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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key criteria underpinning network-facilitated green innovation capability development in micro-firms.

Micro-firms, those firms with less than ten full-time employees, need to continuously innovate in order to sustain their business in the emerging green economy. This study uses an interpretive multiple case approach to explore micro-firm owner-manager (O/M) green innovation activities, encompassing O/M views on facilitated network engagement in Ireland and Canada over a 12-month period.

The findings show that proactive implementation of green innovation is influenced by the O/M’s natural environment orientation and the potential for economic gain, while facilitated networks provide an additional resource that the O/M can draw from that allows the O/M to test new ideas, comprehend new and existing legislation and identify potential supports in pursuit of green innovation capability development within the micro-firm.

This study offers a contribution to knowledge in the areas of green innovation, micro-firm capabilities and facilitated network engagement. However, the sample size is small and distance was a challenge, yet data and case protocols are in place which allow for replication of the study. As the research is embedded in the resource and capability theories, alternative theoretical frameworks may shed a different light on the research question.

Prior studies have found that facilitated networks have a positive impact on micro-firm sustainability as these networks enhance the firm’s constrained resource base. The proposed framework can be used as a guideline for support organisations including facilitated networks in assisting micro-firms in reaching their green innovation goals and objectives. It can also be used by micro-firms in the attainment of the green innovation capability.

To document our experiences as female non-native researchers carrying out qualitative research in another country (Bahrain), and to reflect on our interactions with cultural insiders (CIs) as informants in this qualitative study. CIs share cultural commonalities such as language, social background and culture and are considered accepted members of the local community.

Two Bahraini academics were recruited as CIs for a qualitative research study and informant data was collected through face-to-face unstructured interviews over a period of 16 months. Data analysis involved manual and NVivo analytical processes.

Research findings derived three main themes: perceptions relating to the research participant interview template, views on collaboration in Bahrain, and research practicalities. CI engagement offered an opportunity to get fresh perspectives and insights that ultimately informed and improved the standard of research practice.

As knowledge is subjective, multidimensional and partial, the inclusion of CIs offers a greater opportunity to capture true meaning within the data. Through close proximity to the research context, CIs can share pivotal social insights on the design of interview instruments and process, and on member checking and findings. However, CIs come with their own experiences and views of their community, a recognised limitation in this study.

A CI research protocol, designed to set boundaries and document the steps involved in CI engagement offers a process that may be replicated or adapted in future research and ensures parameters are observed for all parties and affords the security of insider counsel where and when needed.

The methodological approach of incorporating CIs as informants from the Middle East, is novel in management research.

This article explores the value of engaging a hybrid learning strategy in a micro-enterprise setting when responding to a global pandemic. The research question asks: “Does a hybrid learning strategy enhance a micro-enterprise's response to extreme events?”.

A micro-enterprise owner–manager (OM) reflects on their experience running a business during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which resulted in the complete decimation of the organization’s revenue stream in early 2020. Captured in conversation with an academic peer, these practitioner insights provide valuable case evidence relating to micro-enterprise response to extreme commercial events, such as a global pandemic.

The journey from initial survival-mode to emergent market opportunity recognition and subsequent growth is recorded. The paper contributes to the limited research on the impact of learning strategy plans on micro-enterprise crisis response strategies and provides insights into the value of engaging a hybrid learning strategy when responding to a significant external business shock.

Drawing from these insights, the authors offer a literature-informed framework from which to consider the dynamics of an adaptive strategic response in a micro-enterprise setting, offering a means through which micro-enterprises can plan for and respond to extreme events in the future.

This paper aims to develop a process model of business-to-business (B2B) relationship recovery after a transgression has placed the future of the relationship in doubt. The research questions ask, How are relationships recovered? and How does the relationship strength pre-transgression influence the recovery process?

The process model is empirically grounded with first-hand narratives of owner managers (OMs) and key personnel of Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using the critical incident technique, 25 owner and manager interviews in 23 SMEs resulted in 48 recovery narratives.

The findings identify four types of outcomes flowing from two potential recovery process paths. The strength of the relationship pre-transgression and the desire to maintain the relationship influence the parties’ actions during the recovery process and the status of the relationship subsequently.

