Number Of Alliances Research Articles

Restrained Global Defensive Alliances in Graphs

A defensive alliance in a graph G is a nonempty set of vertices S ⊆ V (G) such that for every vertex v ∈ S, |N[v] ∩ S| ≥ |N(v) ∩ (V (G) ∖ S)|. A defensive alliance S is called global if every vertex in V (G) ∖ S is adjacent to at least one member of the alliance S. In this paper, the concept of restrained global defensive alliance in graphs was introduced. In particular, a global defensive alliance S is a restrained global defensive alliance if the induced subgraph of V ∖ S has no isolated vertex. Here, some properties of this alliance were identified, and its bounds were also determined. In addition, the restrained global defensive alliance number was also formulated, along with characterizations of some special classes of graphs, specifically complete, complete bipartite, and path graphs.

439 Predictors of Treatment Pathway Completion in Stage IV Rectal Cancer: A Nationwide Observational Study of 15,727 Patients

Abstract Aim Stage IV rectal cancer carries a 10% 5-year survival rate. Curative-intent management requires treatment of both the primary and metastatic disease. This study aimed to identify patterns in stage IV rectal cancer treatment pathway at population level across the UK, and to identify predictors of treatment pathway completion. Method Patient demographics and treatment data were extracted from the UK Colorectal Cancer Intelligence Hub’s CORECT-R repository, national chemotherapy (SACT), and radiotherapy (RTDS) datasets. Treatment pathway completion was defined as receipt of intervention to the primary tumour (radiotherapy and/or surgery) in addition to metastasis-directed therapy (surgery, radiotherapy, OR ablation), or the combination alongside chemotherapy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of treatment completion. Results A total of 15,727 patients with stage IV rectal cancer diagnosed between 2010-19 were identified. Multivariable analyses showed that sex, age, number of cancer alliances (CAs) attended, ethnicity, and deprivation score were all statistically significant in predicting completion of treatment (p-values<0.02). The number of CAs attended was identified as having the strongest predictive effect of treatment completion (OR=3.9, CI: 3.5–4.3). Being male also increased the odds of completing treatment (OR=1.2, CI: 1.1-1.3), while increased deprivation reduced odds of completing treatment. Conclusions Across the UK, there is variation in Stage IV rectal cancer patients completing treatment for both their primary and metastatic disease. Further work is needed to determine whether differences in treatment pathways stem from variation in access to specialist services between alliances or whether they are due to differences in MDT decision making.

Investors’ Reactions to Alliance‐Engendered Acquisition Ambiguity: Evidence from U.S. Technology Deals

AbstractWe study how, when target firms are engaged in strategic alliances, the ambiguity surrounding an acquisition's anticipated synergies influences investors’ reactions to announcements of acquisitions. Drawing on behavioural finance research and the resource redeployment literature, we predict that investors’ limited access to the information encoded in the target firms’ alliances and the uncertainty around the re‐deployability of their embedded resources generate a negative relationship between the number of target alliances and investors’ reactions. We also hypothesize that this negative effect is exacerbated when the alliances involve foreign alliance partners but is attenuated when acquirers are experienced in acquiring targets with alliances. Analysis of a large sample of US technology acquisitions supports all our hypotheses. We contribute to management research by offering a viable explanation of investors’ reactions to the announcement of major corporate events, such as acquisitions, whose structural characteristics deny investors material information about these events’ potential to create value.

Modeling the warring states period: History dynamics of initial unified empire in China (475 BC to 221 BC)

For the evolution of civilization, we focus on how the Unity pattern was formed in ancient China. Apart from existing case studies and mathematical models, we use agent-based modeling (ABM) to explore the initial unity process. Before this, we have a long chaotic dynasty, which is the Eastern Zhou. It has two periods, such as the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-475 BC) and Warring States period (475 BC-221 BC). The unity outcome was achieved by interactions or interplays (wars, alliances, and mergers) within autonomous states (agents). We have built a general ABM model for this whole dynasty. However, the mechanisms during two periods are different in the history, and simulation outcomes are also different. Hence, we need to investigate them one by one. Based on ABM of the first period, we further explore the history dynamics of the Warring States period (475 BC-221 BC). For mechanism designs, we revised the war costs, alliance rules, and war behaviors, according to the detailed history. For verification standards, we have added real number of wars and alliances in the history, to double-check our general model. It seems that real history data can be well matched by our simulations, and the best-fitted solution can be found. Based on simulations and counterfactual experiments, we can obtain accurate effects of related factors. It seems that: the bellicosity will reduce the duration and accelerates the unification process; the alliance propensity gradually increases or prolong the duration with more wars and alliances. Moreover, the bellicosity (war) has the peak effect (around 0.2) on the frequencies of wars and alliances. The alliance propensity behavior has linear effect, and it always increases the wars. Generally, the bellicosity (war) plays the bigger role than the alliance. If more agents are changing alliance partners (less reliable of the alliance network), the unification process can be fastened. The opportunistic propensity has the peak effect (around 0.7) on the frequencies of wars and alliances. Marginal diminishing and asymmetric effects of war costs can be revealed as well.

