BLResearchDay (LJMU)

Extended abstract from Faculty of Business and Law Research Day 202

Wen, Bo

Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
1 
 
Exploring the Reason for Tacit Knowledge Sharing and 
Knowledge Hiding of Skilled employees at a Small Family 
Firm in China 
 
Bo Wen 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
b.wen@2018.ljmu.ac.uk  
 
1. Introduction 
In the highly competitive business environment, family enterprises represent the backbone of the 
economy in different countries; meanwhile, they face tremendous challenges of survival [1]. There is 
the same issue in China, family firms taking up to 85.4% of all enterprises have produced over 60% of 
GDP growth, whereas 80% of them were at a small size with a high survival risk [2]. In this context, 
resource of knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge from skilled employees, is the key to survival of 
small family firms [3], since the unique and hard-to-imitate tacit knowledge could help small family 
firms to create value and technology innovation [3, 4]. However, it is hard for small family firm to 
obtain it from skilled people, because tacit knowledge resides in people’s minds; and sharing it highly 
relies upon individual motivations or outside interventions by organisations [5]. Concurrently, 
employees may autonomously choose to hide tacit knowledge while sharing [6], which refers to an 
autonomous motivational perspective [1, 5, 6]. Self-determination theory (SDT) [7] has been widely 
used to explain the autonomous motivation in sharing knowledge in existing literature [1, 5, 6]. 
However, there is little research on tacit knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding at the same time [1, 
6, 8]. Therefore, the presented research aims to address this gap by focusing on the small family firm 
context based on SDT. The aim of this research is to explore why skilled employees choose to share or 
hide knowledge in small family business. In order to address this main question, there are three specific 
research questions surrounding this aim: 
• In what ways do skilled employees perceive their tacit knowledge in the case company? 
• How they knowledge shared? 
• Why do they share or hide tacit knowledge? 
 
2. Literature review 
2.1. Tacit knowledge, knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding 
Tacit knowledge includes subjective ideas, intuitions, and personal understandings and judgements, 
mainly coming from individual previous experience [4]. As such, tacit knowledge is likely to be 
experience-based [4, 9]. Sharing knowledge is perceived as a basic act of making knowledge available 
to others, converting from a person to others requiring knowledge [9]. From social interaction 
perspective, knowledge sharing resides in various interaction activities among employees in the 
organisation [9, 10]. Hence, tacit knowledge sharing is both a personal behaviour and forms of 
interaction among people in organisational life [4, 9, 10].Within the organisation, knowledge is often 
shared through four mechanisms: sharing to organisational databases, in formal interactions, in informal 
interactions and within communities of practice [10]. These almost covers diverse types of sharing [10]. 
As such, it provides a theoretical foundation for this study to explore how skilled employees share tacit 
knowledge in a small family firm.  
Along with sharing, individuals with the ownership of the knowledge may decide to hide knowledge 
[6]. Knowledge hiding is an intentional act to withhold knowledge when another person requests 
knowledge, including evasive hiding, rationalised hiding and playing dumb [6]. Knowledge hiding 
seems to be a problem of knowledge sharing [6], whereas other researchers insisted that knowledge 
sharing and hiding may not be opposite, because sometimes hiding knowledge is to avoid hurting 
others’ feelings [11]. Hence, investigating knowledge hiding could help to increase the understanding 
of knowledge sharing, in particular when studying knowledge sharing and hiding simultaneously [11]. 
 
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
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2.2. Reasons for tacit knowledge sharing and hiding 
Tacit knowledge sharing and hiding are influenced by organisational context and personal motivation. 
Following the research question, investigating knowledge sharing and hiding needs to look into the 
context of family business, such as its family involvement and nepotism, the central role of the owner 
manager and etc., [3, 8]. Existing literature shows these characteristics highly impact employees’ 
knowledge sharing and hiding. For example, family business has the advantage of strong relationships 
between members, which related to tacit knowledge transfer [8]. Family firms seek to formalise 
knowledge sharing processes, which influences tacit knowledge sharing so that it is less fluid than it 
could be [3]. It is less likely to use incentive methods in this context to motivate employees’ knowledge 
sharing because of limited resources [1, 8]. Jealousy is, common among family and non-family 
members, often fueled by the desire to have another individual’s position, causing hiding [8]. Thus, 
organisational context of family firm largely affects employees’ knowledge sharing and hiding. 
 
Considering knowledge sharing as a personal autonomous behaviour, self-determination theory (SDT) 
is valuable to explain tacit knowledge sharing from the perspective of individual motivations [1, 5]. In 
SDT, motivation is divided into different types: autonomous (intrinsic and identified motivation) and 
controlled motivations (external and introjected regulation) [7]. In knowledge sharing research, it is 
discovered that knowledge self-efficacy and trust considered as the autonomous motivation, affect 
knowledge sharing [1]. On the other hand, controlled motivation, such as rewards, either inspires or 
hinders employees’ knowledge sharing [1, 5]. Yet, SDT has been applied less to researching knowledge 
sharing in the context of the small family firm [1, 5]. Hence, this study adopted SDT as the theoretical 
foundation by drawing upon the small family business. 
 
3. Methodology 
This study has adopted the single case study strategy and qualitative research methods, because it is 
better to address the research question — exploring why skilled employees share or hide tacit 
knowledge in a small family business. The case company is a critical case where its 30-year survival 
thanks to the skilled employees’ knowledge; and its training and development programmes are widely 
acknowledged in the local area. As discussed, tacit knowledge is embedded in people’s minds; and 
sharing or hiding is relevant to the personal intention [4, 5, 8], so knowledge sharing and hiding much 
depend on how people perceive and interpret these behaviours from stories and experience. The data 
was collected from corporate documentation analysis and 1-hour semi-structured interview with 22 
skilled employees at the fieldwork. The 22 participants embraced family members and non-family 
employees from the different departments and three hierarchies: owner-manager, employees at the 
manager level and employee level. Template analysis method was used to analyse the data in Nvivo 12. 
 
4. Main findings 
The study has found tacit knowledge possesses the experience-based trait; and is shared or hidden by 
the skilled employees concurrently in the case company. The different personal motivations and 
organisational characteristics influence the skilled employees’ knowledge sharing or hiding. Some of 
reasons for sharing and hiding are overlapped, such as a close interpersonal relationship, facilitating to 
better understand that knowledge sharing and hiding are not mutually opposite, but codependent. 
Regarding to the three research questions, tacit knowledge has a distinctively experience-based 
characteristic. The non-family skilled people perceive tacit knowledge as individual asset, whilst the 
family members believe it should belong to the company. Second, tacit knowledge is shared in the 
formal training activities and informal occasions, such as when helping others. Along with sharing, 
knowledge hiding could take place in the meantime. Third, the positive organisational context at the 
small family firm, such as the support from the owner-manager, collective culture with family notion, 
close interpersonal relationships and a reward system, not only assists tacit knowledge sharing 
practices but motivates employees’ sharing motivations. Sense of trust and confidence are the 
autonomous or controlled motivations to motivate skilled employees to share tacit knowledge 
depending on the sharing situations or groups of people. On the other side, the reasons for employees’ 
knowledge hiding mainly reflect on the issues in differential management between family and 
nonfamily members, for example, the owner-manager’s favourism towards her family members, lack 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
3 
 
of a bonus and the ‘996’ working schedule for nonfamily employees. The issues either directly 
increase non-family members’ motivation to hide or indirectly reduce their motivation to share. 
Outstandingly, all family members stated nothing makes them hide knowledge in the workplace, 
because they share knowledge and work together in order to better achieve the common goals of 
family and business. 
5.  Contribution and Implication 
This study has made three theoretical contribution to the knowledge sharing literature within small 
family firm context and Chinese context. First, it contributes to address a gap in the literature, which is 
studying knowledge sharing and hiding at the same time in the context of small family firm, and found 
that they are not the mutually opposite behaviours. Besides, the qualitative research methods contributes 
to study this area, because extent researchers mostly applied the quantitative methods. Second, this 
study uses the different types of motivations in SDT to explore tacit knowledge sharing, other than 
simply adopting the concepts of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. In particular, sense of 
trust and confidence could be considered as either autonomous motivation or controlled motivation for 
knowledge sharing dependent on the sharing situations or groups of people. Third, it enriches the 
Chinese literature of knowledge sharing field. There is a novel finding in terms of the ‘996’ working 
schedule in the research, meaning working 6 days per week and the working hours from 9.00 am to 
9.00 pm each day. This is a major reason for knowledge hiding in the case company, in line with the 
time pressure from the prior research. 
 
