This research has identified a gap in the literature surrounding the process of improving and sustaining the quality of data within enterprise resource planning and information (ERP) systems. The study not only established firmly that quality data is an absolute necessity for all organisations, none more so than those operating ERP systems, but identified that for any improvement process to be worthwhile it must gain some degree of sustainability. For this reason this study has attempted to discover the means by which the quality of data can be improved but more fundamentally become embedded within an organisation. A detailed review of the literature was undertaken which unearthed rich material in particular around the concept of data quality and its application within business systems, from which a correlation was established between the concepts of a planning and information system and that of a product manufacturing system. A conceptual framework was then developed based upon three conceptual elements seen to be key to any data quality programme namely: people, processes and data. A qualitative study was undertaken within the researcher's own organisation Remploy, employing an action research/focus group approach aligned to a data quality improvement initiative that was already in place within the organisation. A series of site meetings and conference calls took place embracing forty eight of the fifty four factories together with seven business groups. A quantitative survey was then undertaken using a web-based self-administered questionnaire distributed to a number of the researcher's colleagues within Remploy. The findings from both the qualitative study and the quantitative survey provided unique material in terms of key findings and themes. A number of principle findings then emerged relating to: the significance of the role of a 'champion' at various levels within a project; the importance of measurement, reporting and feedback relating to any improvement process; the necessity for systems and the people that use them to be allowed to mature; and the manner in which peoples' perceptions and attitudes toward data and data quality can have considerable degrees of inconsistency. In conclusion it is felt that the outcomes of this study have the potential to both improve and sustain quality data within enterprise systems when applied to practical business and professional settings, whilst also providing the academic community with the promise of a contribution to the body of knowledge. In the last stage of the research the hospitableness profiling tool was deployed in a commercial setting with a group of pub tenants and business owners. The (non-validated) hospitableness scores achieved by participants were then tested for correlation against sales and mystery customer information provided by a regional brewery. Although no relationship was found a number of mitigating factors were acknowledged that may have been significant and the document concludes with clear areas for further post-doctoral research identified.

It can be argued that the problematic situation where micro Greek wholesaling businesses find themselves has been a result of the strong presence of supermarkets and superstores in the last years. The researcher attempts to picture the current market reality that constitutes the background of the Thesis by posing the main research question: "How can micro Greek wholesaling businesses involved in the confectionary products' sector identify and implement suitable survival and growth strategies in order to cope with increasing competition in a market characterized by a large expansion of supermarkets and chain stores?". The factors that triggered research are related to the researcher's avocation with the sector of confectionary products; having worked in a micro family wholesaling enterprise in the past (and still involved in it occasionally when demand for confectionary products is increased), the survival and growth prospects of this firm constitutes an issue of high importance for the researcher and his family. The researcher believes that the study of similar wholesaling firms-case studies would highlight potential survival and growth strategies, useful for the family business; in this way, he holds the view that he contributes to the solution of an intense family problem. Apart from the personal interest for the survival and growth of micro wholesaling firms, it can be argued that the confectionary products' sector is a dynamic field that provides the opportunities to a researcher to evolve to a consultant or a specialist practitioner. The researcher would like to have opportunity to work as a consultant in the field of micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the future. On the other hand, the survival of these enterprises can be described as one of the most intense problems of the contemporary market, especially the Greek market environment. These businesses constitute the driving force of economies globally; as a result, the quest of survival and growth strategies is interesting by definition. In this context, the researcher believes that the adequate response to the aforementioned research question can be identified through the use of the Resource Based View (RBV). In short, he presents the key areas of the literature review (i.e., main contributors of RBV, recent RBV studies, potential fields of attaining sustainable competitive advantage, etc.) in order to create the appropriate background for the formulation of the RBV framework, appropriate for the evaluation of micro wholesaling enterprises involved in the confectionary products’ sector. After the formulation of such a framework (including seven significant parts analysed in the literature review section), the researcher presents the research methodology for implementing the RBV conceptual framework. The researcher believes that the case study methodology can be combined with the RBV framework so that various characteristics (resources and capabilities) and entrepreneurs' choices (strategies) of micro wholesaling businesses can be highlighted. In this direction, the researcher developed a conceptual framework based on the RBV approach to analyze six micro wholesaling enterprises (case studies) involved in the confectionary products' sector. Two of them have failed to confront increasing competition and ceased their operations, mainly due to ineffective management practices and lack of adequate resources and capabilities. Four of them have followed certain strategies and efficiently deployed existing resources and capabilities to secure their survival and increase their growth prospects. The key findings about the six case studies stemming from the implementation of the RBV conceptual framework (Level One and Level Two Analysis) combined with Yin's replication logic have highlighted useful observations about similar wholesaling firms. In this way, research has shown that such businesses can increase their chances of survival and growth only if their managers carefully exploit their limited resources and capabilities and steadily follow a certain strategy based on SMEs' characteristics (i.e., flexibility, innovative ability, provision of prompt service, etc.). Of course, an indispensable characteristic of the wholesaler is related to his daily awareness of market trends and alterations so that the potential market opportunities can be easily identified. It also has to be stressed that the adoption of a specific philosophy (i.e., entrepreneurial customer relationship approach) can boost survival and growth prospects of micro wholesaling businesses.

