Thesis (DBA) -- Swinburne University of Technology, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, 2007. / Dissertation submitted to Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Business Administration, 2007. Typescript. Bibliography: p. 126-131.

Thesis (M.Phil.(Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Data indicates that Scottish museum attendance is rising annually, yet anecdotal comments appear to contradict this evidence. Explanations for this dichotomy are inevitably complex and varied, but variations in organisational performance have been explained by the Resource-Based View, which argues an organisation’s competitive advantage stems from its ability to access and use resources. This perspective is examined through the concept of stakeholder theory. This thesis investigates the influence stakeholders have on independent, rural Scottish museums during the organisational life cycle, and whether this is a source of competitive advantage. The research involved an exploratory survey to scope the characteristics and environment in which Scotland’s museums were operating, but also a typology for further research. The outcome was to adopt a phenomenological approach to investigate fourteen independent, rural, museums strategies during the organisational life cycle, drawing on stakeholder models proposed by Mitchell, Agle & Wood (1997) and Jawahar & McLaughlin (2001). This process involved interviewing 141 stakeholders to discuss their experiences in shaping these museums’ strategies. Using narrative analysis, it emerged that these museums’ strategies were influenced by different stakeholders during the organisational life cycle and this is reflected in a model developed from these findings. Growth museums were characterised by either an entrepreneurial leader or a board of trustees working in collaboration with key paid staff to access resources, particularly funding. By contrast, mature stage museums were dominated by a definitive stakeholder centred on a group of trustees who also occupied other stakeholder groups, notably volunteers and the community. This definitive stakeholder provided these museums with many of their resources, which proved to be an organisational strength, but also a weakness. The museum in decline and which ceased trading during this study, closed as a result of losing the definitive stakeholder’s confidence and withdrawing funding. It was evident that stakeholders did influence museum strategy, but the definitive stakeholder explained a museum’s competitive advantage

This study investigates the development of intranets in Scottish secondary schools and within that development the role of the school librarian. There is little written on the development of intranets in schools. There has been a lack of recent research on the role of the school librarian in the UK, and in particular there have been no studies investigating their involvement in ICT. This research adopted an interactionist approach which has been used in studying the social impact of computing (see Hiltz 1992). A grounded methodology has produced original substantive theory. Methods include a questionnaire to Scottish education authorities and semi-structured interviews with key individuals at authority level and in fifteen Scottish secondary schools. Schools which have successfully developed their own intranets were found to have a supportive culture which enabled key individuals to work on the intranet and develop content relevant to the internal curricular needs and ethos of the school. Examples of materials on the intranet was important in encouraging further content through a snowball effect. The key individuals were defined as activators (people with the technical skills to create content), mediators (people willing to encourage, provide ideas and examples) and to a lesser extent gatherers (who collected content from school staff). A predictive model for intranet development has been produced based on these findings. There appears to be flexibility within the role of the school librarian for individuals to take on a variety of roles. This research on intranet development found that the librarians who qualified within the last five years focussed on the intranet as a way of developing and promoting their role. Their involvement with the intranet has put school librarians in the role of intranet builder, intranet manager and content creators. Most significantly they have operated as activators and mediators in intranet development. Some librarians have broadened into network administration roles. This is increasing the difference between recently qualified librarians and longer serving school librarians. However it was found that the more recent graduates involvement with these more "technical" roles is not distancing them from their traditional areas of work. There is evidence that through these new roles, close curriculum cooperation has been achieved.

