Pathway 5 of the SETU staff research funding scheme seeks to promote the highest standards of excellence in academic publishing
Dr Ethel Claffey, a lecturer at South East Technological University (WIT)’s School of Business, was successfully awarded funding for research as part of WIT’s Research Connexions support scheme.
Research Connexions was introduced at SETU in 2019 as a research funding scheme aimed at increasing research activity in the Institute. Research Connexions provides the SETU research community the opportunity to apply for internal funding to enhance their research activity and to increase the quality of research at the Institute. SETU Research Connexions is supported by WIT’s successful application to the HEA under the Systems Performance Programme. The scheme comprises of thirteen possible funding Pathways designed to enable and support research activity across each of the Schools.
Dr Ethel Claffey secured funding under Research Connexions Pathway 5 – Multidisciplinary Publishing. Pathway 5 seeks to promote the highest standards of excellence in academic publishing, based on peer review and critical reading of texts prior to publication. The Pathway exists to support the costs associated with publishing an academic journal article or book.
We asked Dr Claffey to describe what it was like taking part in the Research Connexions process and the outcomes of her work:
Support awarded through Research Connexions
I applied for Research Connexions Pathway 5 and was awarded buy-out of 2 hours per week for the academic year 2020/21, 48 hours in total. In my application, I proposed that I would try to secure at least two high quality publications to be affiliated to WIT’s School of Business.
Overview of current research
The research I am undertaking is multi-faceted, however I am particularly focused on consumer engagement and technology adoption in multiple contexts. For the work undertaken within the Research Connexions scheme, I focused on technology adoption in relation to agricultural technology, as I have a PhD student studying this topic at present. I also used the time to prepare case studies for international publishing competitions.
Making a difference
Any time allocation to undertake research work is always very welcome, but particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic where lecturers were significantly stretched in terms of preparation and delivery of live virtual lectures. The time allocation was primarily used to engage with collaborators from several locations in Europe, such as The National Technical University of Athens, University of Murcia, The Irish Farmers Association, and the Walton Institute in order to prepare two publications. It was also used to investigate potential topics for two case study competitions.
Demonstrable Outcomes
The results of this work included one journal paper publication, one book chapter publication and seven award-winning marketing case studies. The journal paper and book chapter have increased my contact network and have paved the way for future collaborations. The case studies have ensured that WIT’s School of Business is referenced in two leading marketing textbooks, and the fact that they were selected through a competitive process demonstrates the quality of the work undertaken at SETU. Another benefit of this work is that my own teaching materials have been refreshed with new and current content.
Where to next
I would hope to secure future funding to build on this strong collaborative foundation in future academic years.
Dr Claffey’s publications attributable to this funding include:
Journal Paper - (Impact factor: 17.62)
Roussaki, I., Doolin, K., Skarmeta, A., Routis, G., Lopez-Moralez, J.A., Claffey, E., Mora, M., Martinez, J. A. (2021), ‘Building an Interoperable Space for Smart Agriculture’ in Digital Communications and Networks (forthcoming).
Book Chapter
Doolin, K., Roussaki, I., Dilleen, G., Cleary, E., Williams, H., Foley, A., Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Making Smart Agriculture Smarter’ in Springer Handbook on IoT (forthcoming).
Case Studies
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Netflix’s International Pricing Under Pressure’ in International Marketing (5th ed.), by Ghauri & Cateora, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Nike’s Marketing Strategy: Just Do It ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Sephora Commits to Inclusivity ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘My Starbucks Ideas: Co-creation Strategies ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘TikTok: Rewriting the Marketing Rulebook ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Vans – Building the Culture of Fun in the Retail Environment ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.
Claffey, E. (2021), ‘Unilever; Harnessing Social Media to Engage Consumers ‘in Foundations of Marketing (7th ed.), by Fahy and Jobber, McGraw Hill.