K-STRONG DEFENSIVE ALLIANCES IN GRAPHS

In a simple connected graph G = (V,E), a subset S of V is a defensive alliance if every vertex v ∈ S has at most one more neighbour in V − S than it has in S. The minimum cardinality of a defensive alliance in G is called the defensive alliance number of G, denoted by a(G). A k-strong defensive alliance S is a defensive alliance in G, in which removal of any set of at most k vertices does not affect its defensive property. The k-strong defensive alliance number of G is the minimum cardinality of a k-strong defensive alliance in G, denoted by ak(G). In this paper, some properties of k-strong defensive alliances are discussed and the k-strong defensive alliance numbers of some classes of graphs are obtained.

Ռազմավարական ինքնուրույնության պրոբլեմը Թուրքիայի ռազմավարական մշակույթի հարացույցում / The problem of strategic independence in the paradigm of Turkey’s strategic culture

Turkey’s vision of the ways to achieve strategic independence was generalized and institutionalized after the revolutionary wave of the Arab Spring. Taking advantage of the favorable geopolitical situation, the Justice and Development Party was able to promote its Islamic-national conser­vative ideology in both domestic and foreign policy arenas, due to neo-Ottomanism leaving out of competition the republican strategic culture. Being under the defense and security auspices of the Collective West, but actually pursuing a regional policy ensuing from its own interests, Turkey is positioning itself as an independent player taking the challenges of competitive cooperation with regional and global players. Ankara achieves all this both at the expense of a drastic rise in the number of failed states in its immediate neighborhood and due to new systemic approaches targeted at strengthening Turkey’s positions and role in the new world order. In particular, given the overall context of its strategic culture, i.e., the comprehensive historical experience and narrow Turkish perceptions of peace and stability, Turkey has adopted and is gradually implementing its own formula for achieving strategic independence. In this regard, it has become imperative for Turkey to increase the number of flexible alliances and the degree of political-ideological, as well as economic-technological self-sufficiency, and reduce external dependence.

On the offensive alliance number for the zero divisor graph of Zn.

A nonempty subset $ D $ of vertices in a graph $ \Gamma = (V, E) $ is said is an offensive alliance, if every vertex $ v \in \partial(D) $ satisfies $ \delta_D(v) \geq \delta_{\overline{D}}(v) + 1 $; the cardinality of a minimum offensive alliance of $ \Gamma $ is called the offensive alliance number $ \alpha ^o(\Gamma) $ of $ \Gamma $. An offensive alliance $ D $ is called global, if every $ v \in V - D $ satisfies $ \delta_D(v) \geq \delta_{\overline{D}}(v) + 1 $; the cardinality of a minimum global offensive alliance of $ \Gamma $ is called the global offensive alliance number $ \gamma^o(\Gamma) $ of $ \Gamma $. For a finite commutative ring with identity $ R $, $ \Gamma(R) $ denotes the zero divisor graph of $ R $. In this paper, we compute the offensive alliance (global, independent, and independent global) numbers of $ \Gamma(\mathbb{Z}_n) $, for some cases of $ n $.

Time Bomb from the West: Video, the Advertising Industry, and Consumer Culture in Late-Socialist Czechoslovakia

Time Bomb from the West: Video, the Advertising Industry, and Consumer Culture in Late-Socialist Czechoslovakia

Restricted Variance Interactions in Entrepreneurship Research: A Unique Basis for Context-as-Moderator Hypotheses

In this methodological brief, we demonstrate the usefulness of the restricted variance (RV) interaction to entrepreneurship research. RV reasoning can help scholars to specify precise roles for contextual moderators. This specificity allows for strengthening of arguments and for testing of one of the reasons for an interaction. In some cases, it points to otherwise unexpected interaction patterns. We illustrate the power of RV reasoning with a data set of 503 biotech firms to show how RV explains geographic differences in the relationship between number of alliances and initial public offering value. Finally, we show how these interactions can be tested given typical distributions.

