The Internet has revolutionised the way in which business is conducted in the twenty-first century. It has changed the face and pace of business offering an indispensable opportunity to operate on digital platforms. Through those digital platforms, businesses find new sources of competitive advantage; thus, they are increasingly incorporating e-commerce, m-commerce and, more recently, social commerce platforms. But before businesses can benefit from the Internet and its global reach, they must understand the effect of culture on consumers’ acceptance of digital platforms, as cultural misunderstandings can cause business failure. Understanding consumers’ culture-specific behaviour, however, is increasingly complex nowadays. This is because of the phenomenon of acculturation, caused by globalisation and mass migration, which can change consumers’ culture-specific behaviour, as well as their attitudes, values and beliefs. Thus, the effect of the acculturation process on consumers’ acceptance of digital platforms should be investigated, and its consequences understood. This is the first study that aims to assess the effect of the acculturation process on consumers’ acceptance of e-commerce platforms. In order to reach this objective, two-phase transformative sequential research is conducted on the sample of Polish immigrants residing in the UK. In this two-phase research, first on the basis of a quantitative study (n=305), consumers’ attitudes, values and beliefs towards e-commerce are compared and contrasted from the perspective of two cultures (Polish- native and British- non-native culture) to reveal the factors which initially, due to cultural determinants, seem to prevent consumers from accepting e-commerce, can be overcome once the culture is changed. Such a change is accounted for as an effect of the process of acculturation on consumers’ acceptance of an e-commerce platform. The explanation of the revealed effect along with factors facilitating it is sought through a qualitative investigation (n=25) and their impact is verified quantitatively (n=298). This not only advances knowledge of the effect of culture on e-commerce acceptance, but it also derives a number of practical implications, which may serve as a guideline for designing global e-commerce strategies.

The thesis contributes to enhance current understanding of the interaction process characteristics between the supplier and the buyer creating relationship value and leading to the overall performance of the firm in interorganisational relationships under a variety of environmental characteristics of the firm and competitive strategies adopted by the firm. This study defines interaction process characteristics between the supplier and the buyer as structural characteristics, functional characteristics and climate characteristics. Structural characteristics consist of centralisation and formalisation, functional characteristics consist of joint action and information exchange, and climate characteristics consist of trust and commitment. It addresses the following research questions: (1) How are interaction process characteristics defined? (2) Do environment characteristics of the firm affect the interaction process characteristics of the firm and its partner? (3) Does competitive strategy of the firm affect the interaction process characteristics of the firm and its partner? (4) Is relationship value defined as the sum of sub-dimensions of value in the relationships between firms? (5) Do interaction process characteristics affect relationship value? (6) Does relationship value affect the overall performance of the firm? This research was designed and conducted on the basis of quantitative methods. Data have been collected with the drop-and-collect survey method by means of a questionnaire based on a survey of the buyer or the supplier in the factory automation system, the IT and the automotive manufacturing industries in South Korea. Sample size is 409 (response rate: 44.95%). Analysis results show that the effects of complexity and dynamism on interaction process characteristics are not significant, while munificence has a positive effect on interaction process characteristics. The effects of iv business strategy on interaction process characteristics are significant. In terms of the relationships between interaction process characteristics and their consequences, climate characteristics such as trust and commitment have considerably significant effects on relationship value and overall performance of the firm. In conclusion, this research adds to the body of knowledge about the integrated framework of interaction process characteristics in supplier-buyer relationships. First of all, in the IT and automotive industries, munificence, that is the availability of critical resources which a firm needs to compete, is the key environmental characteristic that the firm should consider to achieve overall performance. Secondly, regarding business strategy, differentiation and cost leadership strategies have positive effects on interaction process characteristics in structural, functional and climate dimensions. Thridly, this study contributes to the identification of the dimensions of relationship value and the development of its measurements. Relationship value consists of several subdimensions such as economic, operational, strategic and behavioural value and the integrated framework including subdimensions of relationship value is examined with the measurements developed in this study. The effect of relationship value on the performance of the firm is considerably significant.

