Table Of ContentLEARNING BY LINKING
ESTABLISHING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS LEARNING NETWORKS
SUSTAINABLE LEARNING NETWORKS
IN IRELAND AND WALES (SLNIW)
Published by OAK TREE PRESS, 19 Rutland Street, Cork, Ireland
www.oaktreepress.com
© 2011 Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales
Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales has asserted its right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 78119 018 0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978 1 78119 019 7 (ePub)
ISBN 978 1 78119 020 3 (Kindle)
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Oak Tree Press, 19 Rutland Street, Cork, Ireland.
COLOPHON
This publication is a deliverable developed within and co-financed by the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IVA Ireland Wales Programme 2007-2013
Project Acronym: SLNIW.
Project Full Title: Sustainable Learning Networks Ireland and Wales.
Editors: Professor Bill O’Gorman and Ms. Nerys Fuller-Love.
Authors: Brett, V.
Carr, J.
Courtney, N.
Fuller-Love, N.
Howells, A.
Hywel, G.
Langstaff, L.
Mullally, M.
O’Gorman, B.
O’Neill, A.
Power, J.
Sinnott, E.
FOREWORD
This guide to establishing sustainable business learning networks is a very relevant and appropriate
output from the Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales (SLNIW) project, which was
part-funded by INTERREG IVA under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It is
unusual for INTERREG projects to publish books. Therefore, this book, Learning by Linking:
Establishing Sustainable Business Learning Networks – researched, prepared and written by the SLNIW
team and published by Oak Tree Press – is a welcome new initiative.
Learning by Linking ensures that the project’s results, outputs, and lessons learned will be more
accessible to a wider audience of enterprise support agencies, financial advisors and providers,
practitioners, entrepreneurs, owner/managers and academics, rather than it being bound, as is
traditionally the case, in a set of reports that are made available only to a limited number of relevant
people. The availability of this book to a wider audience also ensures that the benefits derived from
the SLNIW project will permeate way beyond the life of the project itself. The book provides a
template in Chapter 9: Developing Sustainable Self-facilitating Learning Networks: A Code of
Good Practice, for those who wish to support micro-enterprises and SMEs to come together to learn
from and support each other to enhance the creative and innovative capacities and capabilities of their
respective enterprises. This endeavour, no doubt, will lead to enhancing economic sustainability of the
regions and/or sub-regions within which the learning networks are set up.
Before the template is presented, the reader is informed about the SLNIW project, its organisation,
construct and how it worked. Then the reader is guided through lessons learned by the SLNIW team
and the network participants. All of which leads to the presentation of the Code of Good Practice
template for setting up and guiding sustainable learning networks for micro-enterprise and SME
owner/managers.
This book epitomises the single team approach of the SLNIW project team. Since the beginning of
SLNIW, those employed by the project have worked together in a seamless, collaborative, and
cooperative manner to design, implement, and manage the creation and development of six learning
networks (three in Ireland and three in Wales). This is their story and this is what they learned from
the process.
Simon Baily Roger Seddon
Head of Unit, Project Development Officer North Wales,
Ireland-Wales Programme 2007-2013 Ireland-Wales Programme 2007-2013
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, the SLNIW project team acknowledges the support and encouragement
INTERREG in both Ireland and Wales provided throughout the entire SLNIW project, especially the
invaluable input received from Simon Baily, Head of Unit, Roger Seddon, Project Development
Officer and Siobhan Rudden, Development Officer. The SLNIW team also acknowledges the funding
provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IVA Ireland
and Wales programme 2007-2013, without which this project would not have been possible.
From a Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) perspective, the Irish SLNIW team members
thank and acknowledge the support, commitment and encouragement of Dr. Tom O’Toole, Dean,
School of Business, Joan McDonald, Head of Department, Department of Management &
Organisation, and Susan Green, Project Accountant, Finance Office.
From an Aberystwyth University (AU) perspective, the Welsh SLNIW team members thank and
acknowledge the support, commitment and encouragement of Professor Aled Jones, Pro-vice
Chancellor and Nick Perdikis, Director of School of Management and Business.
The SLNIW team also acknowledges the support and advice that was provided throughout the
project from the members of the Irish and Welsh steering groups.