The authors acknowledge that each narrative in the data are the informants’ construction of the phenomenon. The B2B relationship recovery process model offers OMs and SMEs a blueprint of what to expect, and how they might reach for recovery instead of the relationship ending.

Prior studies either treat recovery as a minor part of an ending process or focus on a single sub-process, leaving the overall process under-researched. This study contributes to the B2B relationship dynamics discussion with a processual view of the overall recovery process, including recovery sub-processes, paths and temporal outcomes in different types of relationships and takes into account the pre-transgression relationship.

This paper explores the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The research question asks, does an external learning intervention influence how strategic learning plans are embedded in small firms?

Insights from in-depth action research carried out with three small firm owner-managers (OMs) inform the study.

Findings present valuable insights into how small firms learn strategically, and the link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of embedded learning. A framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms is presented.

This study offers a contribution to knowledge in the areas of small firm learning, strategic planning and social learning theory. While the sample size is small, data and case protocols are in place which allow for replication of the study. As the research is embedded in social learning theory, alternative theoretical frameworks may shed a different light on the research question.

The study will be of interest to practitioners working in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of learning interventions for small service firms. Given the importance of the small firm sector to the global economy, the research may also be of interest to government agencies, who strive to protect the survival and growth of small firms generally and who set aside resource amounts each year to fund training programmes for small firm OMs.

The research contributes to the body of existing knowledge in the small firm setting concerning social learning theory and small firm learning strategies. It has identified a link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of sustainable organisational learning in small firms and offers a framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The study answers calls for a more robust framework to advance understanding of how OMs learn and whether that learning is consequently embedded in the organisation. The proposed framework can be used as a guideline for support organisations in assisting small firms in reaching their learning potential. It can also be used by small firms in the attainment of strategy learning capability.

This paper explores the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The research question asks, how are strategic learning plans embedded in small firms?

Insights from in-depth action research carried out with three small firm owner-managers (OMs) inform the study.

Findings present valuable insights into how small firms learn strategically, and the link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of embedded learning. A framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms is presented.

This study offers a contribution to knowledge in the areas of small firm learning, strategic planning and social learning theory. While the sample size is small, data and case protocols are in place which allow for replication of the study. As the research is embedded in social learning theory, alternative theoretical frameworks may shed a different light on the research question.

The study may be of interest to practitioners working in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of learning interventions for small service firms. Given the importance of the small firm sector to the global economy, the research may also be of interest to government agencies, who strive to protect the survival and growth of small firms generally and who set aside resource amounts each year to fund training programmes for small firm OMs.

The research contributes to the body of existing knowledge in the small firm setting concerning social learning theory and small firm learning strategies. It has identified a link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of sustainable organisational learning in small firms and offers a framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The study answers calls for a more robust framework to advance understanding of how OMs learn and whether that learning is consequently embedded in the organisation. The proposed framework can be used as a guideline for support organisations in assisting small firms in reaching their learning potential. It can also be used by small firms in the attainment of strategy learning capability.

This study explores how individual, dyad and team levels of learning interact in public healthcare medical teams.

A single interpretive case study is carried out in the public Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland, involving three rounds of semi-structured interviews with non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs), supported by relevant professional documentation and researcher log entries.

An experience hierarchy, interpersonal relationships and social dynamics form the backdrop to learning interactions within public healthcare medical teams. Individual and team learning primarily occur in informal settings where interpreting and developing understanding takes place either in dyads, small groups or with the whole team. NCHD learning may vary depending on how effectively they build interpersonal relationships, take advantage of informal learning opportunities and manage the social dynamics within their team. Willingness and confidence to share insights and asking questions are triggers for individual and team learning.

As a single case study focused on the HSE NCHD individual and team learning experience, this research study represents a relatively small exploration of individual and team learning interplay in the public healthcare medical team environment. The development of learning theory in this domain presents an intriguing avenue of further research, including observation of interactions within a team.

The findings have practical relevance to those who are interested in the effectiveness of post-graduate/ NCHD learning in the public healthcare system. Interpersonal relationships and social norms play strong roles in how interaction and learning occurs in a team. These findings highlight the challenge of ensuring consistent quality across individual NCHDs or across hospital sites when training is heavily influenced by the approach of senior colleagues/ consultants to their more junior colleagues and the degree to which they take an active interest in NCHD learning.

