bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Business angels as facilitators for further finance: an exploratory study
Authors: Sørheim Roger 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe main aim of this article is to widen one's understanding of the value‐added contributions of business angels and, more specifically, their role as facilitators for further finance.Design/methodology/approachThis article is based on in‐depth case studies of five experienced business angels. Data were collected by using a loosely structured interview guide which focused on the investment process.FindingsBusiness angels add value besides the initial financial capital offered, typically in the form of strategic advice and networking. However, previous research has to a small extent examined the role of business angels as facilitators for further finance. The empirical findings in this study indicate that experienced business angels play a key role in order to facilitate further finance. Furthermore, entrepreneurs should bear in mind that the previous track record of the business angel strongly affects if and how they can facilitate further finance. Thus, active business angels can be viewed as a part of the entrepreneurial team, hence reducing the “liability of newness” for the entrepreneurial firm.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should continue to examine business angels by using insight from social capital theory. Moreover, by using larger samples the findings from this exploratory study can be tested, thus getting more reliable results to extend one's knowledge about how business angels act as facilitators for further finance.Originality/valueThis study suggests that concepts from social capital theory seem to be viable when examining how business angels work when they are securing further finance for their portfolio firms.
The benefits of external support to SMEs
Authors: Ramsden M. , Bennett R.J. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeAims to provide an assessment of the role of external business advice for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), comparing “soft” outcomes (improved ability to manage, ability to cope), “hard” outcomes (profitability, turnover, reduced costs), and overall satisfaction levels.Design/methodology/approachA telephone survey using a stratified random sample frame provides a representative sample that allows comparison of the benefits of advice to SMEs in different size categories.FindingsThe paper demonstrates a large and varied supply of advice with no evidence of reluctance by owners/managers to seek advice. “Hard” and “soft” outcomes tend to be combined for many SMEs, but the widest effects of external advice seem to be intangible, such as reassurance or reducing uncertainty. There is less variation between SMEs of different size than expected, but strong variation between types of external suppliers of advice. The level of regulation of suppliers and extent of their reputation or brand appear to have positive association with the level of their use, impact and satisfaction levels. Public sector advisers have special difficulties of managing quality and better relating marketing to what they can reliably deliver.Originality/valueThe research provides to researchers a better understanding of the form of intangible benefits that businesses receive from advice, and how these interrelate with “hard” benefits of reduced costs and increased profits. Private sector advisers need to note the interaction between feelings‐based and “hard” outcomes. Public sector advisers need significantly to improve their consistency and better relate marketing to their capacity to deliver.
Entrepreneurial orientation and education in Austrian secondary schools
Authors: Frank Hermann , Korunka Christian , Lueger Manfred , Mugler Josef 
Published: May 2005

PurposeEntrepreneurship is defined as a “life skill”, and the European Union (EU) has recently called on member states to promote the development of entrepreneurial attitudes from primary school right through to university level. The paper aims to investigate which factors influence entrepreneurial thinking and attitudes towards entrepreneurship in vocational and general secondary education in Austria.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the configuration approach. This approach was adapted as a conceptual model for the origins of entrepreneurial orientation and start‐up inclinations among school pupils. The model consists of four dimensions: person, education context, education process, and environment. A total of 900 Austrian pupils at secondary‐level schools were surveyed with a standardized questionnaire.FindingsThe results show that entrepreneurial orientation as well as inclinations to start up a new business can indeed be influenced considerably, with potential targeted influences at the personality level, in the education process, and in the pupil's immediate and general environment. It is easier to influence entrepreneurial orientation than start‐up inclinations.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the heterogeneous school systems in Europe it may be difficult to transfer findings from one country to another. Much more research is needed for identifying country‐specific factors of influence.Practical implicationsThe results provide evidence that the potential for developing entrepreneurial orientation and promoting the abilities needed for a free and self‐determined career has not been exhausted by any means.Originality/valueThe study shows that the education process can have a considerable influence on entrepreneurial orientation, and that the EU's call for the promotion of entrepreneurial spirit can be fulfilled in the sphere of education.