In 2004, Ofcom launched a strategic review of the telecommunications market. This established that the expectation of non-price discrimination by the incumbent operator, BT, against its smaller rivals was a significant concern holding back investment in market entry via local loop unbundling (LLU). To address this problem, Ofcom and BT agreed a set of Undertakings in lieu of a reference to the Competition Commission. BT agreed to a new form of non-discrimination remedy referred to as Equivalence of Input (EoI) and to a set of organisational changes known as functional separation. Under EoI, BT’s retail division had to use the same inputs under the same terms and conditions as its rivals. Functional separation referred to the creation of a separate access services division that would supply services in markets where BT was dominant. This thesis discusses the economic principles of network industries and why discrimination can be a particular problem. It makes three specific contributions to knowledge of the subject. First, a historical record of the actions and issues that led to the Undertakings. Secondly, a breakeven analysis to determine how effective the Undertakings, and other regulations imposed by Ofcom, were at correcting the problem of non-price discrimination. The breakeven analysis establishes the location of “marginal exchange” before and after the regulatory changes. Finally, an assessment of the longer-term consequences by employing a discrete choice model to determine whether the presence of entrants using LLU or Virgin Media had a stronger effect on where BT installed fibre. The thesis concludes that the Undertakings did affect the location of the marginal exchange by up to 950 exchanges covering 31% of customer premises. LLU price cuts imposed by Ofcom moved the marginal exchange by a further 796 exchanges: 11% of premises. The thesis also finds that up till the end of 2012, the presence of LLU operators had a stronger influence on the location of fibred exchanges than Virgin Media.

Energy storage has in recent years attracted considerable interest, mainly owing to its potential to support large-scale integration of renewable energy sources (RES). At the same time however, energy storage technologies are called to take over multiple roles across the entire electricity sector, introducing modern applications for both private actors and system operators. In this context, the current thesis focuses on the valuation of emerging energy storage applications, while also proceeding to the design and modelling of novel dispatch strategies, along with the development of financial instruments and support measures for the market uptake of energy storage technologies. In doing so, emphasis is given on mature, bulk energy storage technologies, able to support energy management applications. These include pumped hydro storage, compressed air energy storage and battery technologies. Energy storage applications/dispatch strategies examined are divided into three main categories that focus on private actors, autonomous electricity grids and utility-scale systems. For private energy storage actors, active, profit-seeking participation in energy markets is examined through the evaluation of high-risk arbitrage strategies. Furthermore, the interplay of energy storage and demand side management (DSM) is studied for private actors exposed to increased electricity prices and energy insecurity, designating also the potential for combined strategies of arbitrage and DSM. To reduce the investment risks associated with participation in energy markets, a novel aspect of collaboration between energy storage and RES is accordingly investigated for energy storage investors, proposing the use of storage for the delivery of guaranteed RES power during peak demand periods and stimulating the development of state support instruments such as feed-in tariffs. Next, attention is given on the introduction of energy storage systems in autonomous island grids. Such autonomous systems comprise ideal test-benches for energy storage and smart-grids, owed to the technical challenges they present on the one hand (e.g. low levels of energy diversity and limitations in terms of grid balancing capacity) and the high electricity production cost determining the local energy sector on the other (due to the need for oil imports). To this end, combined operation of RES with energy storage could, under the assumption of appreciable RES potential, prove cost-effective in comparison with the current solution of expensive, oil-based thermal power generation. Moreover, by considering the limited balancing capacity of such autonomous grids, which dictates the oversizing of the storage components in order to achieve increased energy autonomy, the trade-off between DSM and energy storage is next studied, becoming increasingly important as the quality of RES potential decays. With regards to utility-scale energy storage applications, the potential of bulk energy storage to support base-load RES contribution is investigated, proving in this way that the intermittent characteristics of RES power generation could be eliminated. This implies increased energy security at the level of national grids while also challenging the prospect of grid parity for such energy schemes. Furthermore, the market regulating capacity of utility-scale energy storage is reflected through the examination of different market-efficiency criteria, providing system operators with a valuable asset for the improved operation of electricity markets. Finally, the role of utility-scale energy storage in the optimum management of national electricity trade is investigated, designating the underlying problem of embodied carbon dioxide emissions’ exchange over cross-border transmission and paving the way for the consideration of energy storage aspects in electricity grid planning.

