bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modelling the supplier selection process enablers using ISM and fuzzy MICMAC approach
Authors: Kumar Sudarshan , Gorane Shrikant , Kant Ravi 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to successful supplier selection process (SSP) by understanding the dynamics between SSP enablers (SSPEs), using interpretive structure modelling (ISM) methodology and find out driving and the dependence power of enablers, using fuzzy MICMAC (Matriced’ Impacts Croisés Appliquée á un Classement) analysis.

Design/methodology/approach
– The group of experts from industries and the academics were consulted and ISM is used to develop the contextual relationship among various SSPEs for each dimension of supplier selection. The results of the ISM are used as an input to the fuzzy MICMAC analysis to identify the driving and the dependence power of SSPEs.

Findings
– The research presents a hierarchy-based model and mutual relationships among SSPEs. The research shows that there is a group of SSPEs having a high driving power and low dependence, which requires maximum attention and is of strategic importance, while another group consists of those SSPEs that have high dependence and low driving power, which requires the resultant actions.

Research limitations/implications
– The weightage obtained for the ISM model development and fuzzy MICMAC are obtained through the judgment of academician and few industry experts. It is the only subjective judgment and any biasing by the person who is judging the SSPEs might influence the final result. A questionnaire survey can be conducted to catch the insight on these SSPEs from more organizations.

Practical implications
– This category provides a useful tool for top management to differentiate between independent and dependent SSPEs and their mutual relationships which would help them to focus on those key SSPEs that are most significant for effective supplier selection.

Originality/value
– Arrangement of SSPEs in a hierarchy, the categorization into the driver and dependent categories, and fuzzy MICMAC are an exclusive effort in the area of supplier selection.
The adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms
Authors: Indounas Kostis 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to measure the extent to which selected contextual variables have an impact on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms, and determine the effect of the adoption of strategic pricing on company performance.

Design/methodology/approach
– Data were collected from 154 industrial service firms operating in four different service sectors through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 20 in-depth interviews was carried out.

Findings
– The study’s main findings indicate that market orientation along with a leading position in the market and market growth boost the development of strategic pricing. On the other hand, technological and market turbulence hinder this development, while the overall impact of turbulence is reduced in market-oriented firms. Finally, a positive impact of strategic pricing on company performance was found.

Research limitations/implications
– The adoption of strategic pricing requires attention to a variety of factors, while this adoption can improve both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the company’s performance. The significance of these findings notwithstanding, the context of the study does limit generalization of its findings to other industrial service sectors and national contexts.

Originality/value
– The current study represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine the aforementioned topics in an industrial service context.
The influence of marketing and innovation investments on alliance type choice
Authors: Sarkees Matthew , Luchs Ryan 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the gap in the literature as well as investigate how the combination of internal marketing or innovation investments with new product introductions influences alliance type choices. Most research on marketing–innovation resource allocation decisions has focused on trade-offs in internal investments such as advertising versus research and development. Absent from this discussion is whether firms offset a weakness internally by reaching outside the boundaries of the firm through alliances. As a result, managers lack a clear understanding of the potential for complementarity using internal–external approaches to a market.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper draws on the resource-based view of the firm, using a longitudinal secondary data set and a choice model.

Findings
– The authors find that firms that internally emphasize either marketing or innovation maintain the same approach externally with respect to alliance type choices. Thus, efforts to complement internal marketing (innovation) resource investments with innovation (marketing) alliances are not seen. However, the interaction of new product introductions with internal resource investments does result in a complementary firm approach.

Originality/value
– The authors bridge a gap in the resource investment literature by exploring how the internal decisions impact the external alliance choices. The authors draw on longitudinal data and show that the action of making the choice is important, as it impacts future resource decisions. The authors explore the interaction between new production introductions and internal firm investments on alliance type choice. Given that new product introductions are a key to longer-term firm success, examining these relationships enhances the managerial impact.
Study of social ties as one kind of switching costs: a new typology
Authors: Shi Wenhua , Ma Jianmei , Ji Chen 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to study how customers’ social ties can be performed as one kind of switching costs, which can affect customer loyalty and have a moderate effect on the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and to improve the typology study of switching costs and give suggestions for companies about how to strengthen customer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach
– An empirical research is implemented to prove the effectiveness of the study model, using factor analyses, regression analyses and structural equation model analyses as data analyses approaches.

Findings
– The research results prove the direct and moderate effect of social ties loss costs, and the effectiveness and reasoning of the new typology of switching costs.

Practical implications
– According to the research results, companies can take measures to enhance customers’ social ties loss costs properly so as to strengthen their loyalty.

