bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sourcing Research as an Intellectual Network of Ideas*
Authors: Hult G. Tomas M. , Chabowski Brian R. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTWhat are the current intellectual clusters in the sourcing literature? How do these clusters relate to each other? How has sourcing‐related research changed over the last 10 years? We respond to these questions by examining the intellectual structure of research in the sourcing literature across 21 journals during the last decade (1998–2007). Multidimensional scaling is used to analyze cocitation data involving 72,003 citations from 1,960 sourcing articles. The results indicate that 10 different sourcing clusters emerged in the 1998–2002 period and 6 sourcing clusters surfaced in the 2003–2007 period. Five of the intellectual clusters in 1998–2002 disappeared in 2003–2007, five clusters remained, and one new cluster materialized in 2003–2007 that did not exist in the earlier period (Managerial Behavior and Upstream Decision Making).
Outsourcing and Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: Contingent Relationships with Entrepreneurial Configurations*
Authors: Salimath Manjula S. , Cullen John B. , Umesh U. N. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTThis article develops and examines an empirical typology of entrepreneurial firms, based on organizational and life cycle characteristics. Results indicate five entrepreneurial configurations representing the essential contingent features of age, size, innovation, and governance structure (Elders, Giants, Innovators, and Owners) and one configuration representing a mix of all features (Balanced). We found that (i) outsourcing affected financial performance in entrepreneurial firms and (ii) configurations moderated this relationship. Results support the use of salient contingent features of age, size, innovation, and governance structure to predict outsourcing effectiveness in the entrepreneurial configurations. That is, entrepreneurial firms that aligned their configurational characteristics with outsourcing tended to have greater gains in financial performance. From a resource dependency perspective, managing these alignments has important implications for entrepreneurial firm performance.
Valuate Outsourcing Contracts from Vendors' Perspective: A Real Options Approach
Authors: Jiang Bin , Yao Tao , Feng Baichun 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTTo date, most applications of real options theory (ROT) in outsourcing literature are modeled from the clients' side. Little attention has been paid to vendors' options in outsourcing. In this article, we study outsourcing from the vendors' perspective by analyzing vendors' value of waiting. The contribution of our research to the literature lies in our analysis of a model that compensates for vendors' loss of option to wait since they have to exercise outsourcing contracts at clients' given timing. Such a compensation‐oriented model yields new insights about the vendors' valuation of outsourcing opportunities, and offers important practical guidance to vendors' decision making.
Strategic Maneuvers for Outsourcing Flexibility: An Empirical Assessment
Authors: Sia Siew K. , Koh Christine , Tan Cheng X. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACT Tan and Sia (2006) conceptualize outsourcing flexibility within a set of four dimensions: robustness, modifiability, new capability, and ease of exit, and propose a portfolio of preemptive, protective, exploitive, and corrective maneuvers to manage flexibility in outsourcing. In this article, we build upon their proposed framework by anchoring the strategic maneuvers through a multitheoretic lens and empirically validate the research propositions. A survey of 171 outsourcing projects in Singapore was conducted. The findings bear evidence that the four proposed dimensions of outsourcing flexibility are conceptually distinct and that different strategic maneuvers contribute differently to the various flexibility dimensions. The empirical findings also affirm the importance of structuring flexibility for outsourcing success, with some flexibility dimensions manifesting different intensity in enabling outsourcing success for IT outsourcing versus business process outsourcing. We conclude by proposing a more holistic approach for effective flexibility management in outsourcing and highlighting research gaps that may need deeper theorizing and empirical extension.
A Path to Successful IT Outsourcing: Interaction Between Service‐Level Agreements and Commitment
Authors: Goo Jahyun , Huang C. Derrick , Hart Paul 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTAlthough service‐level agreements (SLAs) are important for IT outsourcing management, appropriate mechanisms for constructing effective SLAs are still poorly understood, leading to inadequate or overcomplicated contracts that are ineffective. This study examines the associations among three distinct sets of SLA characteristics and outsourcing success, as well as the role of commitment in these relationships. Analyzing survey data based on a model theorizing the alignment of SLA characteristics with intended outsourcing objectives, we find that different types of benefits attained through IT outsourcing arrangements are associated with the use of specific contractual dimensions. We also find that commitment, in general, moderates the impact of SLAs on outsourcing success, although the nature of the moderation varies with the different benefits IT outsourcing engagement is intended to achieve. Interestingly, in certain cases—change characteristics for achieving technology benefits, in particular—commitment can be a barrier to the effective use of SLAs in achieving intended outsourcing benefits. As such, our study extends the literature on IT outsourcing, contracting and commitment, as well as provides a general guideline for practitioners to structure effective SLAs and to properly use commitment for managing IT outsourcing engagements to successfully achieve intended benefits.
