bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Why do firms appoint former military personnel as directors? Evidence of loan interest rate in militarily connected firms in Indonesia
Authors: Harymawan Iman
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Anecdotal evidence shows that a number of military personnel have been appointed as board members by listed firms in Indonesia. Taking advantage of the unique setting of the strong influence of the military in Indonesian politics, the purpose of this paper is to provide direct empirical evidence on the effect of military connections on interest rate for listed firms in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a sample of 1,818 firm-year observations of firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2004 to 2012 and employs Heckman’s two-stage regression and Coarsened Exact Matching methods to address endogeneity concerns on the firms’ establishment of military connections.

Findings

The finding reveals that connected firms significantly enjoy lower interest rates on debt than non-connected ones. These findings are robust to several robustness checks.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study should be treated with caution since the proxy of military connections limited only based on board connections. Hence, this may underestimate the results from this study. This research has implications for Indonesia’s regulators who are striving to improve accounting information and transparency of militarily connected firms.

Originality/value

The results of this study add to the literature that connected firms enjoy preferential benefits provided by the connections through lower interest charges from banks.
The social impact investment race: toward an interpretative framework
Authors: Calderini Mario , Chiodo Veronica , Michelucci Fania Valeria
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an interpretative framework of the evolution of social impact investment (SII) in different countries. SII is a strategy of asset allocation, which combines financial profitability with a measurable social and environmental impact.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a thematic analysis of 75 documents, i.e. reports, experts’ considerations, reflections on practitioners’ experience, meetings’ minutes, written by the SII Taskforce of the Group of Eight and the relative National Advisory Boards, the authors identify the main themes connected to the topic of SII development and recognize four main elements useful to segment the market, namely, information asymmetry, financial instruments, source of capital and market intermediation.

Findings

They map the ongoing practices in the Group of Eight’s members and distinguish two speeds in the evolution of SII: on one hand, there is a group of roadrunners, which pave the way to SII and in which SII activities have being institutionalized; on the other hand, there is a wider group of chasers, where the SII infrastructures lack any systematization.

Originality/value

Although some authors provide preliminary interpretations of the SII evolution, they mainly focus on the national level and do not provide any cross-countries analysis. The findings of the present work contribute to overcome the lack of evidence characterizing the SII field and the absence of comparable and consistent data at the global level by filling the academic literature about SII, through a structured interpretative framework.
Migrant women’s negotiation of belonging through therapeutic relationships
Authors: Lindqvist Mona , Wettergren Åsa
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences and emotions of migrant women, who have been in psychotherapy in Sweden, their motives and experience of being treated in psychotherapy. The authors argue that not only traumas of the past but also social suffering in the post-migratory phase contribute to what brought them in contact with psychiatric care.

Design/methodology/approach

Narrative interviews with 12 migrant women, holding permanent residence permits, were conducted. The interviews were loosely structured around themes such as the experience of migration, of everyday living in Sweden, experiences of Swedish psychiatric care, and reflections and understandings of mental and physical health/ill health. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically using abductive qualitative text analysis.

Findings

In the narratives an overarching motive for seeking out psychiatric help is the search for belonging and restoring a cohesive sense of self. Belonging is sought both in symbolic terms – formal access and right to health care – and in a deeper emotional sense as the therapist becomes a local adviser. The therapeutic encounter meets the human desire to be seen and confirmed as the person you are, and need to be, in the new host society. Meanwhile, psychotherapy as a way to negotiate belonging is also a risky endeavor, as the idealized view of the therapeutic relation may be disappointed.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides the interviewed migrant women’s perception of the psychotherapeutic relationship. Yet this relationship needs to be elaborated from different perspectives to improve understanding of psychotherapy in psychiatric care.

Originality/value

The paper fills a gap in research concerning the dominance of the psychiatric discourse over subjective understandings of health and illness, and how this relates to emotions of social suffering in the case of migrant women.
Strong contracts: the relationship between power and action
Authors: Morgan Royston , Doran Des , Morgan Stephanie Jean
Published: November 2017

Purpose

There is a view that strong preventative contracts are essential to control supplier opportunism and delivery during an outsourcing implementation. The purpose of this paper is to test the proposition that contractual project environments, typical of outsourcing engagements, are essentially conflictual and that context and circumstance can act to overwhelm formal contractual and project control and lead to poor outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports on a supply case study focussed on the outsourced delivery of an application development in the defence sector. Data were gathered by a participant observation in situ for a period of three years. A grounded analysis from observations, diaries, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, documentary analysis, and e-mails was carried out with six case organisations within the extended supply chain.