Originality/value
– This research comes up with a new kind of relational switching costs, social ties loss costs and proves its effects, thus improving the typology of switching costs, and makes practical suggestions for companies.
The impact of customer participation: the employee’s perspective
Authors: Chen Chih-Cheng Volvic , Chen Chih-Jou , Lin Ming-Ji James 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of customer participation in a service delivery process by designing and testing an empirical model with the employees’ point of view in mind.Design/methodology/approach– Using data collected from 166 pairs of customers and service employees in the context of professional financial insurance services, this study uses partial least square path modeling in SmartPLS to analyze the proposed model.Findings– The results of the study show that customer participation produces positive effects on employees’ job satisfaction only if such participation minimizes job stress and meets employees’ relational needs. Job stress and satisfaction were strong predictors for organizational commitment, but the proposed relationship between relational value and organizational commitment was not found.Practical implications– This study suggests that customer participation can be a win-win situation for employees and the service firm. Employees who create relational value with their customers effectively enjoy their jobs more and are more likely to build and maintain long-term relationships with their service firm.Originality/value– The findings highlighted the roles of the customer and the employee and indicated the heuristic value of viewing job satisfaction and organizational commitment as consequences of customer participation. This can enhance the understanding of how encounters should be designed to support employees and improve the co-creation of value.
The role of information technology in purchasing function
Authors: Rodríguez-Escobar Javier Alfonso , González-Benito Javier 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to analyze how information technology (IT) can help explain performance by the purchasing function. In addition to analyzing the direct effect and mediating role of purchasing practices in the relationship between IT and purchasing performance, as has been considered in previous research, this study investigates the possibility of a moderating effect of IT in the relationships between purchasing practices and purchasing performance.

Design/methodology/approach
– The propositions are tested with data from 156 purchasing managers, collected through a survey of members of the Spanish Association of Professionals of Purchasing and Supply Management who work in industrial companies.

Findings
– Although IT investments exert a positive effect on the purchasing function, the results show that this effect takes place through the implementation of purchasing practices that in turn improve the results of the purchasing function.

Originality/value
– Instead of focusing on a single, specific effect of IT investment in the purchasing function, this paper considers three potential effects (direct, mediated and moderating). Thus, it provides a more comprehensive overview of the topic and a more complete elucidation of the actual effects.
Relationship investment and reciprocity: an empirical investigation
Authors: Yu Yu 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to quantify the monetary amount of relationship investment in an investment banking context, investigate the drivers behind these relationship investments and look for evidence indicating reciprocity from the clients who receive these relationship investments. Relationship marketing has been one of the dominant mantras in marketing strategy circles, yet there is a lack of empirical evidence to prove significant relationship investment and reciprocity between exchange partners.

Design/methodology/approach
– Relationship investment as the monetary amount by which the fair value of a loan at issuance is below its par value is measured. Regression analysis is used to study the drivers of relationship investment, including relationship depth, relationship breadth and relationship potential. Finally, reciprocity is studied as the extent to which bank’s expectations are realized through future revenues.

Findings
– Based on 164 loans issued by a multinational investment bank, it was found that the bank provides significant monetary benefit to its corporate clients. The amount of monetary benefit provided to each client depends on the breadth and potential of the bank-borrower relationship. The author also finds evidence suggesting that the clients reciprocated these relationship investments and the bank anticipated the reciprocity by clients.

Originality/value
– This paper is the first to empirically show a significant monetary investment in a relationship-marketing context, with the intention of building stronger relationship with clients and earning future revenues through reciprocity.
Carbon assimilation and habitat segregation in resurrection plants: a comparison between desiccation‐ and non‐desiccation‐tolerant species of Neotropical Velloziaceae (Pandanales)
Authors: Alcantara Suzana , de Mello‐Silva Renato , Teodoro Grazielle S. , Drequeceler Kamila , Ackerly David D. , Oliveira Rafael S. 
Published: May 2015

Summary

Desiccation tolerance is the ability that some organisms show to equilibrate their water content with that of dry air and recover when water supplies are re‐established. This is a widespread although rare strategy in angiosperms, and most desiccation‐tolerant (DT) species are restricted to tropical rock outcrops. Such restricted ecological range is attributed to weak competitive potential caused by low productivity, due to the temporal limitation in carbon assimilation that occurs when plants desiccate. However, few studies addressing this question in angiosperms have been conducted.

We investigate 20 species of Velloziaceae of campos rupestres that differ in their desiccation tolerance. Campos rupestres is an ecoregion characterized by particular vegetation growing on rocky substrates that occurs along mountains in central/south‐eastern Brazil, above 900 m a.s.l. It is considered a Neotropical hotspot and the main centre of diversity for DT vascular plants and the Velloziaceae. Here, we tested whether carbon assimilation rates, functional traits and species habitats corroborate the hypothesized trade‐off between productivity and desiccation tolerance.

