Enriching the values of micro and small business research projects: co-creation service provision as perceived by academic, business and student

Abstract

The research aim was to critically examine the two sides of co-creation from the small business and GCU researcher perspectives. The interest is in the value created and delivered. Previous studies have suggested the importance of identity and trust in these types of collaborative projects. The approach used a single case study to explore indepth the development of identity and trust, and the subsequent movement of the project participants to the creation of value. The results of the study revealed important action learning and knowledge management developments. A strong focus at the beginning on identifying key propositional knowledge needs, later led to more opportunities to co-create value for both parties. The understanding of the processes and importance of trust in these significant knowledge exchange projects reveals both a strength and weakness in these university-business collaborative projects. The indepth undersrtanding and interpretation of the value derived in-action and on-action speaks highly of the role of these university-business collaborative projects. Suggesting that the university has a key role to play in future economic development.

Defining the nature of blended learning through its depiction in current research

“…The theme interaction (9.8%, n=15) itself was seen as an important aspect of blended learning; indeed Castaño-Muñoz, Duart and Sancho-Vinuesa (2014) claim that it is the key to success. Blended learning can bring students and externals together to provide richer learning experiences, through for example: simulations of an international workplace (Schech, Kelton, Carati, & Kingsmill, 2017) and engagement with small businesses (Thatcher, Alao, Brown, & Choudhary, 2016).…”

Factors Describing Students´ Perception on Education Quality Standards

“…The importance of the continuous feedback, which, in the case that a school management reflects it, can help to improve the quality of the educational process, provided by students during and after their studies corresponds to the recommendation by Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, and Fitsilis (2010). According to Thatcher et al (2016), institutions in the higher education sector should draw conclusions from the individual assessments by students, as emphasized by O´Connor and O´Hagan (2016) when assessing teachers, and adjust their subsequent strategic development, because, as indicated in the researches by Shahjahan and Morgan (2016), an assessment of the education learning outcomes brings the possibility how to improve own competitiveness in the higher education sphere. Nowadays, this is important for private as well as public universities according to the research by Ashraf, Osman and Ratan (2016).…”

Enhancing university brand image and reputation through customer value co-creation behaviour

“…Value co-creation can be defined as a joint innovation of distinctive value and/or experiences through the participation of customers and other stakeholders (Hatch and Schultz, 2010;Ind and Coates, 2013;Payne et al, 2009;Thatcher et al, 2016). It requires continuous interactions between a firm and its consumers, where both parties combine and integrate (to some degree) resources to help move the business forward and to establish their reputation in an attractive field (Lebeau and Bennion, 2014).…”

“…With the marketization of universities and internationalization, UK HE sector has changed policies in the last five years, leading to a shift in the balance between higher education and further education. The government has recently signalled its intention to support the entry of new providers to the HE market (educationuk.org, 2015;Thatcher et al, 2016). The UK has been a popular international destination for its history in HE and high quality reputation (Ayoubi and Massoud, 2007;.…”