Dr. Felicity Kelliher
BBS MBA PhD Prince II

Research Group : Research in Innovation, Knowledge Transfer and Organisational Networks

Co-Chair & Senior Researcher, RIKON Research Group, WIT, Ireland 2007-current

Founding member & senior researcher of the Research in Innovation, Knowledge, Organisations and Networks (RIKON) group; identified as an emergent research area in the South East Institutes’ joint submission to the HEA (2012) and as a key research group in the innovation in services and business processes (IOT Ireland website, 2013). RIKON has secured over €9m in funding, has engaged with over 1200 SMEs and has over 30 research students, consultants and colleagues working within the group, alongside three postdoctoral researchers, a research fellow and seven senior researchers. Notably, RIKON is one of the country’s leading facilitators of Enterprise-Ireland supported Innovation Vouchers and has liaised with over 350 new and small companies to help them develop their innovation capabilities, growth strategies and business management functions.

Research profile

My research focuses on micro-firm learning and management capability development and I supervise a number of funded and self-funded doctoral and masters research students in this area. I have published in top tier International publications including; the Journal of Tourism Management, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation; the Journal of European Industrial Training and the European Journal of Training and Development. I also presented my research at numerous National/ International Conferences and this work received a number of commedations/ best paper awards. I also co-author Irish-based case studies for use in under-graduate & post-graduate education and received a number ofawards for this work.

Research funding/ key research projects

Contributed to the securing of €6m+ research funding and a further €2m commercial funding through the RIKON research group in the last decade, encompassing senior academic roles in INTERREG, Science Foundation Ireland and Failte Ireland research projects and as researcher/ research supervisor/ mentor on Irish Research Council, IOTI, Failte Ireland, Strand 1, NAIRTL, Enterprise Ireland and Royal Irish Academy-funded projects.

Key research projects

• Fulbright Scholar, 2014-15: As a Fulbright Scholar, I examined the role of trust in building rural tourism network engagement, while based at the RUPRI Centre, University of Missouri, USA.
• Academic Mentor, Irish Research Council Elevate Fellowship, 2014-17: Academic Mentor to Dr Leana Reinl, Irish Research Council Post-doctoral Elevate Fellow, University of Guelph Canada and Waterford Institute of Technology studying ‘Transitioning evolving learning communities to sustainability: A social learning framework for rural tourism development’.
• INTERREG GIFT Project (Senior Academic), 2011- 2014: Senior Academic involved in the design, application and implementation of this project, which partners Schools of Science and Business in Bangor University Wales, UCD & WIT exploring small enterprise green innovation and future technologies in our mutual domains.
• SIF II (Professional Doctorate Coordinator), 2007-09: This project was funded under the ‘Creating a Sustainable Environment for Knowledge Transfer in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education and Research’ project, partnered with WIT, Cork IoT & University College Cork.
• Tourism Learning Network Initiative (Academic Team Member), 2005-10: This Failte Ireland TLN skills initiative, managed by WIT, involved the up skilling of small firm owners operating in the tourism sector

Research awards

• Fulbright Scholar 2014-15, University of Missouri (the study of trust among rural micro-firms)
• Winner – Knowledge Transfer Ireland Research2Business Collaborative Impact award, 2015
• Postgraduate Supervision Excellence Award, WIT, 2008 and 2012
• Selected to participate on the ‘Accessing the Economy Programme’ (2008) hosted by Boston College on behalf of the US Federal Reserve, USA

Best Paper/ Case Awards & Commendations: Irish Academy of Management, Tourism Hospital Research in Ireland, International Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference; European Foundation for Management Development Case Writing Competition; National Management Case Study Competition, Ireland.

Publication / Conference Peer Review

• Guest Editor, Irish Journal of Management 2016
• Editorial Board Member – Electronic Journal of Business Research Methodology, 2014-
• Journal Paper Review: Journal of Business Ethics, Tourism Management, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development, Irish Journal of Management, Journal of Action Learning: Practice and Research
• Book Review: O’Connor, N. et al., 2007, Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland; Daft, R., 2005, The Leadership Experience, Thomson South Western, Canada
• Conference Peer Review: Academy of Management; Irish Academy of Management; EuroChrie; SLNIW

Senior Lecturer in Management, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland, 2000-current

I lecture on Doctoral, Masters and Executive programmes specialising in organisational behaviour, leadership, change management, reflective practice and critical thinking. I also co-manage the MBA insider action research organizational change programme, which involves the design, implementation and analysis of a change management programme pursued by MBA candidates in their own work setting. I previously lectured on the MBS in the Management of Change, Bachelor of Business, BA in BIS, Multimedia Studies, BSc Retail Management, BSc Small Enterprise Management and the Postgraduate Diploma in Small Business Management.