This study can also facilitate owner-managers in the small family business to realise the importance of 
tacit knowledge sharing and hiding. Therefore, the owner-managers in small family business can take 
a series of effective long-term actions (e.g., building an organisational culture) and short-term measures 
(e.g., offering incentives to nonfamily employees; improving working hours) to encourage skilled 
employee’s knowledge sharing, and mitigate the impact of unfairness between family and nonfamily 
employees on knowledge hiding at the same time. 
 
6. References 
[1]Gagne M., Tian A W, Soo C, Zhang B, Ho K S B and Hosszu K 2019 Different motivations for 
knowledge sharing and hiding: The role of motivating work design. Journal of Organizational 
Behavior. 40 783–800. 
[2]Si, Y. 2020 Dissertation on the causes and economic consequences of internal strife in family 
firms--Taking Bawang as an Example. Jinan University. 
[3] Zahra S A, Neubaum D O and Larraneta B 2007 Knowledge sharing and technological 
capabilities: The moderating role of family involvement. Journal of business research. 60 1070–79 
[4] Nonaka I and Takeuchi H 1995 The knowledge-creation company: how Japanese companies 
create the dynamics of innovation. (Oxford: Oxford University Press). 
[5]Stenius M, Haukkala A, Hankonen N and Ravaja N 2017 What motivates experts to share? A 
prospective test of the model of knowledge‐sharing motivation. Human Resource Management. 56 
871-85. 
[6] Connelly C E, Zweig D, Webster J and Trougakos J P 2012 Knowledge hiding in organisations. 
Journals of Organizational Behavior. 33 64-88. 
[7] Ryan R M. and Deci E L 2000b Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic 
motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55 68. 
[8] Cunningham J, Seaman C and McGuire D 2017 Perceptions of Knowledge Sharing Among Small 
Family Firm Leaders: A Structural Equation Model. Family business review. 30 160–81. 
[9] Ipe M 2003 Knowledge sharing in organizations: a conceptual framework. Human resource 
development review. 2 337–59.  
[10] Bartol K M and Srivastava A 2002 Encouraging knowledge sharing: the role of organizational 
reward systems. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. 9 64-77. 
[11]Huo W, Cai Z, Luo J, Men C and Jia R 2016 Antecedents and intervention mechanisms: a multi-
level study of R&D team’s knowledge hiding behaviour, Journal of Knowledge Management. 20 880-
97. 


English

Exploring the Reason for Tacit Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Hiding of Skilled employees at a Small Family Firm in China

Laing, Carol

Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
1 
 
A strategic framework for retrofitting of existing properties 
within the social housing sector in the UK 
Carol Laing 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
C.Laing@2020.ljmu.ac.uk  
 
1. Introduction 
Living in the current state of the post Covid-19 pandemic, in unprecedent times or what is now being 
referred to as ‘the new normal’, where concepts of sustainability have never been so important, now is 
the time for us to tackle climate change for our future generations.  
In 2019, the United Kingdom (UK) Government made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions (GHG) to ‘Net Zero’ by 2050, ending the UKs contribution to global warming within 30 
years. One of the top three sources of emissions is from the residential sector, which accounted for 19% 
of all C0₂ emissions in 2019. (DECC, 2019). The English Housing Survey Headline Report (EHS) 
(2020) indicates that there were an estimated 24.2 million households in England in 2018, and while 
carbon emissions have been reducing since 2013, it has not been reducing at the required rate if we are 
to meet the Climate Change Act target of ‘Net Zero’ by 2050. In addition, with many households having 
at least one family member working from home due to Covid -19, it is anticipated that energy 
consumption from residential properties will increase.  
The UK has some of the oldest building stock in Europe (Peel, et al, 2020); (Marchand, et al, 2015); 
(Boardman, 1991), and with over 80% of the buildings in 2050 having already been built in the UK 
(Chartered Institute of Chartered Surveyors, (CIOB) 2013); (UKGBC, 2020), the UK Governments 
priority is to decarbonise existing buildings. According to Her Majesty’s (HM) Government (2014) 
social housing, which supports some of the most vulnerable in our society has a great role to play in the 
deployment of energy efficiency measures on a large scale and is seen as the key to a successful strategy. 
The Government needs the social housing sector who own approximately 4 million (17%) households 
to kickstart retrofitting of poorly performing properties across the whole of the residential sector not 
only to reduce carbon emission and help eradicate fuel poverty, which statistics indicate there are 2.5 
million households, but also to kickstart the UK economy after the pandemic. However, over the last 
few years it has been well documented within existing literature that there is a lot of barriers to overcome 
(Jenkins, 2009); (Crilly, 2012); (Brown et al, 2014); (Peel, 2020), (Swan et al 2013).  
In the UK social housing landlords generally work on a 30-year business planning cycle; and there are 
several evolving national policy areas which will force change to their business plans. With the UK 
Government pushing to reduce emissions, to meet the ‘net zero’ challenge by 2050, it can be argued 
that to increase their chances of success while improving performance, retrofitting of existing properties 
needs to be planned in a strategic way. Previous research by Hendrick (2003); Poister (2010) and 
Wheeland (2004), has established that effective strategic planning can be influential in establishing 
significant change. In addition, Bryson and Roering (1987, p9) identified that strategic planning ‘can 
help public sector organisations deal with dramatic changes in their environment’ by providing a set 
of concepts, procedures, and tools.  
 With less than 30 years left till 2050 and  insufficient policy guidance (Swan et al, 2013a); (Peel et al, 
2020), (Palmer et al, 2018) and sector leading experts; Savills estimating that the sector needs to invest 
£3.5bn per year in the UK to meet the targets, social housing landlords need to collaborate and 
knowledge share (Rodger et al, 2020); (Raslanas et al, 2010) not only with those inside the sector but 
also with outside organisations. Although it can be challenging for the social housing provider to 
convince others to work collaboratively and share knowledge, it is crucial to success if they are to deal 
with the significant challenges ahead (McGowan and Stevens, 1983).  
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
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2.  Aim of the study. 
The aim of this study is to develop a strategic framework for social housing providers in the UK, which 
will support organisations when strategically planning to implement retrofit solutions to their existing 
property portfolio to meet both the interim minimum rating of EPC Band C by 2035 and the 2050 ‘Net 
Zero’ target. The strategic framework will lead on best practice from across the sector, providing a tool 
for social housing providers to use. It will look at the bigger picture and deliver a structured approach 
for implementing retrofitting measures, charting direction which meets the customers’ expectations, 
and delivers business success and excellence across the sector.  
Research suggests that there is a growing need for a framework which will support organisations when 
strategically planning and implementing retrofit solutions to their existing property portfolio. A recent 
study undertaken by Inside Housing (2020), highlighted that many social housing providers were yet to 
develop a detailed zero carbon plan, specific to their housing stock, in addition it stated that ‘it would 
be useful if the sector worked together to the 2050 target, allowing landlords to reap the benefits of 
shared learning’.  
3.  Research methodology 
This research is based on a single case study organisation, Onward Homes, in the UK social housing 
sector. Onward Homes has been selected as it is one of the largest social housing providers in the 
Northwest of England, owning and manging 35, 000 properties. The study utilises an exploratory 
sequential mixed methods approach, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data in a sequential 
approach to gain a breadth of understanding of the subject before creating the framework for validation 
and testing.  An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach is deemed suitable for this study as the 
existing literature has indicated that there is a need to develop a framework, as none currently exists. 
Cresswell (1999) and Creswell et al (2004) supports this by suggesting that the exploratory sequential 
design ‘is suitable when the researcher needs to develop and test an instrument because one is not 
available. The study is in its first phase; an extensive literature review is nearing completion, and the 
methodology for the study has been designed and data collection is imminent.   
4.  Contribution to professional practice 
This study provides a tool to support social housing providers when strategically planning and 
implementing retrofitting measures which will not only help meet the UK Governments targets for both 
carbon reduction and fuel poverty policies, but it will also help meet our international targets under The 
Kyoto Protocol to reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).  Covid-19 has resulted in a 
significant economic downturn, thousands of people have lost their jobs due to local and national 
lockdowns. However, by reskilling those individuals and training apprentices to install sustainable 
retrofit measures it is possible to grow the UK economy while tackling climate change.   
All countries from around the world are facing challenges of providing good affordable homes, while 
working towards a net zero carbon target. This study makes a significant contribution by stimulating 
change in both my organisation, Onward Homes, and across the wider social housing sector. It is 
envisaged that the research adds a significant contribution to the current knowledge on retrofitting 
within the social housing sector, while the strategic framework pulls together best practice from across 
the sector, to provide a tool for social housing providers to use not only in the UK but internationally. 
It delivers a structured approach which meets the customers’ expectations and delivers business success 
and excellence across the sector, driving more organisations to install retrofitting measures to their 
portfolios by improving the way in which they go about the process. This in turn creates the exemplars 
needed to stimulate growth across the whole of the residential sector, which the Government so 
desperately need to meet ‘net zero’ target. 
Keywords: social housing, strategic planning, sustainable retrofit. 
 
