bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Individual differences in forced-choice recognition memory: Partitioning contributions of recollection and familiarity
Authors: Migo Ellen M. , Quamme Joel R. , Holmes Selina , Bendell Andrew , Norman Kenneth A. , Mayes Andrew R. , Montaldi Daniela
Published: May 2014

In forced-choice recognition memory, two different testing formats are possible under conditions of high target–foil similarity: Each target can be presented alongside foils similar to itself (forced-choice corresponding; FCC), or alongside foils similar to other targets (forced-choice noncorresponding; FCNC). Recent behavioural and neuropsychological studies suggest that FCC performance can be supported by familiarity whereas FCNC performance is supported primarily by recollection. In this paper, we corroborate this finding from an individual differences perspective. A group of older adults were given a test of FCC and FCNC recognition for object pictures, as well as standardized tests of recall, recognition, and IQ. Recall measures were found to predict FCNC, but not FCC performance, consistent with a critical role for recollection in FCNC only. After the common influence of recall was removed, standardized tests of recognition predicted FCC, but not FCNC performance. This is consistent with a contribution of only familiarity in FCC. Simulations show that a two-process model, where familiarity and recollection make separate contributions to recognition, is 10 times more likely to give these results than a single-process model. This evidence highlights the importance of recognition memory test design when examining the involvement of recollection and familiarity.
The novel proteins Rng8 and Rng9 regulate the myosin-V Myo51 during fission yeast cytokinesis
Authors: Wang Ning , Lo Presti Libera , Zhu Yi-Hua , Kang Minhee , Wu Zhengrong , Martin Sophie G. , Wu Jian-Qiu
Published: May 2014

The myosin-V family of molecular motors is known to be under sophisticated regulation, but our knowledge of the roles and regulation of myosin-Vs in cytokinesis is limited. Here, we report that the myosin-V Myo51 affects contractile ring assembly and stability during fission yeast cytokinesis, and is regulated by two novel coiled-coil proteins, Rng8 and Rng9. Both rng8Δ and rng9Δ cells display similar defects as myo51Δ in cytokinesis. Rng8 and Rng9 are required for Myo51’s localizations to cytoplasmic puncta, actin cables, and the contractile ring. Myo51 puncta contain multiple Myo51 molecules and walk continuously on actin filaments in rng8+ cells, whereas Myo51 forms speckles containing only one dimer and does not move efficiently on actin tracks in rng8Δ. Consistently, Myo51 transports artificial cargos efficiently in vivo, and this activity is regulated by Rng8. Purified Rng8 and Rng9 form stable higher-order complexes. Collectively, we propose that Rng8 and Rng9 form oligomers and cluster multiple Myo51 dimers to regulate Myo51 localization and functions.
Chk2 prevents mitotic exit when the majority of kinetochores are unattached
Authors: Petsalaki Eleni , Zachos George
Published: May 2014

The spindle checkpoint delays exit from mitosis in cells with spindle defects. In this paper, we show that Chk2 is required to delay anaphase onset when microtubules are completely depolymerized but not in the presence of relatively few unattached kinetochores. Mitotic exit in Chk2-deficient cells correlates with reduced levels of Mps1 protein and increased Cdk1–tyrosine 15 inhibitory phosphorylation. Chk2 localizes to kinetochores and is also required for Aurora B–serine 331 phosphorylation in nocodazole or unperturbed early prometaphase. Serine 331 phosphorylation contributed to prometaphase accumulation in nocodazole after partial Mps1 inhibition and was required for spindle checkpoint establishment at the beginning of mitosis. In addition, expression of a phosphomimetic S331E mutant Aurora B rescued chromosome alignment or segregation in Chk2-deficient cells. We propose that Chk2 stabilizes Mps1 and phosphorylates Aurora B–serine 331 to prevent mitotic exit when most kinetochores are unattached. These results highlight mechanisms of an essential function of Chk2 in mitosis.
Evaluation of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE)–Associated Morbidity Following Relaxation of VRE Screening and Isolation Precautions in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Popiel Kristin Y. , Miller Mark A.
Published: May 2014

Objective

To determine whether relaxing vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) precautions results in an increase in the incidence of invasive VRE infections over time.

Design

Retrospective analysis of a microbiology database before and after relaxation of VRE screening and isolation precautions.

Setting

Urban tertiary care teaching hospital in Montreal, Canada.

Participants.

All hospitalized and emergency room patients over a 13-year period from January 1, 2000, to March 31, 2013.

