College of Business and Law - Doctoral Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/439

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 210
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The reasons for staying when so many depart: an exploratory study of junior hospital doctors’ intentions to stay in Ireland
    (University College Cork, 2024) Seathu Raman, Siva Shaangari; McDonnell, Anthony; Beck, Matthias; Irish Research Council
    Voluntary turnover continues to be a significant issue impacting the ability of the Irish healthcare system to provide the necessary level of care to its citizens. Junior hospital doctors are at the bedrock of hospital care, but Ireland has a substantial issue with the numbers departing to other countries. Much research has focused on why hospital doctors are leaving in such large numbers with poor working conditions being amongst the most cited reasons for this. Using a qualitative methodology involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews with more than 30 junior public hospital doctors, this thesis addresses two interrelated research questions. First, why do some junior hospital doctors intend to stay in their roles despite the prevalent challenges and poor working conditions which cause many to leave? Second, did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the working and personal lives/experiences of doctors and their intention to stay, and if so how? Addressing these questions are important through enabling a move away from the somewhat narrow focus in the literature on turnover (i.e. why doctors leave) by providing a more enriching and holistic perspective through focusing on intentions to stay . This additional perspective has become more commonplace in the broader employee turnover literature but has received little consideration in the healthcare literature and context. Job embeddedness theory is employed to unpack the organisational (on-the-job) and community (off-the-job) factors that influence doctors’ intentions to stay in their jobs. The study illustrates the crucial role of community embeddedness, which arises from doctors’ fit and links, and their reluctance to sacrifice connections, with family, social networks, culture, lifestyle, and the local community. In other words, non-work factors are especially critical in why these doctors remain working in Ireland. This study also provides empirical data on the lived experience of junior hospital doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it offers rich accounts and narratives of the positive and challenging impacts that these critical workers were faced with regarding work and non-work practices and how these were influencing their intention to stay. This thesis demonstrates the value of applying job embeddedness theory in the healthcare field and in helping us understand junior hospital doctor retention through illustrating the important, yet different, roles that organisational and community embeddedness play in retaining doctors. While the study adds to the existing calls for greater investment in staffing, improved working conditions, and more consistent implementation of HRM practices, the argument is also made for a more proactive approach to assisting doctors, especially those from other countries, in becoming embedded in their communities to improve their intentions to say, and as result aid organisational retention. While we find strong levels of embeddedness amongst many doctors, this is entirely left to individuals themselves rather than there being any assistance offered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Enabling strategic alignment in the sales and operations planning process
    (University College Cork, 2024) Shanahan, Alan Jeremiah (Jerry); Adam, Frederic; O'Reilly, Seamus; N/A
    Organisations have struggled to leverage their Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes to deliver the growth expectations of the business, as defined by their strategy. Despite the promise of Strategic Alignment (SA) built into the S&OP process definition, practice has shown that while organisations get value from balancing supply to demand, they struggle to make longer-term strategic decisions, due to not achieving strategic alignment. The purpose of this research was to investigate what factors and approaches could be identified to enable organisations to achieve ‘SA in S&OP’. The research journey, adopting a critical realist research philosophy, involved a number of steps supporting the development of an evolving conceptual framework. Insights from theory and practice were explored in an iterative manner before the final synthesis was concluded. An Integrative Literature Review (ILR) of existing literature, across a range of mixed method academic studies and practitioner publications, enabled the identification of key constructs and relationships. The resulting conceptual framework, associated research propositions and research questions, were then explored by a group of acknowledged experts in a Delphi field study. Returning to the academic literature the next step identified three relevant theoretical lenses to provide a theoretical grounding to the framework in the form of Contingency Theory (CT), Resource Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) theories. Finally an intrinsic single case study allowed an in-depth investigation to determine to what extent the conceptual framework was reflective of best practice. The findings showed that four contingency variables (Education, S&OP maturity, S&OP scope, Strategic plan) support the building of five response variables (Product portfolio management, strategic projects management, strategic KPIs, Integrated business plan, assumptions management) to enable SA, demonstrated by strategic discussions and ultimately strategic decision making. An intangible growth mindset developed from the iterative monthly cycle of striving to achieve a fit between the contingency and response variables, leveraging a set of S&OP principles, is an essential ingredient to achieving SA. This research makes a key contribution to practice in providing guidance for organisations on how to achieve ‘SA in S&OP’, based on a theoretically grounded framework, expanding the utility of the theories of CT, RBV/DCV.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The use of science in EU environmental decision-making: a measure of legitimacy in environmental regulation