The SLNIW team is very grateful also for the support received from the staff of Arclabs, especially
its manager, Tom Corcoran, and administrator, Mary Fearon, whose inputs helped with the smooth
running of the project.
Finally, but by no means least, the SLNIW team thanks all network participants in Ireland and
Wales for their enthusiastic and candid contribution to the project and its successful outcomes. We
hope their participation and sharing of knowledge and experience in the SLNIW project will have a
long-term positive effect not only for them personally and their businesses, but for entrepreneurs
everywhere who share the concept of learning together for mutual benefit.
Professor Bill O’Gorman Ms Nerys Fuller-Love
SLNIW Project Director SLNIW Project Director
Ireland Wales
Moya Breen Louise Butler
Tipperary Institute of Technology Finance Wales
m Ciarán Cullen m Allison Coleman
Waterford City Enterprise Board A.Coleman Copyright Consultant
a Eugene Crehan a Chris Dawson
e Centre for Enterprise e Aberystwyth University
T Development and Regional T Llywelyn Evans
Economy, Waterford Institute of Canolfan Rhiannon
g Technology g Rhiannon Evans
Tom Corcoran Canolfan Rhiannon
n n
ArcLabs Research & Innovation Kevin Harrington
i Centre, Waterford Institute of i Antur Teifi
r r
Technology Sue Holder
e e
Mark Fielding Institute of Business Consulting
e e
Irish Small and Medium Gary Howell
t Enterprises Association (ISME) t Morgan Walsh Consultancy
S S #
Michael Garland Sajjad Jasimuddin
Waterford Chamber of Commerce Aberystwyth University
h h
Jill Hincks Graham Lewis
s Passion for Creative Ltd s Aberystwyth University
i Rosaleen Kelly l Peter Midmore
r e
The Pure Soap Company Ltd Aberystwyth University
I W Susan Nolan
Margaret Lovatt
Pembrokeshire County Council
FAS South East Training Centre
Tony Orme
Joan McDonald
CCS
Waterford Institute of Technology
Jonathon Parker
Michael Moroney
Aberystwyth Technium
South-East Regional Authority
Lois Poynting
(SERA)
Chwarae Teg
Roisin Shanahan
Anna Prytherch
Waterford Institute of Technology
Aberystwyth University
Carole Thurston
Beth Roberts
South East Business and
Gwesty Cymru
Innovation Centre (SEBIC)
Roger Seddon
Clodagh Whelan Wales European Funding Office
Enterprise Ireland
Dennis Thomas
John Whelan Aberystwyth University
Ashcourt Business Services Ltd. Rachel Thomas
Welsh Coast & Country Cottages
Helen Watts
Carmarthenshire County Council
Gareth Williams
Gwynedd Council
Mark Williams
Member of Parliament
INTRODUCTION
The concept of business networking has been around for some time and research has shown that there
is an association between networking and growth (Jarillo, 1989; Chell and Baines, 2000; Lechner and
Dowling, 2003). Trade associations, business groups and Chambers of Commerce are all examples of
forums in which an individual entrepreneur can build an array of contacts and networks for business
development and opportunity. However, the concept of business networking is evolving and
mirroring valued characteristics of our knowledge-based economies, in that individual entrepreneurs
within a network can self-learn from their own and shared knowledge resources how to overcome the
problems and constraints of growth.
The knowledge of individual owner/managers is an underused resource and it is important to
recognise the value of the individual owner/manager’s expertise (Cong and Pandya, 2003), which has
been built from actual business experience as a source that can positively affect local and regional
economies. SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) face many barriers to growth and development
such as the know-how, experience and resources to develop. The cost for an individual business or
owner/manager to access certain desired knowledge can be very expensive. The purpose of a learning
network, as a model for business networking, is that individual owner/managers who have a large
amount of tacit knowledge can share their knowledge with other owner/managers, through a shared
platform of face-to-face group interactions, to resolve problems and to develop and strengthen their
perspective businesses, at relatively low costs. It is akin to having a board of senior and experienced
executives, free of charge. Such self-learning networks can, and do, enhance the creative and
innovative capacities and performances of micro-enterprises and SMEs.