Findings

Collaboration between suppliers and buyers can be blocked by preventative fixed price contracts and as a result when requirements are incomplete or vague this adversely impacts success.

Practical implications

Strong contractual control focussed on compliance may actually impede the potential success of outsourcing contracts especially when collaborative approaches are needed to cope with variability in demand.

Originality/value

The research raises the important practical and conceptual notion that an outsourcing can be a conflictual inter-firm phenomenon especially where multiple actors are involved and business uncertainty is present.
A morphological analysis of research literature on Lean Six Sigma for services
Authors: Sunder M. Vijaya , Ganesh L.S. , Marathe Rahul R.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) for services, construct a morphological analysis (MA) framework and identify research gaps to point to future research possibilities and priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

The MA framework is based on literature review of 175 papers published from 2003 to 2015, across 67 journals recognised by Scopus or ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide 2015. A three-phased methodology is used by the authors, with Phase1 featuring a five-stage systematic review protocol to identify relevant journal papers for review; Phase2 presenting a framework for classifying the reviewed papers in terms of their fundamental, methodological, chronological and sector-wise orientations; and Phase3 constructing an MA framework on the classified papers and identifying the research gaps.

Findings

The MA framework constructed based on six dimensions, namely, organizational context of applications, desired outcomes, implementation systems, LSS tools and techniques, integration with other management philosophies and evaluation methods, involving 40 focused themes, has revealed 355 distinct research gaps as opportunities for future research.

Practical implications

This paper confirms the existence of substantial scope and points to specific topics for further research in the area of LSS for services. The findings demonstrate the gaps in academic research on the subject. In addition, the study also helps organisational leaders and practitioners to look at LSS from a holistic perspective in the services context.

Originality/value

The MA framework of the existing literature on LSS for services presents a unique, systematic effort to identify research opportunities. In addition, a five-stage systematic review protocol is proposed in this paper. This could be valuable to researchers and practitioners in enabling them to systematically review the literature on research subjects of interest to them.
Examining the antecedents of the technology acceptance model within e-procurement
Authors: Brandon-Jones Alistair , Kauppi Katri
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Despite the widespread organisational adoption of e-procurement systems, we continue to witness disappointing performance outcomes from their implementation. This can be explained largely by the failure of many organisations to translate the initial adoption decision, made at an organisational level, into individual-level acceptance of e-procurement by an organisation’s employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the key antecedents of the technology acceptance model (TAM) for employees expected to use e-procurement systems in their day-to-day activities.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the authors apply and extend the TAM to examine the factors that influence the acceptance of e-procurement by individual employees. The authors’ focus is on the potential role of user-perceived e-procurement quality dimensions as the antecedents to the TAM’s cognitive mechanisms of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The structural equation model uses the survey data collected from 139 e-procurement users at a university in the Netherlands.

Findings

The results confirm the core TAM relationships within an e-procurement context. Extending the TAM model to explore the antecedents, the authors find that the e-procurement quality dimensions of processing, usability, and professionalism impact the levels of individual employee e-procurement acceptance. Interestingly, the system-level dimensions (processing and usability) appear to play a greater role than the support dimensions (professionalism) in these cognitive mechanisms.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that the need for e-procurement training and on-going support may be lessened by initial effective design covering system navigation and system usability and by ensuring that an e-procurement system has expedient information and product flows between the buyer and supplier.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the TAM and, more critically, its antecedents within an e-procurement context. It is also the first to empirically validate this extended model. Finally, by shifting the focus from the more typical organisational-level adoption to an individual employee acceptance unit of analysis, the authors provide a better understanding of how organisations can gain the most from investments in e-procurement and other similar e-supply chain management technologies.
Impact of network size and demand on cost performance for high- and low-quality healthcare service organizations
Authors: Nair Anand , Nicolae Mariana , Dreyfus David
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Healthcare networks are becoming ubiquitous, yet it is unclear how hospitals with varying quality capabilities would fare by being affiliated with large healthcare networks. The purpose of this paper is to first consider the deductive configuration perspective and distinguish high and low quality hospitals by using clinical and experiential quality as two dimensions of quality capability. Next, it examines the impact of healthcare network size on operating costs of hospitals. Additionally, the paper investigates the interaction effect of hospital demand and healthcare network size on operating costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a dataset that was created by combining five separate sources. Cluster analysis technique is used to classify hospitals into four groups – holistic quality leaders (high clinical and experiential quality capability), experiential quality focusers (low clinical quality capability and high experiential quality capability), clinical quality focusers (high clinical capability and low experiential quality capability), and quality laggards (low clinical and experiential quality capability). The authors test the research hypotheses by means of regression analyses after controlling for several contextual characteristics.

