Dimensions Of Proximity Research Articles

The challenge of optimizing supports for people living with and beyond cancer: creating proximity between cancer and non-profit community-based providers

PurposeNon-profit community-based organizations (CO) remain insufficiently integrated into cancer networks. Drawing on dimensions of proximity, this study explores how and why coordination between cancer teams and COs is established and solidified.MethodsA descriptive interpretive study is undertaken in Québec (Canada), where a cancer program has long promoted the integration of COs in the cancer trajectory. Semi-directed interviews with providers, managers and people living with and beyond cancer (total n = 46) explore the challenges of coordination between cancer and CO providers, along with facilitating or impeding factors. Three main themes related to coordination in cancer networks emerge, which are analyzed by operationalizing the multi-dimensional framework of proximity.ResultsFindings reveal a lack of cognitive proximity, which calls for efforts to both identify patient needs and increase cancer team knowledge and appreciation of CO resources. Organizational proximity refers to systems and rules that facilitate interactions, and we find that referral mechanisms and communication channels are inadequate, with patients often playing a linking role despite barriers. Coordination improves when relational proximity is established between cancer and CO teams, and this can be enhanced by geographic proximity; in one region, COs have a physical presence within the cancer center.ConclusionIntegrating COs into the cancer network can help meet the spectrum of needs faced by people living with and beyond cancer. This study offers managers and decision-makers insight into how coordination between cancer teams and COs can be supported. Proximity allows the distinct contributions of actors to be considered in context and contributes to understanding the “how” of integrated practice.

Les effets des proximités sur l’apprentissage : le cas de la prise en charge de la douleur chronique en France.

The objective of this article is to study the effects of proximity on learning in order to better understand how, at a theoretical level, the dimensions of proximity are articulated with the key steps of the learning process. Empirically, the objective is to better understand these effects in a particular health domain, the treatment of chronic pain in France through consultations in hospital pain centers. The analysis reveals two main findings. 1) organizational proximity favors patient empowerment and, doing so, patient learning. 2) there is a mutually reinforcing effect between social proximity and learning, so far not documented in the literature.

“A lender should not know where you live”: Financial precarity, debt, and everyday life in rural Malawi and Tanzania

This paper examines the loan sources used by rural solar home system adopters to meet their everyday needs, as well as the motivations for using these sources. The findings show that people in rural areas take into account social and economic factors when making a decision regarding where to seek a loan. People borrowed money from individuals with whom they had strong ties, which could be parents, siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, or neighbours, and there was heterogeneity regarding where people situate family members along the weak/strong tie continuum. The results show that people preferred borrowing money from individuals with whom they had relationships based on the principle of reciprocity, suggesting their preference to avoid dependency in favour of equality. The findings also show that spatial and social proximity are intimately interconnected, and that both play an important role in determining where people turn to when in need of a loan. In several cases, the provision of a loan was based on a combination of both dimensions of proximity. Our findings have implications for energy policies that increasingly require households to bear the financial demands of access to basic energy services.

The role of proximity in the design of innovation intermediaries' business models

Collaboration between science and industry is arguably more vital than ever to improve the capacity for advanced innovation and value creation. However, there is considerable diversity among the actors of innovation ecosystems, which raises the question of the roles and positions of specific actors: the innovation intermediaries. These are meant to be boundary organizations, developing proximity to favor collaborations. Spatial and non-spatial proximities are crucial in the innovation process and can be framed to better understand the role and configuration of innovation intermediaries, as well as the design of their business models. Based on a longitudinal case study of a new, atypical, intermediary organization within a French university, this research was conducted through an original perspective, articulating the business model with the proximity dimensions. The results reveal the nature and the role of proximity in the emergence and development of an innovation intermediary. The business model can frame the proximity choices and decisions. On a dynamic perspective, we reveal “proximity-making” processes shaping innovation intermediaries' business models, for their survival in complex environments. Beyond theoretical contributions, we finally present implications for universities, managers and policymakers.

Assessing the importance of proximity dimensions for the diffusion of radical innovations in German biotechnology

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the impact of the different proximity dimensions on the subsequent innovation performance of firms which received radical knowledge spillovers. The analysis for the case of biotechnology small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in Germany is based on a dataset covering the period from 1998 to 2017. Results indicate the positive impact of social and organizational proximity on the innovation performance of radical knowledge recipients. Geographical proximity has a negative impact, whereas for cognitive proximity a U-shaped relation is observed. The paper contributes to the innovation economics and economic geography literature by underlining the peculiarities of the effectiveness of radical knowledge spillovers. Additionally, the importance of policy support for SMEs across regions and technological fields is highlighted.