This thesis represents an attempt to understand the dynamics of the identity work in the context of the challenges top managers have to address. Managers’ discursive resources influence what they notice and also the interpretation of what is noticed. Their ability to understand and challenge their discursive resources is crucial because the persistence of categories and metaphors that depicts a globalized world where they do not have capacity to react may explain the decline of their organizations. The stories they tell ground their emotions and their identities and then they see the world and themselves through them. Hence, their discursive resources and their emotions impact on the long term survival of their organizations through the strategic exchange between top managers and organizations.

This research aims to evaluate the diversification strategy of the Cyprus coastal tourism product by investigating the degree of success of the strategy in fulfilling its goals of economic improvement, tourist satisfaction increase and image enhancement. The evaluation of the strategy’s success is performed through an examination of statistics whereby tourism revenue, tourist arrivals, seasonality and the competitive position of the Cyprus tourism product are assessed through secondary research. Primary research is performed to explore the degree of destination image enhancement and tourist satisfaction improvement. In particular, a comparison of the projected and the perceived image of the destination is performed to explore any similarities and/or dissimilarities whereas the satisfaction of tourists is measured across several destination attributes. In tourism studies the diversification concept has not been extensively examined as little attention has been given to the repositioning strategy of coastal resorts. Hence, the conditions under which the application of the strategy becomes imperative are examined to increase the understanding of tourism product diversification. The research focuses on Cyprus which was selected as a case study for the following reasons: a) it is a popular Mediterranean ‘sea and sun’ destination and b) it has been trying to reposition itself through diversification of its tourism product. The research adopts a pluralist methodological stance whereby both an interpretative analysis of supply-side qualitative data and a positivist analysis of demand-side quantitative data are performed. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews with professionals of the Cyprus tourism industry and a questionnaire survey with British tourists with experience at the destination. The multilateral approach followed overcame any methodological weaknesses and provided a comprehensive picture of the situation. The research found that the diversification strategy of the Cyprus coastal tourism product has been unsuccessful in achieving its target goals. The lack of success stems primarily from internal industry problems and product weaknesses whereas a dominance of the ‘sea and sun’ attributes was identified in terms of destination image. In conclusion, this research makes a significant contribution to existing literature through its originality in terms of the diversification concept. It also contributes practically to the field of tourism planning and destination promotion.

Organizations operate globally. Workers are transferred between local and international offices as they are selected for international assignments. Regulatory frameworks, designed to control the inflow of foreign workers, exist in most countries. Rules and regulations exist regarding the presence of temporary foreign workers on their soil. Some countries’ systems appear to be more efficient and generous than others. As part of this program two pieces of research have been conducted on this subject. The qualitative piece evaluated the apparatus that regulates the inflow of workers. The quantitative piece measured the satisfaction of employers with the respective apparatuses. Both of these pieces of research considered the intra-company transfer process from an institutional perspective. This document will maintain the research theme but consider the implications of and satisfaction with the intra-company transfer process from the individual perspective. The research findings will then be evaluated against the findings of the previous research documents. The findings of the papers will be triangulated and mutual conclusions recognized.