Findings

The results show that affiliation with large healthcare networks reduces operating costs for quality laggards, but increases these costs for experiential quality focusers and clinical quality focusers. The hypothesized positive relationship between healthcare network size and costs is not supported for holistic quality leaders. The authors find that clinical quality focusers and holistic quality leaders can complement higher utilization levels in their operations due to increased demand and healthcare network size to reduce their operating costs per day.

Originality/value

There has been increasing evidence suggesting that hospitals must carefully manage both clinical and experiential quality. By focusing on both clinical and experiential quality, unlike experiential quality focusers and clinical quality focusers, holistic quality leaders are not adversely affected by the size of their network. The results suggest that experiential quality focusers and clinical quality focusers should either embrace holistic quality management or restrict the size of their networks to maintain their quality level and to reduce coordination costs.
Theoretical developments in empirical quantitative manufacturing strategy literature
Authors: Chatha Kamran Ali , Butt Irfan , Jajja Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq , Arshad Mamoona
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the extent and trends of theoretical developments in the empirical quantitative manufacturing strategy (MS) literature published between the years 1966 and 2015 and provide research gaps that can be bridged by the future research.

Design/methodology/approach

This content analysis-based literature review analyzes 133 empirical quantitative MS articles published in refereed international journals in the discipline of operations management. These articles are categorized into five article types, namely, reporters, testers, qualifiers, builders, and expanders following the framework of Colquitt and Zapata-Phelan (2007). Analyses are carried out to unearth important trends in theory development in these article types.

Findings

Theory development is progressing in empirical quantitative MS literature. However, the trend is shifting from theory testing to theory building. MS discipline has borrowed theories from other disciplines. Expectancy theory and media richness theory are the micro theories while resource-based view, contingency theory, and trade-off theory are the major macro theories used in this domain. The most impactful constructs include environmental technology portfolio, enterprise resource planning, manufacturing proactiveness, and modularity-based manufacturing practices, and the most dominant article types are qualifiers and expanders.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on the empirical quantitative articles published in the MS discipline which provides a partial view of theory development in the MS discipline.

Practical implications

The paper highlights predominant theories, frameworks, and constructs that can be utilized by practitioners to improve their understanding of MS, their ability to predict future scenarios and solve practical problems.

Originality/value

No such study has been conducted to date in the MS discipline, and it is hoped that this study will play a significant role in further developing theory in the MS discipline.
Re-locating accountability through technology
Authors: Petrakaki Dimitra
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of e-government for horizontal/social accountability (to citizens) by looking into its shifting location. Its main purpose is to show how the introduction of information and communication technology in the public sector changes how public sector work is organised, shifting the traditional sources of accountability and to discuss the implications of those changes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study comes from desk-based research that brings together the literature on electronic government and accountability studies and situates them in the context of a bureaucratic public sector.

Findings

It shows that e-government entails digitalization of public sector work by restructuring work, re-organising public information and knowledge and re-orientating officials-citizens relation. It argues that in the e-government era accountability is inscribed in the technology and its embodied standards; is a horizontal technological relation that renders officials accountable to the handling of digital interfaces; and renders citizens co- producers of digital information responsible for bringing the public to account. The paper shows that these changes do not necessarily bring better or worse accountability results but change the sources of accountability bringing shifts in its locations, thereby rendering it more precarious. The paper ends by discussing the implications of digital accountability for good public administration.

Originality/value

With the unprecedented level of attention currently being paid to “digital government” at the moment, this is a timely paper that seeks to address the accountability implications of these shifts. The study offers a practice-based, relational definition of accountability and a Weberian account of bureaucratic government, followed by an exploration of ways in which this is being challenged or replaced with a new informatisation enabled/supported by new “technologies of accountability”.
Performance management and job-goal alignment
Authors: Kalgin Alexander , Podolskiy Dmitry , Parfenteva Daria , Campbell Jesse W.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The use of performance management (PM) tools is a defining characteristic of public sector management. However, while research on PM is extensive, comparatively little focuses on how the practice shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees. The purpose of this paper is to address this question and develop a conditional process model that links PM to turnover intention. The model predicts that the PM-turnover relationship is mediated by job satisfaction and moderated by job-goal alignment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a unique data set drawn from the Russian public sector to test the model empirically. Conditional process modeling is used to test for moderated mediation. The effects are further explored using bootstrapped bias-corrected confidence intervals.