Resource dependency and SME strategy: an empirical study
Authors: Bretherton Phil , Chaston Ian 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThere has been considerable discussion concerning the resource dependency theory of strategy but relatively little qualitative, empirical research has been conducted on the proposed models. Using the value chain as the conceptual framework, the research aims to show how organisations, in this case small and medium‐sized wineries, use their resources and how they access other resources by using strategic alliances. The article also aims to discuss the influence that their resources and capabilities have had on their ability to develop sustainable competitive advantage and superior performance.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory research looks at four medium‐sized New Zealand wineries (between 200,000 and 2 million litres) and six small ones (under 200,000 litres), of which six have over‐performed and four have under‐performed the industry. Semi‐structured interviews were used to develop an understanding of how the wineries organised their alliances along the value and how they accessed resources which were not available internally.FindingsThe wineries have engaged in strategic alliances, rather than structural ties, at various stages of the value chain, to gain access to scarce resources and capabilities. There is clear evidence that the over‐performers have had access to adequate resources, which has led to sustainable competitive advantage and superior performance.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one industry is examined and wider research is necessary, both of a qualitative and quantitative nature.Originality/valueThe research provides empirical support for the resource dependency theory and extends the understanding of its significance for small and medium enterprises.
The impact of employment legislation on micro businesses
Authors: Pratten J.D. , Lovatt C.J. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the extent to which public house licensees conform with employment legislation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines legislation within the hospitality industry. Five aspects of the legislation were selected and a case study approach was used with a sample of micro business licensees.FindingsThe results show that those licensees who manage outlets on behalf of the large pub‐owning companies had a far greater knowledge of the legislation than independent respondents who, in some instances, appeared to flout the legislation deliberately.Practical implicationsThe independent sector of the licensed trade appears to lack vital information about employment legislation, and licensees might not realise the consequences of ignorance or deliberate non‐compliance. Those involved in running this type of micro business need to establish more effective sources of information on such issues.Originality/valueThis paper offers a clear indication to all involved in the hospitality industry that there could be problems with employers within the micro sector gaining information about employment legislation and also adhering to relevant regulations.
Pricing issues in aviation insurance and reinsurance
Authors: Lane Morton N. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThis article aims to examine the risk inherent in the insurance of the aviation industry, to take an outsider's look at those risks and to develop certain “capital market” pricing rules.Design/methodology/approachThe aviation industry presents a classic low‐frequency/high‐limit insurance problem. Pricing such exposures is difficult because of the high degree of uncertainty involved. After a review of the considerations that an insurance underwriter traditionally brings to the problem, the author applies a simple pricing rule incorporating current thinking on risk evaluation.FindingsThe results of the author's approach are compared with the results of traditional pricing rules, generating interesting insights. The application of the new methodology to the analysis of current pricing and of alternative proposals is suggested.Originality/valueThe article will be of value to those interested in the aviation industry and in the pricing of insurance and reinsurance.
Modeling risk for long and short trading positions
Authors: Angelidis Timotheos , Degiannakis Stavros 
Published: May 2005

PurposeAims to investigate the accuracy of parametric, nonparametric, and semiparametric methods in predicting the one‐day‐ahead value‐at‐risk (VaR) measure in three types of markets (stock exchanges, commodities, and exchange rates), both for long and short trading positions.Design/methodology/approachThe risk management techniques are designed to capture the main characteristics of asset returns, such as leptokurtosis and asymmetric distribution, volatility clustering, asymmetric relationship between stock returns and conditional variance, and power transformation of conditional variance.FindingsBased on back‐testing measures and a loss function evaluation method, finds that the modeling of the main characteristics of asset returns produces the most accurate VaR forecasts. Especially for the high confidence levels, a risk manager must employ different volatility techniques in order to forecast accurately the VaR for the two trading positions.Practical implicationsDifferent models achieve accurate VaR forecasts for long and short trading positions, indicating to portfolio managers the significance of modeling separately the left and the right side of the distribution of returns.Originality/valueThe behavior of the risk management techniques is examined for both long and short VaR trading positions; to the best of one's knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the risk characteristics of three different financial markets simultaneously. Moreover, a two‐stage model selection is implemented in contrast with the most commonly used back‐testing procedures to identify a unique model. Finally, parametric, nonparametric, and semiparametric techniques are employed to investigate their performance in a unified environment.