Methods

We assessed the results of all microbiology cultures for the presence of VRE as well as the results of all polymerase chain reaction assays forvanAandvanBduring the study period. Applying criteria for 4 clinical situations (bacteremia, definite infection, possible infection, and colonization with VRE), we analyzed the effects of relaxed VRE screening and isolation precautions on the incidence of each of these outcomes over the time preceding and following this change.

Results

When VRE screening and isolation precautions were relaxed, a marked rise in VRE colonization was observed, with a lesser but definite rise in the 3 other outcomes. Despite this initial rise in all measures, all incidences other than colonization plateaued during the 34 months of follow-up.

Conclusions

Relaxation of VRE screening and isolation precautions was associated with an immediate increase in colonization and infection incidence. Despite increasing colonization, infection outcomes remained infrequent and stable, suggesting a finite number of susceptible hosts at risk. Relaxation of VRE protocols may not lead to increasing infection incidence in a hospital setting, advocating that cost effectiveness exercises, with targeted screening and isolation precautions, are crucial.
∞-minimal submanifolds
Authors: Katzourakis Nikolaos
Published: May 2014

We identify the Variational Principle governing

∞
\infty

-Harmonic maps

u
:
Ω
⊆

R

n

⟶

R

N

u : \Omega \subseteq \mathbb {R}^n \longrightarrow \mathbb {R}^N

, that is, solutions to the

∞
\infty

-Laplacian
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="normal upper Delta Subscript normal infinity Baseline u colon equals left-parenthesis upper D u circled-times upper D u plus StartAbsoluteValue upper D u EndAbsoluteValue squared left-bracket upper D u right-bracket Superscript up-tack Baseline circled-times upper I right-parenthesis colon upper D squared u equals 0 period">

Δ
∞

u
 
:=
 

(

D
u
⊗
D
u
+

|

D
u

|

2

[
D
u

]
⊥

⊗
I

)

:

D
2

u
 
=
 
0.

\begin{equation}\Delta _\infty u \ :=\ \Big (Du \otimes Du + |Du|^2 [Du]^\bot \! \otimes I \Big ) : D^2 u\ = \ 0.\end{equation}

System \eqref{1} was first derived in the limit of the

p
p

-Laplacian as

p
→
∞

p\rightarrow \infty

in a 2012 paper of the author and was recently studied further by him. Here we show that \eqref{1} is the “Euler-Lagrange PDE” of the vector-valued Calculus of Variations in

L
∞

L^\infty

for the functional
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="double-vertical-bar upper D u double-vertical-bar Subscript upper L Sub Superscript normal infinity Subscript left-parenthesis normal upper Omega right-parenthesis Baseline equals ess sup Underscript normal upper Omega Endscripts StartAbsoluteValue upper D u EndAbsoluteValue period">

‖
D
u

‖

L
∞

(
Ω
)

 
=
 

ess

sup

Ω

|

D
u

|

.

\begin{equation} \|Du\|_{L^\infty (\Omega )}\ = \ \underset {\Omega }{\textrm {ess}\,\textrm {sup}} \,|Du|.\end{equation}

We introduce the notion of

∞
\infty

-Minimal Maps, which are Rank-One Absolute Minimals of \eqref{2} with “

∞
\infty

-Minimal Area” of the submanifold

u
(
Ω
)
⊆

R

N

u(\Omega ) \subseteq \mathbb {R}^N

, and prove they solve \eqref{1}. The converse is true for immersions. We also establish a maximum principle for

|

D
u

|

|Du|

for solutions to \eqref{1}. We further characterize minimal surfaces of

R

3

\mathbb {R}^3

as those locally parameterizable by isothermal immersions with

∞
\infty

-Minimal Area and show that isothermal

∞
\infty

-Harmonic maps are rigid.
Determination of all rational preperiodic points for morphisms of PN
Authors: Hutz Benjamin
Published: May 2014

For a morphism

f
:

P

N

→

P

N

f:\mathbb {P}^N \to \mathbb {P}^N

, the points whose forward orbit by

f
f

is finite are called preperiodic points for

f
f

. This article presents an algorithm to effectively determine all the rational preperiodic points for

f
f

defined over a given number field

K
K

. This algorithm is implemented in the open-source software Sage for

Q

\mathbb {Q}

. Additionally, the notion of a dynatomic zero-cycle is generalized to preperiodic points. Along with examining their basic properties, these generalized dynatomic cycles are shown to be effective.
Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) in the Barents Sea: development of biomass and abundance indices, and spatial distribution
Authors: Eriksen Elena , Durif Caroline M. F. , Prozorkevich Dmitry
Published: May 2014

