College of Business and Law - Doctoral Theses
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Item Working relationships in family business: a psychological contract theory perspective(University College Cork, 2024) O'Leary, Olivia; Murphy, Linda; Sherman, Ultan; Duggan, JamesFamily businesses have long been recognised as pillars of economies worldwide, with Ireland boasting a rich history of such enterprises dating back centuries. Despite their prevalence, the distinct characteristics of family businesses present challenges, with their unique dynamics and working relationships often shaping their success or failure. Drawing upon psychological contract theory, this study investigates the formation and content dimensions of psychological contracts among family and non-family employees in family businesses. By comparing and contrasting these perspectives, this study uncovers the underlying processes and implications for the working relationship within family businesses. Conducted through an exploratory qualitative study with four independent family-owned retailers in Ireland, the study revealed distinct patterns in the formation of the psychological contract and illustrated that both family and non-family employees’ psychological contract formation is influenced by critical factors such as pre-entry and post-entry episodes, information sources, and agency relationships. However, family members have a protracted psychological contract formation process rooted in early organic experiences through their family membership. Non-family employees experience psychological formation through recruitment and standardised organisational entry processes. The research uncovers distinctive terms in the psychological contract with family employees, often emphasising familial obligations and legacy preservation, while non-family employees prioritise career development and stable employment. Both family and non-family employees feel obligated to the community in which the business operates. These findings shed light on the unique dynamics at play within family businesses, highlighting the importance of understanding and addressing the diverse needs and expectations of employees. This study contributes to both psychological contract theory and the unique context of family businesses. Furthermore, this thesis deepens our understanding of psychological contract theory by introducing novel concepts such as dormant psychological contracts and the influence of family relationships on employment arrangements. It advances psychological contract theory by demonstrating how early experiences shape working relationships in family businesses. It contributes to the family business domain by illuminating the role of HRM processes and co-workers in constructing psychological contracts in working relationships. Practically, this research offers valuable insights for organisational leaders and HR practitioners in managing working relationships within family businesses. By recognising and addressing the distinct dimensions of psychological contracts, family businesses can build positive employee-organisation relationships, enhance employee engagement, and ultimately improve organisational outcomes. Overall, this thesis comprehensively explores the formation of psychological contracts in family businesses, offering theoretical contributions and practical implications for organisational practice.Item The role of household wealth in funding self-employment in European countries(University College Cork, 2023) Liu, Yibin; Power, Bernadette; Doran, Justin; Chicago Society of Coating Technology; China Scholarship CouncilThis thesis explores the role of household wealth in funding self-employment across euro-zone countries. The thesis considers key types of household wealth (i.e., assets, liabilities, income, and inheritances) and their components. It uses a highly detailed cross-country micro dataset constructed from three waves of the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), over the period 2010-2017. Household wealth is perceived as a vital financial resource in assisting would-be and actual self-employed individuals to alleviate financial constraints, which can significantly hinder the decision to be self-employed and impair the performance of self-employed business (Quadrini, 2009; Cole and Sokolyk, 2018; Levine and Rubinstein, 2020). The financial constraints experienced by those in self-employment are mainly triggered by asymmetric information in the capital market, and usually result in restrictive access to finance (Moscalu et al., 2020), limited credit financing and borrowing (Banerjee et al., 2017), and a lack of financial liquidity (Gentry and Hubbard, 2004). Within this context, different types of household wealth have been found to support those in self-employment to enable them to obtain finance (Bhaird and Lucey, 2010; Jensen et al., 2022; Åstebro and Bernhardt, 2003; Demirgüc et al., 2007; Lin et al., 2000). Essentially, household wealth is potentially able to enhance creditworthiness and add financial liquidity to self-employment and self-employed businesses. Existing literature focuses on one or two type(s) of household wealth, resulting in comparatively ambiguous findings about the influence of household wealth on funding self-employment. This thesis addresses this gap by extensively examining aggregate measurement of each key type of household wealth and detailed measurements of their components. Doing so allows this thesis to address three overreaching objectives: (1) to identify the difference in household wealth between self-employment and paid employment; (2) to investigate the impact of household wealth on the decision to be self-employed; and (3) to examine whether household wealth affects the performance of self-employed businesses. The first empirical Chapter of this thesis provides a comparison of household wealth between self-employed individuals and paid employees. A propensity score matching methodology is employed, which includes household assets, liabilities, other income (excluding self-employment income), and their components and inheritances, while also controlling for