Findings

The analysis suggests that PM has an indirect effect on turnover intention via job satisfaction in the average case. However, the indirect effect is stronger for employees who perceive that their work contributes directly to organizational goals. In contrast, for employees whose work lacks organizational goal alignment, PM has no significant effect.

Originality/value

Despite being an instrument to manage organizational (including human) resources, few studies have linked PM to employee-level outcomes. By doing so, this study implies promising research paths that can help generate a more complete picture of how PM shapes organizational processes in the public sector.
The complexity and contradictions of Finnish superintendents’ work
Authors: Hardy Ian , Salo Petri
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the governance of educational reform, as an interpretive process – “interpretive governance” – through a case study of five superintendents living in a predominantly Swedish-speaking region in Finland.

Design/methodology/approach

To foreground superintendents’ perspectives on reforms as simultaneously reflective and constitutive of governance processes, the research applies and extends Rhodes’ (2012) notions of “network governance,” “meta-governance” and “interpretive governance.” Interpretive governance, an underresearched area, is construed as particularly important for developing better insights into how school reform is understood by key actors involved in its enactment.

Findings

The research identifies what are described as three “deliberative” dimensions of interpretive governance; these modes of governance are elaborated as “dialogic,” “directive” and “defensive” in nature.

Originality/value

The study reveals senior educators’ interpretations of governance as multifaceted, and argues that these complex modes of deliberation need to be taken into account to better understand how school development is understood and enacted in municipal and school settings.
Human capital loss in an academic performance measurement system
Authors: Martin-Sardesai Ann , Guthrie James
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of academic human capital (HC) towards a university’s research performance measurement system (PMS), in response to a national research assessment exercise (RAE).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on a subset of the data from a large mixed method case study research project about the impact of ERA on an Australian public sector university.

Findings

The findings reveal that the research PMSs were designed, implemented and used as a tool to measure and manage the research performance of HC within the university. The case study university performed well in the RAE. However, this also led to several unintended consequences in the form of fear and anxiety, gaming and strategic initiatives, a focus on quantity and not the quality of research, and increased workload, which led to a loss in the stock of HC.

Practical implications

This empirical evidence can inform governments and policy makers of the unintended consequences of government research evaluations on academic HC. University managers could improve the design of HC management systems by not only measuring academic HC performance, but also providing training and resources to enhance, support and maintain the overall well-being of academics.

Originality/value

This study provides insights regarding the connection between a university’s PMS and academic HC and contributes to the academic literature on intellectual capital and PMSs.
Ten years of using knowledge balance sheets in Austrian public universities
Authors: Habersam Michael , Piber Martin , Skoog Matti
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a longitudinal study on the use of mandatory knowledge balance sheets (KBS) in Austrian public universities. It contributes to the discourse on fourth-stage intellectual capital (IC) research. Conclusions drawn from the analysis of the empirical material are expected to focus further research on fourth-stage IC and to improve practices of IC disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

A mandatory KBS has been used to govern the Austrian Higher Education Institution sector for more than a decade. In a qualitative longitudinal case study, the authors analyze two series of qualitative interviews and documents in order to reveal functional and dysfunctional effects of the KBS in use.

Findings

The conclusions focus on the communicative culture in the implementation process, the way change processes are organized and the value of strategy for orientation, sense making and an effective allocation of resources.

Practical implications

The practical implications are twofold: first, to identify aspects of monetary, utilitarian, social and environmental value dimensions, a concerted effort to embed quantitative data in a discourse on qualitative impact on value would be needed. Second, the authors support a “communicative culture first” rather than a “tool-box first” approach.

Originality/value

Original empirical data have been gathered in a longitudinal study of a valuable and unique case. Retrospectively, a better understanding of the top-down implementation of the KBS and its pitfalls is achieved.
Intellectual capital management in the fourth stage of IC research
Authors: Secundo Giustina , Massaro Maurizio , Dumay John , Bagnoli Carlo
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a university that uses a collective intelligence approach for managing its intellectual capital (IC). Specifically, the authors investigate how one of Europe’s oldest business schools, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), manages IC through stakeholder engagement to achieve academia’s third mission so contributing to social and economic development.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and Ca’ Foscari University’s strategic plan. Secundo et al.’s (2016) collective intelligence framework is used to analyse the data. Alvesson and Deetz’s (2000, pp. 19-20) critical management tasks – insight, critique and transformative redefinition – are adopted to frame and discuss the results.