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
3 
 
 
5. References 
[1] Boardman, B. (1991). Fuel Poverty: From Cold Homes to Affordable Warmth. London: Belhaven 
Press  
[2] Brown, P., Swan, W., Chahal, S. (2014) Retrofitting social housing: reflections by tenants on 
adoption and living with retrofit technology. Energy Efficiency Vol. 7 pp. 641 - 653  
[3] Bryson, J.M., Roering, W.D. (1987). Applying Private-sector Strategic Planning in the Public 
Sector. Journal of the American Planning Association. Vol. 53 (1) pp.9-22 
[4] Chartered Institute of Building (2013) Submission to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for 
Excellence in the Built Environment on the Inquiry into Sustainable Construction and the Green 
Deal 4th January 2013 [online]  
Available at: http://cic.org.uk/admin/resources/charetered-institute-of-building.pdf  
[Accessed: 15/06/2020]  
[5] Cresswell, J.W., Plano Clark, V.L. (2018) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods 
Research. 3rd Ed. London: Sage  
[6] Crilly, M., Lemon, M., Wright, A, J., Cook, M, B., Shaw, D. (2012) Retrofitting homes for energy 
efficiency: An integrated approach to innovation in the low carbon overhaul of UK social housing. 
Energy and Environment. Vol. 23 (6) pp. 1027 - 1055  
[7] Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (2019) UK Greenhouse Emissions, 
Provisional Figures 26th March 2020 National Statistics [online]  
Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ 
attachment_data/file/875485/2019_UK_greenhouse_gas_emissions_provisional_figures_statistical_re
lease.pdf  
[Accessed: 31st May 2020].  
[8] Hendrick, R. (2003) Strategic Planning Environment, Process and Performance in Public Agencies: 
A Comparative Study of Departments in Milwaukee. Journal of Public Administration Research and 
Theory. Vol 13 (4) pp. 491-519 
[9] HM Government. (2015) Cutting the Cost of keeping warm – a fuel poverty strategy for England. 
London: Crown   
[10] Marchland, R.D., Lenny Koh, S.C., Morris, J.C. (2015) Delivering energy efficiency and carbon 
reduction schemes in England: Lessons from Green Deal Pioneer Places. Energy Policy. Vol 84 pp. 96-
106  
[11] Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (2020) English Housing Survey 
Headline Report 2017/18 [online]  
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2017-to-2018-social-
rented-sector  
[Accessed: 12th December 2020]  
[12] Palmer, J., Poka-Awuah, A., Adams, A., Webb, S. (2018) What are the barriers to Retrofit in Social 
Housing? Report for the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy  
[13] Peel, J., Ahmed, V., Saboor, S., (2020) An investigation of barriers and enablers to energy 
efficiency retrofitting of social housing in London. Construction Economics and Building. Vol 20 (2) 
pp. 127 - 149  
[14] Poister, T.H. (2010) The Future of Strategic planning in the Public Sector: Linking Strategic 
management and Performance. The American Society for Public Administration: Public Administration 
Review pp. 246-254 
[15] Swan, W., Ruddock, L., Smith, L. (2013a) Low carbon retrofit attitudes and readiness within the 
social housing sector. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. Vol. 5 (5) pp.522 - 
535  
[16] United Kingdom Green Building Council. (2019) Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework 
Definition [online]  
Available at: https://www.ukgbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Net-Zero-Carbon-Buildings-A-
framework-definition-print-version.pdf  


A strategic framework for retrofitting of existing properties within the social housing sector in the UK

Foster, Scott

Tucker, Matthew

Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
 
1 
 
Editorial 
 
Scott Foster and Matthew Tucker 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
S.Foster@ljmu.ac.uk  M.P.Tucker@ljmu.ac.uk  
 
 
The Faculty Research Day is a one-day conference, taking place on 7th December 2021. The purpose of 
the conference is to celebrate the diversity and richness of doctoral research within the Faculty, and to 
support our doctoral researchers’ scholarly and career development by providing a supportive and 
engaging environment to develop research ideas, potential contributions and future personal career 
goals. 
 
Our doctoral community is a vibrant, diverse group of international doctoral researchers. Doctoral 
provision within the Faculty consists of two distinct pathways – PhD and Doctorate in Business 
Administration (DBA). Our PhD researchers are predominately studying a full-time programme, which 
are mostly suitable for individuals who would like to undertake their research studies shortly after 
completion of their undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Whilst our DBA researchers study part-time, 
and are already have management experience, and are looking to create a significant contribution to 
professional practice through their research.  
 
The ability to share both PhD and DBA research experience is an integral aspect to the Faculty Research 
Day, and provides a valuable platform for individuals to exchange their ideas, present their research 
findings, display their work in progress and discuss advances in the area of Research methodology 
within the Business and Law faculty domain. It provides an important opportunity for researchers and 
practitioners to come together to share their experiences in this varied field.  
 
The day will be opened with a keynote presentation by Professor Rowena Murray, University of West 
Scotland (UWS), who will be speaking on “How to write your thesis and then a Q&A for surviving the 
VIVA”.  After the keynote speaker, there will be poster presentations from both PhD and DBA 
researchers. Each presentation will be ten minutes in duration, followed by five minutes of Q&A from 
the doctoral audience. 
 