Are Non-Special Dimensions of Proximity in Local Clusters Related? An Analysis of 99 European Clusters

The destructive effects of industries on the environment are the most crucial reason for the need for firms’ proximity to developing innovative activities such as corporate sustainability. However, most prior efforts have focused on the role of different types of proximity in cluster performances, not the relationship among them. Therefore, this study intends to go one step back, discuss the inter-relationships between different types of proximity, and propose them in a conceptual model as the antecedents of corporate sustainability. These factors are known as the non-specific dimensions of proximity within local clusters: cognitive, organisational, institutional, and social, which received less attention as a theoretical model. To this end, this study invited all members of the European Cluster Cooperation Platform (ECCP) to participate. Among some 1080 European cluster organisations, 113 organisations participated, of which 99 of them were usable for this research. Contrary to existing conceptual theories, the results revealed no strong evidence for significant interrelations among all dimensions of non-specific proximity. Moreover, organisational proximity does not strongly relate to cognitive and social proximities, and there is no meaningful relationship between institutional and social proximities.

Needs Assessment of Iranian Families with Neonates Hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: The neonate's birth and subsequent hospitalization cause families to experience various needs. Identifying the family's needs can lead to the provision of qualitative services and the implementation of family-centered development care (FCDC) by nurses. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the needs of Iranian families with neonates in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in northern Iran in 2018 - 2019 on 360 parents of neonates admitted by convenience sampling method to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Data were collected by demographic questionnaire of parents and neonates and NICU Family Needs Inventory (NFNI) of Ward with five dimensions of proximity, assurance, information, comfort, and support. The data were analyzed using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients and a t-test by SPSS23 software. Results: The most important dimensions of family needs were proximity to the infant (93.59%), information (90.53%), assurance (89.18%), comfort (86.70%), and support (80.78%). A comparison of the dimensions of the needs of primiparous, multiparous, and term preterm parents indicated that assurance for multiparous parents (P < 0.001) and comfort for parents with term infants (P < 0.02) were significantly higher than the other dimensions. Conclusions: The study found that proximity to infants is the most important dimension of family needs. Therefore, the relevant authorities should take effective measures to ensure parent-infant proximity.

Dimensions of Proximity: An Actionable Framework to Better Understand Integrated Practices in Cancer Networks.

Introduction:This study empirically explores how dimensions of proximity that support integrated care emerge from deliberate actions within a cancer network in Quebec (Canada).Methods:We conduct a supplementary analysis of qualitative data from a primary multi-case study focused on collaborative governance and cancer care integration. Data from semi-structured interviews, documents and observation are analysed to find out how relationships take shape through actions that create different dimensions of proximity, and how these contribute to integrated practices.Results:Deliberate actions at different levels within the network create dimensions of proximity. The creation of committees and communities of practice at national and local level establish geographic proximity. Relational proximity among actors emerges to different degrees in these venues. Cognitive proximity is generated by consistent promotion of the national cancer plan and person-centred care. The priority of cancer care at policy level and prescription of common standards enhance organizational proximity. Synergy between dimensions of proximity appears essential to the emergence of integrated practices. Insufficient efforts to create technological and institutional proximity contribute to inconsistent clinical and professional integration.Conclusion:The concept of proximity appears a promising complement to existing models of integration, especially in complex contexts such as cancer networks.HighlightsDeliberate actions at different levels within the cancer network create a number of dimensions of proximityGeographic proximity, be it objective or subjective, facilitates relational, cognitive and institutional proximityA national cancer plan sustained by shared leadership enhances organizational proximity, facilitating integrated practicesActivation of different dimensions of proximity among network actors likely underpins and sustains functional, normative and organizational integrationInsufficient efforts to create technological and institutional proximity contribute to inconsistent clinical and professional integrationThe multiple dimensions of proximity appear a promising complement to existing models of integration, especially in complex contexts such as cancer networks.