Findings

On the assumption that a university is a collective intelligence system, the findings demonstrate that IC management needs to change to incorporate an ecosystem perspective, reflecting the fourth stage of IC research. The IC management at the university incorporates its core goal (what), the collective involvement of internal and external stakeholders to achieve the goal (who), the motivations behind the achievement of the goal (why) and, finally, the processes activated inside the university (how) and indicators to assess value creation.

Research limitations/implications

A new perspective for managing IC in universities that adopts a collective intelligence approach is further developed. Contributions to the fourth stage of IC research – IC in an ecosystem – are highlighted that expand the concept of IC value creation beyond universities into wider society.

Practical implications

Two key consequences of this case study are that more stakeholders have become involved in IC management and that IC management requires critical rethinking, given the universities’ evolving role.

Originality/value

This paper brings together issues that are usually dealt with in separate domains of the literature: IC management and collective intelligence in the university setting.
Knowledge from customer, for customer or about customer: which triggers innovation capability the most?
Authors: Taghizadeh Seyedeh Khadijeh , Rahman Syed Abidur , Hossain Md. Mosharref
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper examines the influence of three dimensions of customer knowledge management – knowledge from customer, knowledge for customer and knowledge about customer – on innovation capabilities (speed and quality) and new service market performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The model links three dimensions of customer knowledge management to two dimensions of innovation capabilities. Further, the model links two dimensions of innovation capabilities to new service market performance. Analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling using SmartPLS software, using data from 253 managers representing 26 banks in Bangladesh.

Findings

The findings of this study show that knowledge from customer and knowledge for customer are the most influential predictors of new service market performance. Of the three dimensions of customer knowledge management, knowledge from customer turns out to be the strongest predictor of innovation quality and speed. Innovation quality has a greater impact on new service market performance than innovation speed. Innovation capability (quality and speed) plays a mediating role in this study.

Practical implications

Managing knowledge from, for and about customer should be systematically considered as a synergy approach to firms’ processes and activities to co-create value with customers. In particular, managers should put more emphasis on knowledge from and for customer to enhance innovation capacity and achieve success in the development of a new service.

Originality/value

This paper empirically supports the significant influence of knowledge from, for and about customer on innovation capabilities (quality and speed) and new service market performance. While the results provide guidance for researchers and practitioners, it also adds value to innovation-related research.
Coping with the ambivalent emotions of guilt and pride in the service context
Authors: Lunardo Renaud , Saintives Camille
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This research paper aims to contribute to the literature on emotions in the service experience. The extant literature has extensively discussed how the service experience can drive singular emotions. However, the investigation of the combined effects of mixed emotions – that is, emotions of antagonistic valence (positive and negative) – remains scarce. To fill this gap, this research focuses on the combined effects of the negative emotion of guilt and the positive emotion of pride, two affective reactions that can be felt during a service experience but that differ from each other in terms of valence. Specifically, this research examines how consumers who simultaneously feel these two emotions cope with them and more precisely if they engage in a positive reappraisal of their own behavior during the service experience or if they rather prefer adopting the avoidance strategy of mental disengagement. Finally, this research paper examines how these coping strategies to the mixed emotions of pride and guilt affect satisfaction with the service.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of hypotheses relating guilt, pride and the coping strategies of mental disengagement and positive reappraisal, as well as their effect on satisfaction toward the service, are testes using two scenario-based experiments.

Findings

The findings show that the effects of guilt on the coping strategies of mental disengagement and positive reappraisal are moderated by pride. Importantly, the results show that these two interacting effects are distinct. Precisely, while pride moderates the effect of guilt on mental disengagement such that a negative effect of guilt is observed mainly among people who feel strong guilt feelings, the moderating effect of pride in the guilt-positive reappraisal relationship is positive and mainly among those who feel low guilt feelings. Further, mental disengagement mediates the effects of guilt on satisfaction and differently according to the level of pride.

Originality/value

This research makes a contribution through the investigation of mixed emotions. This approach appears of value because services can drive different emotions simultaneously, and in a context where most extant research focuses on singular emotions.
Editorial: recognizing the academic publishing service ecosystem
Authors: Baron Steve
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a personal view of the institutions underpinning the academic publishing service ecosystem as a basis for a discussion of change and innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

A 25-year comparison of the norms, rules, practices, meanings and symbols in the service ecosystem is made.

Findings

Eleven institutional states have been identified, which represent the good, and not so good, changes that have occurred over the period.