A serious business issue, recurring in the public debate held in Greece and concerning the future of the Agricultural sector, is the stated need of the Agro-coops’ sector’s organisational and operational reform and improvement (Karamichas, 2008; Tolios, 2003). This identified and/or suggested required strategic business development and change is considered to be a product and at the same time the source of the agro-coops’ required organisational performance improvement, as Kamenidis (2008), Arvanitoyiannis (2001) and Parnell (2000) suggest. Furthermore, they relate this strategic business development and change, and performance improvement process with the agro-coops’ business processes’ reconfiguration and resulting improvement. According to the majority of the proposed economic and business models, the major mechanism to accomplish the aforementioned aim - that is the strategic choice of the Agro-coops’ sector for operating effectively and efficiently - is and/or should be the adoption of the privately owned businesses’ sector organisational framework (Karamichas, 2008; Parnell, 2000). Furthermore, the agro-coops have to combine these adopted elements and practices with the particularities of the agricultural business sector, as Ian McPherson (1995) emphatically states. On the other hand, the distinct ownership structure of the agro-coops which is more democratic than hierarchical makes the implementation of change more difficult. In the Greek business environment, many authors (Karaiskaki, 2003; Arvanitoyiannis and Kourtis, 2002) relate this required organisational performance improvement with the effective implementation and efficient use of the adopted and developed by the agro-coops ISO 9000 QMS, which is the particular focus of this final thesis’ document. According to them, this model represents one of the best business practices for the Greek agro-Unions achieving improved business processes and product quality. These, by their turn, may lead the agro-Unions enjoying improved organisational performance and consequently business and financial state. On the other hand, as Kokkinos (2009) and Arvanitoyiannis (2001) state, the Greek agro-Unions’ business sector has being suffering the last two to three decades from: IV 1. outdated managerial practices and business behaviour, 2. insufficient “investment” in human resources due to inappropriate recruitment and development of them by the required educational and training programmes, 3. competitive relations between the Board of Directors’ elected members and the professional managers, as well as among the members of these two groups, 4. undermined business status and endangered financial position, 5. inappropriate and not clearly defined operational (actual management and strategic decision-making process) framework as far as authority, responsibility and accountability issues are concerned, 6. interference of external parties aiming at serving their own interests. Based on these aforementioned identified weaknesses, required reform actions and proposed business models of organisational change and strategic business development, the researcher decided to focus his entire DBA research project and this final thesis research study on the critical investigation, analysis and evaluation of the ISO 9000 QMS’ business status and manner of implementation process and use purpose in the Greek Agro-Unions’ business sector. The main research question was and is: what are the driving and restraining forces that influence how efficiently and effectively the Greek agro-Unions have been implementing and using ISO 9000 QMS. During 2005-2006, the researcher conducted a series of case studies research, including both a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews and a quantitative research based on a large scale, cross-sectional survey in a fair number of Greek agro-coops for critically investigating, analysing and evaluating this main research question. Moreover, he also proceeded to the thorough investigation of these aforementioned major research aims in this final thesis’ qualitative research study, which was conducted from March to September of 2007, by in-depth interviewing 62/sixty two key stakeholders - them being: the Board of Directors’ elected members (especially the Presidents), General Managers and Quality & Production managers - of 21/twenty one agro-Unions and 7/seven Confederations of them, which represent the 30% of the sector’s population. These main research aims were accomplished by the exploration and critical evaluation V of the researched agro-Unions’ key stakeholders’ perceptions, attitudes and practices towards ISO 9000 QMS’ business nature, and operational and strategic business properties. Because, as Oakland (2003) and Foster (2001) believe, any quality management system’s effective implementation process and efficient use purpose are strongly based on and influenced by the corporate stakeholders’ “business stance” - that is their attitudes and business practices - towards it. This final thesis’ qualitative research study is mainly empirical in nature, but it also uses the existing literature and theories concerning this research topic, other researches’ findings and this DBA research project’s previous phases’ outcomes. It suggests, in accordance to the entire DBA research project, that ISO 9000 QMS’ effective implementation and efficient use could be a competitive model of business practice for the Greek agro-Unions achieving strategic business development and change, through their business processes and consequently organisational performance improvement. Furthermore, it hypothesises that the Greek agro-Unions and their key stakeholders are using ISO 9000 QMS as a strategic resource-competence for achieving the aforementioned strategic aim, despite these corporations’ existing business status, financial position and managerial practices, as well as organisational context and settings, and operational framework. The research study’s main findings are: i) rival relations among the key stakeholders' groups and even between members of the same group, ii) outdated managerial practices and business behaviour related with: iii) inappropriate and inadequate decision making process and actual management, both associated with, iv) the stakeholders exhibiting a paternalistic view and pursuing personal and even external parties' - political interests; v) lack of accountability in terms of the decision making process and outcomes, as far as the elected members of the BoDs is concerned; vi) not clearly defined and used in actual practice lines of authority, responsibility and accountability between the BoDs' elected members and the professional managers; vii) Key stakeholders' groups' (especially the BoDs' members') lack of