UK consumers are facing a high level of detriment. Much of the detriment can be avoided or reduced by making consumers informed and well equipped with suitable levels of knowledge and skills thus become empowered. As one important element to consumer empowerment, there is a strong case that consumers need suitable consumer information and advice services (CIAS). In an attempt to improve the local CIAS provision in Great Britain, the Consumer Support Network (CSN) initiative was launched in 1999 to join up the existing local CIAS providers. A local CIAS needs assessment was required for each CSN to achieve full establishment status (Brennan and Galloway 2002). It was discovered during the period that there was a lack of a scientific local CIAS needs assessment model available for local agencies to employ. This triggered this research project which is aimed to fill this gap. Due to the fact that Northern Ireland was not included in the CSN initiative, it was decided that this research targeted Great Britain, namely England, Scotland and Wales, although the literature would be drawn from the UK to inform the research. In the UK, the majority of CIAS is publicly funded and provided by public and voluntary sectors. Due to the funding nature of local CIAS provision, the needs for CIAS can be defined as needs for public services in this research. A review of the existing literature provided detailed background on the UK consumer landscape and the consumer empowerment agenda. Two broader categories of issues surrounding the concept of needs for public services and needs assessment were also identified: the theoretical debate on needs for public services and needs assessment and specific practical issues concerning local CIAS needs and needs assessment. The research is focused on the latter, since the purpose of a local CIAS needs assessment is to provide practical guidance to assist local agencies to design and improve their services. This research aims to investigate and develop a scientific conceptual local CIAS needs assessment model. This aim was achieved by identifying the relevant practical issues surrounding local CIAS needs and needs assessment involving two research populations: the CIAS professionals, who are responsible for the delivery of local CIAS, and the general public, who are the recipients of CIAS. Due to the characteristics of these two research populations, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was chosen in this research. The CSN coordinators were chosen to represent the CIAS professionals in the first phase qualitative research. The transcriptions of 18 semi structured in-depth interviews were collected and analysed to generate the initial assessment model. The important part of the initial model, the needs for CIAS and its components, was tested and then modified in the second phase quantitative research based on the analysis of the data collected from 585 on-street questionnaire surveys of the general public in Great Britain which was chosen as the research population in the second phase. A purposive sampling was employed to ensure a good level of representativeness considering the resource constrains to this research. The employment of combined research methods ensures the assessment model is scientific by comparing and contrasting data from both local CIAS professionals and the recipients of local CIAS. The scientific attribute of the assessment model is also assured by employing scientific qualitative and quantitative data collecting and analysing techniques and procedures. The results of the two phases enabled this research to produce a scientific conceptual assessment model. The main product of this thesis, the new local CIAS needs assessment model, is evidence based, tailor-made, and ready to be employed by local CIAS agencies. This model consists of two sections, left and right: the needs assessment process and the practical issues of local CIAS needs. The left section includes the main stages of a local CIAS needs assessment and highlights the key issues associated with each stage. The right section illustrates the key components of CIAS needs and factors influencing CIAS needs: consumer knowledge and shopping patterns and their key components. The two effective means of local consumer segmentation, consumer disadvantage and consumer age, are also identified and illustrated in the section. The scientific CIAS assessment model could assist the professionals to gather evidence on local CIAS needs more effectively and systematically. The evidence could be used to improve the existing CIAS provision and design new CIAS to target any unmet needs identified. The evidence gathered, together with the relevant findings of this research, could also strengthen the case of local CIAS provision and better coordination with national CIAS provision such as Consumer Direct. The model could also benefit the professionals, policy makers and academia by comprehensively illustrating the components of CIAS need, the key relating factors and effective means for local consumer segmentation. The outcomes of the research also shed a light on the gaps in the literature thus identifies the possible areas of future research.

The aim of this research was to shed light on the multiple social realities within an organisation and provide perspectives on how individuals made sense of the social world, which enabled them to participate in these social realities. As Smircich (1983) explained, culture is something that an organisation is, rather than has. As such, the literature considered ways of assisting individuals to survive and thrive within complex social realities and the personal costs associated with participating in them. The literature was used to demonstrate how my view changed from understanding organisations as beings to considering them as subjective cultures. I based this research on an interpretative phenomenology. My views were influenced by my desire to explore and interpret the experiences of individuals, who were the organisation’s directors. Ethnography enabled me to take into account the knowledge shown in everyday social interactions in the workplace. Multiple perspectives and influences, which shaped this social world, were illuminated by bringing to the surface individual experiences and perceptions. These were achieved by gathering responses to a questionnaire; transcripts of interviews with the eleven directors; four pilot interviews with employees, who were not directors; pre and post interview sheets; and my reflective diary. The diary provided a transparent account of the research process and included an acknowledgment of any potential bias. This research relied heavily on the views expressed by the eleven directors in their interviews and my own views. Consequently, I wrote this thesis in the first person whenever possible. I chose a theatrical method, aligned to the work of Goffman (1959), to present this research; using acts and scenes to represent the main formal and informal cultural clues, which emerged. I presented Burke’s dramatism model (1945, 1969) of human behaviour as a means of understanding the cultural clues, which were revealed. The findings contribute to an understanding of organisational life and are relevant for those, who want to understand the dynamics of human groups, which, ultimately, may lead to improving our lives in this world. By acknowledging the existence of the cultural scenario and by revealing the characteristics of those, who blunder and those, who exploit, this research demonstrates that individuals have to be encouraged to see the cognitive and visible aspects of the culture, which exist within the structures and processes, the roles and the knowledge and communication, which exist within organisations. We can comprehend this world from many viewpoints if we only take the time to look.