Following the presentations, there will be a prize giving ceremony, presented by Professor Keith 
George, PVC Research and Knowledge Exchange. The prizes will be awarded for Best Poster, Best 
Presenter and Best Abstract. The day will then draw to a close with final remarks from Professor Dave 
Bryde Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer, followed by a networking opportunity.  
 
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the following people, who have been instrumental to 
the success of this Faculty Research Day. Firstly, Professor Rowena Murray, for giving up her time to 
deliver the keynote speech. Secondly, to the judges of the Best Abstract award: Professor Ian Fillis, 
Professor Rosalind Jones and Professor Jim Stewart, from the Faculty of Business and Law. Thirdly, 
Jess Swainson and Mel Baxter for organising and administrating the event. Fourthly, Cath Dishman for 
creating the electronic Open Journals webpage. And finally, our Student Representatives, Mollie Bryde 
and Bo Wen (PhD), and Sarah Williams and Martin Hudson (DBA) for being part of the Organising 
Committee. 
 
We hope that after such a disruptive period, with many of us experiencing large periods of isolation, 
that the Faculty Research Day will help resurge and reenergise the engagement, interaction and vibrancy 
of our fantastic doctoral research provision within the faculty.  


Editorial

Fatokun, Bukola

 
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
 
1  
Investigating the Predictors of E-commerce Adoption: the 
Mediating Role of Customers’ Affective Responses 
Bukola Fatokun, Scott Foster, Phil Kelly and Muhammad Nawaz 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
B.O.Fatokun@2017.ljmu.ac.uk 
 
1. Introduction 
This study extends and complements existing technology acceptance research by distinctly taking a 
fresh look at the e-commerce (EC hereinafter) adoption concept in a new cultural context. It illuminates 
the undermined but important affective factors in the Business-to-Consumer EC sector of an emerging 
economy. The study’s aim, objective and research question are first presented, followed by a brief 
related work on of EC, justifications, theoretical background, methodology, findings and discussion. 
 
2. Research question, aim, objectives 
An important research question this study seeks to answer is “how do customers’ emotional responses 
impact their EC adoption and online purchase intention?” The study’s overarching aim is to critically 
investigate how customers respond to the key contextual factors influencing adopting EC. The research 
objective considered for this abstract is to develop and test an adoption-response model that predicts 
customers’ intention to purchase online in Nigeria, and fit this model to data from participants. 
 
3. Literature review 
3.1 The reality of digital divide and EC adoption 
Globally, not only is EC now an integral component of our daily lives, it is also apparently intertwining 
with our future (Raaju, 2013). Over 2 billion people purchased online in 2020 (Coppola, 2021); yet, in 
spite of the global technology advancement, EC adoption for most developing countries is still in its 
infancy stage, where the issue of digital divide is both a stark reality and a serious concern (Carmi and 
Yates, 2020). Moreover, compared to the brick-and-mortar stores, recent research showed decisions 
about adopting EC are influenced by aspects such as its relative novelty in some countries and the 
greater uncertainty associated with adopting it (Villa et al., 2018). 
 
3.2 Role of emotion in business 
Emotions are mental (affective) states that occur as a result of certain events, and are divided into two 
dominant independent dimensions: positive and negative (Kuo and Wu, 2012). They are universal 
across gender and age groups, and can be found in all cultures. Multidisciplinary evidence affirmed 
some important roles of emotions as critical factors in decision-making behaviour and major elements 
of organisational life; they characterise our experiences, direct our focus and guide our behavioural 
responses (Fineman, 1993; Zhang, 2013). Koo and Ju (2010) argued that when customers do not have 
any particular goals for evaluation, they depend upon their emotions to decide a channel of purchase. 
Relatedly, Lazarus (1991) stated emotions represent the “wisdom of the ages,” having the ability to 
provide time-tested responses. Recently, Riedl et al. (2020) identified the importance of emotion and 
technology acceptance in the current extant literature, also as key topics that will further gain relevance 
in the future. Whilst some aspects of emotion have inspired empirical research, surprisingly, their 
impacts have received only limited attention, especially in businesses (Bettiga and Lamberti, 2018). 
 
3.3 Highlights of related work and existing gaps 
Vladimir (1996) criticised explaining EC as an entirely technological development as wrong. Thus, 
Venkatesh’s (2000) work included emotion (anxiety) in workplace new system usage behaviour in an 
advanced country, but excluded positive emotions. Whilst Wakefield (2015) showed evaluation of a 
technology’s features results in both positive and negative affective responses that directly influence 
use intentions, the research also focused on a developed country and was not about the retail sector. A 
more recent work similar to our study, by Chu and Liang (2018), examined the behaviour intention of 
users of app service of convenience stores; however, they failed to evaluate discrete emotional responses 
 
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
 
2  
of customers. Therefore, this current study bridges the identified gaps in the EC research on developing 
countries, to demonstrate customers use not only cognitive ability (perception) in the decision-making 
processes as they respond to EC ecosystem experiences but also their emotional intelligence. 
 
4. Justification 
First, this research is unique and significant because it is possibly the first in-depth study to link the 
study of emotions in EC with a sound theoretical foundation using holistic measurement approach in a 
new context. Second, as Aldousari et al. (2016) confirmed that the study of online shopping behaviour 
is largely out of scholarly focus in developing countries, this work addresses the research gap. Clearly, 
part of the essentiality of conducting research in a different cultural and geographical context is that it 
presents a unique set of results (Dakduk et al., 2017). Third, the significance of the current study is 
further revealed through the COVID-19 pandemic period when brick-and-mortar stores closed. To date, 
EC is and remains one of the useful purchasing channels that people and companies employ in providing 
a safer means of transaction (Sheth, 2020) and economic survival, which further justifies the importance 
and relevance of EC research to the 21st century customers, retailers and society. Finally, this study 
seeks to enhance the understanding of online retailers, SMEs, managers and policy makers, with a view 
to boosting B2C EC’s success and adoption rate in Nigeria and similar contexts. 
 
5. Theoretical background 
Underpinned by a deductive research approach, this study is grounded in two influential theories: the 
technology acceptance model (TAM) and stimulus organism response (SOR) theory. The TAM, driven 
by two distinct determinants, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, is parsimonious, 
operationally efficient, and offers explanatory power (Davis, 1989). Nevertheless, TAM has been 
criticised for lacking the affective component of human-technology interaction (Taherdoost, 2018). 
Complementarily, Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) SOR framework fits into the affective component 
of this research, and broadly supports behavioural response, in technology environments or online 
settings, ascertaining its suitability. It also showcases the mediators (the focal elements of the theories 
of the present study) to build a stronger, robust, bi-focal conceptual model, “TAMSOR” (figure 1). 
 
6. Research design 
A cross-sectional, quantitative method was employed. Drawing from four major Nigerian urban cities 
with access to internet connection, the calculated sampling population n=394 was based on the total 
population of these cities. Using convenience sampling and online survey technique, 327 adult (18-65 
years) internet users completed the questionnaire. The data were screened, leaving 312 usable samples. 
 
7. Presentation of findings 
Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised for statistical analysis. As shown in figure 1 below, 
perceived ease of use is a strong determinant of perceived usefulness. 48% of the variance associated 
with customers’ purchase intention was directly, positively and significantly predicted by e-commerce 
awareness, IT infrastructure, legal factor, perceived usefulness, and positive responses. 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Since the confidence intervals for positive and negative emotions were different from zero, it implies     
both emotions are significant mediators: fully mediating compatibility effects on purchase intention and  
partially mediating the effects of EC awareness on purchase intention. Moreover, 57% of the variance 
associated with positive responses was triggered by compatibility, retailers’ reputation, and e-retail 
quality. Reputation alone explained 23% of the variance in customers’ negative emotions. Usefulness, 
EC awareness and then legal factor had the strongest total effects on customers’ EC adoption. 
 
