Aim: This thesis aimed to explore community nursing middle manager role enactment in managing change within Community Health Partnerships (CHPs) in three regions of Scotland from 2008-2011. Background: CHPs were established to play a key role in shifting care from the acute to the community setting. Within this context the community nursing workforce has been adapting roles in response to Scottish Government (SG) directives. However literature review demonstrated there has been very little research into the role of Community Nurse Middle Managers (CNMMs) in the midst of this change. This investigation sought to address this deficit in the literature. Design and Methodology: The study was conducted in four distinct phases comprising of the reflexive, foundational, recursive and expansive. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted over the period of investigation. The investigation was qualitative and phenomenological in character. A hermeneutic approach was adopted, broadly based on Heideggerian philosophy. More specifically this study drew on the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach of Jonathan Smith (1996). Main findings: In general CNMMs perceived that their jobs had become more complex, with the pace and intensity of work having increased. They held a wide range of responsibilities managing the challenges of driving change within a hierarchy and professional bureaucracy. Opportunities for education and learning were felt to have reduced. A small but significant proportion had left and some were considering leaving the NHS service. A primary motivation for CNMMs was maintaining an implicit connection with service users. They were proud to be members of the nursing profession and aligned their identity with their career history. This was perceived to influence their management and leadership style. In overcoming some of the personal challenges they faced they identified protective factors or “assets” to counteract stress. The application of a salutogenic perspective emerged as important in supporting this. Conclusion: The study has addressed a knowledge gap in literature. It contributes to understandings of NHS community nursing, middle management, role, change and Community Health Partnership literature. In particular it gives a voice to the perspectives of community nursing middle managers in Scotland. It suggests that much more attention needs to be paid to the needs, constitution and sustenance of middle managers in Scottish community nursing and that this has policy, practice, education and research implications.

This thesis investigates the activities of two secondary schools in relation to their duty to promote community cohesion (intercultural understanding and cohesion within communities) and their engagement in global educational partnerships and international activities. In particular this study seeks to ascertain if there is a relationship between community cohesion and global educational partnerships –whether the activities and outcomes from one could inform the other in relation to intercultural understanding. There is little research on the relationship between these two initiatives. The research explores the understanding and experiences of staff involved in these initiatives in the two schools and that of pupils in Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 (11-18 years). Data is generated through semi-structured interviews and document analysis, providing a rich description of participants’ understanding and whole-school activities. What has emerged from the findings is a complex and subtle picture of two schools and their interpretations of their duty to promote community cohesion, engage in international activities, and the relationship between the two. Effective practice is identified such as developing inclusive perspectives through pupil peer-led teaching. However, barriers to effective practice have also been identified and include how cultural diversity is understood and presented through binary perceptions of ‘Other’. Such perspectives, alongside complex paternal power relations evident in educational partnerships with schools in the global South, are identified as problematic in the promotion of intercultural understanding and cohesion. The dominant political discourse, guidance for schools and the role of the schools’ inspection framework (Ofsted) are also influencing factors. Postcolonial Theory is used to interrogate policy and practice and presents alternative perspectives, and these, it is contended, can offer new ways forward in creating a ‘third’ space for intercultural understanding through global educational partnerships and community cohesion.

This dissertation study documents in-depth the exploration of the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) between the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS) and their industry partners as well as the establishment of a framework for evaluating and assessing PPPs. The public-private partnership agreements were studied in order to answer the over-arching research question: How is an effective public-private partnership established, assessed, and evaluated in education? A descriptive case study methodology was used to study DRSS' public-private partnership agreements to determine if goals and objectives were established and whether or not the partnerships met those goals and objectives. This case study also included the development and testing of a proposed evaluation framework that will allow for consistent, systematic inquiry that can produce defensible assertions regarding the assessment and evaluation of public-private partnerships in education. Results of the case study support the findings that utilization of an evaluation framework can serve to make public-private partnerships more successful. Results also indicated that establishment of goals and objectives enable effective evaluation for informal partnerships but could not be definitively stated for formal partnerships due to the lack of data points. The data from this case study revealed many emergent themes that should be considered in the development of future public-private partnerships. Overall this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge for public-private partnerships in education.

Industry 4.0 is one of the fastest growing topics amongst both practitioners and academics. To this day, no definition of Industry 4.0 has reached consensus. However, some definitions can be considered more correct than others and the most accurate one is summarized as “Industry 4.0 is a concept for creating value throughout the whole value-chain”. This has been made possible through digital solutions, advanced technologies, which often are associated with Industry 4.0. This thesis started off finding the key aspects of Industry 4.0 and through a literature review it was concluded to be Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) which will bring new innovative Business Models. The fundamental aspect of Industry 4.0 is data, data which has become available through the usage of CPS, data which will transform how business are conducted. This thesis aims to develop a better understanding for how CPS affects the Business Model. The thesis started with a literature review, investigating the value of information in a digitalized era. It was established that the value is found in the capability to monitor, remote control, optimize, and automate products and machines. Furthermore, it was also established through the literature review that manufacturing industries are becoming more services-focused and that value-creation is done through networking. Moreover, the Business Model Canvas was embraced as theoretical framework for what a business model should consist of. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with experts on the subject of Industry 4.0 and digitalization. The data was then compared to the theoretical framework. The results showed that CPS will not affect business models in any direct way as it is very well founded that the business model always should be based on the customer segment. However, CPS did have an indirect impact on business models i.e. through expected changes in customer relationships and distribution channels, but foremost, through changes regarding specialization and partnerships.

