competitiveness

FOREWORD:  Dermot Desmond, Director, IIU

ENDORSEMENTS

The title of this interesting and stimulating book demonstrates its purpose. It challenges Ireland to really think about the complex relationship between global economic integration and our defining differences. It makes a real contribution to a valuable debate.
- Peter Sutherland, Chairman BP/Former EU Commissioner/Director General, GATT and WTO. 

 

This book confirms something not widely appreciated: as Irish business becomes global, the local is as important as ever. Innovation is about creating value through quality, relationships, service and trust. To succeed, people’s hearts as well as minds must be engaged.

- Seán Quinn, Founder, Quinn Group

 

 

Both authors, already highly respected for their independent minded approach to the relationship between culture and socio-economic performance, here hone their thinking into an invigorating contribution to the debate on what sort of society Ireland should become over the next generation.

- Prof. Joe Lee, Director, Glucksman Ireland House, New York University

 

The book addresses one of the key areas mostly ignored when assessing the DNA of successful business. A culture incorporating innovation, creativity, flexibility and learning nurtures an environment in which business can thrive. It offers a unique insight into the effects culture has on making Ireland a world-class economy, and in my view, is vital reading for every business person in Ireland and for anyone considering setting up business in the country.

 - Pádraig Ó Céidigh, Chairman, Aer Arann/Ernst & Young Irish Entrepreneur of the Year 2002

 

 

Their work highlights the need for a debate on how a national system of innovation is best supported by a diversity of ways of learning and knowing.    
- Professor Seán Ó Riain, Department of Sociology, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth

 

This book begins a great and important project: the reconstitution of a truly Irish culture atop a revived economy and people.  It is necessarily thorough and written for the motivated.  But for those of us who labour in the field of Ireland’s future cultural development, it is a book we simply cannot do without.

- Marc Coleman, Economics Editor, Newstalk 106-108 fm

Healthy communities, bursting with vitality, provide a foundation that fosters innovation.  A real contribution of this book is that it illustrates why harnessing resources could prove fruitful in creating a truly dynamic and prosperous Irish learning society. 

- Mary Redmond, Founder, Irish Hospice Foundation and The Wheel.

 

 

This farsighted and penetrating work offers a compelling argument for the importance of the Irish language as a part of a dynamic new economic and political culture in Ireland. It offers an exciting vision of how all the languages of Ireland can be used to create a resourceful and inclusive society and a sustainable economy in post-boom Ireland.

- Professor Michael Cronin, Director, Centre for Translation and Textual Studies, DCU

The authors offer a timely assessment of how the innovation of the Revival shaped Irish life during the twentieth century. The book’s special contribution is to argue that the creativity that led to a culturally distinctive Ireland after independence can support an economically sustainable Ireland a century later.

- Frank Allen, Chief Executive, Railway Procurement Agency (Luas and Metro)

 

This is a work of superb clarity in how to push post Celtic Tiger Ireland forward in outlining how we can change from a “what we do, is who we are” to a “who we are, is what we can do” society. It is an extraordinary tour de force that must be read by those who are interested in how Ireland can compete successfully and sustainably in our globalised world.

- Danny McCoy, Director of Policy, Irish Business & Employers Confederation (IBEC)

 

  

 

 

 

Overview

After two decades of exceptional economic growth and cultural change, Ireland faces the greatest challenge yet: how to create sustainable competitive advantage to guarantee success in the future.

It is becoming apparent that pouring money into scientific research and technology is not enough to encourage a culture of innovation in business, public services, education and communities.

We must realise the potential of resources that are truly unique to Ireland, that are inimitable and represent our difference in a global context. Social and cultural capital, sense of place and national identity are such valuable resources. These, along with science and research, can feed into and enhance learning in Irish business and society to create true competitive advantage.

With recent power-sharing arrangements in the North, and immigration changing the island’s ethnic make-up, now is the time to examine what a holistic approach to development both as an economy and a society might mean for Ireland over coming decades.

The title of this interesting and stimulating book demonstrates its purpose. It challenges Ireland to really think about the complex relationship between global economic integration and our defining differences. It makes a real contribution to a valuable debate.
- PETER SUTHERLAND, Chairman of BP plc and former EU Commissioner

This book confirms something not widely appreciated: as Irish business becomes global, the local is as important as ever. Innovation is about creating value through quality, relationships, service and trust. To succeed, people’s hearts as well as minds must be engaged.
- SEÁN QUINN, founder of the Quinn Group

FINBARR BRADLEY was a professor at DCU, NUI Maynooth and UCD. He has an engineering degree from UCC and a Ph.D. from the Stern Business School, New York University.

JAMES J. KENNELLY is on the faculty at Skidmore College, New York. He graduated from Montclair State University and holds a Ph.D. from the Stern Business School, New York University.

ISBN 978-1-84218-149-2

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