 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
 
3  
 
8. Discussion of the relevance and/or practical importance of the study 
EC awareness, IT infrastructure, legal factor, perceived usefulness and positive responses are the five 
significant and direct predictors of purchase intention. Only positive emotions (interest, happy and 
satisfied) are statistically significant with purchase intention. Therefore, emotional responses feedback 
management holds critical strategic and practical implications for online retailers to increase customers’ 
positive emotional experiences and reduce their negative emotions (worried, frustrated and scared), to 
foster effective EC adoption. Evidently, investigating how customers adopt EC yet overlooking the 
fundamental aspect of being human is a shortcoming, similar to administering a prescription without 
proper patient allergy checks. Also, addressing reputation issue is key, as this triggers negative emotions 
in one in five customers. Furthermore, this study confirms the pivotal role of emotion in EC adoption, 
not only as a predictor but also as a mediator, thus uncovering the strength of the indirect effects of 
other factors on purchase intention e.g. compatibility and EC awareness. This vital knowledge advances 
e-commerce research. Interestingly, ease of use is not as critical as usefulness in online purchase, as 
evidenced from Nigeria. Thus, creating more awareness on the usefulness of EC could be beneficial for 
customers (potential and existing) and online retailers. Aside usefulness and EC awareness, legal factor 
has the third strongest total effects on EC adoption, which is a valuable pointer for the policy makers. 
 
References 
Aldousari A A, Delafrooz N, Yajid M S A and Ahmed Z U 2016 Determinants of consumers’ attitudes 
toward online shopping J. Transnatl. Manag. 21 4 183-199 
Bettiga D and Lamberti L 2018 Exploring the role of anticipated emotions in product adoption and 
usage J Consum Mark. 35 3 300-316 
Carmi E and Yates S J 2020 What do digital inclusion and data literacy mean today? Internet Policy Rev 
9 2 1-14  
Chu L C and Liang C P 2018 Behavior intention of app service using Technology Acceptance Model 
and Stimulus-Organism-Response theory J. Manag. Stud. 18 2 47-58 
Coppola D 2021 E-commerce worldwide - statistics and facts [online] Oct 27, 2021 Available at: 
https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/ [Accessed: 30th October, 2021] 
Dakduk S, Ter Horst E, Santalla Z, Molina G and Malavé J 2017 Customer behavior in electronic 
commerce: A Bayesian approach J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 12 2 1-20 
Davis F D 1989 Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and user acceptance of information 
technology MIS Q. 13 3 319-340 
Fineman S 1993 Understanding emotion at work (London: Sage) 
Koo D M and Ju S H 2010 The interactional effects of atmospherics and perceptual curiosity on 
emotions and online shopping intention Comput. Hum. Behav. 26 3 377-388 
Lazarus R S 1991 Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion. Am. Psychol. 46 
819–834  
Mehrabian A and Russell, J A 1974 The basic emotional impact of environments Percept Mot Skills 38 1 
283-301  
Raaju K V 2013 E-Commerce: The future of business IOSR-JEF 2321 33-37 
Riedl R, Fischer T, Léger, P M and Davis F D 2020 Decade of neuroIS research: progress, challenges, 
and future directions Data Base Adv. Inf. Syst. 51 3 13-54 
Sheth J 2020 Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: will the old habits return or die? J. Bus. Res. 
11 280-283  
Taherdoost H 2018 A review of technology acceptance and adoption models and theories Procedia 
Manuf. 22 960-7 
Venkatesh V 2000 Determinants of perceived ease of use: Integrating control, intrinsic motivation, and 
emotion into the technology acceptance model Inf. Syst. Res. 11 4 342–365 
Villa E, Ruiz L, Valencia A. and Picon, E. 2018 Electronic commerce: factors involved in its adoption 
from a bibliometric analysis J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 13 1 39-70 
Vladimir Z 1996 Electronic commerce: structures and issues. Int. J. Electron. Commer. 1 1 3-23 
Wakefield R L 2015 The acceptance and use of innovative technology: do positive and negative  
feelings matter? Data Base Adv. Inf. Syst. 46 4 48-67 
Zhang P 2013 The affective response model: A theoretical framework of affective concepts and their 
relationships in the ICT context MIS Q. 37 1 247-274 


Investigating the Predictors of E-commerce Adoption: the Mediating Role of Customers’ Affective Responses

Bird, Dorothy

Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
1 
 
Experiential marketing and the Wild Atlantic Way: developing a 
framework for practitioners 
 
Dorothy Bird 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
d.bird@2020.ljmu.ac.uk  
 