Supply Management Under High Goal Incongruence: An Empirical Examination of Disintermediation in the Aerospace Supply Chain
Authors: Rossetti Christian L. , Choi Thomas Y. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTAftermarket sales and profits are becoming an increasingly important part of an original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) business model. Because replacement parts often do not require further manufacturing, OEMs act as intermediaries in the aftermarket. As with any intermediary, the OEM must concern itself with suppliers disintermediating its supply chain selling replacement parts directly to the OEM's customers. We frame supply chain disintermediation (SCD) as a principal–agent contracting problem between an OEM buyer and a supplier. Hypotheses relate contract conditions, goal incongruence, supplier capabilities and contract enforcement to SCD. The data are collected from the aerospace industry using a multimethod study, combining an Internet‐based survey with archival data. Causal modeling with structural equation modeling (SEM) shows general support for the hypotheses. Particularly, SCD is positively related to buyer–supplier goal incongruence. The agency model offers insights that differ from previous transaction‐cost‐based models of buyer–supplier relationships. OEM buyers with a lucrative aftermarket should consider aligning goals through incentives rather than relying entirely on economic hostages associated with specific assets.
Global Multisourcing Strategy: The Emergence of a Supplier Portfolio in Services Offshoring
Authors: Levina Natalia , Su Ning 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTIn today's global services outsourcing arena, increasing numbers of companies adopt “multisourcing,” that is, they select and combine information technology (IT) and business services from multiple providers. The literature on IT outsourcing and supply chain management has identified critical tradeoffs involved in increasing the number of suppliers and has strongly recommended focusing on a handful of strategic partners to balance these tradeoffs. Committing to a few strategic partners, however, may prevent a firm from discovering new suppliers, or even supply regions. Such missed opportunities may be particularly limiting in the context of offshoring professional services, which has exhibited rapid changes in supplier markets in the last decade. Thus, firms may want to engage in a more intensive multisourcing in services. If they do so, their success will depend on a global sourcing process that effectively addresses the critical tradeoffs involved. To explore how a global sourcing process can support multisourcing, we conducted a qualitative longitudinal case study of a large financial services institution that developed a varied global supply base to obtain offshore professional services. Our analysis results in a theory that emphasizes (i) advantages of a multiple provider strategy in rapidly changing global supply markets; (ii) the critical role of middle managers in enabling continuous innovation in the supplier structure; and (iii) the importance of the global sourcing process combining top–down and bottom–up decision making in multisourcing.
Toward a Typology of Buyer–Supplier Relationships: A Study of the Computer Industry*
Authors: Tangpong Chanchai , Michalisin Michael D. , Melcher Arlyn J. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTBuyer–supplier relationship typologies are useful analytical tools for purchasing managers in managing exchange relationships with suppliers and monitoring their purchasing portfolios. Existing buyer–supplier relationship typologies are mainly focused on either relational contents or power‐dependence and have limited empirical support for their performance implications. In this study, we developed an alternative buyer–supplier relationship typology that integrates both relational content and power‐dependence dimensions, resulting in four generic relationship types: market, power, autonomous‐link, and constrained‐link relationships. We then performed a longitudinal exploratory investigation of eight leading firms in the U.S. computer industry to explore the performance implications of the typology, using a combinatorial qualitative approach that leverages the strengths of case study research, content analysis, and quasi‐experimental design. The results suggest three theoretical propositions. First, the association between the type of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer firm performance varies such that constrained‐link relationships are superior in terms of operational efficiency while autonomous‐link relationships are superior in terms of product innovation. Second, the positive association between buyer–supplier relational contents (i.e., relationalism) and buyer firm operational efficiency is strengthened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases. And finally, the positive association between buyer–supplier relationalism and buyer firm product innovation is weakened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases.
Effects of Continuous and Triggered Atrial Overdrive Pacing on Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Pacemaker Patients
Authors: SCHUCHERT ANDREAS , REBESKI HANS‐PETER , PEIFFER THOMAS , BUB EBERHARD , DIETZ ARMIN , MORTENSEN KAI , ALI AYDIN MOHAMMED , CAMM JOHN , GAZAREK STEFFEN , MEINERTZ THOMAS ,   on behalf of the 3:4 Study Group
Published: July 2008