The impact of globalization on Mediterranean container terminals

The Mediterranean basin has always played an important role in the global maritime scenario due to its key positioning along the main East- West trading routes and its centrality with respect to the Atlantic and North European markets, on the one hand, and to those of Asia and Africa on the other. The growth of container traffic has led to the emergence of new routes and the construction of ever-larger ships and ports. These factors have increased the competitiveness among the Mediterranean ports, which must improve their functionality and productivity to meet new needs and acquire ever-higher market rates. It is estimated that in 2020 Mediterranean ports handled almost 40% of worldwide containerized trade flows. The total throughput of Mediterranean ports has risen from 40,5 million TEUs in 2010 to about 59 million TEUs in 2020, with a 46% increase (UNCTAD). The establishment of a limited number of multi-trade strategic alliances in container shipping is concentrating the demand on a few players. Currently, all major container carriers are involved in one of the three global alliances: 2M (Maersk, MSC; capacity 8,475,700 TEU, share 33.8%, 1,363 ships), Ocean Alliance (Cosco-OOCL, CMA CGM, Evergreen; capacity 7,541,341 TEU, share 30.1%, 1,248 ships), THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Yang Ming, HMM, capacity 4,799,815 TEU, share 19.2%, 633 ships). These big players often enter terminal operations, mostly investing in pure transshipment hubs along main shipping services, in order to control multiple supply chain phases. Some companies have their own ‘terminal operating holding’ such as Maersk (APM Terminals) and COSCO Group (COSCO Shipping Ports). The increase of naval gigantism and the reduction of vessel calls due to strategic choices of carriers could influence the competitiveness of smaller container ports that are cut out from the main market trades (e.g. Cagliari) or that have physical limits on their terminals. This paper focuses on the specific case of Mediterranean container ports, analyzing the evolution of the containerized traffic and how the strategies of the main carriers are affecting container terminal policies.

Strategic alliances and firms’ chances to survive “black swans” in B2B industries

PurposeThis study aims to propose that, in business-to-business (B2B) industries, number of strategic alliances firms established before a “black swan” event enhances their chances to survive the black swan, and the enhancements take place through moderation effects. Changes in firms’ core structures – their stated goals, authority structure, core technologies and marketing strategies – to adapt to business jolts have adverse effects on firm performance. Firms’ existing B2B strategic alliances moderate the effects negatively by outsourcing different goals, authority structures, core technologies and marketing strategies to partners who fit the changed environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected quantitative data and analyzed the data with the regression method.FindingsUsing data from Chinese firms in five technology industries during the 2007–2009 economic crisis, this study finds that firms’ internal adaptation is negatively correlated with their performance during economic crises, and B2B strategic alliances negatively moderate this relationship.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this study focuses on B2B strategic alliances, and it is not clear whether the findings apply to B2C industries, where strategic alliances may not be common. Perhaps firms can use other means of survival in addition to strategic alliances in B2C industries. Second, this study does not differentiate between fast-moving and slow-moving industries, and it is not clear whether strategic alliances play the same role in both industries. Third, this study does not differentiate firm ages and sizes. It remains unclear how large, established and small, young firms differ when facing crises. Finally, this study is based on the Chinese setting, and it is not clear whether the findings apply to other markets as well. These issues should be explored in future studies.Practical implicationsChanging firms’ core structures harms their performance during black swan crises because such crises are unpredictable, and planned changes may not adapt firms to crises. Managers should not attempt to change their core structures during crises. B2B strategic alliances provide an effective means for firms to survive crises.Originality/valueThis paper makes two contributions to the existing literature: First, this paper demonstrates that changes of one of the four core structures of a firm to cope with black swan events have negative impacts on firm performance. Second, this paper identifies the importance of holding a variety of strategic alliances previously to the black swan events to reduce the negative impacts of changing core structures.