The overall aim of this study is twofold; first to investigate the extent to which, in an Arab context, leadership and organisational career management practices predict individual career-related perceptions, attitudes and behaviours, and second to examine the extent to which the employees’ perceptions about organisational justice and politics mediate the relationship between the quality of the leader-member exchange (LMX) and work outcomes, and the relationship between the corporate succession planning and career development (SPCD) and work outcomes. Drawing on several theoretical perspectives, such as the social exchange, organisational justice and organisational politics, this dissertation has developed an integrated perception-based approach to examine the possibility that employees' perceptions are associated with certain attitudes and behaviours. Within this framework, LMX and SPCD were treated as independent variables; they were assessed as predictors of employees’ perceptions about justice and politics, and work outcomes. LMX represents the organisational leadership model, and the corporate SPCD represents the organisational career management practices. The study also tested four work outcomes that included career success (CS), job satisfaction (JS), organisational commitment (OC) and turnover intentions (TOI), in addition to two variables related to the employees’ perceptions about organisational justice and organisational politics. iv A prediction was made that in a relationship-oriented Arab society like Bahrain, the quality of the dyadic relationship between the leader and followers strongly impacts the employees’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours. The results supported this prediction; both LMX and SPCD had positive correlations with OC, JS and CS, while they had negative relationships with TOI. Apart from that, both LMX and SPCD had positive relationships with organisational justice and negative relationships with organisational politics. Another prediction was made regarding the mediation effects of organisational justice and politics on the relationship between LMX and SPCD, and work outcomes. The results revealed that both procedural justice (PJ) and distributive justice (DJ) had full mediation effects on the relationships between LMX and CS, and LMX and TOI. PJ had full mediation effects on the relationships between LMX and OC, and LMX and JS. DJ had partial mediation effects on the relationships between LMX and OC, and LMX and JS. Furthermore, the results revealed that both forms of organisational politics i.e. general political behaviour (GPB) and get along to get ahead (GATGA) had full mediation effects on the relationship between LMX and TOI. GPB had no mediation effects on the relationships between LMX and OC, LMX and JS, and LMX and CS. However, it had partial mediation effects on the relationships between LMX and OC, and LMX and JS. GATGA had a full mediation effect on the relationship between LMX and CS. v Regarding the mediation effects of organisational justice on the relationship between SPCD and work outcomes, the results revealed that both PJ and DJ had partial mediation effects on the relationships between SPCD and OC, SPCD and JS, and SPCD and CS. PJ had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between SPCD and TOI. However DJ had no mediation effect on the relationship between SPCD and TOI. Another set of mediation tests was conducted to assess the effect of the two forms of organisational politics on the relationship between SPCD and work outcomes. GPB had no mediation effect on the relationship between SPCD and the four work outcomes. GATGA had partial mediation effects on the relationships between SPCD and OC, SPCD and JS, and SPCD and CS. GATGA had a full mediation effect between SPCD and TOI. A total number of three hundred and thirty three (333) complete questionnaires were received and analysed using SPSS v. 18 in order to assess the study’s hypothesized model. The results have been discussed with specific relevance to the Arab Middle Eastern context. The theoretical and managerial implications are suggested, alongside the directions for future research.

