investment  employment  infrastructure  and  profitability  Cluster  members  will
 investment  central  government  initiative  local  authority  economic  stimulation
 investment   Mike  Lynch  (founder  of  the  company
 Investments  articulated  the  competitive  advantage  that  London  enjoys
§ï§Investment  Finance  incentives  and  speed  of  response
 investment  •Financial  service  providers  † banks  providers
 investments  to  promote  and  support  the  creative  tech
 Investment  decisions  need  to  be  based  on  a
 investment  can  be  more  persuasive  how  talent  flows
investment  are  not  lost  The  authors  are  keen
licencing, technology-based acquisition, joint-ventures, non-equity R&d investments, and increasingly, direct technology buying or selling.
mobilising public and private resources for technological innovations and have suggested two complementary investment models 66.
returns can be appropriated from such investments 67. The second is the †collective modelâ€, which fosters innovation through
direct public investments in public knowledge goods 68. This model also progressively employs policy instruments to promote
private investments in R&d 69. Examples of such policy instruments are competition policies, tax policies, and subsidies
investments in the public sphere 70. A vast range of social resources, such as retired skilled workers,
Besides private and public investments in R&d we also need to include a vast range of social resources
toward increases in sales and returns on investment never before possible. †From Mcdonald†s to NBC News, a new job title is taking grip in
%representing vast investments in IT, given that their average revenues far exceed US$1B Chart 1
their marketing investment is wasted but do not have any idea which half â€oebut there†s no excuse any more.
their marketing investment is wasted but do not have any idea which half â€oebut there†s no excuse any more.
infrastructure investment and are positioned better than at any time in the past, including improved road connectivity, energy and infrastructure stock.
spotlight on Waterford for Lifesciences investment and seek to develop collaborative initiatives in connected health and Silver-technologies
1 Including entrepreneurship, indigenous investment and foreign direct investment SOUTH EAST EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN †FORFà S
stage start-ups and the marketing of the region for mobile investment particularly in emerging sectors (including cleantech, biotechnology, Cloud
The enterprise development agencies are taking steps to try to secure additional investment in contact management and BPO activities in the South East region and to support the
IDA is very active in seeking to win additional investment for Waterford utilising the skill sets
a Greenfield investment or as an expansion opportunity  IDA is targeting overseas companies based in Ireland to bring the facility and its skilled
In October 2011 Skillnets announced an investment of â 250,000 for the immediate provision of training for Talk Talk employees, to be delivered through the CCMA Ireland Skillnet and
announced an investment of â 250,000 for the immediate provision of training for Talk Talk employees, to be delivered through the CCMA Ireland Skillnet and Waterford
Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme 2012-16 announced on 10 november 2011  SOUTH EAST EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN †FORFà S
There were 11 investment/job announcements in the region from 2008 to 2011 of which five were for Waterford City and County
Cluster Ireland, Investment support, Business guidance, South East Diaspora, Technology Group The procurement element of the programme identifies the sourcing requirements of all participating
The Government has committed to deliver this investment by PPP as part of the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme 2012-16 announced on 10 november
2011 Completing the Atlantic corridor from Galway to Waterford (including the N25) remains an important medium-term priority for the development agencies to support sustained economic
Ireland has made substantial investments in water and waste water infrastructure in recent years, further investment is required to address water and waste water capacity deficits in a
number of key urban centres. Forfã¡s reviewed water and waste water supply and demand in
necessitating significant capital investment in new water treatment capacity SOUTH EAST EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN †FORFà S
Significant investment in the transmission and distribution networks is planned over the period to 2025 to meet our renewables target
support energy intensive investment projects18. As the cost of network investment is passed directly through to energy users in the form of higher energy prices, the timing of grid
investment plans need to be reviewed to take account of the implications of reduced demand and planning delays
while ensuring that future enterprise needs are met. We also need to ensure more geographically focused renewables investment to minimise the amount of
additional grid investment required. In particular, optimal wind sites in terms of electricity generation potential and proximity to the grid should be prioritised
17 See Table 8. 1 http://www. eirgrid. com/media/Transmissionpercent20forecastpercent20statementpercent202011 -2017-webpercent20version2. pdf 18 Eirgrid originally estimated the cost of delivering Grid25 at â 4 billion but in light of significant
 Waterford is placed well for further enterprise investment (incl. large scale) with the availability of strategic serviced lands at Belview and Knockhouse and the Business and
investment. As part of this structural change, some industrial relations issues have achieved national prominence resulting in some reputation loss for the region
There is potential for new mobile investment; however, continuing change at a global level within the sector including the trend towards increased automation, and competition
region for inward investment Key Regional Assets The †Sunny South East†has established an reputation for tourism, particularly domestic
