https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/436 2026-10-11T16:50:48Z 2026-10-11T16:50:48Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149678 2026-10-05T12:20:53Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Entrepreneurs’ use of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) as a strategic resource for securing funding Abstract: Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices are increasingly promoted as drivers of firm performance and improved access to capital. However, limited empirical research examines how entrepreneurs themselves understand and communicate ESG-related resources when seeking external financing. Grounded in Barney’s (1991) Resource-Based View (RBV) and extended through ESG-oriented adaptations and Spence’s (1973) signaling theory, this study explores how entrepreneurs in British Columbia conceptualize ESG practices as strategic resources and attempt to leverage them in lending contexts. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 entrepreneurs from diverse industries across British Columbia. The study investigated three core research questions addressing how entrepreneurs communicate ESG-related resources to financial institutions, which ESG practices are perceived as strategic assets, and how these practices are believed to influence financing outcomes. Thematic analysis revealed that ESG capabilities - particularly environmental innovation, employee wellbeing, and community engagement - are deeply embedded within participating firms’ missions, values, and stakeholder relationships. Entrepreneurs frequently framed these practices as indicators of long-term resilience, risk mitigation, and ethical leadership. Despite this internal commitment, findings indicate that translating ESG resources into consistent financing advantages remains uneven. Many entrepreneurs lacked formalized metrics or standardized reporting mechanisms or the time needed to find funding, limiting their ability to signal ESG value credibly to lenders. Financial institutions were perceived to prioritize traditional financial indicators, with ESG considerations often treated as supplementary rather than decisive. As a result, information asymmetries persisted between entrepreneurs and lenders, constraining the strategic potential of ESG signaling. This study contributes to the literature by offering an entrepreneur-centered perspective on ESG as a strategic resource, through an RBV and signaling theory lens, highlighting gaps between ESG integration at the firm level and its recognition in financial decision-making. The findings suggest implications for entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and policymakers, emphasizing the need for clearer ESG frameworks, improved communication mechanisms, and greater institutional alignment to unlock the financing potential of ESG-driven resources. Description: M. CI(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149676 2026-10-05T12:18:20Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Exploring the role of reflective thinking in entrepreneurial burnout recovery Abstract: This dissertation explores the role of reflective thinking in entrepreneurs’ experiences of burnout and movement toward recovery under sustained pressure. The study investigates how entrepreneurs experience burnout, how reflective thinking shapes the interpretation of stress and decision-making under pressure, and how reflective processes may support recovery experiences. Drawing on Paul and Elder’s critical thinking framework, supported by Sosu’s critical thinking dispositions and Kember’s model of reflection, and conceptualising burnout through Maslach and Leiter’s multidimensional model, the research adopts a qualitative design. Data were generated through twelve semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, complemented by the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey (MBI-GS), and analysed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial burnout is a cumulative and structurally embedded phenomenon shaped by sustained pressure, blurred boundaries, and responsibility, and experienced as a multidimensional condition affecting emotional, cognitive, relational, and physical functioning. Sustained pressure progressively constrained reflective capacity, narrowing attention and reinforcing reactive patterns of reasoning. In contrast, recovery was associated with increased self-awareness, reflective questioning, identity re-evaluation, and the reconsideration of assumptions. Entrepreneurs who engaged in more intentional reflective processes demonstrated greater cognitive clarity, emotional regulation, and resilience. The study suggests that reflective thinking is not, on its own, sufficient to prevent burnout. However, it appears to play an important role in recovery by facilitating recognition, reinterpretation, and more adaptive responses to stress. The findings highlight the value of reflective awareness within entrepreneurial contexts and suggest that entrepreneurial education and support initiatives may benefit from promoting reflective and self-regulatory practices that strengthen resilience and support long-term wellbeing. Description: M. CI(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149674 2026-10-05T12:13:07Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: An intervention study of possibility thinking through collaborative storytelling with junior years teachers in Malta Abstract: Drawing on Possibility Thinking studies and creativity, this study explores junior years teachers’ perceptions of Possibility Thinking through the use of collaborative storytelling as a means to enhance creative teaching. The research was guided by two primary questions: i. How can Possibility Thinking enhance creative teaching through the use of collaborative storytelling? ii. How do teachers teaching junior years in Malta perceive the use of Possibility Thinking through collaborative storytelling as a method to facilitate creative teaching? Following a review of relevant literature, a conceptual framework was developed, drawing on existing theories and adapted to suit the study’s context. In the first stage of this study, dyadic interviews and mini focus groups explored teachers’ initial concepts of creativity, recognising the importance of creativity in education but revealing common misconceptions. The second stage involved the intervention, during which teachers were introduced to Possibility Thinking tools and collaborative storytelling techniques, while also collaborated to create a story, and then, given time to implement these approaches with their students. The final stage involved follow-up dyadic interviews and mini focus groups to assess changes in teachers’ perceptions and practices. The findings indicate that time constraints and a demanding curriculum were identified as key barriers to foster Possibility Thinking. The intervention contributed to a shift in perceptions, thus enhancing teachers’ creative self-efficacy. Teachers acknowledged that, with appropriate tools, creativity can be effectively fostered in teachers, thus positively impacting student learning. Description: M. CI(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Mangion, Margaret https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148324 2026-07-29T10:15:07Z 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Leadership beliefs and the creativity gap : interpreting Malta’s PISA 2022 results Authors: Mangion, Margaret Abstract: In 2022, the OECD introduced a creative thinking battery within PISA, repositioning creative thinking as a measurable and comparable outcome of schooling.[1] Malta's results offer a compelling case for critical analysis: while Maltese 15-year-olds performed moderately relative to their core-domain achievement, school leaders reported markedly lower beliefs in the value of creativity than their OECD counterparts (latent mean: −0.351 vs OECD: 0.255).[2] Drawing on critical interpretive analysis of PISA 2022 national data, integrated with transformational leadership theory. This paper argues that the primary constraint on creative thinking development in Malta is not student capability but leadership belief. The paper makes two original contributions. First, it reconceptualises Malta's PISA profile as a belief-constraint formation a condition in which creative activities exist structurally but are epistemically underauthorised by school leaders — rather than as a curricular or student-level deficit. Second, it proposes the Integrated Creative Agency Developmental Structure, a recursive framework in which epistemic belief authorisation, creative climate formation, ecological mediation, and pedagogies of the possible mutually reinforce one another. This model positions creative leadership as a systemic lever and provides a theoretically grounded pathway for policy and leadership development in Malta and comparable small-state educational systems navigating VUCA and Anthropocene conditions.

2026-06-01T00:00:00Z