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This chapter explores how resilience in the face of difficult and crisis-ridden circumstances influences innovation. By examining Qantas and the critical role played by the CEO and Managing Director Alan Joyce, we discuss how innovation leadership amid a crisis requires resilience with a balanced approach. With a lens of self-level innovation leadership, we showcase Alan Joyce’s resilience and how that flowed onto his team and the organisation to action required changes in a creative and novel way to revitalise. The chapter contributes to the literature by further detailing about how resilience from a business leadership perspective influences the organisation’s ability to encourage innovation in a difficult and crisis-ridden environment. We believe that the lessons learned from the Qantas case can inspire companies and industries that face similar challenges to understand what it means to demonstrate resilience as a leader.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.

This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The study also seeks to understand what human resource policies and educational interventions are needed to support and take advantage of these changes.

This is a qualitative study where a sample of highly experienced representatives from a range of small to large Irish organisations, both public and private, provide insights into this important topic.

Findings indicate participants see a continued need for soft and hard skills as we evolve towards a more technologised workplace, with a need for employees to adopt a lifelong learning philosophy. As the knowledge economy in Ireland is well established, experts do not expect mass displacement to occur but differ with respect to the predicted rate of change. Novel HR interventions such as hiring for potential, pooling talent and establishing postgraduate supply contracts are seen as key. Current state interventions were mostly viewed positively but revamping of curricula is needed as well as stronger partnerships with tertiary institutions.

The interpretivist nature of the study limits the generalisability of the findings as they are based on a relatively small sample from one country. Also despite the significant expertise of the sample, it is not possible to predict whether their forecasts will manifest.

This research highlights the need for Irish SMEs to embrace the impacts of automation and AI as many are seen to be slow in reacting to changes in technology. The study also reveals cutting edge talent management interventions for employers to adopt that will insulate them from the challenges technological change presents to recruitment and employee development.

The findings from this paper culminate in the development of a conceptual framework, which encapsulates the responsibilities of all parties so that future skills needs will be met. This highlights the interplay between employers, individuals/employees, the Irish Government and educational institutions, demonstrating how they are interdependent on one another as we move towards a more technologised future.

Researchers and practitioners working within transdisciplinary research projects face specific challenges when addressing representation of evidence-based concepts across complex occurrences, particularly when delivering a visitor experience design and documentary film encompassing an extensive cultural and natural heritage timeline period. In this chapter, these challenges are explored from the contrasting points of view of the view of the principal investigator and design lead and the filmmaker and researcher within an ongoing transdisciplinary research project Portalis, which is funded by the ERDF through The Ireland Wales Cooperation Programme.

The Portalis visitor experience design promotes and supports citizen science-based climate action behavioural change within six distinct Irish and Welsh cross-border coastal communities. It explores whether there are any parallels with how we can adapt to climate change now, with a focus on the resilience and innovation evidenced within Waterford's earliest settlements during and after South East Ireland's earlier climate change periods. The design research and the filmic documentation of archaeological and geological surveys is employed to map the story of these early post-glacial settlements 10,000 years ago along the Waterford Estuary. Interwoven through this mapping is a demonstration of how those living along the Estuary are preserving their maritime heritage through citizen science led engagement and community initiatives.

Adding a deep resonance to the research project, singular to Waterford, a new vision is called for; an acknowledgement of Waterford City and its Estuary as an area of unique conservation and growth and a recognition of this much travelled waterway as a designated and protected cultural landscape. A successful transdisciplinary approach creates a rich and accessible resource towards recognising the Estuary's cultural and marine heritage in city planning for the future. In so doing, it broaches the so-called rural-urban divide, adds to the global community of practice and allows for reflection on how urban planning can learn from our past in this context.

The purpose of the article is to outline the insights provided by Alan Fox in Man Mismanagement in relation to the rise of the New Right political economy and the spread of unitarist managerialism. The article assesses the contemporary work and employment relations implications of mismanagement arising from a “second wave” of the New Right ideology from 2010 in the UK.

Responding to the Special Issue on Alan Fox, the article focuses on Alan Fox's book Man Mismanagement, considering industrial relations developments arising between the 1st (1974b) and 2nd (1985) editions relating to the political rise of the New Right. It reviews various literature that illustrates the contemporary IR relevance of the book and Fox's insights.

The New Right’s ideology has further fragmented work, disjointed labour rights and undermined collective industrial relations institutions, and macho mismanagement praxis is even more commonplace, compared to when Fox wrote Man Mismanagement. The stripping away of the institutional architecture of IR renders the renewal of pluralist praxis, like collective bargaining and other forms of joint regulation of work, a formidable task.

The value of the article relates to the identification of dramatic historical industrial relations events and change in the UK in Alan Fox's book Man Mismanagement, most notably relating to the rise to power of the Thatcherite New Right in 1979. Originality is evidenced by the authors’ drawing on Fox's ideas and assessing the implications of the “second wave” of the New Right in the contemporary industrial relations (IR) context of the 2020s under the conceptual themes of fragmented work, disjointed labour rights and undermined collectivism.