The shape of the international order: the case study of AUKUS

This article argues that in the 21st century, international order has not only become unstable but also short-term in nature and issue-based, which has led to the emergence of a number of alliances whose functionality can be questioned. A number of alliances are being formed and are in existence but without any clear goals and objectives. This hypothesis is applied to understand the nature of the recently formed AUKUS—Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States’ alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. The paper, taking the framework of international order, argues that AUKUS would be one such alliance that has started with a lot of promises but its fundamental proposition to counter the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region—although it does not mention the name of the country—is impractical. Given the economic rise of China as well as the example of the Five Eyes (FVEY) of intelligence sharing mechanism of the Anglophone countries formed during the early years of the Cold War, the AUKUS may survive the test of time but it also may exist as an example of the patterns of the current international order—that is another alliance without a clear path. This article also takes into account of the reaction of the Southeast Asian nations and criticisms against AUKUS in Australia. It points out how Australia’s security should be viewed more comprehensively.

Egypt in U.S. policy in the Middle East in the early 1950s.

The author considers the problem of the role of Egypt in the US policy in the Middle East in the early 1950s. It is shown that a new political circumstances in the regions of the Middle and Near East forced the United States to act as a competitor to Great Britain. The United States understood the importance of gradually ousting Great Britain from the region, trying to prevent the increase of Soviet influence there using various methods. At the same time, the implementation of US's plan to form a controlled military-political bloc of Middle Eastern states in 1950-1953 proved to be untenable for various reasons. The decisive role in this regard was played by the position held by Egypt. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the focus on the project "Middle East Command", as the first failed plan of the military bloc of Western countries in the region. It was revealed that the US stake on Egypt as a conductor of its interests turned out to be unjustified. The US administration objectively saw in the anti-British movement, which was gaining momentum in Egypt during this period, an opportunity to strengthen its influence. However, with the approval of G. A. Nasser in power in Egypt, a new foreign policy strategy was being developed, which was based on efforts to raise the patriotism of the Arab countries and unite the Arabs in the fight against the colonial past. Also, US's efforts to achieve coexistence of Egypt and Israel in a single policy not brought the desired results. In the context of the unresolved Palestinian issue and the aggravation of the Arab-Israeli confrontation in Egypt's foreign policy, tendencies towards rapprochement with the Arab countries in the form of a number of military-political alliances were gaining momentum.

On Global Offensive Alliance in Zero-Divisor Graphs

Let Γ(V,E) be a simple connected graph with more than one vertex, without loops or multiple edges. A nonempty subset S⊆V is a global offensive alliance if every vertex v∈V−S satisfies that δS(v)≥δS¯(v)+1. The global offensive alliance numberγo(Γ) is defined as the minimum cardinality among all global offensive alliances. Let R be a finite commutative ring with identity. In this paper, we study the global offensive alliance number of the zero-divisor graph Γ(R).

Modeling the industry perspective of university-industry collaborative innovation alliances: Player behavior and stability issues

Many firms find it challenging to develop innovations, evidenced by the ever-mounting number of university-industry research alliances. This study examines the strategic choices of actors who participate in collaborative innovation alliances involving partnerships between industry and universities (U-I) based on a stochastic evolutionary game model. White noise was introduced to reflect uncertainty and the stochastic interferences caused by the differences between actors. Using the Itô stochastic differential equation theory, we analyze stability issues of player behaviors in the evolution of a collaborative innovation alliance. The results illustrate that improvements in innovation efficiency can contribute to U-I collaborative innovation alliances. High knowledge complementarity appears to be unbeneficial to the stability of these alliances, and controlling knowledge spillovers may suppress free-rider problems from both sides of the game. Our study contributes to innovation research by providing a decision-making reference for the design of U-I cooperation.

Distribution maps of vegetation alliances in Europe

AbstractAimThe first comprehensive checklist of European phytosociological alliances, orders and classes (EuroVegChecklist) was published by Mucina et al. (2016, Applied Vegetation Science, 19 (Suppl. 1), 3–264). However, this checklist did not contain detailed information on the distribution of individual vegetation types. Here we provide the first maps of all alliances in Europe.LocationEurope, Greenland, Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cyprus and the Caucasus countries.MethodsWe collected data on the occurrence of phytosociological alliances in European countries and regions from literature and vegetation‐plot databases. We interpreted and complemented these data using the expert knowledge of an international team of vegetation scientists and matched all the previously reported alliance names and concepts with those of the EuroVegChecklist. We then mapped the occurrence of the EuroVegChecklist alliances in 82 territorial units corresponding to countries, large islands, archipelagos and peninsulas. We subdivided the mainland parts of large or biogeographically heterogeneous countries based on the European biogeographical regions. Specialized alliances of coastal habitats were mapped only for the coastal section of each territorial unit.ResultsDistribution maps were prepared for 1,105 alliances of vascular‐plant dominated vegetation reported in the EuroVegChecklist. For each territorial unit, three levels of occurrence probability were plotted on the maps: (a) verified occurrence; (b) uncertain occurrence; and (c) absence. The maps of individual alliances were complemented by summary maps of the number of alliances and the alliance–area relationship. Distribution data are also provided in a spreadsheet.ConclusionsThe new map series represents the first attempt to characterize the distribution of all vegetation types at the alliance level across Europe. There are still many knowledge gaps, partly due to a lack of data for some regions and partly due to uncertainties in the definition of some alliances. The maps presented here provide a basis for future research aimed at filling these gaps.