specific demographic factors. Results indicate that self-employed individuals hold more household real assets and inheritances than paid employees. However, the self-employed have less household income from other sources and have a lower level of secured loans in comparison with paid employees. The self-employed have higher level unsecured debts than paid employees. The discussion of the results for each component adds a comprehensive understanding to sources of differential household-level finance of self-employed individuals and paid employees in Europe. The second empirical Chapter disentangles the impact of household wealth on occupational decisions (self-employment vis paid employment). It uses an instrumental variables probit estimation to explore the significance of different types of household wealth and their components on an individual’s decision to be self-employed. Results reveal that, household’s assets and their components and liabilities generally encourage individuals to be self-employed, which adds new evidence to inform how financial constraints can be combatted (Zissimopoulos et al., 2009; Lim, 2018). The volume of household inheritances is not significantly associated with the decision to be self-employed. This Chapter also finds that household income diminishes the likelihood of being self-employed. To date detailed empirical evidence of the impacts identified in this Chapter do not exist in the literature. Therefore, this thesis offers a unique insight into household wealth as a potential financial resource related to the occupational decision to be self-employed. Lastly, the third empirical Chapter of this thesis investigates the ways in which household wealth impacts on the performance of self-employed businesses using a Heckman two-step estimation procedure. The results indicate that a positive impact is not only evident for total household real assets but also for the components of the real assets. Concerning total household liabilities, it is found to be positively associated with business value. The findings highlight the negative influence of the mortgage on household main residence, implying that pledging your household main residence to secure loans for business use seems to impair business performance. Finally, results suggest a negative association of household income from other sources and business value. By showing how the specific type and components of household-level finance are associated with the performance of self-employed business, this thesis provides novel evidence in a particularly underdeveloped area.Item An analysis of subjective well-being in China(University College Cork, 2024) Feng, Ruixue; Murphy, Rosemary; Walsh, EdelSubjective well-being measures an individual's quality of life based on their own evaluation (Anusic et al., 2017). The importance of subjective well-being as a measure of individual and societal progress is increasingly recognised, leading to a rise in research on the topic (Knight et al., 2009). Cheng and Mishra et al. (2017) state that studying subjective well-being in China enhances the understanding of China's economy and society, and also helps to develop and extend existing theories of subjective well-being. This thesis aims to explore the factors associated with subjective well-being in China, where happiness is the measure of the concept of subjective well-being. The data used for this study is from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey. To achieve this, the estimation models of subjective well-being are developed and the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being is further analysed. Chapter 1 introduces the overall structure of the thesis, including the rationale, relevant background literature, data description, and analysis techniques. Chapter 2 reviews previous literature on subjective well-being definitions and theories and describes the relationships between key factors and subjective well-being. Chapter 3 presents the analytical techniques used in this thesis. Chapter 4 describes the data used in this thesis, which is based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey. Chapter 5 analyses the factors associated with subjective well-being by applying the ordered probit model. Chapter 6 explores the factors associated with subjective well-being by implementing semi-nonparametric techniques to estimate the model of subjective well-being. In Chapter 7, the positive correlations between income inequality and subjective well-being in China are assessed and the mediating effect of relative income is investigated. The thesis employs ordered probit and semi-parametric techniques to investigate the correlation between various factors and subjective well-being in China. The analysis provides a number of findings: Firstly, age, religion, political status, health status, income, marital status, and social fairness are all positively associated with subjective well-being. Additionally, achieving education above the second level is positively correlated with higher levels of subjective well-being. A high frequency of social interactions and having a resident account (hukou account) are also associated with higher subjective well-being level. Conversely, employment in non-agricultural or agricultural sectors is found to have a negative impact on subjective well-being. Additionally, women report higher levels of subjective well-being than men. In addition to the above findings, the thesis highlights a significant relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being in China. It also confirms the mediating role of relative incomes in the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors associated with subjective well-being and point to aspects that can be taken into account in promoting the overall societal well-being. Economic literature suggests that an analysis of the factors associated with an individual's subjective well-being is necessary as it helps policymakers to increase the level of well-being of citizens, which is one of their goals (Dolan and White, 2007). This thesis uses a complex econometric approach to analyse and present these factors and possible