All species showed similar photosynthetic rates during the wet season; in the dry season, only DT species showed drastic decrease in their metabolism. Non‐desiccation‐tolerant (NT) species are larger than DT ones (i.e. greater maximum plant height; stem volume). Relative canopy area and stem dry‐matter content were lower in DT compared to NT, while leaf phosphorous concentration was higher in DT. The remaining morphofunctional traits evaluated did not vary between these groups. DT species occupied mainly exposed rock soils, while NT species occurred in deep, sandy soil habitats.

Our results support the hypothesis of a trade‐off between desiccation tolerance and productivity in angiosperms and suggest that DT strategy may only evolve and persist in habitats where severe growth limitations due to drought limit competition from more productive species.
The effects of anaesthetics on postoperative physiological reactions: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Wang Na , Wang Jinguo , Zhang Rui , Wang Fei , Wang Rui 
Published: May 2015

SummaryThis study aimed to systematically investigate the effects of different anaesthetics on postoperative physiological reactions compared with placebo. The literature search was conducted using three databases: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Studies published from January 1990 to January 2015 were screened. The language was restricted to English. Heterogeneity was analyzed by the Q test and I2 statistic. A fixed‐effect model was used for homogenous data and a random‐effects model for heterogeneous data. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to monitor the incidences of overall adverse events, arterial blood pressure, and cardiac abnormalities. Sensitivity analysis was performed to estimate the strength of the meta‐analysis, and publication bias was analyzed using Egger's test. A total of 24 articles were included in this meta‐analysis. There were 1,810 and 1,806 cases in the anaesthetic group and the placebo group, respectively. The incidence of overall adverse events was significantly lower in the anaesthetic group compared with the placebo group (OR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38–0.84). No publication bias was observed, and no inverse estimates were calculated using sensitivity analysis. There was no significant difference for the incidence of arterial blood pressure (OR = 4.62; 95% CI, 0.90–23.70) and cardiac abnormalities (OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 0.53–2.63) between the two groups. Although the incidence of overall adverse events was decreased in the anaesthetic group, it is impossible to determine whether the use of anaesthetics during surgical operation has a protective effect on postoperative physiological reactions.
Effect of perioperative dexmedetomidine on the endocrine modulators of stress response: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Wang Xian‐wang , Cao Jiang‐bei , Lv Bao‐sheng , Mi Wei‐dong , Wang Zhuo‐qiang , Zhang Changsheng , Wang Heng‐lin , Xu Zhen 
Published: May 2015

SummaryThis study examined the effects of perioperative dexmedetomidine treatment on physiological modulators of surgical stress response. The quality of the included studies was assessed prior to performing meta‐analyses of the weighted mean differences in the changes from baseline of stress hormones and interpreted in the light of statistical heterogeneity between the studies. Nineteen studies (844 surgical subjects) data were used for this meta‐analysis. Dexmedetomidine administration significantly decreased blood cortisol levels (μg/dL) postoperatively (mean difference with 95% confidence interval (CI) from controls: −18.78 (−28.45, −9.10); P < 0.05). In the subgroup analysis, the mean difference between dexmedetomidine‐treated and saline‐treated subjects in the changes from baseline of the cortisol levels was −20.10 (−30.96, −9.25; P < 0.05) but, between dexmedetomidine‐ and comparator‐treated subjects, it was not statistically significantly different (−15.13 (−49.78, 19.52); P < 0.05). Compared with controls, dexmedetomidine treatment also decreased adrenaline and noradrenaline levels significantly (mean difference in the percent changes from baseline: −90.41 (−145.79, −35.03)%; P < 0.05 and −62.82 (−85.47, −0.40.17)%; P < 0.05, respectively). Dexmedetomidine also decreased prolactin levels with a mean difference of −19.42 (−39.37, 0.52) μg/L (P = 0.06). In conclusion, perioperative use of dexmedetomidine reduces serum catecholamine and cortisol levels but the decrease in cortisol levels was not statistically different from the comparator anaesthetics. More data will be required to assess the effects of dexmedetomidine on corticotropin, prolactin, and growth hormone.
Antagonistic interactions between endophytic cultivable bacterial communities isolated from the medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea
Authors: Maida Isabel , Chiellini Carolina , Mengoni Alessio , Bosi Emanuele , Firenzuoli Fabio , Fondi Marco , Fani Renato 
Published: May 2015