Background: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of different pacing strategies to prevent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF): triggered atrial overdrive pacing versus the combination of triggered and continuous overdrive pacing.
Methods

: Patients with an indication for dual‐chamber pacing (Selection 9000, Prevent AF; Vitatron B.V., Arnhem, the Netherlands) and a history of paroxysmal AF were randomized to triggered atrial pacing (three pacing functions, “triggered group”: PAC Suppression™, Post‐PAC Response™, and Post‐Exercise Response™) or to the combination of continuous (Pace Conditioning™) and triggered atrial pacing (four pacing functions, “combined group”). After 3 months, there was a crossover to the other pacemaker setting.
Results

: In 171 enrolled patients, the median AF burden of the combined group was with 2.1% versus 0.1% in the triggered group (P = 0.014). Fewer AF episodes were observed in the triggered (median: 7) than in the combined group (median: 116; P = 0.016). The combined group had more frequent atrial pacing (median 97%) than the triggered group with 85% (P < 0.001), but ventricular pacing was not significantly different with 95% and 96% in the combined and triggered group, respectively. After the crossover, the AF burden increased in the triggered group to 0.3% and decreased in the combined group to 0.4%.
Conclusions

: Triggered atrial pacing functions alone resulted in a low AF burden. The additional activation of continuous atrial overdrive pacing increased the percentage of atrial pacing, but had no beneficial effects on the prevention of paroxysmal AF.
Characterization of Transient Atrial Rhythm Occurring between Typical Atrial Flutter and Its Termination with Class III Drugs
Authors: MORITA NORISHIGE , KOBAYASHI YOSHINORI , IWASAKI YU‐KI , HAYASHI MEISO , MIYAUCHI YASUSHI , ATARASHI HIROTSUGU , TANAKA KEIJI , KATOH TAKAO , MIZUNO KYOICHI 
Published: July 2008

Background: The transient atrial rhythm intervened between atrial flutter (AFL) and its termination during class III antiarrhythmic drug therapy for AFL has not been characterized well.
Methods: Eighteen patients with typical AFL were included in this study. The transient atrial rhythms converted from AFL with different class III antiarrhythmic drugs, ibutilide (group 1, N = 8) and nifekalant (group 2, N = 10), were determined.
Results: AFL terminated, without any intervened transient atrial rhythms, due to conduction block within the isthmus in three patients in each group. The transient atrial rhythm could be characterized into the following types of rhythm based on the initiating mechanisms. (1) The lower‐loop reentry or atrial fibrillation that was triggered by a premature excitation in the lateral right atrium caused by breakdown of a functional barrier predisposed AFL to the termination in three patients in each group. (2) The return excitation that repetitively emerged within the isthmus collided with the antegrade excitation, resulting in the termination in two group 1 patients and in one group 2 patient. In the patients who developed these atrial rhythms, the cycle length (CL) oscillation coincidently increased with emergence of such rhythms and became significantly greater than that in the patients who did not develop such transient rhythms (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: The transient atrial rhythms that emerged with class III drugs are associated with the disruption of the stable AFL reentry that may be triggered by similar electrophysiologic mechanisms with different class III drugs. The increased flutter CL oscillation developing after such drugs might signal the AFL termination.
Sinus Rhythm Restoration after Atrial Fibrillation: The Clinical Value of N‐Terminal Pro‐BNP Measurements
Authors: DANICEK VLADIMIR , THEODOROVICH NICK , BAR‐CHAIM SHMUEL , MILLER ASAF , VERED ZVI , KOREN‐MORAG NIRA , URIEL NIR , CZURIGA ISTVAN , SHOPEN ANDREY , BRANTRISS NURIT , KALUSKI EDO 
Published: July 2008