Little is known about lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) ecology, especially its distribution in the open Barents Sea. This paper describes fluctuations in abundance and biomass indices of lumpfish based on pelagic trawl catches. This long-term monitoring survey has been conducted between August and September since 1980. Investigations show that lumpfish is widely distributed in the pelagic waters of the Barents Sea. Relative biomass and abundance indices were calculated for the period 1980–2012. The mean annual biomass was estimated to be 48 000 t, with a maximum of 143 000 t; the estimated mean annual abundance was 53 million individuals, with a maximum of 132 million individuals. There were more juveniles than adults, with juveniles comprising 40–80% of the total abundance (average 60%). The largest concentrations of both juveniles and adults were in years with warm temperatures. The majority of fish were found in waters of 5–7°C (60% of juveniles) and 4–7°C (70% of adults), indicating a strong association with Atlantic water masses in the Barents Sea. Regulations on the Norwegian and Russian fisheries for prespawning lumpfish are based only on after-the-fact fishery data and, therefore, have been insufficient in preventing negative effects on the lumpfish resource from fishing. Understanding the stock fluctuations and the use of fishery-independent data may improve the precautionary approach to fishery management. The use of lumpfish indices from the scientific surveys in the Barents Sea should be implemented to strengthen the current stock assessment.
Financial burden experienced by patients undergoing treatment for malignant gliomas
Authors: Kumthekar Priya , Stell Becky V. , Jacobs Daniel I. , Helenowski Irene B. , Rademaker Alfred W. , Grimm Sean A. , Bennett Charles L. , Raizer Jeffrey J.
Published: May 2014

Background

Patients undergoing treatment for malignant gliomas (MGs) can encounter medical costs beyond what their insurance covers. The magnitude and type of costs experienced by patients are unknown. The purpose of this study was to have patients or their families report on the medical costs incurred during the patients MG treatment.

Methods

Patients with MG were eligible if they were within 6 months of diagnosis or tumor recurrence. Patients had to be ≥18 years of age, fluent in English, and not aphasic. Weekly logbooks were issued to patients for recording associated costs for ∼6 months or until tumor progression. “Out-of-pocket” (OOP) costs included medical and nonmedical expenses that were not reimbursed by insurance. Direct medical costs included hospital and physician bills. Direct nonmedical costs included transportation, parking, and other related items. Indirect medical costs included lost wages. Costs were analyzed to provide mean and medians with range of expenses.

Results

Forty-three patients provided cost data for a median of 12 weeks. There were 25 men and 18 women with a median age of 57 years (range, 24y–73y); 79% were married, and 49% reported annual income >$75 000. Health insurance coverage was preferred provider organizations for 58% of patients, and median deductible was $1 500. Median monthly OOP cost was $1 342 (mean, $2 451; range, $333.41–$17 267.16). The highest OOP median costs were medication copayments ($710; range, $0–13 611.20), transportation ($327; range, $0–$1 927), and hospital bill copayments ($403; range, $0–$4 000). Median lost wages were $7 500, and median lost days of work were 12.8.

Conclusions

OOP costs for MG patients can be significant and comprise direct and indirect costs across several areas. Informing patients about expected costs could limit additional duress and allow financial support systems to be implemented.
Effect of Fat‐ and Carbohydrate‐Rich Diets on Metabolism and Running Performance in Trained Adolescent Boys
Authors: Guimaraes Couto Patricia , Marani Lima Hessel , Pinheiro Soares Ruda , Bertuzzi Romulo , De‐Oliveira Fernando Roberto , Lima‐Silva Adriano Eduardo
Published: May 2014

Objectives:

A randomized crossover trial was designed to analyze the impact of a short‐term, isoenergetic fat‐rich or carbohydrate (CHO)‐rich diet on substrate oxidation rates during submaximal exercise and on performance in a 10,000‐m running time trial in trained, mid‐ to late‐pubertal boys.

Methods:

An incremental test was performed to determine the peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak). After 2 days on a fat‐rich (24.2% ± 0.8% CHO, 60.4% ± 0.3% fat, and 15.5% ± 1.0% protein), CHO‐rich (69.3% ± 1.2% CHO, 15.9% ± 2.1% fat, and 15.1% ± 1.1% protein), or habitual (56.1% ± 7.0% CHO, 27.5% ± 4.9% fat, and 16.5% ± 4.0% protein) diet, 19 trained adolescent boys (15.2 ± 1.5 years) performed a 10‐minute constant run at 65% VO2peak to determine the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during exercise and 10,000‐m running on an outdoor track.

