Cork University Business School - Journal Articles

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    The legacy of COVID-19 financial supports: (2) adapting to a life beyond the pandemic
    (Sweet & Maxwell, 2024) McCarthy, Jonathan
    This, the second part of a two-part article on public support to businesses, examines whether EU Member States should continue to support businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic, but reformulate the aid to promote sustainability and digitalisation.
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    Promoting active citizen engagement in sustainable energy transitions: a co-creation approach
    (Taylor & Francis, 2024-04-24) Rowan, Wendy; McCarthy, S.; Mebrahtu, S.; Ertiö, Titiana; Dimova, Adriana; Asenova, Desislava; Moraitis, Nektarios; Revez, Alexandra
    The shift towards sustainable and decentralised energy production has encountered a notable gap between the need to establish energy communities and the existing technological and infrastructural basis provisions for their facilitation. A concerted effort is thus required to align capabilities with the requirements for fostering energy transitions. This paper introduces the ACeT method, a novel decision-making approach aimed at involving citizens in the context of sustainable energy transitions. The aim is to support the collaborative development of visions and roadmaps by citizens and regional/local authorities, who co-create strategies to mitigate broader societal impediments to the adoption of renewable energy. By addressing issues such as bureaucratic procedures, inequitable tariffs, and legal constraints, this approach offers valuable insights for stakeholders. Policymakers can further scrutinise and substantiate these insights and recommendations derived from this novel approach.
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    Funding lotteries for research grant allocation: An extended taxonomy and evaluation of their fairness
    (Oxford University Press, 2024-08-17) Feliciani, Thomas; Luo, Junwen; Shankar, Kalpana; Science Foundation Ireland
    Some research funding organizations (funders) are experimenting with random allocation of funding (funding lotteries), whereby funding is awarded to a random subset of eligible applicants evaluated positively by review panels. There is no consensus on which allocation rule is fairer—traditional peer review or funding lotteries—partly because there exist different ways of implementing funding lotteries, and partly because different selection procedures satisfy different ideas of fairness (desiderata). Here we focus on two desiderata: that funding be allocated by ‘merit’ (epistemic correctness) versus following ethical considerations, for example without perpetuating biases (unbiased fairness) and without concentrating resources in the hands of a few (distributive fairness). We contribute to the debate first by differentiating among different existing lottery types in an extended taxonomy of selection procedures; and second, by evaluating (via Monte Carlo simulations) how these different selection procedures meet the different desiderata under different conditions. The extended taxonomy distinguishes “Types” of selection procedures by the role of randomness in guiding funding decisions, from null (traditional peer review), to minimal and extensive (various types of funding lotteries). Simulations show that low-randomness Types (e.g. ‘tie-breaking’ lotteries) do not differ meaningfully from traditional peer review in the way they prioritize epistemic correctness at the cost of lower unbiased and distributive fairness. Probably unbeknownst to funders, another common lottery Type (lotteries where some favorably-evaluated proposals bypass the lottery) displays marked variation in epistemic correctness and fairness depending on the specific bypass implementation. We discuss implications for funders who run funding lotteries or are considering doing so.
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    The critical success factors for Security Education, Training and Awareness (SETA) program effectiveness: a lifecycle model
    (Emerald, 2023-03-30) Alyami, Alyami; Sammon, David; Neville, Karen; Mahony, Carolanne
    Purpose: This study explores the critical success factors (CSFs) for Security Education, Training and Awareness (SETA) program effectiveness. The questionable effectiveness of SETA programs at changing employee behavior and an absence of empirical studies on the CSFs for SETA program effectiveness is the key motivation for this study. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study follows a systematic inductive approach to concept development. The methodology adopts the “key informant” approach to give voice to practitioners with SETA program expertise. Data are gathered using semi-structured interviews with 20 key informants from various geographic locations including the Gulf nations, Middle East, USA, UK and Ireland. Findings: In this study, the analysis of these key informant interviews, following an inductive open, axial and selective coding approach, produces 11 CSFs for SETA program effectiveness. These CSFs are mapped along the phases of a SETA program lifecycle (design, development, implementation and evaluation) and nine relationships identified between the CSFs (within and across the lifecycle phases) are highlighted. The CSFs and CSFs' relationships are visualized in a Lifecycle Model of CSFs for SETA program effectiveness. Originality/value: This research advances the first comprehensive conceptualization of the CSFs for SETA program effectiveness. The Lifecycle Model of CSFs for SETA program effectiveness provides valuable insights into the process of introducing and sustaining an effective SETA program in practice. The Lifecycle Model contributes to both theory and practice and lays the foundation for future studies.
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    Critical success factors for Security Education, Training and Awareness (SETA) programme effectiveness: an empirical comparison of practitioner perspectives
    (Emerald, 2024-01-22) Alyami, Areej; Sammon, David; Neville, Karen; Mahony, Carolanne
    Purpose: Cyber security has never been more important than it is today in an ever more connected and pervasive digital world. However, frequently reported shortages of suitably skilled and trained information system (IS)/cyber security professionals elevate the importance of delivering effective Security Education,Training and Awareness (SETA) programmes within organisations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the questionable effectiveness of SETA programmes at changing employee behaviour and an absence of empirical studies on the critical success factors (CSFs) for SETA programme effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: This exploratory study follows a three-stage research design to give voice to practitioners with SETA programme expertise. Data is gathered in Stage 1 using semi-structured interviews with 20 key informants (the emergence of the CSFs), in Stage 2 from 65 respondents to a short online survey (the ranking of the CSFs) and in Stage 3 using semi-structured interviews with nine IS/cyber security practitioners (the emergence of the guiding principles). Using a multi-stage research design allows the authors to propose and evaluate the 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness. Findings: This study conducted a mean score analysis to evaluate the level of importance of each CSF within two independent groups of IS/cyber security professionals. This multi-stage analysis produces a ranked list of 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness, while the difference in the rankings leads to the emergence of five CSF-specific guiding principles (to increase the likelihood of delivering an effective SETA programme within an organisational context). This analysis also reveals that most of the contradictions/differences in CSF rankings between IS/cyber security practitioners are linked to the design phase of the SETA programme life cycle. While two CSFs, “maintain quarterly evaluation of employee performance” (CSF-DS6) and “build security awareness campaigns” (CSF-EV1), represent the most significant contradiction in this study. Originality/value: The 11 CSFs for SETA programme effectiveness, along with the five CSF-specific guiding principles, provide a greater depth of knowledge contributing to both theory and practice and lays the foundation for future studies. Therefore, the outputs of this study provide valuable insights on the areas that practice needs to get right to deliver effective SETA programmes.