Aim: To examine the effects of sinus rhythm (SR) restoration on N‐Terminal pro‐BNP (NTP‐BNP) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods: Subjects with paroxysmal and persistent AF and absence of organic heart disease were prospectively studied. Chemical or electrical restoration of SR was attempted within 48 hours (n = 37) or >3 weeks (n = 73). Clinical and laboratory (NTP‐BNP, 72‐hour Holter monitor, and electrocardiogram) assessment were obtained at baseline and at 1, 30, and 180 days after SR restoration. Patients were divided into three predefined “outcome groups”: (a) maintenance of SR for 1 month, (b) SR with recurrent paroxysmal AF (PaAF), and (c) early (<30 days) recurrence persistent AF (RAF).
Results: Of the 110 patients enrolled, 89 had initial successful SR restoration. Baseline NTP‐BNP was 936 pg/mL (interquartile range (IQR) 333–2,026); ratio between baseline and 30‐day NTP‐BNP was 10.2 (IQR 6.42–22.0) for SR group, 3.3 (IQR 2.45–7.34) for PaAF, and 1.07 (IQR 0.87–1.22) for RAF (P < 0.001). Patients with ratio ≤3 were more likely to have PaAF (46% vs 3%, OR 30, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: With SR restoration, NTP‐BNP decline is observed up to 1 month. NTP‐BNP drop is partially or completely abolished by PaAF and RAF, respectively. NTP‐BNP does not predict successful SR restoration.
Integration of Automatic Intrathoracic Fluid Content Measurement into Clinical Decision Making in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure
Authors: KNACKSTEDT CHRISTIAN , MISCHKE KARL , SCHIMPF THOMAS , WARINGER JILL , FACHE KERSTIN , FRECHEN DIRK , GRAMLEY FELIX , KELM MALTE , SCHAUERTE PATRICK 
Published: July 2008

Background: Hospitalizations due to decompensation are a frequent problem in treating patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Continuous impedance measurement via implantable devices may detect pulmonary fluid accumulation due to worsening CHF. An acoustic alert might allow an earlier treatment of impending decompensation. An algorithm that implemented impedance measurement into clinical decision making in treating CHF patients was evaluated.
Methods: Forty‐two CHF patients (ejection fraction: 27 ± 6%; New York Heart Association 2.9 ± 0.6) with cardiac resynchronization therapy and automatic impedance measurements were included. Upon an alert, a stepped therapy was initiated: category (1) overt decompensation, hospitalization; category (2) worsened CHF, increase of diuretics; category (3) no CHF worsening, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement, elevated BNP: increase of diuretics, normal BNP: no specific treatment.
Results: During 18 ± 4 months, 45 alerts were treated according to the algorithm. Eleven category 1 alerts led to hospitalization; 21 category 2 and 11 category 3 patients (elevated BNP) were treated conservatively. Two category 3 alerts (normal BNP) received no treatment.
Conclusions: Automatic impedance measurement can be integrated into CHF management. BNP measurement restricted to patients with alert but without clinical signs of worsened CHF may prevent premature therapy escalation.
Markers of Coronary Sinus Accessory Pathways in Pediatrics
Authors: AVARI JENNIFER N. , RHEE EDWARD K. 
Published: July 2008

Introduction: Coronary sinus accessory pathways (CSAPs), atrioventricular connections formed by the coronary sinus myocardial coat, have been described in adult patients, but not systematically described in pediatric patients.
Methods: Patients who underwent CSAP ablation were compared to patients with right posteroseptal (RPS) pathway ablation (control group) from November 2004 to June 2007. Retrospective reviews of preablation 12‐lead electrocardiogram (EKG), fluoroscopic, and intracardiac electrogram data were then performed to identify electrophysiologic markers of CSAP.
Results: A total of 23 patients were identified: 13 with CSAP and 10 with RPS pathways. Preablation EKGs demonstrated preexcitation in 8/10 (80%) patients with RPS pathways versus 9/13 (69%) patients with CSAP (P = 0.66). Preexcitation with a negative delta wave in lead II was seen in 5/9 (56%) patients with CSAP versus 0/8 in RPS (P = 0.029), and preexcitation with a positive delta wave in augmented vector right (aVR) was seen in 9/9 (100%) patients with CSAP versus 3/8 (37.5%) with RPS (P = 0.009). Accessory pathway (AP) potentials were seen on the coronary sinus (CS) catheter in 6/13 (46%) of CSAP and in 0 RPS ablations (P = 0.019). Recurrence of tachycardia occurred in 5/13 (38%) of patients with CSAP and 1/10 (10%) of patients with RPS pathways (P = 0.18).
Conclusions: CSAPs should be considered when preablation EKG demonstrates preexcitation with a negative delta wave in lead II and a positive delta wave in aVR, and if an AP potential is seen on the CS catheter. Recurrence of tachycardia postablation or the need for multiple ablations should raise suspicion for a CSAP.
Lack of Diurnal Variation of P‐Wave and QT Dispersions in Patients with Heart Failure
Authors: GUNES YILMAZ , TUNCER MUSTAFA , GUNTEKIN UNAL , AKDAG SERKAN , GUMRUKCUOGLU HASAN A. 
Published: July 2008