Results:

During the constant run, the RER and CHO contribution to energy expenditure were lower, and fat contribution higher, in the fat‐rich diet than in the CHO‐rich diet (P < 0.05), but the results were not different from those of the habitual diet. Performance in the 10,000‐m run after consuming CHO‐ and fat‐rich diets was similar to performance after a habitual diet (50.0 ± 7.0, 51.9 ± 8.3, and 50.9 ± 7.4 minutes, respectively), but consuming a CHO‐rich diet enhanced performance compared with that after a fat‐rich diet (P = 0.03).

Conclusions:

These findings indicate that a CHO‐rich diet provides additional benefits to 10,000‐m running performance in trained adolescent boys compared with a fat‐rich diet.
Postharvest treatments of fresh produce
Authors: Mahajan P. V. , Caleb O. J. , Singh Z. , Watkins C. B. , Geyer M.
Published: May 2014

Postharvest technologies have allowed horticultural industries to meet the global demands of local and large-scale production and intercontinental distribution of fresh produce that have high nutritional and sensory quality. Harvested products are metabolically active, undergoing ripening and senescence processes that must be controlled to prolong postharvest quality. Inadequate management of these processes can result in major losses in nutritional and quality attributes, outbreaks of foodborne pathogens and financial loss for all players along the supply chain, from growers to consumers. Optimal postharvest treatments for fresh produce seek to slow down physiological processes of senescence and maturation, reduce/inhibit development of physiological disorders and minimize the risk of microbial growth and contamination. In addition to basic postharvest technologies of temperature management, an array of others have been developed including various physical (heat, irradiation and edible coatings), chemical (antimicrobials, antioxidants and anti-browning) and gaseous treatments. This article examines the current status on postharvest treatments of fresh produce and emerging technologies, such as plasma and ozone, that can be used to maintain quality, reduce losses and waste of fresh produce. It also highlights further research needed to increase our understanding of the dynamic response of fresh produce to various postharvest treatments.
Extending the ERP system: considering the business relationship portfolio
Authors: Ekman Peter , Thilenius Peter , Windahl Torbjörn
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– Research has shown that companies focus their internal processes when they adopt enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. However, the ERP systems need to expand their functionality to include customers and suppliers (with e-commerce functionality) to reach their full potential. The purpose of this paper is to consider business relationships as a resource but also a limitation when companies strive to get an extended ERP system.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents an illustrative case study of an industrial company's process of developing an extended ERP and how the company's portfolio of business relationships has affected the solution. The analysis is supported by the markets-as-networks theory.

Findings

– The process of developing an extended ERP system needs to incorporate the company's business partners (customers and suppliers). It is a simultaneously bottom-up and top-down process given that the operative frontline staff hold the knowledge about the company's business relationships while the corporate management has the means of extending the ERP system functionality and align it with the focal company's strategy.

Research limitations/implications

– Companies need to consider the fact that the technological and financial status of their customers and suppliers differ. Thus, an effective and flexible extended ERP system needs to include both a high-end and low-end solution as well as understand that a full interorganizational integration might not be realistic.

Originality/value

– The paper puts forth business relationship portfolios as an important factor to consider when extending the ERP system functionality in the supply chain and toward customers.
Developing an analytical framework to assess the uncertainty and flexibility mismatches across the supply chain
Authors: Fayezi Sajad , Zutshi Ambika , O’Loughlin Andrew
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss how decisions regarding organisational flexibility can be improved through targeted resource allocation, by focusing on the supply chain's level of uncertainty exposure. Specifically, the issue of where and in what ways flexibility has been incorporated across the organisation's supply chain is addressed.

Design/methodology/approach

– A two-phase methodology design based on literature review and case study was used. Using 83 journal articles in the areas of uncertainty and flexibility an analytical process for assessing uncertainty-flexibility mismatches was developed. Furthermore, results from ten interviews with senior/middle managers within the Australian manufacturing sector were used to provide preliminary insights on the usefulness and importance of the analytical process and its relationship with organisational practice.

Findings

– The paper emphasises the importance of having a systematic and encompassing view of uncertainty-flexibility mismatches across the supply chain, as well as the significance of socio-technical engagement. The paper both conceptually and empirically illustrates how, using a structured analytical process, flexibility requirements across the supply, process, control and demand segments of a supply chain might be assessed. A four-step analytical process was accordingly developed and, its application, usefulness and importance discussed using empirical data.