Originality/value

This editorial represents an approach, using service ecosystem concepts, to gain an understanding of service innovation possibilities in the academic publishing domain.
Systemic emergence under transitional uncertainty
Authors: Sunny Sanwar Azam
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to set out ideas regarding the use of both first- and second-order cybernetics in reducing global energy-based emissions through energy technology innovation at multiple levels and to discuss necessary production and consumption patterns to facilitate such changes over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a conceptual framework to estimate a national model of energy consumption and production, conceived as embedded hypercubes for different actor levels. The author has developed a model that elaborates on a multi-level ecosystem for low-carbon technology adoption and innovation, embedded within a sustainability transition framework.

Findings

The paper reviews product–process relationships at multiple levels and grounds the framework in a transition approach. With more contextually conceptualized framework grounded in theory, this research aims to inform future development in the topic area, given the embryonic emergence of advanced cybernetic technologies, by viewing such capabilities at the subsystem level as a unit of analysis.

Originality/value

The paper will be of interest to firm managers, ecologists and policymakers with a particular interest in system sciences. The framework can be applied for facilitating discussions or for scenario planning.
Biochemical screening of Lactobacilli in midgut of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. A step toward paratransgenesis candidate
Authors: Maimusa Alhaji Hamisu , Ahmad Abu Hassan , Kassim Nur Faeza Abu , Ahmad Hamdan , Dieng Hamady , Rahim Junaid , Dahiru Muhammad Ahmad
Published: November 2017

This study was conducted to isolate and identify lactobacilli from larval and adult midgut of wild Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) to find candidate bacteria for paratransgenic control. Characterization of the bacterial symbionts was done using Gram staining, motility test, catalase test, and biochemical tests, among others, and the morphological features were confirmed using a standard scheme that simplifies the identification of lactic acid bacteria. A total of 174 strains were isolated and identified, 135 strains from larval midgut and 39 strains from adult midgut (mean ± SE, 4.00 ± 0.72; P = 0.00). The isolated species were confirmed to be Lactobacillus fermentum, L. casei, L. acidophilus, L. viridescens, L. brevis and L. gasseri. It can be concluded that Ae. aegypti has the potential of harboring the cultivable bacterial symbionts. In conclusion, the isolated species were nominated for paratransgenic control, particularly L. fermentum, being found in large numbers from both larval and adulxt midgut.
Comparative damage and digestive enzyme activity of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on 12 tomato cultivars
Authors: Shahbaz Mohammad , Nouri‐Ganbalani Gadir , Naseri Bahram
Published: November 2017

The damage caused by the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) to 12 tomato cultivars was investigated under greenhouse conditions. The 2 cultivars Korral and CH Falat experienced lower damage in terms of all parameters investigated, whereas the cultivars Valouro and Cal JN3 were categorized as the most susceptible host plants. The larvae feeding on CH Falat and Korral cultivars reached the lowest final weight (1.82 and 1.93 mg, respectively), whereas those reared on the Valouro and Cal JN3 cultivars reached the highest body weight (3.42 and 3.33 mg, respectively). The highest proteolytic and amylolytic activity was detected in larvae feeding on the Korral cultivar, whereas larvae reared on the Valouro cultivar had the lowest enzyme activity for both third and fourth instar larvae. Altogether, the Korral and CH Falat cultivars were classified as relatively resistant cultivars, whereas the 2 cultivars Valouro and Cal JN3 were categorized as highly susceptible to infection by T. absoluta. Therefore, the resistant cultivars can be considered as candidates for use in integrated management programs of the tomato leaf miner in Iran.
Factors shaping life history traits of two proovigenic parasitoids
Authors: SEGOLI Michal , SUN Shucun , NAVA Dori E. , ROSENHEIM Jay A.
Published: November 2017