Investor sentiment and attention are often linked to the same non-economic events making it difficult to understand why and how asset prices are affected. This thesis disentangles these two potential drivers of market behaviour by studying how investors react to sports outcomes, weather conditions and merger and acquisition announcements. Firstly, a new dataset of medals for major participating countries and sponsor firms over four Summer Olympic Games is analysed. Results show that although Olympic success does not lead to abnormal stock returns, subsequent market activity is reduced substantially. In the US, for example, trading volume (realised volatility) during Olympics is over 24% (46%) lower than usual while gold medal awards lead to a further decrease over the next trading day. These findings are in line with recent theories and evidence related to investor inattention but cannot easily be explained on the basis of sentiment. Analysis of data from online search volumes and surveys measuring investor sentiment, also suggest that the market impact of the Olympics is linked to changes in attention. I demonstrate that the statistical regularities can be exploited by simple volatility trading strategies in the US to produce significant risk adjusted profits. Secondly, I study the relationship between weather and stock market activity using a new perspective that does not rely solely on investor mood. I argue that bad weather can increase the productivity of investors by making them more focused on trading and less concerned about other leisure activities. This allows me to explain the empirical finding of higher trading activity on rainy days for a sample of 33 international stock markets. In line with previous literature, I confirm that particularly bad weather conditions which create inconvenience to market participants, such as snow, have the opposite effect by reducing productivity and trading volume. Finally, I find evidence that weather has a nonlinear effect on market activity. Thirdly, I explore if the market reaction to M&As in the US is governed by attention or sentiment. I find that attention, as proxied by online abnormal search volume, decreases significantly before announcements and then increases dramatically on the event date. The high level of attention diminishes shortly after. I also investigate whether the abnormal search volume surrounding the event date affects stock prices. The results suggest that the resolved uncertainty before the announcement date is incorporated into price discovery shortly after the announcement as the learning capacity of investors constrains the information processing speed in a bid to adjust the investment decisions.

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The institutions of Forestry in Great Britain are in flux. The Forestry Commission, the state forest service that has been the dominant presence in British forestry for almost a century, no longer operates in Wales and its future in England and Scotland is uncertain. The paper explores the internal and external socio-political environment of the forestry profession in Britain. It asks how contemporary society understands forestry, how this influences the profession and how, in turn, this understanding changes as forestry practice develops. From the perspective of the professional body for forestry, the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the paper also explores how the profession might maintain and enhance the voice of its members as decisions are made that will set the course of forestry for many years. The forestry sector traditionally has relied on the Forestry Commission to represent it and seems poorly placed to speak for itself. The Institute has neither the resources nor a mandate from its members to occupy the territory left vacant as the Forestry Commission diminishes. Also, the profession has an adaptive culture, better fitted to dealing with incremental change than to radical upheaval. Nevertheless foresters are trusted by the public. Their professional status combined with this strong reputation gives the profession a legitimating role in decision-making and standard-setting in forestry and a mandate to participate more actively in the development of the political and institutional frameworks for the sector. Whilst 70% of professional foresters and arboriculturalists work in the private sector the Government will continue to be the most influential stakeholder in forestry. This is largely because of its regulatory power and its grant-aid schemes. However, ministers and officials see forestry as an environmental activity and give precedence to the views of environmental NGOs over those of the forestry profession. This does not necessarily reflect the way that society thinks about forests. Cultural associations, enjoyment of amenities such as recreation and landscape together with tacit concerns over the stewardship of nature contribute to a complex perspective on forests, trees and woodlands among the wider public. Within the profession there is a diversity of opinion over the role of foresters and different understandings of professional identity and norms. An argument is made that the professional identity of foresters is in part formed through the routines and the agency they derive from their work, and varies according to location and the nature of their tasks. Since the balance of these tasks is strongly influenced by geography there is likely to be a steady divergence in the construction of professional identity in the four countries of the UK. This presents a challenge for the profession in its role as the only remaining UK-wide forestry institution other than Forest Research, a Government research agency. The paper suggests that external change will be accompanied by increasing internal complexity within the professional association. The challenge for the professional body, therefore, is to remain engaged with this increasingly diverse membership whilst continuing to project a professional voice as the sector reshapes itself.