Practical implications

– The analytical process presented in this paper can assist managers to obtain a comprehensive overview of supply chain flexibility when dealing with situations involving uncertainty. This can facilitate and improve their decision-making with respect to prioritising attention on identified flexibility gaps in order to ensure stability of their performance.

Originality/value

– The paper presents a supply chain-wide discussion on the difficulties that uncertainty brings to organisations, and how organisational flexibility might serve to moderate those challenges for supply chain management. It discusses how to identify the flexibility gap and proposes an original analytical process for systematic assessment of uncertainty-flexibility mismatches.
Investigating and explaining organizational antecedents of PSM
Authors: Schott C. , Pronk J.L.J.
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– First, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the public service motivation (PSM) literature by increasing the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from self-determination theory (SDT), the paper aims to elucidate the link through which high-performance work systems (HPWS) relate to PSM.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a survey, the authors investigated nurses’ perceptions of HPWS, PSM, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in four different German hospitals.

Findings

– The results of this study provide empirical evidence that PSM is influenced by several HR practices and the three basic psychological needs autonomy, relatedness, and competence, which in turn are influenced by certain HR practices as well. Basic psychological needs do not fully mediate the relationship between HPWS and PSM.

Research limitations/implications

– Four dimensions of HPWS are measured by a single item and the results are based on a German sample. They therefore might not apply to other countries. Future research will benefit from using a more corroborated measurement instrument of HPWS in different countries.

Practical implications

– This study offers useful insights for HR managers in the nursing sector on the question how PSM can be fostered effectively.

Originality/value

– This study adds to the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM by including ideas from HRM into the study of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from psychology (SDT), this study sheds light on the mediating mechanisms which help to explain how HPWS relate to PSM; a conceptual model explaining the HPWS-PSM relationship is developed and tested.
Intrinsic and internalized modes of teaching motivation
Authors: Wilkesmann Uwe , J. Schmid Christian
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The introduction of New Public Management in the German system of higher education raises issues of the academics’ motivation to do research and to teach. The purpose of this paper is to present evidence-based findings about contextual factors which influence intrinsic and related modes of internalized teaching motivation in German higher education institutions. The paper discusses parallels between internalized forms of motivation and public service motivation (PSM). In accordance with self-determination theory (SDT), the paper empirically tests factors which correlate with autonomous motivation to teach. The paper also addresses the issue of the crowding effect of intrinsic motivation by selective incentives.

Design/methodology/approach

– The analyses are based on the data of two online surveys among German professors (n=2,061) representative for the population of state-governed universities. To test the theory-driven hypotheses the paper used multivariate regression analysis.

Findings

– The results support the basic claims of the SDT that intrinsic teaching motivation is facilitated by social relatedness, competence, and partly by autonomy for German professors, too. If teaching is managed by objective agreements intrinsic motivation is significantly decreased.

Originality/value

– The authors translated, reformulated, and applied the SDT framework to academic teaching. The analysis presents evidence that the management of autonomy-supportive work environmental factors is also superior to selective incentives in higher education institutions. The study on academic teaching motivation is a specific contribution to PSM research. Academic teaching in public higher education institutions is a service to the public.
Viewpoint: governing the governance of the governors
Authors: Nordberg Donald
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this “viewpoint” is to consider developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations, showing how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public bodies.

Design/methodology/approach

– It discusses the literature of corporate governance and public service motivation and reflects it against practice evidenced in documentation for the UK Corporate Governance Code, codes for boards of different levels of public organizations, and both formal and informal evaluations of practice.

Findings

– The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control managers. The paper gives a preliminary investigation of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. The changes involve greater emphasis on extrinsic goals, potentially at the cost of the intrinsic ones.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper suggests avenues for future research, linking notions of the tensions between the service and control functions in corporate governance with the balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Practical implications

– Directors in both public and private bodies face a need to hold at bay forces that push in opposing directions to accommodate demands for greater accountability while sustaining the altruism social mindedness.

Originality/value

– The area of public sector boards is undergoing considerable change in the UK and this paper, although preliminary, is one of the few to examine the links to motivation.
Viewpoint: why variable pay-for-performance in healthcare can backfire
Authors: Osterloh Margit
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this “viewpoint” is to consider the unintended consequences of variable pay and incentive schemes in healthcare environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– Reviews a series of side effects of incentives.

Findings

– The paper suggests that pay-for-performance schemes should be avoided.