Navigating networks – to make a difference: the support base composition of local change agents in Amsterdam, Birmingham, Glasgow and Copenhagen

ABSTRACT As the attention for collaborative governance is on the rise emphasizing bottom-up approaches in urban planning and regeneration, there is an increasing interest in local people able to enact ‘place-based’ leadership and change. While several studies have characterized these individuals, other parts of the scholarly literature show that they seldom work alone but often in collaboration with others. Whereas various urban scholars have highlighted formal relations as important in the support bases of local change agents, few have studied the informal site of these support bases. In this article, we study the networks that function as support bases of 40 local change agents in neighbourhoods across Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen and Glasgow. More specifically, we describe with whom these change agents collaborate. By applying a theoretical framework that distinguish actors according to dimensions of sectors (public, private) and proximity (local, regional, national) we assess the diversity (heterogeneity) and the similarity (homogeneity) of their support bases. Our findings demonstrate that most local change agents rely on informal trust-based relationships and homogenous support bases. As such, this research empirically unfolds the strengths and vulnerabilities of local change agents’ support bases, which contains key insights to improve current neighbourhood work in our cities.

The importance of proximity dimensions in agricultural knowledge and innovation systems: The case of banana disease management in Rwanda

CONTEXTSocial networks play an important role in the diffusion of knowledge, and farmers draw on their personal networks to enhance their adaptive capacity to shocks. Different forms of proximity have been long recognized as important factors in knowledge and information exchanges. However, the specific roles and their interactions in agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKISs) are still far from clear. In this study, we investigate the underlying forces that drive tie formation within the knowledge-sharing networks of banana farmers in four different villages in Rwanda. OBJECTIVEOur study has three objectives: First, we discuss the importance of various types of proximities in AKIS research. Second, we empirically contribute to how different forms of proximity influence the way knowledge diffuses in formal and informal networks by studying a plant disease's management. Finally, we discuss our findings' relevance for targeted interventions to help rural communities transition to greater resilience. METHODSWe review different proximity concepts and adapt them for use within an AKIS context. We then apply this framework to assess the proximity effects on the advice-seeking networks of banana farmers in four purposefully chosen villages in Rwanda. We used a structured questionnaire to collect social network information about the management of banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW), from all banana growers (N = 491) in these four villages. We distinguished the informal advice networks among farmers from the official government extension system—the formal advice network. We employed exponential random-graph models to assess the determinants of the networks we observed, especially geographical, cognitive and social proximity indices. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe found that geographical proximity significantly affects knowledge exchange within larger villages' informal advice networks; but not in smaller villages, where both cognitive and social proximities play substantial roles. We argue that farmers are socially closer in smaller communities where geographical distance does not matter, and that geographical distance only starts to matter after a certain community size threshold is reached. SIGNIFICANCEWe provide solid empirical evidence to help plan targeted interventions toward greater resilience for rural communities. We argue that properly integrating informal social networks can result in more effective knowledge exchange within AKISs, enhancing their resilience.

The role of proximity in omnichannel customer experience: a service logic perspective

PurposeThis article proposes a new theoretical background against which to measure customer experience for omnichannel service deliveries and communications based on the concept of proximity. This represents a first step in developing a new measurement approach for omnichannel customer experience.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological approach is based on literature review and theory development. Various streams of literature are integrated on the basis of their interactionist nature (service logic, psychological distance theory, and omnichannel customer experience literature), and theory is developed based thereon.FindingsSuccessful omnichannel service deliveries and communications should build proximity with the customer during interactions at the different touchpoints. Proximity represents the value-in-use for the customer, who is coproducer of value at each interaction. Proximity can be applied to all touchpoints, thus strengthening seamlessness for omnichannel service deliveries and communications.Originality/valueThis research advances knowledge by integrating the concepts of omnichannel and proximity under the lenses of service logic. The author proposes a new theoretical background for the measurement of omnichannel customer experience that contributes to the literature. In modern omnichannel service deliveries and communications, a measurement approach based on proximity fulfills the need to reconcile customer experiences at both remote and physical touchpoints for a holistic and coherent customer experience. Use of the four proximity dimensions (social, temporal, spatial, and hypothetical) gives flexibility to managers to build proximity across remote and physical touchpoints in different industries.

Differential microbial assembly processes and co-occurrence networks in the soil-root continuum along an environmental gradient.