capital investment in tourism product development in the South East. This included an allocation of â 8. 6m for tourism capital investment in the Viking/Heritage Triangle project in
Waterford City. As the physical development of the Viking/Heritage Triangle reaches conclusion in 2012, it is planned to make a further and complementary investment in
interpretation and product animation Fáilte Ireland has for some months been in discussion with Kilkenny Co. Co. regarding the
This will involve investment in the presentation and interpretation of Kilkenny†s Norman heritage in an integrated and holistic
A proposal to support an investment programme in Kilkenny over the period 2012/2013 will be presented to the Fá
investment falls within the Market development Programme which, in addition to conventional domestic marketing, seeks to support festivals and events as a key driver of
As well as large scale infrastructural investments, access for the tourism market can also be improved through innovative initiatives using local facilities,
generated a raft of new mobile investment activity in global business services (& global business services centres) to manage more complex global corporate structures and activities
Much of the growth is accounted for by investments by overseas companies into the region such as Sunlife Financial, State street, PFPC, Equifax and
Future business investment within the region in international and financial services will require advanced, high quality and competitively priced broadband infrastructure
 Bachelor of arts (Level 8) in Finance and Investment †9 Places  Bachelor of science (Level 7) Information technology †17 Places
Skillnets announced an investment of â 250,000 for the immediate provision of training for Talk Talk employees, to be delivered through the CCMA Ireland Skillnet and Waterford
higher order investments are realised. In recent surveys, a number of respondents anticipate growth in revenues and employment44,
investment for Ireland in the face of intense global competition from larger scale countries. Evidence indicates that companies investing in shared services activities
deliver increased efficiencies and productivity through investments in technologies and/or to deliver niche services based on strong domain knowledge and expertise
In general, foreign investment is attracted to the scale of the labour pool, and availability of multilingual skills in an urban area, and ease
Despite intensified global competition, the IDA has announced 13 new investments and/or expansions in SSCS over the past 9 months which are expected to generate over 1, 200 new
 For the indigenous companies, access to finance (investment and working capital) is cited as a challenge
out the suite of actions required to address barriers to investment, focused on areas of
pro-investment regulation, infrastructure planning and investment and demand stimulation. There is a need to enhance backhaul capacity for the region
agencies, and they aggressively seek new investments, both foreign (Greenfield and expansion) and indigenous, through new start-ups/entrepreneurship
IDA has been very active in its quest to win additional investment for Waterford utilising the
Greenfield investment or as an expansion opportunity 66 Extracted from their direct submissions to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Services) SFI Strategic Research Cluster (a â 5. 86m investment from SFI. A number of industry
With ongoing investment by SFI and EI in the TSSG, its leadership role in European projects, its cluster Of high Potential Start-up and its strategic partners with
Investment Servicing in Wexford Research areas include: Industrial design and product innovation (Designcore), interactive applications software and networks (Gamecore), geo-environmental technologies (Geocore
infrastructure investment and are positioned better than at any time in the past, including improved road connectivity, energy and infrastructure stock.
69 Including entrepreneurship, indigenous investment and foreign direct investment 76 -A particular focus is required in relation to regional product and brand
spotlight on Waterford for Lifesciences investment and to seek to develop collaborative initiatives in connected health and Silver-technologies
start-ups and the marketing of the region for mobile investment particularly in emerging sectors (including cleantech, biotechnology, digital media (& games
The enterprise development agencies are taking steps to assist secure additional investment in contact management and BPO activities in the South East region and to support the
IDA has been very active in seeking to win additional investment for Waterford utilising the skill sets of the Talk Talk employees, the ready-togo facility and the Gateway location of
a Greenfield investment or as an expansion opportunity  IDA is targeting overseas companies based in Ireland to bring the facility and its skilled
The Skillsnet investment of â 250,000 in Q4 2011 is welcome in this regard D4. European Globalisation Fund
and Capital Investment Programme 2012-16 SOUTH EAST EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN †FORFà S Appendix 1
attractive locations for foreign and indigenous business investment This study assesses how each region1 could build on its own potential,
vital that we prioritise and make strategic investments now that pump-prime the potential of each of the regions to position them as key contributors to Ireland†s national growth when the
and the Gateways Investment Priorities,(Fitzpatricks Associates, Consultants, Doehlg and Forfã¡s 2004), and complements the NCC report:
Knowledge and Innovation research and development investment and activity, collaborations and inter-linkages between HEIS and firms, between firms and customers
transport and broadband infrastructures †recent investments and ongoing infrastructure needs Quality of life based on factors relevant to the attraction of mobile investment and
labour/talent Leadership and Strategic Capacity outlining relevant organisations and indications of locally driven initiatives
Historically, and prior to the development of the NSS, land use and infrastructure investment decisions at county and city levels were made not in the context of a regional framework.