Originality/value

– The area of public sector boards is undergoing considerable change in the UK and this paper, although preliminary, is one of the few to examine the links to motivation.
Impacts of environmental turbulence on entrepreneurial orientation and new product success
Authors: Kam-Sing Wong Stanley
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– What leads to new product success (NPS) is a very complex issue. Although prior research widely demonstrates that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a determinant for NPS and environmental turbulence is a form of unpredictability which impacts on the success of a product, little research has been conducted to examine if and to what extent environmental turbulence induces the EO behaviors of a firm and how these behaviors contribute to NPS. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study, which used data collected from 244 China-based electronics manufacturers, proposed and tested the theoretical relationships among the three constructs in the context of the electronics industry in China.

Findings

– Results revealed that the three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking) drive NPS. Environmental turbulence strongly influenced all three dimensions of EO, though its influence on NPS was mixed as there existed a strong negative but insignificant direct association between the two constructs. Innovativeness, which was found to be most effective in driving NPS in the EO and NPS relationship, was relatively less responsive to environmental turbulence than proactiveness. The study confirmed the postulated role of environmental turbulence in inducing the EO behaviors of a firm, signaling environmental turbulence, if tactfully leveraged, can play a positive role in new product development (NPD).

Research limitations/implications

– The study is quantitative using data emanating from the electronics manufacturing industry in China, further empirical study would be useful to verify and complement the results in other industries and other countries.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the scholarly inquiry of EO and NPD by exploring the influences of environmental turbulence and EO on NPS. As environmental turbulence induces EO and EO mediates the relationship between environmental turbulence and NPS, simultaneous consideration of these two constructs can lend useful insight into their joint impacts on NPD. Theoretical and managerial implications were examined and policy implications, especially the practicality of the findings to policymakers in China, were discussed.
Predicting anticipated rent from innovation commercialisation in SMEs
Authors: Hang Do Thuy , Mazzarol Tim , Volery Thierry , Reboud Sophie
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the expectations that small business entrepreneurs hold in relation to the future returns from the commercialisation of innovations, and key organisational elements including inputs, knowledge, culture, strategy, portfolio, project management and commercialisation. More specifically, this research aims to deepen the knowledge of how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manage their innovation and identify critical factors determining the potential innovation outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study draws on a large sample of innovative SMEs from multiple Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development countries. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered face-to-face with owners-managers or executives of SMEs who made critical decisions for the innovation management of the firm. First, a factor analysis is conducted to identify the most appropriate measures for each variable. Second, the authors test for multicollinearity among independent variables. The final step integrates results from the general linear model analysis that measures the relationship between organisational factors and the anticipated returns.

Findings

– Findings suggest that positive expectations over future investment in innovation – as measured by the anticipated rent – are influenced by organisational factors, including innovation strategy, portfolio management, project management, and organisational culture and commercialisation process. Conversely, the resource endowment is not perceived as a barrier to innovation and to the development of a competitive advantage. In addition, industrial knowledge management has an indirect effect on the anticipated returns.

Originality/value

– Despite extensive research in innovation management, the role of organisational factors on anticipated returns in SMEs has not been investigated to date. The study provides researchers with new insights into the resource-based view and the theory of entrepreneurial rent from the perspective of innovation management. The findings offer guidance to managers as to potential success factors in enhancing the rent, but also reflect entrepreneurial optimism in the management of innovation.
CSR into (new) perspective
Authors: Bazillier Rémi , Vauday Julien
Published: May 2014

Purpose

–This paper aims to provide a theoretical approach of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in order to assess whether CSR will develop as a concept pushing efficiently for more de facto social responsibility or will become a pure marketing artefact. The trade-off between the development of CSR behaviour and lobbying over regulations is a key element that will influence the evolution of CSR. The result is that if the world consolidates or if it tends towards multilateralism to a large extent, then CSR is less likely to have an efficient impact.

Design/methodology/approach

–Theoretical approach based on three fields: credence goods, greenwashing and political economy.

Findings

–The coordination is harder for lobbies in the more multilateral scenario. The more politically powerful group would lose its influence on the decision body in the multipolar scenario. If lobbies keep influencing their state governments, the efficiency would also be reduced in the regionalization or multipolar scenarios. The easiness of the greenwashing strategy is also crucial in order to determine the possible evolution of the CSR as a real commitment that benefits environment and society.

Research limitations/implications

–Countries may take advantage of CSR by offering an advantage to firms willing to develop CSR thanks to public regulations if greenwashing is easy and if the evolution of the world that prevails is similar to the tripolar or regionalization scenarios. This may also occur under the multipolar scenario but it would necessitate an effective international coordination.