The aim of the project was to create six sustainable learning networks in Ireland and Wales in order
to study how networks work and to provide an understanding of how to create and develop
sustainable, self-learning networks. Sustainability of the networks provides lasting benefits for
owner/managers of micro-enterprises and SMEs and the regions in which they are located.
The SLNIW project created six networks in two regions (South-East Ireland and West Wales),
consisting of a total of 105 owner/managers of micro-enterprises and SMEs. Each region had three
networks (one all male, one all female and one mixed gender). The objective of the regional and the
gender spilt was to determin e the effects, if any, that gender and culture might have on the network
process.
The core objective of the three-year SLNIW project was to create and develop sustainable self-
learning networks in order to enhance the innovative and creative capacities and capabilities of micro-
enterprises and SMEs in South-East Ireland and West Wales. One particular output from the design
and development of this process was to create a good practice guide for entrepreneurs, owner/
managers, practitioners, business consultants, enterprise support agencies, and academics so that they
too, collectively or individually, could organise and develop sustainable, self-learning, self-
perpetuating networks in their respective localities and regions.
The 105 selected entrepreneurs came from a mixed and varied background and no one particular
industry sector dominated the configuration of the networks. However, in the six networks,
manufacturing was the most represented sector, followed by business or professional services, which
included marketing, consulting, market research and financial services. The information and
communications technology (ICT) sector also was well-represented, along with food production,
education, renewable energy and craft and design.
This book is divided into five distinct sections, which will be referred to as the 5Ps: Purpose,
Procedure, Process, Parting and Practice. The first part of this book, Purpose, examines the rationale
behind learning networks (see Figure 1). The importance of networking to micro-enterprises and the
SME sector is explored and implications resulting from gender are investigated. Chapter 1 provides
an introduction to the concept of networking and identifies the benefits of business learning networks
to regional economies.
The second part of this book, Procedure, provides a detailed overview of the SLNIW process to
establishing learning networks and the procedures involved when researching a series of learning
networks as part of the SLNIW project. Chapter 2 outlines the rationale of the SLNIW project and
specific reference is made to the recruitment and selection of owner-managers for learning networks
and how the learning networks were established at the outset of the project. Chapter 3 details the
methodology employed by the SLNIW project to uncover in-depth knowledge of learning networks.
The effect of participant observation is examined, acknowledging the detailed lessons learned
regarding the process of observation when examining learning networks in practice.
Figure 1: Chapter overview
The third part of this book, Pr ocess, examines the SLNIW process and is structured into four chapters.
Chapter 4 examines the operational factors of learning networks. Specifically, it identifies how
networks communicate both face-to-face and virtually and provides insight into the formation,
governance and development of learning networks. Chapter 5 focuses on the external forces affecting
learning networks. External forces include the level of support provided to learning networks during
early network formation and the impact such support has on shaping network governance and
operation. In addition, the influence of gender on learning network composition is examined as an
external force impacting on network development. Chapter 6 builds upon the previous chapter and
examines the internal forces at play in learning networks. Internal forces include the level of diversity
apparent between network members, how trust is developed within the network and how network
members identify and manage breaches of trust, the level of commitment exerted by all parties and,
ultimately, the impact that such internal forces have on the dynamics of the network and the learning
and knowledge exchange that takes place between network members. The last chapter of this section,
Chapter 7, examines network sustainability and the approaches adopted by learning networks. This
chapter builds upon the previous chapters in this section, identifying the benefits of sustainable
networking to SMEs and the new networking skills achieved from engaging in the network process.
The fourth part of this book, Parting, investigates the reasons why individual network members
chose to disengage from the networking process. Chapter 8 examines the effect of participant
withdrawal on those remaining in the networks and the knock-on effect that participant withdrawal
has on network sustainability.
In the final part of this book, Practice, Chapter 9 presents a guide to establishing self-facilitated
learning networks. This chapter encapsulates the learning from the previous chapters and offers a
practical guide to establishing self-facilitated sustainable learning networks. The conditions required
to ensure the greatest chance of network sustainability are examined, offering advice to owner/
managers, network managers, practitioners, business consultants, enterprise support agencies and
academics.
PART 1
PURPOSE