Enterprise investment plays a crucial role in achieving balanced regional development. The enterprise development agenda comprises a suite of interdependent elements,
ï§Prioritise and target investments (national, regional and local) in a coordinated and complementary way that accelerates the development of the gateways
important to leverage the investments made in the regions to date17, and to harness the
also play a vital role in influencing investments in infrastructures specific to enterprise (and in some cases sectoral) needs.
makes returns on private investment more difficult to achieve. Recent measures by the European Commission27 to facilitate public investment in broadband infrastructure
acknowledge the wider spillover benefits for economic and social development and suggest that insufficient private investment in this area is not unique to Ireland.
The broadband debate has been ongoing for many years in Ireland, and the issues above are not new
The government needs to develop an investment plan to deliver on its broadband strategy. The plan should explicitly state where
and when government investment will take place to address market failure, particularly in the provision of
ï An awareness of the factors that influence enterprise investment decisions and prioritisation of infrastructure investments and actions that address the needs of
enterprise The development of the RCAS, the interaction with the RPGS, proactive engagement with the
More recent developments and investments have seeded the basis for change and future growth, although the challenges remain significant
investment ï§There has been a reduction in the number of †unskilled†within the labour force over the
although prioritised investments at a national level, as well as the need for community buy in (e g. in the grid infrastructures
environment for enterprise investment, for tourism development and from a lifestyle choice perspective. The region has had strong economic performance,
established entrepreneurs, new start ups and informal investments 32 This is an extract of regional level actions included in the full report †it is noted that some of the
investments have been attracted to the region in recent years37. The region is also developing expertise in telecommunications and software development,
Investment Activity %of Adults Border 12.8 5 3. 1 7. 9 2 Dublin 10.5 3. 8 3. 6 7. 2 2. 3
we create an environment that is conducive to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI stimulating entrepreneurship and enabling companies to grow
prioritise and make strategic investments now that pump-prime the potential of each of the regions to position them as contributors to Ireland†s national growth when this downward
investment. It also points to the fact that urban areas play a key role in driving the
retains foreign investment. The following factors of competitiveness were developed to facilitate analysis of the regions,
Innovation research and development investment and activity, collaborations and inter -linkages between HEIS and firms, between firms and customers
transport and broadband infrastructures †recent investments and ongoing infrastructure needs Quality of life based on factors relevant to the attraction of mobile investment and
labour/talent Leadership and Strategic Capacity outlining relevant organisations and indications of locally driven initiatives
Gateway Investment Priorities Study; NCC (2009) Our Cities: Drivers of National Competitiveness; Fitzpatrick Associates (2009
New investments in recent years, particularly in the Lifesciences sector, have boosted manufacturing employment and have helped to offset decline in the more established
investments in the electricity network are required to satisfy future demands, and the broadband offering in the region needs to be improved to support future enterprise potential
attracting knowledge intensive internationally mobile Foreign Direct Investment (FDI A variety of lifestyle choices can be accommodated in the diverse physical landscape and
Recent infrastructure investments in the region are welcomed, and will enhance the physical access and connectivity of the region, both nationally and internationally.
Further investment will be required to enhance future economic development potential FORFÃ S REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AGENDA: REALISING POTENTIAL:
for attracting investment from foreign and indigenous companies, stimulating entrepreneurship and enabling companies based in the region to grow and target
the region for inward investment The †Sunny South-East†has established an reputation for tourism, particularly domestic
As well as large scale infrastructural investments, access for the tourism market can also be improved through innovative initiatives using local facilities, such
generated a raft of new mobile investment activity in global business services (& global business services centres) to manage more complex global corporate structures and activities
investments by overseas companies into the region such as AOL (Carphone Warehouse Sunlife Financial, State street, PFPC, Equifax and Citi,
Future business investment within the region in international and financial services will require advanced, high quality and competitively priced broadband infrastructure and access
the recent investment by Unum, a US insurance company who have established a software development centre in Carlow.
The region has many of the building blocks in place to attract investment from foreign and indigenous firms.