Microorganisms of the soil-root continuum play key roles in ecosystem function. The Loess Plateau is well known for its severe soil erosion and thick loess worldwide, where mean annual precipitation (MAP) and soil nutrients decrease from the southeast to the northwest. However, the relative influence of environmental factors on the microbial community in four microhabitats (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and endosphere) in the soil-root continuum along the environmental gradient in the Loess Plateau remains unclear. In this study, we investigated 82 field sites from warm-temperate to desert grasslands across the Loess Plateau, China, to assess the bacterial diversity, composition, community assembly, and co-occurrence networks in the soil-root continuum along an environmental gradient using bacterial 16S recombinant DNA amplicon sequencing. We discovered that the microhabitats explained the largest source of variations in the bacterial diversity and community composition in this region. Environmental factors (e.g., MAP, soil organic carbon, and pH) impacted the soil, rhizosphere, and rhizoplane bacterial communities, but their effects on the bacterial community decreased with increased proximity to roots from the soil to the rhizoplane, and the MAP enlarged the dissimilarity of microbial communities from the rhizosphere and rhizoplane to bulk soil. Additionally, stochastic assembly processes drove the endosphere communities, whereas the soil, rhizosphere, and rhizoplane communities were governed primarily by the variable selection of deterministic processes, which showed increased importance from warm-temperate to desert grasslands. Moreover, the properties of the microbial networks in the rhizoplane community indicate more stable networks in desert grasslands, likely conferring the resistance of microbial communities in higher stress environments. Collectively, our results showed that the bacterial communities in the soil-root continuum had different sensitivities and assembly mechanisms along an environmental gradient. These patterns are shaped simultaneously by the intertwined dimensions of proximity to roots and environmental stress change in the Loess Plateau.

Community financing for sustainable food and farming: a proximity perspective

An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German organic agri-food sector involves citizens through different community financing models. While such models provide alternative funding sources as well as marketing opportunities to SMEs, they allow private investors to combine their financial and ethical concerns by directly supporting the development of a more sustainable food system. Due to the low level of financial intermediation, community financing is characterized by close relations between investors and investees. Against this background, we apply the proximity concept from economic geography to explore spatial and relational aspects of community financing in the German organic agri-food sector. Based on a qualitative multiple case study approach, we find that the relevance of proximity is twofold. While different forms of proximity between SMEs and their potential investors are key success factors, proximity is also considered as one desired outcome of community financing. Furthermore, our results reveal that the extent to which SMEs rely on particular proximity dimensions distinguishes two different approaches to community financing.

Firm Heterogeneities, Multi-Dimensional Proximities, and Systematic Dynamics of M&A Partnering: Evidences from Transitional China

Corporate investment strategies and decision-making processes are crucial for understanding the operation and evolution of socioeconomic systems. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been the main mode of corporate investment, growth, and upgrading, deeply affecting corporate reorganization, regional industrial restructuring, and economic globalization. By building a database including 5543 M&A partnerings and 1.89 million M&A non-partnerings, this study aims to uncover the systematic dynamics of M&A partnering in regional China during different phases since the mid-1990s, with particular attention given to the effects of firm heterogeneities and multi-dimensional proximities. Although geographical, cognitive, organizational, and institutional proximity dimensions are significantly influential for M&A partnering, we find that the effects of multi-dimensional proximities differ across M&A types and involving firms. Specifically, organizational proximity matters more for large- and medium-sized acquirers, while institutional proximity plays a more vital role in the acquisition target selection of private-owned and small-sized acquirers. Cognitive proximity measured by industrial and technical relatedness is more crucial for horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate M&As that are tightly associated with the corporate product, technical, and functional upgrading. The results indicate that the benefits of cognitive proximity may offset the risks and costs resulting from long-distance M&As, demonstrating the interactive dynamics between proximity dimensions. Our findings suggest that firm heterogeneities, proximity dynamics, and contextual factors should be focused on when explaining the investment decision-making processes of individual corporations in emerging and transitional economies such as China.

How close do you like your coffee? - Examining proximity and its effects in relationship coffee models

Relationship coffee models are generally characterized by a shortened value chain and efforts to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In three case studies with farmers organized in cooperatives in Peru and buyers in Austria or Germany, we analyzed the proximity among the geographically distant value chain actors. This paper aims to provide a more nuanced perspective on relational (organizational, institutional, cognitive, and social) proximity in relationship coffee models. The comparative analysis of the proximities in our case studies revealed that initial face-to-face contacts are required to build further proximity dimensions. Proximate relationship coffee models have led to more recognition, pride, a good reputation of the actors, higher coffee quality and thus farm-gate prices, and stable long-term relationships. However, relationship coffees require more coordination and communication among chain actors and advanced farmer skills and efforts to produce high-quality coffee. In relationship coffee models, farmers still depend on buyers and roasters to benefit from higher quality of their green coffee.

