DBA student Paul Sheahan’s research paper provides insights in to how multinational companies investing in Ireland can gain competitive advantage
Waterford Institute of Technology DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) scholar Paul Sheahan has won Best Paper Award (sponsored by Business Horizons) at the global Engaged Management Scholarship 2020 Conference.
Paul’s paper was titled -“Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Off-Shore Subsidiary Manufacturing - the Mid-West of Ireland Region” and it is authored by Paul and his supervisors Prof Bill O'Gorman and Dr Tom Egan.
“The research paper provides insights in to how multinational companies investing in Ireland can gain competitive advantage. The study acknowledges the role that regional features play in this competitive advantage gain,” he says.
Competitive advantage
He explains the context of the research paper: “Global multinational companies investing in Ireland, need to understand how the setting up of a subsidiary in a region, such as the Mid-West of Ireland, will create competitive advantage for the parent organisation. This research has identified strengths that the Irish subsidiaries gain from its regions features, and how these strengths contribute to the parent organisation competitive advantage. The findings have important implications for investing firm decisions on where they establish subsidiaries. Policy makers also benefit from knowledge on the impact regional features have on investing firms.”
Reason for choosing DBA
Paul, who has previously been employed as a Global Director for Strategic Projects with a large United States based multinational company, which has a subsidiary in Shannon, is completing his DBA in November 2020, after 4 years of part time research. “I chose to do the DBA as I am interested in the area of Foreign Direct Investment and how this may be shaped by current world economic events,” he explains.
The Executive Doctorate of Business Administration Council (EDBAC) and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio hosted the Engaged Management Scholarship conference themed ‘Research that Matters in an Age of Disruption’ in September.
SETU Waterford, Cork Road, Waterford City, 