SummaryIn this work we have studied the antagonistic interactions existing among cultivable bacteria isolated from three ecological niches (rhizospheric soil, roots and stem/leaves) of the traditional natural medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea. The three compartments harboured different taxonomic assemblages of strains, which were previously reported to display different antibiotic resistance patterns, suggesting the presence of differential selective pressure due to antagonistic molecules in the three compartments. Antagonistic interactions were assayed by the cross‐streak method and interpreted using a network‐based analysis. In particular ‘within‐niche inhibition’ and ‘cross‐niche inhibition’ were evaluated among isolates associated with each compartment as well as between isolates retrieved from the three different compartments respectively. Data obtained indicated that bacteria isolated from the stem/leaves compartment were much more sensitive to the antagonistic activity than bacteria from roots and rhizospheric soil. Moreover, both the taxonomical position and the ecological niche might influence the antagonistic ability/sensitivity of different strains. Antagonism could play a significant role in contributing to the differentiation and structuring of plant‐associated bacterial communities.
Use of carbon monoxide and hydrogen by a bacteria–animal symbiosis from seagrass sediments
Authors: Kleiner Manuel , Wentrup Cecilia , Holler Thomas , Lavik Gaute , Harder Jens , Lott Christian , Littmann Sten , Kuypers Marcel M. M. , Dubilier Nicole 
Published: May 2015

SummaryThe gutless marine worm Olavius algarvensis lives in symbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria that provide nutrition by fixing carbon dioxide (CO2) into biomass using reduced sulfur compounds as energy sources. A recent metaproteomic analysis of the O. algarvensis symbiosis indicated that carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) might also be used as energy sources.We provide direct evidence that the O. algarvensis symbiosis consumes CO and H2. Single cell imaging using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed that one of the symbionts, the γ3‐symbiont, uses the energy from CO oxidation to fix CO2. Pore water analysis revealed considerable in‐situ concentrations of CO and H2 in the O. algarvensis environment, Mediterranean seagrass sediments. Pore water H2 concentrations (89–2147 nM) were up to two orders of magnitude higher than in seawater, and up to 36‐fold higher than previously known from shallow‐water marine sediments. Pore water CO concentrations (17–51 nM) were twice as high as in the overlying seawater (no literature data from other shallow‐water sediments are available for comparison). Ex‐situ incubation experiments showed that dead seagrass rhizomes produced large amounts of CO. CO production from decaying plant material could thus be a significant energy source for microbial primary production in seagrass sediments.
Light availability affects stream biofilm bacterial community composition and function, but not diversity
Authors: Wagner Karoline , Besemer Katharina , Burns Nancy R. , Battin Tom J. , Bengtsson Mia M. 
Published: May 2015

SummaryChanges in riparian vegetation or water turbidity and browning in streams alter the local light regime with potential implications for stream biofilms and ecosystem functioning. We experimented with biofilms in microcosms grown under a gradient of light intensities (range: 5–152 μmole photons s−1 m−2) and combined 454‐pyrosequencing and enzymatic activity assays to evaluate the effects of light on biofilm structure and function. We observed a shift in bacterial community composition along the light gradient, whereas there was no apparent change in alpha diversity. Multifunctionality, based on extracellular enzymes, was highest under high light conditions and decoupled from bacterial diversity. Phenol oxidase activity, involved in the degradation of polyphenolic compounds, was twice as high on average under the lowest compared with the highest light condition. This suggests a shift in reliance of microbial heterotrophs on biofilm phototroph‐derived organic matter under high light availability to more complex organic matter under low light. Furthermore, extracellular enzyme activities correlated with nutrient cycling and community respiration, supporting the link between biofilm structure–function and biogeochemical fluxes in streams. Our findings demonstrate that changes in light availability are likely to have significant impacts on biofilm structure and function, potentially affecting stream ecosystem processes.
Structural Adjustment and Unemployment in Selected Eurozone Countries
Authors: Canale Rosaria Rita , Liotti Giorgio 
Published: May 2015

AbstractAlthough not always painless, sound public finance as an objective in the Eurozone generally goes unquestioned. The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of structural adjustment on unemployment in selected Eurozone countries from 2000 to 2013. The estimates suggest that fiscal tightening, especially in declining macroeconomic conditions, will tend to increase the unemployment rate. The results suggest that if the reduction in structural deficit has to be considered an objective to achieve per se, it should be pursued in times of growth.
The Australian Government's Settlement Database
Authors: Marshall David , McPadden Gill , Smith David 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe Australian Government's Settlement Database contains over 3 million records of permanent migrants to Australia. Records in the Settlement Database extend back to 1991 and are compiled from a number of different visa‐processing and movement‐recording systems. This article provides an overview of the Settlement Database, including a summary of the data fields, actual and potential uses for the data, recognised limitations of the dataset and details on how to access the data.