The proposed learning framework is a key theoretical contribution, which draws upon the multi-levels of learning and provides greater insight into how individual, dyad and team learning interact in public healthcare medical teams when managing patient care. The findings have practical relevance in how to facilitate effective teamwork and learning interactions and for those who are interested in the consistency and quality of the training experience for NCHDs.

This paper aims to develop a framework of executive capability for innovation in the Irish seaport context.

The paper uses an approach based on a critical review of literature. The paper takes the form of a critical review of academic literature, focussed by dynamic managerial capabilities theory. Specifically, the work of Lawson and Samson (2001) is drawn on to frame executive capability for innovation.

The framework proposes that the executive capability for innovation in the Irish seaport sector emerges as a dynamic managerial capability. The framework is dynamic in nature with environmental feedback loops inhibiting and enabling executive capability development. Supply chain innovation emerges from the framework based on an interpretation of executive capability emerging from Lawson and Samson (2001).

The paper is entirely conceptual in nature. Future empirical research taking a qualitative approach is necessary. Further, an alternative theoretical perspective to that of dynamic managerial capabilities would offer new conceptual insight.

The paper contributes to executive practice through providing a framework of executive capability for innovation facilitating dialogue between executive practitioners and academic theory. Policymakers are challenged to contemplate the framework as a means of transforming competitiveness in an industry identified as foundational to Irish economic development.

The paper contributes to an emerging area of interest in the academic literature in the area of executive capability for innovation. Specifically, the paper argues the unique contextual nature of executive capability for innovation in the context of the seaport industry.

This paper aims to provide a systematic review of omni-channel marketing (OCM) literature and explore how it relates to business-to-business (B2B) marketing campaign development in the digital era. OCM’s evolution is tracked, exposing the areas in which research is most prevalent while also recognising knowledge gaps. Informed by these literature insights, the changing B2B channel dynamics that present within a digital era customer journey are appraised. An OCM model for B2B marketing campaign development is produced and avenues to further research are presented.

This paper uses a systematic approach to explore OCM literature. This review informs an OCM model for B2B marketing campaign development to help advance conceptualisation of OCM B2B customer engagement as an emerging phenomena in the digital era.

With just 21 papers identified, OCM is assumed to fit the criteria of an emerging concept as proposed in previous research studies. The proposed model presents the changing B2B omni-channel dynamics that can be used to create B2B OCM strategies, incorporating the myriad of B2B customer channels and touchpoints currently fabricating the modern B2B marketing terrain.

Conceptual in nature, there is a need for more empirical research to fully comprehend the emerging OCM landscape and how it relates to B2B customer dynamics.

This research provides much-needed conceptualisation of data capture and management strategies for B2B marketing campaign development across the omni-channel in the digital era. While systematic literature reviews exist within the OCM realm, none have charted the current OCM literature.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an action learning (AL) approach to curriculum design and delivery of a two-year part-time executive masters program, facilitated in part through a longitudinal work-based action research project. Program participants were a mix of mid- to senior managers operating in both the public and private sector and business owners, and all were in full-time employment.

This paper presents findings relating to participant and tutor perspectives of the program design, structure, and content. It also chronicles an AL tutor initiative run in conjunction with the inaugural program delivery, established to provide a collegial approach to learner facilitation, and to enable a research informed model of practice.

Findings suggest that the program allowed for greater action-reflection among and across all contributors (students, tutors, and program managers), and facilitated cross-pollination of AL perspectives, thus strengthening the interaction between practitioner and academic, and among academics themselves. Furthermore, the early involvement of tutors informed the work-based research project and larger AL program, and facilitated a matching of research interests between practitioner and tutor.

These findings suggest that an action-based model of knowledge transfer and development offers significant learning benefits to those partaking in an executive development program, resulting in the following insights: executive needs better served using a learner-centric approach; problem-oriented work-based assessment affords theory–practice balance; there is evidence of action-reflection “contagion” among all contributors; and the presented AL cycle has potential value in the conceptualization of reflective action.