1. Introduction 
This study argues that a new framework needs to be developed and implemented which captures the 
myriad aspects of the Wild Atlantic Way tourism experience. The development of such a framework 
provides a significant addition to both theory and practice, contributing to hospitality providers through 
a clear guidance for developing a relevant and focused marketing strategy, and to the theoretical field 
of experiential marketing. 
1.1 Research Questions 
Based on the challenges addressed in this abstract, the following questions emerge: 
• How can small and medium tourism enterprises plan strategically for marketing, given their 
limited resources? 
• Is it possible to create a framework to enable small and medium tourism enterprises to 
strategically market the experiential dimensions of the Wild Atlantic Way?  
1.2 Research Aim 
Building on the above problem and resultant research questions, this study aims to develop a framework 
to enable small and medium tourism enterprises on the Wild Atlantic Way to take a resource-based 
approach and plan strategically for experiential marketing. The Wild Atlantic Way Experiential 
Marketing Framework will comprise two dimensions: symbolic and materialistic, and four domains: 
emotion, cognition, sense and behaviour. 
1.3 Research Objectives 
The following objectives are posed, based on the research aim: 
1. To gain a critical understanding of current theoretical knowledge which exists in the context of 
experiential marketing, the nature and challenges faced by SMTEs, and the development of 
branded driving routes such as the Wild Atlantic Way. 
2.  To critically evaluate perceptions and experiences of SMTEs of strategically planning in terms 
of experiential marketing, in the context of limited resources. 
3. To triangulate the theoretical knowledge acquired from Objective 1 with the practical 
knowledge gained from Objective 2 in order to develop a framework for experiential marketing 
for SMTEs on the Wild Atlantic Way. 
4. To appraise the validity of this framework by means of qualitative research. 
1.4 Justification for Research 
Tourism is one of Ireland’s most important economic sectors. According to a report published by the 
Dept of Transport, Tourism and Sport in 2019, latest figures indicate that the industry is worth €9.4 
billion to the economy. It has been of particular economic importance in the West of Ireland, where it 
is a major source of employment both directly in the accommodation and food services sector, and 
indirectly through retail, transport and other services. In order to ameliorate a decline in tourism 
numbers, a report by ITIC (2015) recommended the development of  “a branded and well interpreted 
‘Atlantic Coast Drive’ to encourage exploration of points of scenic and cultural interest” (ITIC, 2015, 
p1).  This recommendation has since come to fruition under the guidance of Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s 
National Tourism Development Authority and Local Authority bodies in the region. The Wild 
Atlantic Way is a 2500 km branded driving route, which runs along the Atlantic coast from the 
tip of Donegal in the north to Cork in south of Ireland. Fyall et al. (2016) describe the Wild 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
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Atlantic Way as “a perfect and timely example” of governmental efforts to use branded driving routes 
as a tourism strategy. They outline the benefits of such policies as the development of peripheral tourism 
destinations, connecting fragmented communities and injecting economic benefits into local areas. In 
order that the route to be more than simply a branding exercise, it is essential that local providers 
embrace its philosophy. A unified marketing strategy amongst suppliers on the Wild Atlantic Way may 
be desirable. However, the fragmented nature of hospitality products in the region, which are typically 
micro industries embedded in the local community, could prove problematic when striving to achieve 
this. Clearly such businesses face greater challenges than their larger counterparts when striving to 
achieve marketing goals.        
 An added dimension to the marketing discipline for these businesses is the strong experiential nature 
of the Wild Atlantic Way brand. Fáilte Ireland describes the Wild Atlantic Way as ‘both an experience 
and a destination’, with the essence of the brand being ‘wild’, offering emotional benefits to the visitors 
of ‘renewal, memories, liberation, freedom, excitement, oneness’. (Fáilte Ireland, 2015). It can be 
argued that the concept of experiential marketing, which strategises marketing methods encapsulating 
those sensory dimensions, has an essential role to play here.  
In summary small and medium tourism enterprises on the Wild Atlantic Way face two significant 
challenges.  Firstly, they lack the resources available to larger organisations to develop effective 
marketing strategies. Secondly, despite the overarching experiential dimensions of the Wild Atlantic 
Way tourism product, there currently exists no applicable framework that can provide a means to 
develop an experiential marketing strategy for these businesses. This research project addresses these 
two issues by aiming to develop a framework for experiential marketing which addresses the strategic 
marketing needs of SMTEs on this driving route.  
2. Literature Review 
The concept of an experiential view of consumption was first introduced by Holbrook and Hirschman 
(1982). Focusing on the symbolic, hedonic and esthetic nature of consumption, they regard consumption 
as ‘a phenomenon directed toward the pursuit of fantasies, feelings and fun’. Pine and Gilmore (1998) 
developed this notion further, espousing the idea of an experience economy, where businesses must 
shift from selling services to selling experiences.  Their framework for experiential marketing describes 
four realms; entertainment, educational, escapism and the esthetic, in the context of two dimensions: 
participation and connection or environmental relationship. Pine and Gilmore describe strategies for 
experientially marketing tourism and hospitality, including the use of cohesive themes and positive cues 
as ‘take-aways’. Schmitt (1999) delineates five dimensions of customer experience: cognitive, affective, 
sensory, behavioural and social and argues that the ultimate goal of experiential marketing is to create 
holistic experiences from individual consumers to form a holistic gestalt. Brakus, Schmitt and 
Zarantonello (2009) constructed and tested a brand experience scale in a similar manner to Schmitt 
(1999) using four dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual and behavioural. Lemon and Verhoef 
(2016) describe the above as among the major accepted concepts in the extant literature. The various 
systems of classifications used by the above authors, all contain similarities, which may be summed up 
as: emotion/affective, cognition/intellect, sensory, and physical/behavioural.  As much of these 
frameworks are conceptual in nature, it can be argued that adapting such a framework to SMTEs along 
the Wild Atlantic Way would contribute both to a greater academic understanding in this field, and to 
SMTEs in developing effective strategic marketing planning. 
In terms of marketing expertise, SMTEs are hampered by limited resources of time, skills and finances 
(Gilmore, Carson and Grant, 2001). There is some agreement that traditional forms of this discipline 
may not be appropriate or even feasible for SMTEs, given these factors. However the significance of 
these organisations in the success of the tourism industry cannot be underestimated, thus it is clear that 
their survival and growth must be seen as being of critical importance within tourism policy.  
In conclusion, current theoretical perspectives on experiential marketing, whilst clearly outlining 
concepts which may be of benefit to the hospitality provider, are conceptual rather that practical in 
nature. Secondly, the nature of SMTEs who comprise generalists rather specialists, and lack resources 
of finance and time, has implications for their ability to market strategically. The experiential 
Faculty Research Day   7th December 2021 
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dimensions of the Wild Atlantic Way are an intrinsic part of this tourism product, and can create 
invaluable opportunities for the hospitality provider, if they are marketed effectively. Thus the potential 
exists to develop a framework for experiential marketing which will be directly applicable to 
practitioners in this field, overcoming deficits of key resources which may exist 
3. Research Methods 
Having studied the various research designs available, it has been decided that an explanatory mixed 
methods approach will be used, in the context of a pragmatic research philosophy. Stage One will 
consist of an internet mediated exploratory questionnaire, from a probability sample based on 
hospitality providers on the Wild Atlantic Way. Data analysis from this stage will be used in a multiple 
embedded case study strategic approach in Stage Two, where semi-structured interviews will be carried 
out with selected respondents. Theory and research analysis will be triangulated to form a framework 
for experiential marketing on the Wild Atlantic Way. This framework will be validated by means of 
follow up qualitative research.  
4.  References 
Brakus, J.J., Schmitt, B.H. and Zarantonello, L. (2009) Brand Experience: What is It? How is it 
Measured? Does it Affect Loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 73 (3), 52-68. 
Fáilte Ireland (2015) Wild Atlantic Way Operational Programme 2015-2019 [online] 
Available at: https://www.failteireland.ie/Wild-Atlantic-Way/The-Wild-Atlantic-Way-Operational-
Programme.aspx[Accessed: 14.03.20]  
Fyall, A., Templeton, A.J., Fjlestul, J. and Sonmez, S. (2016) The Emergence of Green Drive Tourism: 
A Comparative Study of Existing Drive Tourism Routes. Travel and Tourism Research Association,  
Gilmore, A., Carson, D. and Grant, K. (2001) SME marketing in practice. Marketing intelligence & 
planning. 
Holbrook, M.B. and Hirschman, E.C. (1982) The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer 
Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun. Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (2), 132-140. 
ITIC (2015) Tourism in the West: An Engine for Growth and Jobs [online]Available at: 
https://www.itic.ie/tourism-in-the-west-an-engine-for-growth-and-jobs/[Accessed: 13/05/21]  
Lemon, K.N. and Verhoef, P.C. (2016) Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer 
Journey. Journal of Marketing, 80 (6), 69-96. 
Pine, B.J. and Gilmore, J.H. (1998) Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard business review, 76, 
97-105. 
Schmitt, B. (1999) Experiential Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 15 (1-3), 53-67. 
 
 


Experiential marketing and the Wild Atlantic Way: developing a framework for practitioners

Saeed, Zeeshan

Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
1 
 
Poverty Alleviation through Corporate Social Responsibility: 
The Case of Legal Approach in Asian Countries 
 
 
Zeeshan Saeed 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
aeed@2018.ljmu.ac.uk 
 
 
1. Introduction 
The nexus between the poverty alleviation and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a 
rather difficult one due to the voluntarily nature of CSR. There exist plenty of debate and paucity 
of evidence on practices that allow alleviating poverty as an outcome of corporate action. For 
instance, it is still part of the debate whether and under which legal and normative setting should 
corporations be compelled to replace the historical functions of political economy and 
government including the poverty alleviation? 
 
Are there any previous success stories? Both governments and corporations search for viable 
models and tradeoffs between various practices so that a smooth complex of institutional ethics is 
achieved within the umbrella term of CSR. Hence the present research tries to answer the 
question on the possible theoretical and empirical (practice driven or case deduced) basis of CSR 
in poverty alleviation by describing the case of India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. 
 