Background:

P‐wave dispersion (PWD) is a new parameter for the assessment of risk of atrial fibrillation and has been reported to be increased in heart failure. Diurnal variation of the PWD has been reported in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). QT dispersion (QTD) has also a circadian variation. In this study we aimed to search diurnal variation of PWD and QTD in patients with heart failure.
Methods:

Fifty‐three clinical heart failure patients having left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40% were divided into two groups according to presence of CAD. Twelve‐lead ECGs were obtained in the morning (07:00–08:00 hours), at noon (12:00–14:00 hours), and at night (22:00–24:00 hours).
Results:

All the patients were in New York Heart Association class II except one in class I. β‐blocker and angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker usage was over 80% and spiranolactone usage was around 75% in the study group. PWD and QTD were not significantly different between patients with (n = 27) and without (n = 26) CAD. There was no significant diurnal variation of P wave and QT parameters.
Conclusions:

We found that PWD and QTD do not show diurnal variation in patients having either ischemic or nonischemic origin of heart failure treated with optimal drug therapy.
Termination of Long‐Lasting Persistent Versus Short‐Lasting Persistent and Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation by Ablation
Authors: FIALA MARTIN , CHOVANČÍK JAN , NEVŘALOVÁ RENÁTA , NEUWIRTH RADEK , JIRAVSKÝ OTAKAR , JANUŠKA JAROSLAV , BRANNY MARIAN 
Published: July 2008

Background: Left atrial (LA) structures for the maintenance of different atrial fibrillation (AF) forms are not uniform. The incidence, electrophysiological patterns, and LA sites of sinus rhythm (SR) restoration during ablation of different AF forms were evaluated.
Methods: One hundred patients with long‐lasting persistent AF were retrospectively compared to 35 patients with short‐lasting persistent AF and 59 patients with a sustained episode of paroxysmal AF. All patients underwent a first ablation using a stepwise ablation approach with the endpoint of SR restoration by ablation.
Results: SR was restored in 38%, 83%, and 97% of patients with long‐lasting persistent, short‐lasting persistent, and paroxysmal AF, respectively (P <0.001 for long‐lasting persistent vs paroxysmal AF; P = 0.02 for long‐lasting persistent vs short‐lasting persistent AF). When modes and sites of SR restoration were evaluated among the patients with long‐lasting persistent, short‐lasting persistent, and paroxysmal AF, SR was restored via conversion into LA tachycardia in 79%, 52%, and 4% of patients (P <0.001 for long‐lasting persistent vs paroxysmal AF); by the pulmonary vein encircling in 8%, 24%, and 93% patients (P <0.001 for long‐lasting persistent vs paroxysmal AF); and by ablation at the LA anterior wall or inside the coronary sinus in 66%, 45%, and 2% patients (P <0.001 for long‐lasting persistent and paroxysmal AF). During the 31 ± 14 month follow‐up since the first ablation, of the 50 patients with long‐term SR maintenance (38 patients free of class I or III antiarrhythmic drugs), SR was restored by ablation in 29 (58%) patients versus nine (18%) patients out of 50 patients with unsuccessful clinical outcome (P = 0.009).
Conclusion: Ablation of long‐lasting persistent AF was characterized by more frequent failure to restore SR, and predominant conversion into LA tachycardia prior to SR restoration, and SR restoration by ablation outside the LA posterior wall. SR restoration by ablation was associated with better clinical outcome in these patients.