Research Supervision: I supervise/ co-supervise Masters and Doctoral research students and examine Masters and Doctoral theses. I am mentor to Dr Leana Reinl, Irish Research Council Elevate Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-17).

Programme Director:

• Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), 2009-2015
• MBS in the Management of Change, 2005-2009
• BSc in Retail Management, 2003-2005
• HCBS in eBusiness Applications, 2002-2003

Professor, Shanghai University (SHU), China, 2011-current [partner faculty]

I lecture on the MBA SHU programme, specialising in Business Entrepreneurship Planning and Strategic Business Development. A number of these students have started their own businesses based on the resultant business plan, following module completion. As an aspect of this role, I also engage with nascent entrepreneurs at the SHU Technical Park, Shanghai facilitating growth strategy planning and business development; and liaise with Enterprise Ireland (China) as an aspect of this programme.

Guest/ Visiting Lecturer, Various

I deliver guest lectures and seminars at various universities/ professional bodies, 2000-present:

• University of Missouri; Michigan State University, USA, 2015
• University of Guelph, Canada, 2015
• Research Lecture Series, LINK research group, Dublin City University, Ireland, 2014
• MBA & Research Lecture Series, Memorial University Newfoundland, 2011
• Internationalisation Module, Masters in Business Studies, Grand École, France, 2008
• International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE), Dublin, 2008
• SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy, 2006
• Research Lecture , NeXt research group, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, 2008 & 2010
• MBS in HRM, NUI Galway, Ireland, 2006-2008
• MSc in Management Science, Waterloo University, Canada, 2005
• Research Lecture Series, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2002

Programme Development

• Professional Doctorate Coordinator (SIF II, 2007-9): responsible for the coordination and implementation of a professional Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at WIT. This programme was launched in 2010 and the first cohort qualified graduated in January 2015.
• Course Development Lead: DBA 2007-2009; MBS in the Management of Change, 2004-2005; BSc in Retail Management, 2002-2003; HCBS eBusiness Applications (national ATP initiative), 2001-2002.
• Course development/ enhancement board member with module responsibility: MBA (2014), MByte (2013), BSc in Small Enterprise Management (2010), BSc in Multimedia Applications Development (2007); Certificate in Tourism Business Practice (2006); BSc in Information Technology (2006); MBS Executive Branding & Reputation Management (2006); BSc in Applied Computing (2005); Post Graduate Diploma in Enterprise Development (2004); MBS (2004); BA in Business Information Systems (2002)

Teaching and Learning Research

I am deeply interested in the development of intuitive and technical capabilities among pre- and post- experience management students and apply a number of research-informed approaches in student interactions, including simulated business environments, experiential learning projects, action research, blended learning and applied learning tools. Myr focus on innovative teaching practices has evolved into a research interest shared with like-minded colleagues from WIT, Trinity College Dublin, Queens University Belfast, University of Ulster and NUI Maynooth.

Professional Awards

MBS in the Management of Change (Executive Masters Programme) shortlisted for the Postgraduate Course of the Year – Business, gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards, 2010

Prior to entering academia in October 2000, I pursued a successful International career in project management/ consultancy, specialising in large-scale information system installations in the banking and retail sectors in Europe, North and South America, Canada, the Middle East and Australia;

• 1996-2000 Project Manager, Fujitsu ICL, Dublin (& Colonial Bank, Australia)
• 1993-1996 Product Consultant, MYSIS Banking Systems (formally Kindle), Dublin
• 1989-1990 Accounts Executive, National Automation Project, Big V Pharmacy, Canada
• 1988 Microcomputer Support Executive, Transamerica, USA

Professional Awards

Fujitsu ICL International Excellence Award, 1999 in recognition of achievements in establishing a Managed Service Department in Ireland.