2.  Literature and Theories 
There exists plenty of literature on various approaches to CSR and the literature on the political 
approach to CSR has identified a series of answers to the question of how MNCs are able to 
create their legitimacy and influence against the backdrop of state interventions the economic 
and political institution. Most of the theoretical and ethical paradigms are rooted in this debate. 
The conformist view of companies favors the use of institutional theory as it explains how 
companies respond to institutional pressures and institutional interdependence (George et al, 
2016). The institutional theory conceives CSR as an institution in itself and using sociological 
concepts such as value consensus and interdependence within functionalist framework. 
 
Similarly there exist more utilitarian accounts of possible role of MNCs termed as Rawlsian 
perspective, which allows the firms to evaluate the options for creating maximum value for itself 
and for the society; others include legitimacy theory which justifies the political role of MNCs as 
a strategic endeavour to create coherence between norms of the society and corporate objectives 
(George et al, 2016). The work of Crane et al (2004) justifies the need of democratic 
participation of stakeholders in the business of firms and in the process of creating value, this 
notion is conceptualized as stakeholder theory1 and it advocates the instilling of new institutions. 
 
These developments have followed by a series of pro-poor initiatives in by the MNCs and even 
the local firm that include the wage stability, provision of goods and services to the low income 
consumers (Jamali et al, 2018), preventing and managing environmental effects of business 
(Jamali et al, 2017). One potential way to conceptually define CSR with its relation to poverty 
relation is the binary notion of internal and the external CSR. While the internal CSR is aimed at 
Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
2 
 
reducing the poverty among the employees of an organization by means of internal policies such 
as benefits and rewards as well as pay and job protection; the external CSR rather focuses on the 
relationship of the business with external environment and actions such as public-private 
partnership (Jamali et al, 2017). 
 
The pro-poor policies of the firms are not always a result of intrinsic goodness of the firms 
whereby it behaves in an altruistic fashion; in fact, it can be sometimes guided by well-calculated 
and planned outcomes related to the profit motivation and the performance of the firm (Jamali et 
al, 2017). Previous research has demonstrated a clear association between the performance of a 
firm and its engagement with pro-poor strategic goals (Medina‐Muñoz, and Medina‐Muñoz, 
2020). In fact, the research literature relates pro-poor policies with the outcome such as firm’s 
goodwill, its branding loyalty, and satisfaction of the consumer (Moisescu, 2018). Similarly, the 
internal component to the pro-poor CSR may produce employees with higher level of 
satisfaction and retention (Khairat and Maher, 2016). As it is elaborated in the institutional 
theory of CSR, the firm must go an extra mile beyond performing its duties towards the social 
impacts, costs of business or “social license” to penetrate in the social structure and coping with 
the norms and values of the people and places (Lobel , 2013). 
The external drives of CSR are dominated by the maxims of legitimacy theory, institutional 
theory and stakeholders’ theory. Some of the critical reflections on CSR relate the external CSR 
as a way of gaining legitimacy of the authorities and policy makers rather than the poor 
themselves. A firms overall contribution to the  poverty  alleviation  may also  be  effected by  
the economic sector and the nature of the firm (local or MNCs) while the local  firms are likely  
to adopt an internal perspective the MNCs are more favorable for an external CSR aimed at 
wider positive outcomes for the community at large (Medina‐Muñoz, and Medina‐Muñoz, 2020). 
 
2.1. Research Question 
“How state intervention through legal activism and creation of legislations have affected the 
nature and outcome of CSR in the subject countries”? 
 
3. Doctrinal Research Design 
The present research is also based on the doctrinal research principals in the sense that the 
researcher will have to reflect on the situation of various institutional and supra-institutional 
reports and legislations to make sense of the CSR against the backdrop of poverty. Recent years 
have seen a great challenge of Covid-19 pandemic and the economic shut down has furthered the 
relative poverty by depreciating the currency and reducing the purchasing power of the rural and 
the urban poor. What has been the role of legislation, regulation and protectionism by the state in 
regulating the popular economic sector of garments and its related industries such as cotton 
production and spinning mills. In this case, the doctrinal approach seems to be a very suitable 
one because the researcher has opted for the systematic review of various policy documents, the 
analysis also relies heavily on the reports generated by the companies and industrial giants and 
secondary analysis of the policy documents. 
 
3.1. Use of Systematic Search and Reviews 
To be able to conduct a doctrinal research on the role of CSR and its related legislation and 
judicial pronouncements on the pro-poor action by the multinational companies and industrial 
Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
3 
 
giants of the garment sector; the researcher has intended to apply a systematic review of the 
literature found on this subject. In the systematic review literature that has been critically 
reviewed can be divided into various categories: 
 
 Legal statutes and regulations 
 Judicial pronouncements and decisions 
 Self-disclosure reports by the industry 
 Policy analysis on pro-poor policies 
 Newspaper articles\ 
 
4. Possible Implications 
The study will help finding how corporations are being effected and affect the poverty and pro-
poor initiatives in the selected Asian countries and what are the theoretical basis of the same 
practices. On the basis  of present research  the  researcher can make  recommendations  for the 
community of practitioners such as public policy  makers but also  the managers and  legal 
institution. 
 
5. References 
Crane, A., Matten, D. and Moon, J., 2004. Stakeholders as citizens? Rethinking rights, 
participation, and democracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 53(1), pp.107-122. 
 
Frynas, J.G. and Yamahaki, C., 2016. Corporate social responsibility: Review and roadmap of 
theoretical perspectives. Business Ethics: A European Review, 25(3), pp.258-285. 
 
Jamali, D. and Karam, C., 2018. Corporate social responsibility in developing countries as an 
emerging field of study. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(1), pp.32-61. 
 
Jamali, D., Lund-Thomsen, P. and Khara, N., 2017. CSR institutionalized myths in developing 
countries: An imminent threat of selective decoupling. Business & Society, 56(3), pp.454-486. 
 
Khairat, G. and Maher, A., 2016. The Influence of Airlines' Corporate Social Responsibility on 
Customer Loyalty. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 
13(2), pp.71-92. 
 
Lobel, S., 2013. Predicting organizational responsiveness to poverty: Exploratory model and 
Application to Brazil and the United States. European Management Journal, 31(5), pp.522-535. 
 
Medina‐Muñoz, R.D. and Medina‐Muñoz, D.R., 2020. Corporate social responsibility for 
poverty alleviation: An integrated research framework. Business Ethics: A European Review, 
29(1), pp.3-19. 
 
Moisescu, O.I., 2018. From perceptual corporate sustainability to customer loyalty: A multi- 
sectorial investigation in a developing country. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 
31(1), pp.55-72. 


Poverty Alleviation through Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case of Legal Approach in Asian Countries

Enuezie, Gerald

Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
1 
 
Transition from Payment by Results (PbR) to Population-
based funding through Integrated Care System (ICS) 
 
G C I Enuezie 
Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University 
G.C.Enuezie@2020.ljmu.ac.uk  
 
1. Introduction to the Study 
The aim of this study is to explore the transition of NHS funding from payment by results (PbR) to 
population-based funding through an Integrated Care System (ICS).  In 2014, NHS England produced 
a report which forecast £30 billion gap in NHS funding and to help tackle this funding gap, proposed 
reforms to the payment system  with a move away from payment by results (PbR) to population-based 
funding through an integrated care system (ICS). 
 