Insurance market equilibrium: a multi‐period dynamic solution
Authors: Lin Wen‐chang 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThis article aims to apply a multi‐period model of insurance market equilibrium to solve for the insureds' optimal demand for insurance, as well as insurers' optimal supply.Design/methodology/approachMost approaches to competitive equilibrium in the insurance market involve the construction of demand and supply curves based on maximizing the insureds' and insurers' expected utility for a single time period. However, it is important to recongnize that, for a given utility function, the demand (supply) decisions of insureds (insurers) in a single‐period model may differ substantially from those under a multi‐period formulation. In this article, first, separate multi‐period models of demand and supply are constructed, and then a dynamic solution for equilibrium price and quantity is provided.FindingsAlthough a single‐period model generally requires the assumption of an exact loss distribution to compute expected utilities, the multi‐period model requires only the expected loss and its associated stochastic process (in this case, a Brownian motion). One implication of this approach is that it may explain phenomena of market prices failing to achieve Pareto optimality for a single period.Originality/valueThis approach may be used to generate new hypotheses related to the underwriting cycle. Specifically, the insureds' demand and insurers' supply decisions may both be based on expected discounted future cash flows. The non‐trivial multi‐period equilibrium insurance price may provide additional insights into the volatility of insurance market prices.
Preferences analysis, transactions, and volatility
Authors: Zajac Jaroslav 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe reasons for writing the paper are flexibility of information under multi‐agent approach.Design/methodology/approachThe main method used for the research is preferences in environment and matching of information.FindingsThe benefits of hierarchy flow from the fact that it attenuates opportunism and attenuates the problem stemming from bounded rationality. The preference of an agent over sets of possible future choices can be represented using subjective states. This is sufficient to give a representation in which the agent has a coherent subjective state space, and shows that the size of the subjective state space depends on the individual circumstances.Originality/valueThe original value of the paper is a measure of the agent's uncertainty about future contingents. Changes in the surplus yield valuable information about the comparative static of matching patterns across environments in equilibrium.
Making the intangible count – counting the intangible
Authors: Cumming J.F. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeTo examine the practical application of two emerging guidelines for the disclosure and assurance of corporate sustainability performance – the ABI Disclosure Guidelines on Socially Responsible Investment and the AA1000 Assurance Standard.Design/methodology/approachBy reviewing the practical implementation of these two emerging guidelines within a UK retailer. It explores their complementarity, and their potential application for internal learning as well as external credibility.FindingsEmphasises the need for a flexible application of these tools to provide a multi‐lensed view of organisational performance, but also emphasises the importance of a unifying analysis that has resonance across an organisation – from boardroom to shop‐floor – and with external stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not an exhaustive list and apart from one UK book all the rest are US publications which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere.Practical implicationsA very useful source of information and a case study for managers planning to implement reporting of intangibles, linking into corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified information/resources need and offers practical help to an individual starting out on this type of programme.
Influence of viral infection on the development of nasal hypersensitivity
Authors: Okamoto Y. , Matsuzaki Z. , Matsuoka T. , Endo S. , Yamamoto H. , Chazono H. , Horiguchi S. , Hanazawa T. 
Published: May 2005

SummaryBackground
The underlying relationship between viral infections and allergic diseases of the upper respiratory tract has not been well clarified.Methods
In order to clarify the relationship between viral infection and nasal hypersensitivity, mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and then infected intranasally with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), after which their nasal sensitivity to histamine or antigen was examined.Results
Non‐sensitized mice showed transient mild nasal hypersensitivity following nasal administration of histamine after intranasal RSV inoculation. In mice sensitized with OVA, RSV infection significantly exaggerated their nasal hypersensitivity to histamine and OVA. Treatment of these mice with a neurokinin (NK)‐1/NK‐2 receptor antagonist, but not with anti‐IL‐5 antibodies, reduced their hypersensitivity. The infiltration of nasal mucosa with eosinophils was temporarily associated with accelerated rate of RSV elimination in these animals.Conclusion
RSV infection induced transient nasal hypersensitivity. Several mechanisms, including impairment of nasal epithelial cells are thought to mediate this effect. In allergen‐sensitized mice, RSV inoculation strongly enhanced nasal hypersensitivity.
Post‐marketing survey on the safety of sublingual immunotherapy in children below the age of 5 years
Authors: Rienzo V. Di , Minelli M. , Musarra A. , Sambugaro R. , Pecora S. , Canonica W. G. , Passalacqua G. 