Whereas mobile investment tends to be attracted to the larger urban areas, there is potential within the region to create competitive environments to attract a concentration of new
The development agencies contend that the future needs of enterprise require investment in Next Generation Networks and have identified specific targets in their response to
has suggested that the following investments in the South-East†s electricity grid are necessary ï¿
An investment of approximately â 830m to upgrade approximately 490 km of the existing network and to build new infrastructure
Substantial investment in the region†s water and waste water infrastructure has been undertaken in recent years through the individual local authorities.
Continued investment in water services under the current NDP aims to address remaining capacity shortages
include relevant indigenous companies as demonstration sites on inward investment itineraries and encourage joint overseas and indigenous company participation in trade
Continue with planned investments in water and waste water infrastructure to ensure forecast deficits in key centres do not arise
investment through a broad range of initiatives. In conjunction with Forfã¡s they influence policy by providing on-the-ground information about the real issues facing business (in areas
Stimulate investment in R&d and innovation †through financial supports, Intellectual Property advice, Techsource (technology acquisition
Support company expansions and investment in capital and productivity initiatives ï¿Provide supports for training and management development
IDA is responsible for the attraction and development of foreign investment in Ireland. It is focused on securing investment from new and existing clients in the areas Of high End
Rubber and Plastic Products 3 %Nonmetallic Mineral Products 13 %Basic and Fabricated Metal Products 13
Technology, Convergence and Services Innovation-areas that offer exciting new investment opportunities The IDA attracts overseas and inward investment by
ï¿Focusing on business sectors that are matched closely with the emerging needs of the economy and that can operate competitively in global markets from an Irish base
foreign direct investment in Ireland The IDA also provides serviced sites, preplanning approval and buildings (buildings are
for attracting high value foreign direct investment to the region based on its particular strengths and competencies and leveraging complementary strengths and competencies in
economic mission seeks to encourage new investment and employment opportunities in Gaeltacht areas The Gaeltacht covers parts of counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Kerry †along the western
Attracting high value investments (especially in high technology services), both indigenous and from overseas, to the Gaeltacht
In providing supports to both FDI and indigenous enterprise investments, Ã darã¡s operates within the same regional aid framework as EI and IDA and offers a similar suite of supports to
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is the state agency that promotes investment in basic research, particularly in the science
nationally significant economic importance through strategic investments in the people, ideas and partnerships essential to outstanding research in strategic areas. †Specific functions in
operations, quality and standards and facilitating investment in tourism infrastructure Thirdly, it builds human resource capability in the industry, investing in training provision and
and development and also aim to address the lack of investment in Human Resource Development by business by tackling some of the real and perceived barriers to training
It is key to stimulating enterprise investment, concentration and well-planned structured growth within a region
investments (see, e g.,, Huang and Liu 2005; Bharadwaj, Bharadwaj, and Kon -synski 1999; Bonk 1996),
investments do not meet performance objectives (e g.,, Clegg et al. 1997), or that there is little or no relationship between
IT investment and firm performance e g.,, Powell and Dent-Micallef 1997 Various arguments have been put
consensus in the value of IT investment For example, Powell and Dent-Micallef 1997) suggest that IT is now so readily
lag effects between investment in tech -nology and its payoff (Sangho and Kim 2006 We acknowledge that although rela
investment (Nussbaum, Berner, and Brady 2005 Examinations of innovation have been divided into two major research
IT Investment With IT€ s increasing sophistication and usage, managers now consider the use of IT as a competitive tool used for
) As a consequence, investment in IT by firms has escalated dramatically in recent times (Devaraj and Kohli 2003.
direct relationship between investments in IT capabilities and firm financial per -formance. However, since prior studies
IT Investment, Innovation, and Firm Performance Firm performance is enhanced when there are synergies among the elements
) As such, investment in IT does not stimulate productivity and growth i e.,, firm performance) without a
process innovation, and IT investment regressed on the dependent variable of Figure 1 Conceptual Model H3
+IT Investment Innovation Product/Process Firm Performance Return on Assets/Return on Sales/Sales Growth/Market
IT Asset Investment. Management infor -mation systems scholars (e g.,, Sakagu -chi and Dibrell 1998; Mahmood and
to look at their investments in IT assets e g.,, hardware, software, and person -nel) relative to other competitors within
(2) total IT investment;(3 number of IT employees; and (4 number of personal computers and ter
0. 88 for IT asset investment and firm financial performance. The correlation matrix indicated that multicollinearity
investment, resulting in H1 being sup -ported. The squared multiple correlation comparable to R2 in regression analysis
**3. IT Investment 2. 85 1. 04 0. 88 0. 29**0. 22 **4. Firm Performance 3. 32 0. 96 0. 88 0. 20**0. 19**0. 48
order to optimize investment in innova -tion activities, IT initiatives should be aligned with innovation.