2. Current Funding Mechanism 
PbR was introduced by the NHS to pay a fixed price for each acute patient treated. The original aims 
of PbR were to create a transparent link between outputs and income, to help identify and deal with 
inefficiency and ensure that funding follows the service user, thereby supporting their choices.  For 
specialised services, the PbR tariff is adjusted, and a specialised service top up is added to reflect the 
actual costs of providing care.  By its very nature, specialised commissioning relates to high cost and 
volume activity.  In England, most acute treatments are funded using a tariff. The tariff incentivises 
healthcare providers to meet different objectives including improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, 
quality of care and patient choice.  In addition, the tariff removes the need for price competition between 
providers.  Since the publication of the National Service Framework (NSF) (Wanless, 2002), patient 
choice has been at the heart of the NHS and the Health and Social Act of 2012 has reinforced this. 
Through choice and payment by results (PbR), patient choice becomes more meaningful as it attaches 
payments to those choices (Self, Painter and Davis, 2008).  It is worth acknowledging at this stage that 
not all acute treatments are funded by tariff. 
 
PbR is a method of payment based on measurable criteria i.e., the number of patients treated.  It is also 
worth pointing out that the underlying Health Resource Groups (HRGs) also recognise the resources 
consumed by the average patient in resource groups i.e., complexity/acuity. Prior to the introduction of 
PbR, several purchasing arrangements were used in the NHS between commissioners and providers i.e. 
block contracts, sophisticated block contracts, cost and volume contracts and cost per case contracts 
(Farrar et al., 2007).  The main spur to payment reform for hospital services was provided by Tony 
Blair’s Labour government’s target for reducing waiting list times for planned hospital operations.  
Achieving those targets meant a reform of the payment system which would incentivise hospitals to 
increase their activity levels.  As noted at the time, block contracts did not provide the necessary 
incentives to achieve the stated policy aim. Therefore, the decision was made to implement PbR in a 
phased manner from 2003/04.   
 
3. Funding Gap and Reasons 
In 2014, NHS England published the five year forward plan (NHS England, 2014) which forecast a £30 
billion gap in funding by 2020/21 between resources and patient needs due to the effects of growing 
demand and flat real terms funding (Iacobucci, 2014). Therefore, to sustain a comprehensive high-
quality NHS, action will be needed on all three fronts – demand, efficiency, and funding.  In January 
2019 “The Long Term Plan” was published which included reforms to the payment system to reduce 
activity-based funding and increase population-based funding (NHS Improvement, 2019) .  The reason 
for this gap is that between 2010/11 – 2015/16, the tariff used to fund NHS Trusts for each patient 
treated was reduced by 1.6%.  In addition, NHS-specific inflation was increasing by 2.2% making a 
real term cut of 3.8%.  NHS Trusts in the meantime were expected to make a 4% efficiency saving in 
their operating costs in order to balance the books but only managed to make a 2% efficiency saving 
(Gainsbury, 2016).  In the years after 2015/16, the tariff did increase by 1% every year however this 
was below the NHS-specific inflation of over 3% coupled with the fact the number of patients treated 
with more complications and advanced medicine has seen a continuous growth of over 3.1% for the 
Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
2 
 
past decade and will continue this trend till 2020-21. It should be noted that nearly two decades after 
the introduction of PbR, it has not worked as originally intended.  Studies, matching the researcher’s 
experience of dealing with PbR, have shown that the downward pressure of costs imposed by the tariff 
has led providers to use non-tariff based income such as research grants, clinical trials, training income 
for doctors and nurses to finance their operational services.  Furthermore, there is increasing evidence 
that at a local level, purchasers and providers are ignoring the tariff by entering into locally agreed block 
contracts for some services which by implication means that the income earned by providers from the 
tariff has decreased steadily over the years. 
 
4. Population-Based Funding 
There is recognition that health and social care go hand in hand hence the reason for ICSs.  The issue 
that needs to be discussed and understood is how population-based funding is defined and how the 
component that make up population-based funding are derived.  Furthermore, the growing demand for 
health services has been exacerbated by lifestyle choices like obesity, alcohol, smoking and other major 
health issues.  To help reduce this funding gap (£30 billion), there need to be plans and action on health 
prevention and public health initiatives with funding to match.  The WHO defines health “as a state of 
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” 
(World Health Organisation, 1946).  Health as a concept promoted by WHO considers the notion that 
it is a fundamental right of all people regardless of race, age, religion, political beliefs, economic or 
social condition to have the access to the highest standard of health.  Although the WHO have stated 
that governments have a duty to provide health for their population, it also acknowledges that there are 
other factors beyond health and social care that have a major impact on health and wellbeing which can 
be stated as the determinants of health.  In moving from PbR to population-based funding through ICS, 
it is important to define and assess what is meant by population health and how this affects how funds 
are distributed. Health systems around the world vary in their performance and coverage.  For countries 
with universal healthcare, the healthcare coverage seems to be more extensive than those without.  It 
should further be noted that performance of healthcare systems across countries vary even when they 
have universal healthcare as it depends on wealth, education, and health expenditure.  It is for these 
reasons that a lot of countries have enacted health reforms to improve the performance of their health 
systems. 
 
Kindig and Stoddart (2003) defined population health as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, 
including the distribution of such outcomes within the group”.  This means that population health can 
be characterised as having policies and processes in place to ensure that there is a health management 
system in place that caters for the need of a given population within a geographical area and that this 
health management system is effective and efficient.  The sole aim of population health should be to 
improve the health of the population and the way to achieve this aim is to reduce the existing health 
inequalities.  Therefore, the success/failure of this aim can be summarised in three strands or 
determinants (Murray et al., 2002) – health, responsiveness, fairness of household  financial 
contribution.  
  
5. Integrated Care System (ICS) 
“Integrated care is a term that reflects a concern to improve patient experience and achieve greater 
efficiency and value from health delivery systems. The aim is to address fragmentation in patient 
services, and enable better coordinated and more continuous care, frequently for an ageing population 
which has increasing incidence of chronic disease” (Shaw, Rosen and Rumbold, 2011). 
 
Countries around the world increasingly see integrated care as a way to reform their healthcare systems.  
However, there is a feeling that few countries understand what the meaning of integrated care is and 
judging by the different definitions around the concept of integrated care and lack of clarity of what it 
means, helps reduce its understanding and successful application as a concept which therefore renders 
any evaluation very difficult.  Governments now see integrated care as a policy tool to bring together 
the disparate parts of the healthcare system to increase efficiency, quality of care, quality of life and 
save money in the long term.  Examining a lot of the literature on integrated care, they contain a few 
drivers for change which are vital to the change process: collaboration, fragmentation, care 
coordination, efficient use of resources, specialisation and decentralisation, cost control, ageing, chronic 
Faculty Research Day  7th December 2021 
3 
 
illness and disability, access, continuity, inefficient use of resources, lack of quality and shortcoming in 
health and social care systems.  In this respect therefore, “the lack of specificity and clarity in the 
definition and process of integrated care hinders systematic understanding and successful, real-world 
application of integration” (Sutton and Long, 2014).  It should further be noted that one of the major 
issues with understanding integrated care and how it works through the various strategies to be deployed 
to make it a success is mainly due to a lack of systematic analysis and coherent frameworks.  Having 
systematic analysis and coherent frameworks in place helps to “facilitate communication, 
understanding, hypothesis generation, policy formulation, program development, and evaluation” 
(Kodner and Kyriacou, 2000).   
 
Penno, Gauld and Audas  (2013) acknowledged that there is a dearth of literature into what is within 
the formulae setting population-based funding or the varying options that policy makers may choose 
from.   These funding formulae will increasingly be key to resource allocation, encompassing the 
different components used to determine basic healthcare. There has been a lot of research conducted in 
several countries with respect to PbR and population-based funding, including the ICS, which many 
countries have adopted for payment purposes. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, there has been 
no research regarding the transition from PbR to population-based funding. This is a gap this research 
aims to fulfil, and this will be achieved by exploring different funding mechanisms from the UK and 
other countries. 
 
6. References 
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