Local food: a constellation of perceived proximity

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the definition of local food through the concept of perceived proximity in order to improve the understanding of food locality and to propose a new framework for analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an exploratory research through 32 semi-structured interviews with six agri-food industry stakeholders carried out in Quebec, Canada. Thematic analysis is used to identify the main dimensions of the proximity of a local food. A conceptual framework based on the results is presented.FindingsThe results suggest that local food can be defined according to nine dimensions of proximity: geographic, process, price, identity, relational, functional, cultural, access and experiential.Originality/valueThis study allows the concept of local food to be broken down into a constellation of perceived proximities and expands the understanding of the differences in the perception of food locality.

PROXIMITY DIMENSIONS AND DYNAMICS WITHIN AN ORGANISATION: EXPERIENCES FROM A CHANGE PROCESS

Proximity between actors within an organisation can be relevant for interactive learning and innovation because it promotes collaboration and knowledge exchange. However, proximity has mainly been studied as a characteristic of the relationships between actors belonging to different organisations. In this paper, a case study of a faculty at a university is used to investigate proximity within this organisation and related to a change process. Based on 23 interviews and a self-ethnographic approach, we offer a detailed micro-perspective on how the geographic, cognitive, and social dimensions of proximity influence interactive learning and innovation between employees within the organisation. We also identify two distinct proximity configurations that have emerged during the change process. Finally, we analyse how the proximity dimensions are balanced within these configurations and offer two propositions explaining their influence on interactive learning and innovation. We thereby contribute to the existing theory on proximity by extending the insight into proximity from an inter-organisational to an intra-organisational level and by adding new knowledge to the understanding of proximity dynamics.

Another Person’s Peril: Peanut Allergy, Risk Perceptions, and Responsible Sociality

This article examines perceptions of health risk when some individuals within a shared space are in heightened danger but anyone, including unaffected others, can be a vector of risk. Using the case of peanut allergy and drawing on qualitative content analysis of the public comments submitted in response to an unsuccessful 2010 U.S. Department of Transportation proposal to prohibit peanuts on airplanes, we analyze contention over the boundaries of responsibility for mitigating exposure to risk. We find three key dimensions of proximity to risk (material, social, and situational) characterizing ardent claims both for and against policy enactment. These proximity concerns underlay commenters’ sensemaking about fear, trust, rights, moral obligations, and liberty in the act of sharing space with others, while allowing them to stake positions on what we call “responsible sociality”—an ethic of discernible empathy for proximate others and of consideration for public benefit in social and communal settings. We conclude by discussing the insights our case affords several other areas of scholarship attentive to the intractable yet timely question of “for whom do we care?”

What you google is where you are from: Power and proximity in the global information flow of online searches

What information do people search about other countries and why? In this study we coded and analyzed more than 15,000 Google searches related to France and Spain during a 16-year period, from 18 countries with diverse characteristics and relationships with France and Spain. We coded these search queries into topical categories. We also collected country-level variables to reflect the power of each country and its proximity to France and Spain. We studied the associations between the components of power and proximity of countries and their search topics. Our findings reveal that the power and proximity of the searching countries can predict much of their search topics with some specific differences between France and Spain. While economically powerful countries tend to search more for travel destinations, poorer countries search more for sports. Richer countries with geographic proximity tend to search for shopping and transportation, while poorer countries with historical and cultural proximity search more for language and education opportunities. We propose an integrative model to assess the different dimensions of power and proximity of countries and discuss the implications of our findings to theories of global information flows.

Transnational public research funding in Europe: exploring proximity dimensions in the ERA-NET programs

This paper explores the factors that affect the decisions of policy makers at the national level for what concerns engaging in transnational joint research activities and mobilising dedicated financial resources. The authors test whether different levels of proximity are likely to influence the emergence of similar patterns across countries in terms of participating in transnational research programs. The research question is investigated by analysing JoREP 2.0, a database containing data on the organisational and financial characteristics of transnational joint research programs in Europe and the policy actors involved. Heterogeneity of socio-economic research objectives and closeness in domestic research and development funding and scientific performance are likely to influence the commitment of financial resources by European countries in joint research programs, such as ERA-NETs.