Crossing Battle Death Lines: Why Do Some Insurgent Organizations Escalate Violence to Higher-Intensity Armed Conflicts?

Why do some insurgent groups escalate violence to higher-intensity insurgencies or civil war? We explore this question among 140 insurgent groups worldwide across various thresholds of armed conflict. We argue that the main drivers of escalation are insurgent networks and domestic resource mobilization. Findings show that territorial control and engagement in criminal activities to finance operations are key factors associated with insurgent-inflicted battle deaths. The number of insurgent alliances, however, is the strongest determinant of higher-intensity armed conflicts. State counterinsurgency strategies also play an important role. Many of these insights support an exploratory look at rising insurgent violence in West Africa’s Sahel region.

A substitute for poor institutions? Interorganizational affiliations in the alliance formation process

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how the home country institutional development influences the alliance formation process.Design/methodology/approachA network of strategic alliances between 95 airlines over a 5-year period is analyzed with stochastic actor-oriented models [i.e. Simulation investigation for empirical network analysis (SIENA)]. Robustness analyses use a subsample of these airlines over a period of 10 years.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the membership in a firm group and a high share of state ownership are more beneficial for the number of alliances if the firm originates from a country with low institutional development.Practical implicationsFirms from less developed countries can use affiliations (e.g. to firm groups or the government) as signals to attract international alliance partners.Social implicationsPolicymakers from less developed countries should support the development of (local) firm groups to stimulate interorganizational cooperation.Originality/valueFirms form alliances based on two aspects: preferences for alliance partners and attractiveness to potential partners. Prior studies outlined that institutional development affects the preferences of firms for alliance partners. This study demonstrates how the institutional development influences the attractiveness to potential partners.

The Effects of Alliance on Foreign IPO Firms’ Survivability in the United States

The purpose of this paper is to understand how foreign firms’ alliances and the characteristics of those alliances (ties to a host country and alliance portfolio diversity) influence firms’ survivability. Using data from 162 foreign firms that made IPOs in the U.S. financial market between 2000 and 2008, this study investigates how number of alliances, alliances with US firms, and alliance portfolio diversity post-IPO influenced the foreign the firms’ long-term survivability. Relying on the resource-based view, we hypothesized that number of alliances and alliances with US firms would have positive impact on survivability and that alliance portfolio diversity would have an inverse U-shaped relationship with survivability. The study finds that a greater number of alliances post-IPO has a positive impact on firm survivability, but ties with US firms do not have significant effect. Contrary to our expectation, the relationship between alliance portfolio diversity and survivability is U-shaped (not inverted). A moderately diverse alliance portfolio diminishes a firm’s survivability, but a high level of alliance portfolio diversity has a positive impact on the firm’s survivability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between the alliances of foreign firms and survivability post-IPO. This study sheds new light on the implications of alliance building by foreign firms.

The Road to El Dorado – Strategic Alliances as a Tool for Enhancing Firm Legitimacy

Strategic alliances have long been recognized as important tools that firms can utilize to enhance their competitiveness. Much of the literature has emphasized the resource dependence perspective whereby firms partner with one another in order to codevelop new resources and competencies. However, the literature has also begun to recognize that firms may form alliances for reasons beyond resource access. Legitimacy represents an important, yet understudied, consequence of alliance formation. In this paper, we investigate the legitimacy outcomes of strategic alliance formation. We find that an inverted-U relationship exists between the number of alliances formed and normative legitimacy as measured by media perceptions. We also show that status asymmetry along with the overarching environmental context of alliance formation itself also serve as important moderators of the alliance formation and legitimacy relationship. In conducting this study, we expand upon the institutional perspective of alliance formation and contribute to the broader alliance literature by examining the legitimacy-based outcomes of alliance formation.