    (University College Cork, 2024) Jennings, Rhoda; McIntyre, Owen; Poustie, Mark; Environmental Protection Agency; Irish Research Council
    This thesis investigates the role of science and scientific evidence in EU environmental law. It examines the practical interaction and relationship between science and the formulation and application of environmental law. In so doing, it takes a legal regulatory approach to exploring the science-law interface. The research goes beyond viewing science as a component of evidence-informed policy. It explores whether, and to what extent there is a legal obligation to use scientific evidence in the formulation of EU environmental policy and legislation. This is carried out through an examination of the role attributed to science under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and by exploring the normative role of science as a source of legitimacy in environmental decision-making. The thesis adopts a practical approach to investigating the role of science in environmental law. It develops a a typology of the primary EU science advisory bodies that assist the Commission in its work, and feed into pre-legislative debate. It carries out case studies on ambient air pollution and nature conservation legislation, tracing the use of science in the formulation and application of the law, from the travaux préparatoires to the adoption of the final legislation, and the interpretation of the law by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The research consolidates the exploration of the normative role of science in EU environmental legislation and policymaking, with the actual role of science, by drawing on the concept of legitimacy to develop an analytical framework. This framework is used to discuss more precisely how science is used in the formulation of legislation, and the consequences for the legitimacy of the legislation. The research indicates that there is a wealth of high-quality science advice in the EU. Shortcomings in the regulatory structure of the science-law interface, however, serve to undermine the functional benefits of science. The thesis proposes preliminary methods for enhancing the use of science in EU environmental decision-making.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Reconciling the objectives of environmental protection and climate mitigation in EU law: the problem of renewable energy project authorisation
    (University College Cork, 2023) Hardiman, Alison; McIntyre, Owen; Poustie, Mark; EirGrid
    This thesis investigates the contrasting approaches to project authorisation for renewable energy (RE) infrastructure projects in EU environmental and RE laws. It identifies the need for integration and proportionate application of environmental laws as it is sought to deliver the EU’s energy transition. Particular attention is afforded to the environmental law framework, where the objective of climate mitigation as a means of environmental protection as defined within the TFEU has not been effectively incorporated at Directive level. The thesis challenges the fact that EU environmental law has not been amended to reflect EU RE law and policy, and illustrates the problems that have therefore ensued at project level. It analyses the specific elements of the EIA and Habitats Directives, in particular, that do not facilitate or enable the infrastructural development that must necessarily underpin the energy transition. Detailed consideration is afforded to the relevance of the applicable EU principles of environmental integration, proportionality and legal certainty in this regard. It is illustrated within this research that environmental law is required to integrate the full breadth of environmental objectives, including climate mitigation, within the framework of sustainable development. Application of the principle of proportionality is considered as a means of informing appropriate balancing of different objectives within the scope of environmental protection, mindful of the need for legal certainty in order to enable investment by prospective developers. Within this context, the research addresses the tensions and necessary trade-offs arising between contrasting environmental protection objectives as it is sought to develop extensive RE infrastructure. In so doing, a more structured and therefore transparent approach to decision making by competent authorities is proposed. Areas of norm conflict, in respect of which a reframing of EU environmental law is required, are also identified. The aim of this research is to provide a clear focus on this issue within environmental law and to address the finding within EU RE law that the greatest barriers to the development of RE infrastructure are the regulatory processes designed to achieve environmental protection. Once so identified, appropriate and effective means of application of EU legal principles are identified that can contribute to policy integration within this sector. This is designed to mitigate the impending delivery gap regarding RE infrastructure successfully deployed, in accordance with the EU’s ambitious and urgent RE targets.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Nurturing blue growth: enabling sustainable development of emerging marine sectors