What shapes the relative investment in reproduction versus survival of organisms is among the key questions in life history. Proovigenic insects mature all their eggs prior to emergence and are short lived, providing a unique opportunity to quantify their lifetime investments in the different functions. We investigated the initial eggloads and longevity of 2 proovigenic parasitoid wasps:Anagrus erythroneuraeandAnagrus daanei, (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) that develop within leafhopper eggs in both agricultural vineyards and natural riparian habitats in Northern California. We collectedVitisspp. leaves containing developing parasitoids from 3 natural sites (Knight Landing, American River and Putah Creek) and 3 agricultural vineyards (Solano Farm, Davis Campus and Village Homes). We recorded eggloads at parasitoid emergence and female parasitoid longevity with or without honey‐feeding. Theory predicts that parasitoids from vineyards (where hosts are abundant) would have higher initial eggloads and lower longevity compared with parasitoids from riparian habitats (where hosts are scarce). Although host density and parasitoid eggloads were, indeed, higher in vineyards than in riparian habitats, parasitoid longevity did not follow the predicted pattern. Longevity without feeding differed among field sites, but it was not affected by habitat type (naturalvsagricultural), whereas longevity with feeding was not significantly affected by any of the examined factors. Moreover, longevity was positively, rather than negatively, correlated with eggloads at the individual level, even after correcting for parasitoid body size. The combined results suggest a more complex allocation mechanism than initially predicted, and the possibility of variation in host quality that is independent of size.
Genetic adaptation as a biological buffer against climate change: Potential and limitations
Authors: MEESTER Luc De , STOKS Robby , BRANS Kristien I.
Published: November 2017

Climate change profoundly impacts ecosystems and their biota, resulting in range shifts, novel interactions, food web alterations, changed intensities of host—parasite interactions, and extinctions. An increasing number of studies have documented evolutionary changes in traits such as phenology and thermal tolerance. In this opinion paper, we argue that, while evolutionary responses have the potential to provide a buffer against extinctions or range shifts, a number of constraints and complexities blur this simple prediction. First, there are limits to evolutionary potential both in terms of genetic variation and demographic effects, and these limits differ strongly among taxa and populations. Second, there can be costs associated with genetic adaptation, such as a reduced evolutionary potential towards other (human‐induced) environmental stressors or direct fitness costs due to tradeoffs. Third, the differential capacity of taxa to genetically respond to climate change results in novel interactions because different organism groups respond to a different degree with local compared to regional (dispersal and range shift) responses. These complexities result in additional changes in the selection pressures on populations. We conclude that evolution can provide an initial buffer against climate change for some taxa and populations but does not guarantee their survival. It does not necessarily result in reduced extinction risks across the range of taxa in a region or continent. Yet, considering evolution is crucial, as it is likely to strongly change how biota will respond to climate change and will impact which taxa will be the winners or losers at the local, metacommunity and regional scales.
CEO Inside Debt and Accounting Conservatism
Authors: Wang Cong , Xie Fei , Xin Xiangang
Published: November 2017

We examine the relation between accounting conservatism and inside debt held by managers in the form of pension benefits and deferred compensation. We find that financial reporting is less conservative in firms whose CEOs hold more inside debt, particularly in firms with high default risk and agency costs of debt. This is consistent with our hypothesis that by aligning managerial incentives more closely with those of debtholders, inside debt reduces debtholders’ expropriation concerns and thus their demand for accounting conservatism. Our results are robust to identification strategies addressing the endogeneity of CEO inside debt and to alternative measures of accounting conservatism.
Management Controls that Anchor other Organizational Practices
Authors: Ahrens Thomas
Published: November 2017

How do management control practices structure other organizational practices? This paper proposes a theory of practice hierarchies. The key idea is that organizations possess constitutive rules that define their character. They are enacted by the practices at the top of the hierarchy. These “anchor practices” contain objectives and established ways of doing things that control, or structure, subsidiary practices. They do so by defining key social relationships in the organization, often ones that are antagonistic. The paper uses illustrations from a longitudinal field study of a retail bank and draws on insights from cultural sociology.
The Effect of CFO Personal Litigation Risk on Firms’ Disclosure and Accounting Choices
Authors: Levy Hagit , Shalev Ron , Zur Emanuel
Published: November 2017

In Gantler v. Stephens (2009), the Delaware Supreme Court makes explicit that corporate officers owe the same fiduciary duty to the firm and shareholders as do board members. The decision increased the risk of non‐board‐serving officers being added as named defendants to investor litigation but did not change the risk of corporate litigation. Analyzing the effect of the Gantler ruling on non‐board‐serving CFOs, we find a significant change in their behavior as well as in their firms’ disclosure and accounting choices. Specifically, speech tone during earnings calls of non‐board‐serving CFOs becomes more negative when compared to board‐serving CFOs and the firm's CEO, and non‐board‐serving CFO firms disclose bad news earlier and report more conservatively. Results are stronger for firms incorporated in Delaware. Our findings suggest that CFOs respond to personal litigation risk over and above corporate litigation risk.
The Effects of Long‐Term Varenicline Administration on Ethanol and Sucrose Seeking and Self‐Administration in Male P Rats
Authors: Czachowski Cristine L. , Froehlich Janice C. , DeLory Michael
Published: November 2017

Background

Varenicline, a partial agonist at α4β2 and full agonist at α7 nicotinic cholinergic receptors, is FDA‐approved for treatment of smoking cessation and has been found to reduce alcohol craving in clinical populations. In rodents, varenicline decreases free‐choice ethanol (EtOH) intake with somewhat mixed findings in operant paradigms that utilize a combined appetitive/consummatory response.