Deployment of knowledge as a factor of production appeared to be a ‘centre of gravity’ for management science researchers from which the organisational strategy and policy of knowledge ‘exploration’ and ‘exploitation’ is likely to be devised in the new knowledge economy. Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge creation process model provides a distinctive framework in management and organisation studies that broadly covers the knowledge sharing and creation process. The process of organisational knowledge creation in Japanese and Western organisations is thoroughly investigated. In spite of the ‘universal applicability’ of the SECI model as acclaimed by Nonaka, no such research has been carried out in any of the developing countries like Pakistan. Also, in spite of the recognition of the influence of culture on effective knowledge management implementation, knowledge management practices, and knowledge sharing, management and transfer the relationship between organisational culture and specific knowledge management processes were not investigated. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge management literature on the relationship between organisational culture and knowledge creation process based on socialisation, externalisation, combination, and internalisation. A sample was drawn from 50 branches of three knowledge-intensive commercial banks in Karachi. Before examining the hypothesised relationship between organisational culture and knowledge creation processes based on ‘internally focused’ and ‘externally focused’ organisational culture factors, the separate confirmatory factor analysis provided the evidence of the latency of both knowledge creation and organisational culture constructs developed by a researcher using IBM AMOS v19. Results indicate that, in terms of ‘internally focused’ culture, the result have improved our perspective of the knowledge creation process in the context of an organisation that has the ability to keep focusing on the internal integration of systems, structures, and processes through employee and customer satisfaction. Moreover, in terms of ‘externally focused’ culture, the result have improved our perspective of the knowledge creation process in the context of organisations that keep focusing on adapting and changing in response to the prevailing environmental threats and opportunities.

The integration of the family and business worlds provides family firms with competitively unique capabilities. However, elements of entrenchment, strategic conservatism, and social pluralism, have become evident in many family-based organisations. The importance of balance in the cultural aspects of family business is therefore critical in achieving sustainable performance, of particular note being the role of organisational knowledge, facilitated by intra-organisational knowledge-sharing. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of path-goal leadership styles on intra-organisational knowledge-sharing in small family firms in Scotland. This work is rooted in the relativist research paradigm and results in a cultural picture of internal knowledge management practices, considering themes or patterns of leadership influence. A triangulation mixed-methods design is used, a type of design in which different but complementary data are collected. In this study, survey quantitative instruments (n = 109) test relationships between the behavioural variables of leadership style, familial influence, knowledge-sharing, and the performance variable of organisational efficacy. Concurrent with this analysis, qualitative interview data (n = 26) explore the phenomenon of social pluralism and multiple stakeholder perspectives existing within small family firms. Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data provides the opportunity for comparison to corroborate, contrast, or complement results. It is acknowledged that one form of data alone would be insufficient to achieve this. The findings of the work posit that leadership in small family firms is particularly sensitive to the perspectives and nature of individual organisational members; due to the diverse nature of family firm members this implies that great consideration is required on the part of leadership if performance enhancing knowledge-sharing is to be achieved. The main contribution of this work comes in the structured introduction of leadership and organisational knowledge theories to the realm of small family businesses. Moreover, analytical application of social power theories produces a relatively unique view on the internal culture of these relationally distinctive organisations.