The inability of the public sector to satisfy social needs - like poverty alleviation, social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, unemployment, health and education - are redefining the relationship between the governments and their citizens by making the latter play an active role as the provider of the welfare state. Citizens through their entrepreneurial activity have been pulled to the third sector leading to the emergence of new organizational forms like social enterprises and social franchises. The main focus of this research study is the investigation of the new interorganizational format of social franchising which has received ‘scunt’ research attention up to now. The behaviour of actors and organizations in the social economy sector are influenced by the properties and dynamics of elements coming from the political, social, organizational and individual level. We have adopted a systems approach of social network theory. A grounded theory named Social Franchise Model (SoFraM) has been induced from an exploratory empirical mixed method study conducted at various stages and from different sources during a time frame of thirty months. Primary data were raised through six case studies in the UK and Greece, more than 143 interviews with social entrepreneurs and various stakeholders and three action research projects which were the subject of analytic induction supported by archival analysis of secondary data coming from governmental, European Commission, local authority and other sources. Our findings indicate that the formation, growth and success of social franchises is heavily shaped through: firstly, law, regulations, and incentives introduced by centralized or formal institutions- both supranational and national- as well as their driving logics; secondly, the relational and structural embeddedness of actors in networks and the social norms that subsequently emerge; thirdly, the characteristics of the individual social entrepreneurship profile; and finally elements of the social innovation model adopted. The properties of the system of informal or decentralised institutions of networks have been further explored through a pilot quantitative study on mainstream franchises in the UK and Greece. An online self-administered questionnaire has been created based on our conceptual framework of the Franchise Network Model (FNM) drawn from existing scales from literature. The findings indicate that relational and structural embeddedness of actors and organizations in networks determine choices of formation, partner selection, governance mode and the subsequent performance of franchise systems.

Context: Start-ups have recently emerged as an operational model for small and newly-founded firms globally. This increasing business acceptance is present within the European markets, as well as within the Greek. Researchers also complied to the ”commands” of the industry and startup research followed the same, to practice, increasing course. Although the increase in both research and practice is visible, and the fact that several start-up related topics are well-documented, the start-up literature still shows certain limitations that need to be answered. Theory: This study performs an extensive review of the start-up literature, provides definitions and descriptions of key start-up characteristics, and identifies the main streams, and limitations of start-up research, as long as cases of actual start-ups within the Greek business reality. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide insight on certain literature limitations by examining start-up customs towards collaboration and openness initiatives and activities. More in detail, the study aims to identify whether start-ups are able to collaborate (newness and smallness paradox), what is the extent (breadth and depth, partner variety, and collaboration content) of their collaboration and openness customs with different partners, but also the individual importance of specific partners, and the ways this importance changes through different phases of the start-up growth. Also, documented matters such as the determinants of collaborations and the internal organizational structure of start-ups towards openness and collaborations are also discussed. Design/Methodology/Approach: A multiple-case study that follows the replication logic is performed. The study focuses on six Greek online start-ups, and extracts information initially from the websites of the firms, and then by interviewing one key employee in each start-up. The combined information from each case are cross-analysed so as behavioural patterns to emerge and conclusions to be drawn regarding start-up initiatives and activities towards collaboration and openness. Findings: Start-ups are indeed able to collaborate and practice openness with external partners from the beginning, while the collaboration and openness is closely related to the desired outcome/collaboration content that fulfils a specific need. This desired outcome is connected to the extent – breadth and depth – of the collaboration, but also to the type of each partner. Thus, startups closely collaborate with few and selected partners of each kind (e.g. universities, supplies etc.), with the exception of customers and users. The collaboration with customers and users is wide and limited on their feedbacks due to their numbers. Customers, users, suppliers, innovation intermediaries, and universities were identified as the most important partners to start-ups. The importance of these partners is connected to the start-up growth lifecycle. Innovation intermediaries are the most important startup partners, while customers, users and suppliers are important from the stabilization phase and during the whole start-up lifecycle. Universities importance were not found to be clearly connected to the startup growth phases, but mostly to the collaboration content. Regarding the importance, some differences might occur amongst start-ups active in different industries. Those differences are industry specific and affect how and when each start-up collaborates with different partners. Finally, this study confirmed the propositions of previous studies regarding the determinants and internal organizational structure towards collaboration and openness with external partners. Research limitations and implications: Although the present study shows a set of limitations mostly regarding the number and distribution of the cases, it is the authors’ belief that it also shows a set of theoretical and practical implications. It provides managers and researchers with findings on uncharted territories in start-up literature, it connects its findings to prior start-up research, and provides insight on the almost undeveloped literature on Greek start-ups.