Methods

The present experiment utilized an operant paradigm that procedurally separates appetitive from consummatory responding and a “reward‐blocking” approach (i.e., rats were able to consume EtOH during treatment) to better understand the efficacy of varenicline as a treatment for EtOH self‐administration and subsequent EtOH seeking. Separate groups of EtOH‐ and sucrose‐reinforced alcohol‐preferring, male P rats experienced alternating cycles of vehicle (2‐week cycles) and varenicline (0.3, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg self‐administered in a gelatin preparation) treatment (3‐week cycles) prior to daily sessions where a single lever press resulted in 20 minutes of reinforcer access. At the end of each cycle, a single extinction session assessed the seeking response in the absence of drug pretreatment.

Results

Varenicline dose dependently decreased EtOH intake. Sucrose intake was largely unaffected, with no overall treatment effects and only sporadic days where the medium and high dose differed from vehicle. Neither sucrose nor EtOH seeking was significantly decreased by varenicline, and there were no treatment effects on either lick or lever‐press latency. Overall effect sizes were much greater for both drinking and seeking in the EtOH group as compared to the sucrose group.

Conclusions

Varenicline effectively attenuates EtOH self‐administration during treatment, but the experience with EtOH consumption while varenicline is “on board” is not sufficient to alter subsequent EtOH seeking. The overall pattern of findings indicates that varenicline blocks the rewarding properties of EtOH while not substituting for EtOH, that the nonspecific effects on an alternate reinforcer are negligible, and that blood levels of varenicline need to be maintained in order for treatment to remain effective.
Market timing as an explanation for the short‐lived premium on cross‐listing
Authors: Clarkson Peter M. , Gray Stephen F. , Ragunathan Vanitha
Published: November 2017

This study provides further evidence on the cross‐listing valuation premium using a sample of Asian firms from 2000 to 2010. First, following Doidge et al. (2004), we document a premium, but it disappears when we incorporate firm fixed effects. Second, consistent with Gozzi et al. (2008), we find that the premium arises immediately preceding the cross‐listing year and disappears shortly thereafter. Of central interest, consistent with our proposition that the listing is strategically timed like an SEO, we document a similar pattern in operating performance, and increased financing activity in the listing year and the following 2 years.
Adolescent ethanol intake alters cannabinoid type‐1 receptor localization in astrocytes of the adult mouse hippocampus
Authors: Bonilla‐Del Rίo Itziar , Puente Nagore , Peñasco Sara , Rico Irantzu , Gutiérrez‐Rodrίguez Ana , Elezgarai Izaskun , Ramos Almudena , Reguero Leire , Gerrikagoitia Inmaculada , Christie Brian R. , Nahirney Patrick , Grandes Pedro
Published: November 2017

Cannabinoid type‐1 (CB1) receptors are widely distributed in the brain and play important roles in astrocyte function and the modulation of neuronal synaptic transmission and plasticity. However, it is currently unknown how CB1 receptor expression in astrocytes is affected by long‐term exposure to stressors. Here we examined CB1 receptors in astrocytes of ethanol (EtOH)‐exposed adolescent mice to determine its effect on CB1 receptor localization and density in adult brain. 4–8‐week‐old male mice were exposed to 20 percent EtOH over a period of 4 weeks, and receptor localization was examined after 4 weeks in the hippocampal CA1 stratum radiatum by pre‐embedding immunoelectron microscopy. Our results revealed a significant reduction in CB1 receptor immunoparticles in astrocytic processes of EtOH‐exposed mice when compared with controls (positive astrocyte elements: 21.50 ± 2.80 percent versus 37.22 ± 3.12 percent, respectively), as well as a reduction in particle density (0.24 ± 0.02 versus 0.35 ± 0.02 particles/μm). The majority of CB1 receptor metal particles were in the range of 400–1200 nm from synaptic terminals in both control and EtOH. Altogether, the decrease in the CB1 receptor expression in hippocampal astrocytes of adult mice exposed to EtOH during adolescence reveals a long lasting effect of EtOH on astrocytic CB1 receptors. This deficiency may also have negative consequences for synaptic function.