reveals that through investment in product and process innovations, firms Table 2 Structural Model Parameter Estimates and Goodness-of-fit
Value of IT Assets â Total IT Investment 0. 15*3. 59 Producing Specialty Products â Invest in R&d 0. 17*3. 11
with investments in IT enhance their firms†relative performance along two essential dimensions: profitability and
Perhaps, a lack of investment in IT over time may render the firm incapable of
-grated View of Resource Investments and the Incremental-Choice Process, †Academy of Management Review 18
Investments on Firm Value: The Case of Y2k-Compliance Costs, †Journal of Information systems 14, 95†108
Effect of IT Investment on Firm Per -formance, †Information Resources Management Journal 19, 43†69
97th), or venture capital (97th) for their investment projects. In addition, labor markets are considered too rigid (137th) and the level of local competition low
-related investments could continue to affect the capacity of firms to innovate (40th) and therefore the capacity of
investments (34th) appear now to contribute more to improving the country†s innovative capacity (94th), which
engaging in new investment projects. Notwithstanding these serious weaknesses, which sharply affect economic activity, the country still benefits from well
investment (72nd) and technological innovation capacity 91st Entering the top 50, Brazil goes up five positions to
fairly easy access to financing (40th) for its investment projects. Notwithstanding these strengths, the country
investments (90th. The weak quality of its transport infrastructure (93rd) also negatively affects its national
to international trade and investment Saudi arabia maintains the second-best place in the region and falls by one position from 17th to 18th
development path will require further investment to boost health and educational outcomes. Raising the bar with
openness to international trade and investment, which would trigger efficiency gains in the domestic economy
competitiveness, including critical investments across all modes of infrastructure (rank 129th), establishing a regulatory framework that encourages competition
investment and its impact on the operating cost were considered not. This reduced the resolution of the analysis, to include only the effects on fuel consumption
change if the return of investment is included in the analysis. For the maritime 0 %20
basis), including their return of investment. To facilitate the adoption of green technologies, future analyses should examine large-volume transport paradigms
Recognizes a higher Return on Investment rate to operators for these projects; starting mid 2011;
 †DSO investment programme and Latvenergo investment programme 52 ï¿ï of research R&
and works through a combination of research, investments networks, grant funding and practical support to innovators
In some cases substantial investment will be needed to achieve this 5. Expand the European DSI network
While massive commercial investment and business models fuelled the web†s incredible growth, the use of platforms like Facebook to serve social good has
difficulty finding investment The future of the Internet should remain pluralistic, so that there is space for DSI
Europe could provide an alternative model in the form of investment in open infrastructures on
more investment in fundamental research to promote net-neutrality, strong encryption, banning of trivial patents, open standards and free software together
of investment. It is crucial for successful crowdsourcing to design the activity properly to prevent excessive demands and frustrations.
INVESTMENT AND FUNDING 152 26 13 7674 70 32313030 0 Pr oj ec t T
support, investment advice and funding oppertunities for SMES and young compa -nies are also available through the Startup
government investment and subsidies in the USA than the EU. Approximately eight times as much public as private business invest
In the EU investment in research and technological development is more market-based †and demonstrably less
Investment Fund. They combine investments in new hardware and software with experi -ments to discover better ways of delivering healthcare or reducing carbon emissions
PUBLIC/DIRECT FUNDING President Obama set up an office for social innovation in the White house, with a fund for supporting NGOS.
Seed funding is a very early-stage investment, meant to support the business until it can
or until it is ready for further investments. Seed money options include friends and family funding, angel funding andâ crowdfunding.
One important objective is to provide infrastructural investments such as broadband de -ployments and pan-European digital services that underwrite robust, equal, society-wide
INVESTMENT ON ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURES Community and bottom-up networking is an emerging mode of the Future Internet,
it needs investment in alternative archi -tectures that favour new players and allow for bottom-up innovation.
Investment for this kind of innovation support programmes can come from public funds but could also be through public private partnerships or
Impact Investment team78, which invests between £150, 000 and £1 million in organisa -tions whose digital social innovations are designed to address key societal challenges
strong public investment that funded general-purpose technologies and basic research. However, noninstitutional actors (hackers geeks, social innovators and activists) are key in this process
Ultimately, just as in science and technology, innovation in society needs carefully crafted investment and support.
In some cases substantial investment will be needed to support innovations through to sustainability †just as in business, where many of the most transformative innovations required many
years of patient, large-scale investment before they delivered returns Alternative socioeconomic models based on trust and their reputations are emerging.
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