and/or limited knowledge of and training on business issues in general and ISO 9000 QMS' business nature and properties in particular; resulting in connection with the previous findings to viii) improper use of these systems' operational properties in a fair number of agro-Unions; and ix) non-use of the strategic one aiming at the strategic business development through the VI improvement of business processes in the majority of them; x) adoption and practice of an externally imposed, breakthrough change process being followed by an incremental one, which in most cases is based on benchmarking and adopting the agro-Union's strategic business partner-private sector's company; xi) business competence based on seniority of years occupancy as member of the BoDs (BoDs' members) versus business competence based on educational knowledge and business experience as professional manager (professional managers). In relation to and as a result of the aforementioned the researcher’s recommendations for change are: a) policy and legal changes concerning the authority, responsibility and accountability issues by: i) a new statute referring to the agro-Unions’ ownership shareholding scheme, ii) the use of an independent external agent for auditing the agro-Unions’ business operations and financial results, and attributing accountability to the involved stakeholders respectively, iii) clearly defined and established by the PASEGES lines of authority and responsibility between the BoDs’ elected members and the professional managers in terms of actual operational and strategic management and decision making process; b) adoption and practice of a “new’’ scheme concerning the continuous training in business issues, as well as in cooperative issues of all the stakeholders, them being: the BoDs’ elected members and the professional managers in order for them acquiring the required business competence for properly deciding and managing the operational and strategic business issues. This training programme could be provided by the PASEGES and/or University schools in the form of educational programmes and business practice of three to six months each time, c) recruitment and advancement of the professional managers based on managerial and business competence and on achievement of objectives, d) audit of ISO 9000 QMS’ management and development by an independent external agent in cooperation with state agencies for assuring the systems’ actual development and use according to ISO 9000 Guidelines and the agro-Union’s quality and corporate business plan.

Fraud has become a worldwide problem that is not set to abate in the near future. It is eroding the profitability of organisations with devastating effects on firm solvency. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of fraud in Kenya’s financial institutions and focuses on the Kenyan banking industry, which includes forty three commercial banks of local, national, regional and international standing. The research conducted uses a theoretical framework based on the Fraud Triangle to analyse the incidence of fraud and the motivations of fraudsters. The research uses a sample of audit, fraud, security and other managers involved in fraud fighting from thirty banks across the industry to conduct a mixed qualitative and quantitative study based on a survey of sixty respondents and seventeen semi-structured interviews. The research found that fraud is considered to be a major problem within the Kenyan banking industry, although the relative size of frauds conducted was relatively small and unsophisticated. Fraud detection and prevention methods used in the industry were standard and no different from global standards. The fraud triangle worked effectively to predict the patterns of fraud described by respondents. However from this study it is argued that the Fraud Triangle is not as effective in explaining the collusive and predatory nature of the Kenyan bank fraudster. Internal and external factors involved in fraud in Kenya are also identified, including weak industry co-operation, inadequately trained police and prosecutors, ineffective justice systems, weak government regulatory frameworks, low or non-existent fraud budgets for detecting and preventing fraud, among others. International banks were ahead of local, national and regional banks in efforts to establish industry co-operation; availability of capital, human, technological and other resources; dedicated fraud departments and budgets. Unlike previous research and theories that have mainly focused on either the individual or environmental factors, this research suggests an integrated theoretical and conceptual approach to fraud.

Motives for hospitality were considered by Telfer (1996) when she argued that not only might some people have a higher innate propensity for hospitality than others, but that these people may be drawn to work in the hospitality industry. At the point of service the profit motive may be secondary to more altruistic motives of hospitableness such as the simple enjoyment of the act or a desire to serve others and, if true, it is possible that contrary to assertions by Ritzer (2007), genuine hospitableness could be found in the hospitality industry. However what impact would deliberately identifying and employing individuals with a high natural propensity to hospitableness have on customer satisfaction or business performance? This DBA thesis is the compilation of a five document research arc that explores these ideas. It seeks to understand the traits of hospitableness through a motives-based conceptual framework and then uses this model to inform the development of a profiling instrument that aspires to measure them in individuals. It looks for answers to Telfer’s challenge about differing levels of natural propensity for hospitableness, and attempts to correlate the results against measures of business performance. The documents chart the development of a hospitableness profiling instrument through a number of iterations. Although it ultimately demonstrated high levels of internal reliability, validity analysis provedinconclusive due to a lack of appropriate third-party calibration measures and a concern over the high face validity of the question bank. In the last stage of the research the hospitableness profiling tool was deployed in a commercial setting with a group of pub tenants and business owners. The (non-validated) hospitableness scores achieved by participants were then tested for correlation against sales and mystery customer information provided by a regional brewery. Although no relationship was found a number of mitigating factors were acknowledged that may have been significant and the document concludes with clear areas for further post-doctoral research identified.