Originality/value

–This is the first work that brings together the strategic behaviour of firms with respect to Corporate Social Responsibility and political economy determinants. The predicted evolutions of these two features according to the degree of multilateralism as well as how they are intertwined are also novelties of this paper.
Modeling of technology adoption in Botswana
Authors: Kiravu Cheddi , T. Oladiran Moses , Yanev Kamen
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The conceptualisation of technology adoption has largely been based on the Bass or some Bass-derived model – notably, the logistic model. Logistic-type models offer limited insights regarding the adoption process dynamics or the utility value of their results. The purpose of this paper is to outline an alternative technology adoption framework based on complex adaptive networks.

Design/methodology/approach

– An agent-based methodological approach is proposed. In it the actors, factors, goals, and adaptive learning influences driving solar energy technology adoption (SETA) process are first substantiated by empirical evidence gathered using field questionnaires and then incorporated in the simulation of a dynamic complex adaptive network of SETA. The complex adaptive network model is based on simple heuristic rules applied using a modified preferential attachment scheme within a NetLogo simulation environment.

Findings

– The interim results suggest an emergent network where prominent hub “driver” agents underlining the robustness of the model are statistically discernible.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is limited to solar photovoltaic and solar water heating technology adoption in Botswana households; however, its results are far-reaching.

Practical implications

– These results can be related to sustainable energy policy design. There, targeted incentive mechanisms can be formulated against the backdrop of the identified environmental factors and actors; the aim being to accelerate and cascade SETA.

Social implications

– The results could also be cascaded to other sectors and other non-solar technologies, thus providing a general alternative framework for enabling the widespread adoption of technologies.

Originality/value

– This research therefore represents a novel way of utilizing the new science of networks to accelerate SETA.
Regulatory changes and the volatility of stock returns – the German solar energy sector
Authors: Schiereck Dirk , Trillig Julian
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of political risk on the German solar energy industry. The authors analyze the period from 2006 to mid-2011, when the technological development of this sector was remarkable while the whole industry is depending on political support and subsidies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply an EGARCH model assessing potential changes in conditional volatility response of solar industry stock returns following political risk events.

Findings

– The results document major changes in political support of the solar industry drive capital market risk. Whereby favorable political news significantly decrease volatility response and unfavorable political news do not affect volatility response. Moreover, the authors find that the volatility response varies with the exposure to political risk. Companies with higher exposure to political risk show more significant volatility response.

Practical implications

– Political risk affects the cost of capital of companies in this sector. Thus, managers are able to time equity measures in a way that they can determine periods when the investor's required return is low due to a reduced risk premium. The authors suggest risk reducing public policy facilitates investments in those industries and thus fosters the development and diffusion of immature technologies.

Originality/value

– The paper helps policy makers, managers, and investors to assess the impact of political risk on the overall risk of the German solar energy sector and in a broader view of immature or high-tech industries that depend crucially on governmental support.
Lending terms, financial literacy and formal credit accessibility
Authors: Korutaro Nkundabanyanga Stephen , Kasozi Denis , Nalukenge Irene , Tauringana Venancio
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

– In this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed 384 business owners or managers of SMEs in Uganda. The authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the number of factors and identify the important elements that capture commercial lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. The authors put forward and tested two hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit using structural equation modelling with analysis of moment structures 18.

Findings

– The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. Moreover, the ANOVA results serendipitously show that access to formal credit varies with type of business and turnover. However, collateral and loan repayment periods are not observed variables for commercial bank lending terms. The most significant observed variable for commercial bank lending terms is interest rates. This, together with financial literacy, explains 31 per cent of the variances in access to formal credit by SMEs in Uganda.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited to the SME firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that the results are only applicable to these firms in Uganda. Nevertheless, the findings have implications to commercial banks wishing to improve the turnover of their micro-lending schemes.

Practical implications

– Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial literacy of SMEs owners and managers must be matched with favourable interest rates if access to formal credit is to be enhanced.

Social implications

– The findings also have implications for governments aiming at improving access to finance to overcome income inequality problems, and also improve their growth.

Originality/value

– The results provide initial evidence of the aggregate explanatory power of interest rates and financial literacy for the criterion variable, access to formal credit by SMEs.
The state's role in promoting Nigerian financial development and economic growth
Authors: Chidozie Uzonwanne Godfrey
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to propose a framework for conceptualizing the finance-growth theory in developing economies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses a cointegration and error correction model to investigate the possible influence of key socio-political characters of a state on the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth. A developing economy (Nigeria) which had experienced decades of autocratic military governance was studied. Three characters of the state (ethnicity, civil war and military governance) were derived from a historical review and were introduced into the cointegration analysis as dummy variables.