    (University College Cork, 2024) Giannoumis, Jessica; Wheeler, Andrew; Dooley, Lawrence; Cummins, Valerie
    Current marine resource exploitation practices and management are unsustainable as resource degradation is ongoing and coastal regions struggle to realise sustainable development of marine resources. The key topic of this research is expanding knowledge on the reconciliation of environmental and economic models regarding the sustainable development of marine resources through the EU-introduced concept of blue growth. In the context of this research, blue growth refers to the sustainable development of marine resources, generating livelihoods, and securing well-being from innovation in emerging marine sectors. Blue growth development attracted interest across Europe and beyond, as the utilisation of marine resources is viewed as an opportunity to meet climate change obligations, enable a transition away from finite resources, and creating employment opportunities, thereby enabling long-term regional economic development. Blue growth development initially focused on the development of five emerging marine sectors with economic growth potential including coastal tourism, aquaculture, ocean renewable energy including offshore wind development, seabed mining, and marine biotechnology. Yet, EU coastal regions struggle with the realisation of blue growth as they received limited guidance from the European Commission on what blue growth is and what successful blue growth development looks like. This highlights a need to investigate what nurtures blue growth to enable coastal regions to realise their blue growth potential. This qualitative and interdisciplinary research focuses on the potential of blue growth in coastal regions focusing on the development of emerging marine sectors. In the context of this research, a region refers to coastal regions with common economic activities and characteristics, such as access to regionally specific marine resources, and common administrative characteristics such as specific political and governmental functions, e.g., regional economic development policies. Within the scope of this research, emerging sectors refer to rapidly growing industries utilising innovative technologies to enable sustainable development of regions, job creation, and technological advancement. This research investigates the manifestation and effectiveness of an EU intervention, the ProtoAtlantic project which includes regions of Orkney (SCT), Cork (IRE), Brest (FR), Porto (PT), and Las Palmas (SP) and two in-depth cases in Norway and Scotland. ProtoAtlantic was a Interreg Atlantic Area project, initially funded from November 2017 to October 2020, due to Covid-19, the project was extended to October 2021. The study harnessed an opportunity to engage with a wide range of multiple stakeholders representing stakeholders from government, industry, and academia. Data collection from the ProtoAtlantic cases included extensive desktop research and policy analysis of marine and generic development strategies in each case, analysis of regional blue growth stakeholder workshops which were carried out in each region, as well as analysis of additional material provided through the ProtoAtlantic project such as the outcomes of the ProtoAtlantic accelerator programme, and semi-structured interviews with nine regional stakeholders. The two deep dive cases included the offshore wind sector development around the DeepWind cluster in Scotland and the Norwegian aquaculture sector. Data collection from the in-depth cases included extensive desktop research and policy analysis of marine development strategies with particular focus on offshore wind development in Scotland and aquaculture development in Norway, in addition to 32 semi-structured interviews. To date, limited scientific attention has been paid to blue growth realisation from a marine governance perspective. Even less research has been undertaken to understand blue growth development from a business perspective. The research aim was to expand on how economic opportunities can catalyse sustainable development in a marine context. By achieving economic sustainability, coastal communities may consequently be in a better position to achieve environmental and social sustainability. The findings of this research address this research gap and provide practical contributions on how decisionmakers in coastal regions can nurture and realise their regional blue growth potential. In-depth analysis found that blue growth requires a systems approach which enables the integration of blue growth antecedents, this has been lacking from current marine management approaches. Furthermore, the study found that economic development approaches to marine resource management can secure well-being of coastal communities and ensure sustainable practices to marine resource utilisation. This research offers a modification of Ostrom’s Social-Ecological Systems framework, the expansions of the framework provide insight into collective action, the role of technology development, and the need for bespoke regional approaches to identify and realise blue growth. This research examines the role of regional stakeholders, the need for entrepreneurial activity and clustering activities in driving blue growth development and offers recommendations for policymakers and decisionmakers in coastal regions to nurture blue growth adoption and development. This research also presents a Practitioner’s Guide to Blue Growth which offers relevant questions to enable practitioners and intermediaries in the identification and realisation of their regional blue growth potential.