Patrick Ibbotson

Patrick Ibbotson serves as Senior Lecturer in E-Commerce within the Department of Global Business and Enterprise at Ulster University Business School, Magee Campus (Derry~Londonderry). His academic profile demonstrates sustained research activity since 1990 with 63 research outputs including articles, conference contributions, and commissioned reports.

His research interests center on digital transformation challenges for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, particularly examining relationship marketing dynamics, broadband technology adoption, and crowdfunding mechanisms. Key focus areas include:

• E-commerce strategic implementation for Irish SMEs
• Gender dynamics in entrepreneurial organizations
• Technology-mediated customer relationship management
• Boundary-spanning roles in university-business engagement

Analysis of his publication trends reveals consistent contribution to SME digitalization literature since the early 2000s, with recent work addressing pandemic-era educational challenges and identity work in business engagement roles. His research shows strong regional focus on Ireland while maintaining international relevance through frameworks applicable to global SME contexts.

Dr. Ibbotson actively supervises doctoral research, having guided nine PhD candidates to completion on topics spanning female entrepreneurship, nascent venture creation, and technology adoption. His research project portfolio includes the 2015-funded investigation into rewards-based crowdfunding failure mechanisms, demonstrating practical engagement with contemporary business challenges.