Findings

– Evidence of a causal relationship was found to exist from financial development to economic growth and the characters of the state were found to have no significant impact on this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

– The research limitations were based on the reliability of data recorded between 1960 and 2007.

Practical implications

– This study is practical from the point of view of the integration of qualitative social disturbances into a quantitative model targeted at exploring the practical developmental impact these disturbances may have had and continue to have on economic growth.

Social implications

– The social implication of this study stems from the impact that adverse socio-political influences may have on financial development and economic growth.

Originality/value

– This is an original piece of research focused at understanding the unique social, political and macroeconomic circumstance of a strategically relevant developing economy.
Does income matter in the happiness-corruption relationship?
Authors: Arvin Mak , Lew Byron
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– Empirical evidence on the relation between happiness (life satisfaction) and corruption is barely perceptible in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to closing this gap by presenting some estimates using a large cross-section of countries over the period 1996-2010.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical model allows both corruption and per capita income to enter as arguments of a happiness “production function”. The correlation between happiness and corruption is presumed to be non-linear.

Findings

– While the results do not support the existence of a Kuznets-type trajectory, the study finds that the level of per capita income determines whether happiness and corruption are related and in what way. The authors estimate cutoff income levels at which corruption has a discernible effect on happiness. The results show that corruption reduces happiness, but only for high-income countries – roughly the upper half of the income range in the sample.

Practical implications

– Results nullify the oft-asserted statement that happiness is negatively linked to corruption in all countries. The nature of correlation is more complex.

Originality/value

– The paper goes beyond simply testing whether happiness is related to corruption. It conjectures that the relationship between the two variables is non-monotonic. Thus, the analysis considers the notion that the association between happiness and probity is income dependent. A novel feature of the empirical model is that the estimated income cutoff levels are endogenously determined. That is, income thresholds are not pre-determined. The authors also test for the robustness of the results by addressing the issue of potential endogeneity of corruption.
Labor productivity and obsolete skills in a growth model with production by layers
Authors: Gomes Orlando
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the growth dynamics in a model where labor productivity is shaped by two forces. On one hand, it is determined by the extent in which available technology has been already explored. On the other hand, some labor skills may become obsolete, jeopardizing the ability of the labor input in creating value, namely when a transition between technological states takes place.

Design/methodology/approach

– A theoretical model is developed, based on previous work about hierarchical organizations of production, in order to build an integrated structure of analysis for growth, productivity, innovation and obsolescence of skills.

Findings

– In a setting in which output grows through the accumulation of layers of activity, the generation of income and the evolution of techniques will be determined by the choice of a representative agent, who faces a trade-off between consumption utility and the desire to maintain intact the skills of the labor force.

Research limitations/implications

– The theory provides an analytical structure to think about skill acquisition and skill obsolescence in the context of economic growth. Further work is necessary, namely at an empirical level, to test the validity and the reasonability of the model's implications.

Originality/value

– The paper sheds light on the role of labor productivity as a growth determinant. It seeks a deeper understanding on the relationship between human capabilities and the efficient use of technology.
Linking knowledge corridors to customer value through knowledge processes
Authors: Martelo-Landroguez Silvia , Cegarra-Navarro Juan-Gabriel
Published: May 2014

Purpose

–Spanish banks which took rescue packages are trying to find innovative ways to improve customer value. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which banks combine external knowledge with internal knowledge to build customer value.

Design/methodology/approach

–A firm ' s knowledge corridor is an organizational capacity, referring to the ability to absorb external knowledge and utilize it in generating innovative outputs. This paper examines the relative importance and significance of knowledge transfer and knowledge storage/retrieval processes as bridges between “potential absorptive capacity” and “realized absorptive capacity” and its effects on the application of knowledge through an empirical investigation of 76 banks.

Findings

–The results are calculated using structural equation modelling. This leads to the main conclusion that a “realized absorptive capacity” is unlikely without being fostered by the transference and storage of new knowledge and it therefore requires empowerment by its facilitating factors.

Practical implications

–The key managerial implication of this paper is that the survival and success of banks requires that administrators and the organizations they manage meet the challenge of combining external knowledge with internal knowledge.

Originality/value

–This paper provides empirical support for the argument that the impacts of external knowledge move up from the individuals to groups and then the entire organization. This interaction represents a single-loop learning process.