The thesis probes a specific area - the banking system and the business niche concerned with migrants' remittances - and considers the flows of these people and their money in today‘s global economy (over 3% of the world's population). It argues that the banking system has failed to understand the changing "paradigm" of the migrant market and thus has not updated its business plan or business model for this business segment in response. In failing to harness the liquidity of the migrant market, the author argues, the banking industry is missing out on a potentially profitable business segment that could create financial stability within the industry and the world's economies. Furthermore, by ignoring the "gap" that exists between the financial products on offer to the migrant sector and their needs in this respect in both the host and origin countries - providing a service at "both ends of the corridor" - the industry is also in danger of losing site of its commitment to social responsibility and the financial integration of migrants. At the heart of the argument for financial stability and financial integration is the proposition that there is a lack of communication among stakeholders, namely academic and financial institutions, governments, Diaspora associations and other decision makers. As an insider, the author is well placed to probe further into the minds of the "elite"; the decision makers within banks, Diaspora associations and government, employing qualitative research to reveal the extent to which the landscape of the migrant business segment has changed (i.e. requiring a more sophisticated product that meets the needs of migrants throughout their entire life-cycle) and highlighting that the necessary adjustments to the migrant business plan and business model have been ignored because of poor communication and a lack of understanding of the current global circumstances concerning the remittances of migrants. As the thesis points out, despite considerable evidence that migrants and their associated monetary flows is a central and enduring feature of globalization resilient to financial crisis, remarkably, scant attention is paid to it in the academic literature. The thesis addresses this "gap" by employing exploratory research in order to design an innovative business model and business plan for the migrant market, the benefits of which will be realised globally among migrants, the financial industry and, ultimately, in the development of a sustainable world economy.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been transformed from a land of deserts into a land of opportunities within a span of four decades. The robust economic growth of the UAE is evident from the booming economic sectors such as real estate and construction, tourism and hospitality, telecommunications, shipping and logistics, retail and finance. This growth epitomises the success of an innovative state-led capitalist growth model, under an able leadership. The main objective of this study is to evaluate government policies towards diversification of the UAE economy away from its heavy reliance on oil. The research examines the UAE Government’s policies towards the tourism sector, especially the role of tourism in the diversification of its economy. For this purpose, the approach and methodology employed in this paper is qualitative in nature. A thorough review of the literature has been conducted to understand the historical perspective of resource abundance and oil curse theories and rentiers, city state and economic diversification concepts. Qualitative research methodology in the form of a case study was employed to obtain an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the performance and development of the tourism sector. For this purpose, the larger Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were selected. The results revealed that the exceptional growth of the UAE since the 1970’s has been triggered by the exploration of oil. The early realization of the resource curse by the government of UAE has resulted in various efforts being made to reduce the dependence and reliance on the oil sector for economic growth. The UAE has employed liberal and market oriented policies which laid a strong foundation for its successful diversification of the economy away from oil. The government has focused on non-oil sectors, particularly tourism, to ensure that the UAE becomes a regional hub for tourism and global investment. The UAE has invested billions of dollars into various non-oil sectors and has ensured that the oil sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP is reduced. The government has created a competitive as well as a coordinated atmosphere to ensure that all the seven emirates work towards the common goal of diversification and the development of the UAE economy as a whole. The vision of the government in making the UAE a preferred destination for tourism is gaining momentum, which ensures a significant increase in the contribution of the tourism sector to the National GDP. However, among the seven emirates, only Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have taken serious policy initiatives to ensure the development of the tourism sector to ensure the increase in competitiveness and economic growth. Further thrust is required to increase the investment and development of non-oil sectors by all the emirates to ensure sustained development of the economy in the long run. There is more emphasis to focus on non-oil sectors, especially tourism, as the continued dependency on the highly volatile oil sector for wealth will affect the growth and stability of the economy of the UAE in the long run.