspectives identified by Margaret Archer in her modes of reflexivity research. The philosophical approach adopted includes a predominantly sociological social constructionist ontology and epistemology. The context within which this study is set is the UK higher education environment, and specifically within Business and Management doctoral study. The twelve research participants involved in this study were all working towards the completion of either part-time or full-time doctorates over the fifteen month data collection period. At the heart of this research is the consideration of 'emotional reflexivity' (Burkitt, 2012; Holmes, 2015) and its potential relevance within Archer's modes of reflexivity research. In a bid to address these theorists' positions and their claims that considerations of emotion are largely missing from Archer's work, this research aims to make explicit the relationship between emotion and reflexivity specifically within Archer's modes. Attention is paid to when and how emotion is involved in the reflexive deliberations of the participants involved in this study.

Over the last three decades the UK higher education system has operated under an ideological approach sometimes referred to as New Managerialism (Deem, 2004). The psychological contract of the individual actor within this altered environment was the subject of the research in this study. The psychological contract has been defined as an individual’s beliefs regarding the terms and conditions of a reciprocal informal exchange agreement between themselves and their organisations (Rousseau, 1989). The thesis focused on the psychological contracts of higher education lecturers in a post-92 University Business School in the United Kingdom. The study considered the construction of the psychological contract, the appropriateness of the initial contract, perceived influences on the contract, and behavioural consequences of contract breach and/or violation. The research was focussed on the role of the lecturer in interpreting and unpacking his/her perceptions and understandings. The research questions required data that was personal and experiential. Interviews were undertaken which allowed participants to provide life history accounts that described and theorised about their actions in the social world over time. The approach used had a number of limitations which were identified and considered within the thesis. Notwithstanding the limitations of the research approach, the data suggested that each individual had analysed the extent to which a new employment context would deliver transactional, relational, and ideological reward. However, ideology was less relevant in making the decision to accept higher education employment than either transactional or relational elements. Post-entry, sensemaking acted as a confirmation mechanism in respect of the expectations of what the job would entail and the pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits that would be received. Initial contracts were relatively accurate in their conceptualisation of the work involved in being a higher education academic. Within the Business School examined in this study, management decisions impacted on participants from both an economic and socio-economic perspective. Employees described how individual work contexts were altered by management decisions. Reaction to decisions depended on individual circumstances at any given juncture based on the influences from multiple contexts both internal and external to the workplace. Context was not homogenous and wide-ranging individual differences were apparent. These contexts played a part in defining to what extent changed work environments would be accepted or not. Participants were continuously active and involved in the evaluation of the multiple contexts that were relevant to them. The capacity to manipulate managers and influence decisions to counteract context change was also evident. The ability to thwart changes to work context varied between individuals and over time. This study identified how participants were able to create and shape their own work environment to satisfy their needs and wants during their careers within a structure that remained predominantly organic in nature despite a changing higher education environment. The goal of the employee was to create the idiosyncratic deal, the specific individually tailored work environment that would deliver the satisfaction required from higher education employment. The psychological contracts were self-focussed and self-oriented but this did not necessarily mean that employees were not also actively involved in assisting the organisation to achieve its ambitions. The notion that a managerial agenda had resulted in the erosion of individualism in higher education was not supported. There was evidence that the psychological contract was unilaterally changed and altered by the employee whenever he or she chose, rather than a negotiated change to a binding agreement. Alteration was intrinsically a private determination and often not communicated.

The Higher Education (HE) sector of a country is a key area indicating the progress of cultural, political and social growth and development. Public and social demands as well as technological developments add new challenges for this sector. Consequently, higher education institutions have changed and a more flexible IT infrastructure is required to enable them to adapt efficiently to competitive business challenges. Enterprise application integration (EAI) is a technology that effectively integrates intra- and inter-organizational systems. Firstly a systematic review of the EAI literature was conducted. From this review, it was apparent that there are no theoretical models for EAI adoption and evaluation for higher education. Hence, this research contributes a conceptual model that includes influential factors derived from the literature and combines them with the proposed classification of influential factors for HE to produce an EAI conceptual model for the HE domain. To validate this proposed model empirical research was conducted. Then, the model was tested using a qualitative case study approach by means of three case studies that were conducted at different universities. Exploratory, explanatory and interpretive data analysis phases were implemented to find what is the current EAI process of HE and how these institutions currently work. In addition, these phases were employed to identify the EAI adoption factors in HE. As a result of this analysis the conceptual model was modified because of complementary factors that emerged. Therefore, the main contribution of this research is a comprehensive and novel model for EAI adoption in higher education area. The adoption EAI factors were identified by extracting a number of parameters from the empirical data. Several important factors that influence and assist the adoption of EAI in HE were identified. Hence, an additional contribution is the classification of factors in EAI adoption into technical and social factors which provides a better understanding of these factors. A further contribution is the derivation of a new classification of the EAI external and internal pressure factors. The development of a consistent model for the adoption and evaluation of EAI in HE is based on these factors.