This paper aims to introduce a model using a digital twin concept in a cold heading manufacturing and develop a digital visual management (VM) system using Lean overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tool to enhance the process performance and establish Fourth Industrial Revolution (I4.0) platform in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This work utilised plan, do, check, act Lean methodology to create a digital twin of each machine in a smart manufacturing facility by taking the Lean tool OEE and digitally transforming it in the context of I4.0. To demonstrate the effectiveness of process digitisation, a case study was carried out at a manufacturing department to provide the data to the model and later validate synergy between Lean and I4.0 platform.

The OEE parameter can be increased by 10% using a proposed digital twin model with the introduction of a Level 0 into VM platform to clearly define the purpose of each data point gathered further replicate in projects across the value stream.

The findings suggest that researchers should look beyond conversion of stored data into visualisations and predictive analytics to improve the model connectivity. The development of strong big data analytics capabilities in SMEs can be achieved by shortening the time between data gathering and impact on the model performance.

The novelty of this study is the application of OEE Lean tool in the smart manufacturing sector to allow SME organisations to introduce digitalisation on the back of structured and streamlined principles with well-defined end goals to reach the optimal OEE.

This research aims to systematically review studies on significant risks for Critical Infrastructure Projects (CIPs) from selected top-tier academic journals from 2011 to 2023.

In this research, a three-step systematic literature review methodology was employed to analyse 55 selected articles on Critical Infrastructure Risks (CIRs) from well-regarded and relevant academic journals published from 2011 to 2023.

The findings highlight a growing research focus on CIRs from 2011 to 2023. A total of 128 risks were identified and grouped into ten distinct categories: construction, cultural, environmental, financial, legal, management, market, political, safety and technical risks. In addition, literature reviews combined with questionnaire surveys were more frequently used to identify CIRs than any other method. Moreover, oil and gas projects were the subjects most often explored in the reviewed papers. Furthermore, it was observed that publications from Iran, the USA and China dominated CIRs research, making significant contributions, accounting for 49.65% of the analysed articles.

This research specifically focuses on five types of CIPs (i.e. roadways, bridges, water supply systems, dams and oil and gas projects). Other CIPs like cyber-physical systems or electric power systems, were not considered in this research.

Governments and contracting firms can benefit from the findings of this study by understanding the significant risks associated with the execution of CIPs, irrespective of the nation, industry or type of project. The results of this investigation can offer construction professionals valuable insights to formulate and implement risk response plans in the early stages of a project.

As a novel literature review related to CIRs, it lays the groundwork for future research and deepens the understanding of the multi-faceted effects of these risks, as well as sets practical response strategies.

Representations of female perpetrators of political violence contribute to society's thinking about women, gender, violence and agency. Analysis of this discourse is vital to understand its influence on society's knowledge of women and violence. The study investigates how gendered narratives are used to frame female ex-combatants in Nationalist and Unionist newspapers in the post-conflict society of Northern Ireland. The media is a central agent in the construction of knowledge; and this is significant for women who have perpetrated crimes or (political) violence. The existing research found that violent women are narrated and interpreted through gendered discursive frameworks to dismiss or make sense of their violence. However, in the Northern Irish case, although the women are constructed within gendered frames, this does not deny their agency in past political violence.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of characteristics of capitalism on environmental performance.

The authors analyzed a sample of 6,257 companies, based in 55 countries and 8 typologies of capitalism. The independent variables are the characteristics of capitalism, measured through five indicators: cooperation between employees and employers, index of economic freedom, local competition between industries, human development index (HDI) and quality of the governance environment. To measure environmental performance, the authors created an index composed of 20 indicators. Data were analyzed using panel data regression and dynamic panel of the generalized method of moments.

The results indicate that the characteristics of capitalism can shape the environmental behavior of companies. The authors find that in countries with better cooperation between employees and employers, more economic freedom, and competition between firms, in addition to better HDI and national governance, companies have higher environmental performance. When they are in more developed countries, companies have a greater environmental performance.

Managers must consider the country's characteristics of capitalism when making their environmental decisions and strategies. The findings invite governments to incorporate into their regulations mechanisms to protect other interest groups, not just shareholders.

Few studies have examined environmental performance, which is less susceptible to greenwashing. The metric for environmental performance measures the company's concrete effort in relation to environmental issues and not just the disclosure of information. Additionally, the authors examine characteristics of capitalism supported by Varieties of Capitalism, an approach still little explored in the environmental management.

This paper aims to assess the level of compliance of the Integrated Management Reports of four Brazilian public universities with the International Integrated Reporting Framework.

The authors carried out documentary research on the management reports of four Brazilian public universities for the period 2018–2020. For the analysis, the authors developed a Disclosure Index (DI) that analyzes the content of the reports and allows them to verify the quality of these institutional documents.

The results show that two universities present low quality of their reports with a disclosure rate lower than 50%, while the other two demonstrate evolution in the quality of reporting over the years. In addition, the findings point to the need for greater conciseness in the preparation of reports and accessibility of disclosures, as well as inclusion of the impacts of organizations’ activities on society and the environment.

This research brings relevant contributions by identifying points of improvement in the dissemination of information by management reports from an Integrated Reporting approach and by identifying the need to adopt strategies that expand the understanding and knowledge of the preparers about this new approach.

The authors adapted a DI to measure the adhesion of the management reports of Brazilian universities to the Integrated Reporting approach. The results will be of interest to public organizations that seek to improve information disclosure based on an Integrated Reporting approach.