While both the concept of Private-Public Partnerships and the research on the topic is not new, PPPs from a market expansion perspective has not been covered to any notable extent, something this thesis aims to rectify. With the importance of relationships in business in emerging markets, the Institutional Network Approach serves as the backdrop for the study, highlighting the interplay between MNE and surrounding institutions. Through three case studies of Swedish MNEs active in PPP-projects in emerging markets, the aim is to develop a model suitable for analyzing MNE engagements in PPP-projects, but also to see if the gains from PPP engagements can constitute a feasible emerging market expansion tool.   The outcome of the study revealed that the studied MNEs primarily sought legitimacy and credibility in their projects, goals which according to MNEs also were acquired, and that the new model to a large extent captured aspects that were identified as important in the firms’ reports from the projects. It was concluded that in order for the PPP to serve as reliable market expansion tool, the firm has to be of MNE-size in terms of resources and ambitions, because smaller firms would struggle to be awarded, or handle, PPP-projects of this size. Previously stated credibility and legitimacy (from the CSR-aspects of the PPP), as well as the long-term collaboration resulting in solid relationships between MNE and institutions, are other benefits.

This thesis investigates whether adoption of partnerships between water utilities and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in Sub-Saharan Africa can improve water services to informal urban settlements. The study is particularly relevant because over 1 billion of the world's population have no access to clean water supply with many living in urban areas. The lack of adequate resources coupled with insufficiency of conventional approaches has rendered it impossible for urban utilities to deliver sustainable water services to all customers, including the informal settlements. The thesis proposes that partnership between water utilities and CBOs is a viable approach for improving water services to informal settlements. The thesis enhances understanding of the context in which such partnerships could be developed.

The emergence of Community Justice Courts (CJC) in the UK is a relatively new approach to doing justice. Founded upon the broad principles of community justice they present a challenge to traditional criminal justice practice. This thesis is based on a qualitative ethnographic study, employing an interpretivist methodology to develop knowledge and understanding of the Plymouth CJC. Furthermore it sought to review three specific areas, firstly the operations of the CJC and whether these processes varied from those of traditional magistrates’ court, secondly the development and operationalisation of problem-solving multi-agency working, and thirdly the identification and implementation of community engagement strategies. Observations of the court and associated meetings were undertaken (29 court sessions, six meetings, two problem-solving meetings) alongside interviews with 11 respondents representing the key stakeholder groups, documentary analysis of all meeting information and available guidance on the court, two small focus groups with Devonport and Stonehouse residents (independently) and self-completion questionnaire data from defence solicitors and offenders, all of which was analysed by constant comparison. Findings suggest that there were only two areas of distinction between the CJC and traditional magistrates’ court, those being court-based problem-solving and increased magistrate interaction. In addition, multi-agency problem-solving was evident but hounded by cultural and political differences in ideology and operations, leading to considerable resistance by court based legal professions. Furthermore, community engagement was found to be in need of considerable attention. Consequently recommendations for change and future research at policy, organisation and practitioner level have been made. The study concludes by suggesting that more time is needed for these courts to prove themselves and further attention could be given to applying the principles to mainstream court processes without the added expense of a specialist model.

Paper 1: Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. NGs recognise the importance of parental involvement and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to explore processes when consistent nurturing principles are being developed between a NG, schools and home. This qualitative study was conducted in a NG in the south west of England and included 3 NG staff, 4 parents, 4 children and a school teacher. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and VIG to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices. Semi-structured interviews, consultation meetings and a research diary collected data and an interpretative approach was adopted to explore processes, experiences and perceptions shared by participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data and produce a set of themes. The importance of effective communication, building of relationships and sharing of practice/ collaboration were identified as significant themes when developing partnership working between settings. VIG enhanced parents’ and the teacher’s communication skills and concurred with a partnership model based on empowerment, solutions and respect. Recommendations for practice include the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings. VIG can also be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. In addition, consideration is given to how VIG can be applied to practice more globally and how local authorities can support this process. Abstract: Paper 2 Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The importance of parental involvement is recognised within NGs and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to evaluate outcomes when nurturing principles are consistent between a NG, schools and home. A mixed methodology design with interpretative and scientific approaches was employed in an area NG in the south west of England. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices for the experimental group. Quantitative outcomes from Boxall Profiles and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) are compared pre- and post-intervention for an experimental group (4 children and 4 parents) and a control group (4 children). Three NG staff also volunteered as participants. Qualitative measures (observation records, semi-structured interviews (SSIs), consultation meetings and VIG clips) measured outcomes for the experimental group. Data from the Boxall Profiles, SDQs, VIG clips and observations was analysed descriptively. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse emergent themes from the SSIs and consultation meetings. The results revealed the experimental group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the SDQ and the control group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the Boxall Profile. The majority of results for individual experimental group children revealed positive social and emotional outcomes post-intervention. It is difficult to draw conclusions when outcomes between the experimental and control group were compared. The majority of measures identified positive social, emotional and behavioural outcomes for experimental group children when parents and schools work collaboratively with NGs. VIG and sharing of practices helped to modify how parents and teachers understood, managed, communicated and related to children. Recommendations for practice discuss the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings while ensuring minimal anxiety for children. VIG can be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. Consideration is given to how VIG can be applied more broadly and how local authorities can support this process.