explanations. Furthermore, the thesis analyses the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being. Finally, the findings presented in this thesis can be used to provide potential policy recommendations for the implementation of the promotion of general social well-being in ChinaItem Organisational culture and organisational strategy in Irish credit unions(University College Cork, 2024) O'Sullivan, Patrick; McCarthy, Olive; Byrne, Noreen; Power, CarolThis study explores organisational culture and organisational strategy in Irish credit unions and the relationship between them. It seeks to fill a gap in an area that has not previously been studied in the sector in terms of credit unions developing an understanding of the type of culture and the type of strategy that prevails, which in turn can help to support management in how they manage and compete. The literature review highlighted the complexity of both concepts and a methodological framework was established for the measurement of culture and strategy. This framework allowed for the identification of culture types and strategy types and for comparing both across the credit union sector. A statistical analysis was used to explore the relationship between these variables. The methodological framework developed also enabled a deeper exploration of organisational culture through the measurement of cultural strength and cultural congruence. The study involved a survey of 73 credit unions and interviews with 16 credit unions. The findings illustrate that the predominant culture is internally focused, but flexible in its approach, where priority is given to the harnessing of human resources with leaders being facilitators and mentors. To a lesser extent, the culture was found to be rules-based, internally focused and stable. The predominant culture of Irish credit unions can be described as ‘clan-type’ with strong cultural strength. The predominant strategy type was found to be stable but can change from a narrow to a broader value proposition depending on the opportunities afforded. Strategy was further explored through in-depth qualitative interviews with CEOs in the 16 selected credit unions. These credit unions selected for interview were identified in the quantitative phase based on their strategy type. The qualitative analysis identified the components of the strategy types. The relationship between strategy types and culture types was found not to be statistically significant but culture strength was found to be statistically associated with strategy type. One of the main theoretical and methodological contributions of the research includes the development of a methodology for the measurement of both culture and strategy. The predominance of an internally focused culture suggests staff commitment and efficiency as well as values that typically align with the credit union ethos. The internal focus may also suggest a weakness in that it is typically less focused on the external environment and is less adaptable to change, which may have an impact on strategy development. However, the predominance of this type of culture can also help to shape the strategy to the extent that its inward focus and emphasis on people, together with the cultural strength, influences to some degree the predominance of the hybrid approach of both a stable and changing value proposition which is one of the practical contributions of the study.Item Reimagining small firm growth for a post-growth context: a regional study of artisan food producers at farmers' markets(University College Cork, 2024) Connolly, Richael; Bogue, Joseph; Repar, Lana; Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social SciencesFood production and consumption pose pressing and unavoidable challenges for society. A consolidated global food system has increased the output of ultra-processed food and threatens the livelihoods of small food producers. At the intersection between food, people, and the environment are locally embedded spaces such as farmers’ markets. This study reimagines firm growth from the perspective of artisan food producers who operate at farmers’ markets within the context of sustainability and limited resources. Post-growth is an approach that moves beyond economic growth as a primary agenda. A multi-level critical realist methodology is taken to form a mixed-methods regional research design. This design involved the application of a novel theoretical framework that synthesises Penrose’s seminal theory of firm growth with Bourdieu’s practice theory to position firm growth as emergent, incorporating social and cultural factors. A policy analysis was conducted on Irish food strategies. Twenty-five farmers’ markets were visited in Munster, southwest Ireland. Quantitative survey data was collected from eighty-eight artisan food producers, qualitative data from observations and informal conversations, and ten key field informant interviews. Eight purposively selected case studies were undertaken representing four identified typologies of artisan food producers. It was found that farmers’ markets in Ireland represent resilient spaces (interstices) for an artisanal way of doing business. In addition, they play a vital role in redressing the balance in the food system by contributing to non-economic industry needs. Yet only 3% of the national food strategy targets incorporate local food production. The survey showed that 93% of respondents operated place-based, product-focused, family-oriented micro-businesses different from a traditional food-in-retail business model. An output is an empirical framework of business development centred around the symbiotic relationship of artisan knowledge and selling at farmers’ markets. A contribution is made to redescribe firm growth theory from this perspective, which contributes to reimagining firm growth for a post-growth context. The study’s applied critical realist framework contributes to methodology. From this study’s small business perspective of farmers’ markets, targeted policy recommendations were developed to recognise, support and foster artisan food producers’ contribution to positive food environments.