Dr Sheila Cannon
Assistant Professor in Social Entrepreneurship Room 409
cannonsh@tcd.ie
01 896 3850
Sheila is Assistant Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Trinity Business School, from where she also was awarded her PhD. Sheila teaches Social Entrepreneurship to Undergraduate and MBA students, as well as teaching Personal and Career Development. Her research looks at organisational identity work, how organisations engage in self-reflection on who they are when faced with significant change.
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Sheila has worked in non-profit organisations since 1998, mostly in the area of International Peacebuilding. After serving as Director of Programmes and Director of Development in international peacebuilding organisations (1999-2012), she returned to academia to complete her PhD on non-profit organisations and how they adapt to change.
Sheila obtained her BA in The Classics from Vassar College, USA, in 1998, and her PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2014. She was awarded the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research in 2015. Her research interests focus on non-profits, organisational identity work, and deinstitutionalisation.
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Climate strikes: Greta Thunberg calls for ‘system change not climate change’ – here’s what that could look likeWhat is system change and how does it happen? Research on institutions and civil society can give some insights into how systems change. Professor Sheila Cannon writes about this need to change our political and economic systems to tackle climate change. -
A top-down solution to the Irish border after Brexit undermines 20 years of peacebuildingTwenty years since a landmark peace agreement in Northern Ireland, the complexities of the Brexit process threaten the efforts of those local communities who have spent decades building peace. Professor Sheila Cannon writes about the valuable contributions of community groups to making the transition a success. -
Social Entrepreneurship in Ireland versus SwedenTrinity Business School hosted 25 non-profit leaders in Dublin to compare and contrast non-profit sectors in Sweden versus Ireland on 9-10 of May 2017. Assistant Professors Dr Gemma Donnelly-Cox and Dr Sheila Cannon hosted a two day seminar on civil society in Ireland, showing background context, as well as future directions for nonprofits in Ireland, and facilitating discussions to compare similarities and differences. The seminar was part of the Fenix Programme run by Ideell Arena, Swedish Network of Nonprofit Organisations. -
What Business Opposing Trump Could learn from NGOsA number of businesses stepped forward to oppose Donald Trump’s executive orders and infamous “travel ban”. As the trend to mix both social and commercial goals develops, Professor Sheila Cannon advices that businesses learn from the experiences of NGOs working in the field. -
Corporate Activism: Engaging with Social IssuesWhat is businesses’ role in addressing Ireland’s social issues? Should we aim to adapt, to predict or event enact the changes needed to address those challenges? The Trend is towards businesses engaging more actively with social issues, not shying away from them. Professor Sheila Cannon led a panel at the Trinity Global Business Forum 2017.
Sheila is interested in the tensions in nonprofits as they ask themselves: are we a business or are we a community? And are those two identities mutually exclusive? Social entrepreneurship happens when organisations try to balance social and commercial goals, which can take place seamlessly, or result in conflict. Social enterprises often set out to bring about social change, but also must find ways of being sustainable, and continuing to deliver on their mission.
Sheila provides thought leadership on the non-profit sector in Ireland, particularly the organisations involved in peacebuilding. She also is interested in corporate activism, when businesses take on social issues.
- Organisational Identity Work
- Organisational Change
- Deinstitutionalisation
1. Sheila M. Cannon, Legitimacy as Property and Process: The Case of an Irish LGBT Organization, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2019 Journal Article, 2019 DOI URL
2. Cannon M. Sheila; Karin Kreutzer, Mission Accomplished? Organizational Identity Work in response to Mission Success, Human Relations, 71, (9), 2018, p1234 - 1263 Journal Article, 2018 URL DOI
3. Donnelly-Cox, G; S. Cannon; J. Harrison, Ireland Country Report: Eufori Study. European Foundations for Research and Innovation, Brussels, Belgium, European Commission, 2015, 597-634 Report, 2015 URL
- BU3690 Social Entrepreneurship
- BU3610 Personal and Career Development
- BU7027 Social Entrepreneurship Project
- BU7071 Social Entrepreneurship Project