The tourism industry in sub-Saharan Africa has been experiencing one of the fastest growth rates in the last decade at more than 10% in 2006, +7% in 2007 and +5% in 2008 and 2009 respectively and this positive trend is predicted to continue in future in spite of the present global recession. However, there are significant variations in tourism growth between the various countries and different sub-regions. Until now, there has been no detailed examination by researchers to find out the reasons for these variations in general and the stagnation and even decline in tourism growth observed in countries of the Central African sub-region in particular, which have recognised natural and socio-cultural potentials of developing a thriving sustainable tourism industry. Using Cameroon as a case study, this research examines the reasons of this stagnation in the Central African sub-region, and explores the possibility of tailoring, adapting and/or applying the key concepts of sustainable tourism in developing and managing the tourism industry in the Central African sub-region which is still at an early stage of development through the conception of a strategic framework for sustainable tourism development management in Cameroon. The principal objectives of the thesis are: a. To identify and outline the growth potential of the tourism industry in Cameroon as a means of improving the socio-economic conditions of the local communities. b. To examine the contradictions and challenges facing the development of a viable sustainable tourism industry in Cameroon. c. To determine how far sustainable tourism concepts successfully applied in other countries can be adapted and used in developing and managing the tourism potential of Cameroon in particular, and its sub-region. The research philosophy is interpretive and it adopts the case study (which is both exploratory and descriptive) as the research strategy. Mixed methods were used in collecting data for this research which combines both the deductive and inductive approaches, the former being the secondary approach and the latter being the primary. Primary data was obtained through a tourist satisfaction questionnaire, in depth semi-structured interviews and field observations while secondary quantitative data was collected from existing published literature on (sustainable) tourism, grey literature and unpublished documents from the Ministry of Tourism as well as the Ministry of Forestry and Fauna in Cameroon. The questionnaire data was analysed with the aid of the SPSS (Version 15) statistical package, and a thematic content analysis was done of the interview transcripts and observation notes. The results of the data analysis not only answer the research objectives and questions, but also identify core and enabling themes affecting the management of the development of a sustainable tourism industry in Cameroon. These include issues dealing with the overall tourism policy, finance, tourism promotion and marketing, stakeholder relationships, service infrastructure, human resource development, as well as national and sub-regional peace and stability. Drawing from theoretical and successfully implemented practical models of sustainable (tourism) development in other developing destinations, the study concludes by proposing a strategic framework for sustainable tourism development management in Cameroon as well as suggestions for future research.

Based on the experiences and insight of a global conglomerate leader in engineering consultancy focused on corporate storytelling in the workplace, this document provides insight into how interpretation and misunderstanding are shared. This thesis grows out of awareness that, over the past five years or so, the way in which an organisation can use, share and disseminate corporate stories. We sometimes can take the use of corporate storytelling for granted, in particular, that organisational stories in the workplace are told for the right reasons. But in too many organisations, it can be difficult to decipher an ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ story. An official corporate story that is tarnished by ambiguity will be modified and re-interpreted as the story goes around the organisation. Despite official attempts to defend the validity of a story, there will be times when there is conflict with unofficial interpretations of the story. One of the most intriguing aspects of corporate storytelling is how a trusting working relationship between the storyteller, the corporate story, and the recipients is a key actor. As such, the use of storytelling in an ambiguous working environment can lead to multiple interpretations. There is the belief that if the chain-of-trust is damaged the interrelationship will be hampered. It is time, in my opinion, to focus on the type of storytellers in the workplace that can emerge and manipulate a working environment. This paper provides an appreciation into the practice of corporate storytellers, and the impact of manipulating other individuals using status and language. The document also draws on how trust and decision-making can be hampered. The paper concludes with some of the research opportunities and ethical challenges that are inherent in this particular research.