The main aim of this thesis is an investigation into Destination Management Systems (DMS) website effectiveness and evaluation in the tourism domain from both academic and industry (destination management) perspectives. This thesis begins with a comprehensive review of the literature about theories, concepts and methods used for DMS website effectiveness evaluation. The future direction of DMS website evaluation in tourism and a conceptual framework that defines the contemporary theory versus practice of the DMS websites evaluation is elaborated. The research employed first three rounds of Delphi study to generate an up-to-date definition and aims of DMS. The Delphi study also generated an up-to-date comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of DMS websites. The research then employed structured interviews as well as online survey sent to forty-six official destination websites to review how industry is evaluating their DMS websites. What approaches they use in addition to the criteria and dimensions when evaluating the effectiveness of their DMS websites is explored. This thesis also reviews additional aspects related to the in destination evaluation. The findings of the Delphi study indicated that there is a rising emergence of social media as a new important component related to DMS. The findings also suggested additional aims to previously identified aims of the DMS. The new additional aims of DMS found in this research are: support sustainable destination management; empower and support tourism firms; enable collaboration at the destination; increase consumer satisfaction level and capture consumer data. Further findings also indicated compared with these established by previous researchers there are new additions to the evaluation dimensions of DMS websites proposed which are: sustainability, marketing, collaboration issues, and goals of the website. The findings of this thesis indicated that there is a congruence and consensus between academic experts and industry in terms of the most dimensions that are crucial for DMS websites evaluation. The findings, however, indicated that there is limited parallel between criteria identified with the Delphi study and those found and used by destination management practitioners. This thesis calls for additional research to develop a support system to ensure a focused involvement between academia and industry in the area of DMS website evaluation. This thesis contributes to knowledge by generating an up-to-date and comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a DMS website. This thesis also contributes to knowledge through the identification of the current dimensions, criteria, and evaluation approaches used by industry practitioners. This research adopted a strategy in presenting the literature review that enhanced the understanding of the DMS websites and their comprehensive evaluation in tourism. This research is one of the first studies in the tourism field that reviews and sheds light on and compares and contracts contemporary thinking on both academia and industry evaluation of DMS websites.

This thesis seeks to develop an understanding of hospitality businesses and their relationship with the environment, thereby developing the subject discipline by addressing an under-researched area. Specifically, it seeks to provide an empirically based understanding of the rationale and process behind the decision to adopt environmental management practices, with a view to encourage their wider adoption in the industry through the successful promotion of environmental initiatives. Accordingly, the study addresses three main dimensions: the process of decision-making and the decisional factors leading to the decision; the rationale behind it; and the outcome of the decision. To suit the explorative nature of the investigation the research adopts an interpretivist, qualitative approach using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a sample of purposively selected owner-managers of serviced accommodation establishments in Scotland. Participating businesses were all members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme, an environmental accreditation scheme for tourism businesses. The data is analysed following Crabtree and Miller's (1992) template approach to coding in the first stage of analysis, and a cognitive mapping approach based on Kelly's Personal Construct Theory (1955) in the secondary stage of analysis. The analytical software used for the development and analysis of cognitive maps is Decision Explorer. The trustworthiness of the study is ensured by addressing the four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The study found that the decision to adopt environmental management practices reflected a lifestyle choice, was driven by personal values and beliefs and influenced by a wealth of personal, socio-cultural and situational factors. Four distinct motivational groups were identified based on the emerging rationale for action: Profit-motivated Greens (financially driven), Practival Greens (both financially and ethically driven), Ethical Greens (ethically driven) and Holistic Greens (also ethically driven but to a greater extent). Variations in personal environment ethic, personal construct of environmental practices and the type of value attributed to action further distinguished respondents in the four typologies. Attitudinal, operational and financial factors were found to act as constraints to further action. A range of intrinsic benefits (personal satisfaction and peace of mind) as well as extrinsic benefits (financial, operational and marketing) were acknowledged following adoption of environmental practices and participation in the scheme. It is concluded that whilst promotion strategies should continue to promote the financial benefits of environmental involvement, equal consideration should be given to appealing to the moral conscience of individual business owners. Efforts should also seek to educate operators on action strategies and on the value of their contribution. A need for improved support and infrastructure is identified. Finally, in order to attract participation, environmental accreditation schemes such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme, which provides the context for this study, must prove commercially beneficial to businesses. This, it is argued, can only be achieved through improved promotion, and consequently, widespread consumer recognition. Recommendations are provided as a basis for action in this direction.