Published: May 2005

SummaryBackground
The age below 5 years is considered a prudential limit for immunotherapy in view of the possible severity of side‐effects. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) seems to be safe, but no study in very young children is available. We performed a safety post‐marketing surveillance study in children below 5 years.Methods
Children aged 3–5 years with respiratory allergy receiving SLIT were followed‐up for at least 2 years. A diary card for side‐effects was filled by parents at each dose given. Local and systemic side‐effects were graded as: mild (no intervention, no dose adjustment), moderate (medical treatment and/or dose reduction), severe (life‐threatening/hospitalization/emergency care). The comparative safety of different allergens and regimens was also assessed.Results
One hundred and twenty‐six children (mean age 4.2 years, 67 male) were included. Seventy‐six (60%) had rhinitis with asthma, 34 (27%) rhinitis only and 16 (13%) only asthma. Immunotherapy was prescribed for mites (62%), grasses (22.2%), Parietaria (11.9%), Alternaria (2.4%) and olive (1.5%). Eighteen children underwent an accelerated build‐up. The total number of doses was about 39 000. Nine side‐effects were reported in seven children (5.6% patients and 0.2/1000 doses). Two episodes of oral itching and one of abdominal pain were mild. Six gastrointestinal side‐effects were controlled by reducing the dose. All side‐effects occurred during up‐dosing phase. No difference in terms of safety among the allergens used was observed.Conclusion
SLIT is safe also in children under the age of 5 years.
Observational study of the natural history of eosinophilic bronchitis
Authors: Berry M. A. , Hargadon B. , McKenna S. , Shaw D. , Green R. H. , Brightling C. E. , Wardlaw A. J. , Pavord I. D. 
Published: May 2005

SummaryBackground
Eosinophilic bronchitis is an important cause of chronic cough. Treatment with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with a short‐term improvement in cough and reduced sputum eosinophil count but the long‐term outcome is uncertain.Objective
To determine the long‐term outcome in patients diagnosed with and treated for eosinophilic bronchitis.Methods
We have performed a longitudinal study of symptoms, eosinophilic airway inflammation, spirometry and airway hyper‐responsiveness in all patients diagnosed with eosinophilic bronchitis over 7 years.Results
We identified 52 patients with eosinophilic bronchitis and longitudinal data of greater than 1 year (mean 3.1 years) was available in 32 patients, all of whom were treated with inhaled steroids. Three (9%) patients developed symptoms consistent with asthma and a methacholine PC20<8 mg/mL on one or more occasion. Five (16%) patients developed fixed airflow obstruction defined by a persistent post‐bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity <70%. One (3%) patient had complete resolution of symptoms and eosinophilic airway inflammation off treatment. The remaining patients had ongoing eosinophilic airway inflammation and/or continuing symptoms. Multiple linear regression identified smoking, female gender and area under the curve of sputum eosinophil count over time as the most important predictors of decline in FEV1.Conclusions
The most common outcome in eosinophilic bronchitis is continuing disease and complete resolution is rare. Asthma and fixed airflow obstruction developed in relatively few patients. The most important factors associated with a more rapid decline in FEV1 were female gender, smoking and prolonged eosinophilic airway inflammation.
Common and distinct signalling cascades in the production of tumour necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐13 induced by lipopolysaccharide in RBL‐2H3 cells
Authors: Gon Y. , Nunomura S. , Ra C. 
Published: May 2005

SummaryBackground
Activation of mast cells by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in the production of TNF‐α and IL‐13. TNF‐α and IL‐13 are key mediators in the development of neutrophilic and allergic inflammation, respectively. LPS‐induced TNF‐α and IL‐13 production in mast cells has been reported to be mediated by Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) signalling, but differences in signal transduction mechanisms leading to the production of these cytokines are not clearly defined.Objective
We investigated the molecular mechanisms responsible for LPS‐induced TNF‐α and IL‐13 production in mast cells.Methods
TNF‐α and IL‐13 production by LPS was assessed by transfecting RBL‐2H3 cells with dominant‐negative (DN) expression vectors.Results
Transfection of RBL‐2H3 cells with plasmids encoding DN mutants of myeloid differentiation protein (MyD88) and TNFR‐associated factor (TRAF6) inhibited both LPS‐induced TNF‐α and IL‐13 production. IκBα‐DN inhibited LPS‐induced production of TNF‐α, but not IL‐13. We also found that inhibition of p38 kinase suppressed both TNF‐α and IL‐13 induction by LPS, and inhibition of JNK reduced IL‐13 production, but not TNF‐α. Furthermore, we found that protein kinase R (PKR) was activated by LPS in these cells. Treatment with 2‐aminopurine, a PKR inhibitor, attenuated LPS‐induced nuclear factor‐κB activation and TNF‐α production, whereas inhibition of PKR had little effect on IL‐13 production.Conclusion
These findings indicate that the production of TNF‐α and IL‐13 by LPS required TLR4/MyD88/TRAF6 signalling as a common pathway of mast cell‐mediated inflammation. We furthermore found that TNF‐α and IL‐13 production were differentially regulated by signalling cascades through PKR and mitogen‐activated protein kinases downstream of TRAF6 in mast cells.