Disruption Strategies Research Articles

Strategic Agility in Dynamic Markets: Leveraging Innovation for Competitive Advantage.

This study explored the concept of strategic agility in dynamic Kenyan technology markets, emphasizing its role in achieving competitive advantage through innovation and adaptability. Using a qualitative multi-case study approach, the research focused on five leading technology firms characterized by their agility and innovation capabilities. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, corporate reports, and secondary sources, with analysis facilitated by thematic coding and NVivo software. The findings revealed four critical dimensions of strategic agility: adaptive decision-making, organizational learning, resource reallocation, and innovation-driven strategies. Agile firms relied on decentralized decision-making structures and real-time data analytics to respond to market volatility, supported by continuous learning and partnerships with academic institutions. Resource reallocation practices demonstrated strategic foresight, enabling investments in high-potential projects. The integration of incremental and disruptive innovation strategies further underscored the firms' ability to address immediate market demands while preparing for future challenges. These insights underscore the importance of cultivating a culture of agility, leveraging digital tools, and fostering continuous learning for sustained competitiveness. Recommendations highlight the need for flexible resource allocation mechanisms, structured training programs, and external collaborations to enhance agility. Future research could examine external influences on strategic agility, industry-specific factors, and the role of digital tools in fostering agility, particularly within small and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya.

Intellectual structure of disruptive innovation: a bibliometric analysis and systematic review

PurposeDisruptive innovation is regarded as an important engine of the new technological revolution, which can change the traditional market structure and business model completely. Articles on disruptive innovation remain fragmented and heterogeneous in terms of theoretical paradigms and empirical studies. For the purpose of further understanding about disruptive innovation, and to recognize its evolutionary trajectory and research trends, this paper provides a systematic literature review.Design/methodology/approachBased on data from Web of Science a total of 1,415 articles were collected to identify productive countries, prominent journals, influential authors and main sub-fields on disruptive innovation. Additionally, important articles are analyzed for content.FindingsThere is an overall increasing trend in the number of articles, a uniformity of highly productive authors and countries and a primary concentration in business and management journals. Moreover, six research clusters are identified and an antecedent-decision-outcome framework is constructed to categorize significant studies.Practical implicationsThis paper outlines the key focuses of the field: application and adoption of disruptive technology, identifying and responding to disruptive innovation, commercialization of disruptive technology, disruptive innovation strategies and disruptive business models.Originality/valueThis paper combines bibliometrics and content analysis to systematically overview disruptive innovation research.

Efficient DNA-free co-targeting of nuclear genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a model organism for unicellular green microalgae, is widely used in basic and applied research. Nonetheless, proceeding towards synthetic biology requires a full set of manipulation techniques for inserting, removing, or editing genes. Despite recent advancements in CRISPR/Cas9, still significant limitations in producing gene knock-outs are standing, including (i) unsatisfactory genome editing (GE) efficiency and (ii) uncontrolled DNA random insertion of antibiotic resistance markers. Thus, obtaining efficient gene targeting without using marker genes is instrumental in developing a pipeline for efficient engineering of strains for biotechnological applications. We developed an efficient DNA-free gene disruption strategy, relying on phenotypical identification of mutants, to (i) precisely determine its efficiency compared to marker-relying approaches and (ii) establish a new DNA-free editing tool. This study found that classical CRISPR Cas9-based GE for gene disruption in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is mainly limited by DNA integration. With respect to previous results achieved on synchronized cell populations, we succeeded in increasing the GE efficiency of single gene targeting by about 200 times and up to 270 times by applying phosphate starvation. Moreover, we determined the efficiency of multiplex simultaneous gene disruption by using an additional gene target whose knock-out did not lead to a visible phenotype, achieving a co-targeting efficiency of 22%. These results expand the toolset of GE techniques and, additionally, lead the way to future strategies to generate complex genotypes or to functionally investigate gene families. Furthermore, the approach provides new perspectives on how GE can be applied to (non-) model microalgae species, targeting groups of candidate genes of high interest for basic research and biotechnological applications.

Design Labs-The Power of With.

Design labs are one of the most exciting multidimensional communication and disruption strategies available to health-care teams today. A design lab can be as simple as a gathering of people who use the framework of design thinking to iterate solutions and innovations to problems in their environment. Design labs support teams in exploring solutions for current health-care challenges, in a safe, creative space. They are a place where nurses can explore their own practice and iterate organizational policies and processes.

Cell Disruption and Hydrolysis of Microchloropsis salina Biomass as a Feedstock for Fermentation

Microalgae are a promising biomass source because of their capability to fixate CO2 very efficiently. In this study, the potential of Microchloropsis salina biomass as a feedstock for fermentation was explored, focusing on biomass hydrolysis by employing various mechanical and chemical cell disruption strategies in combination with enzymatic hydrolysis. Among the mechanical cell disruption methods investigated on a lab scale, namely ultrasonication, bead milling, and high-pressure homogenization, the most effective was bead milling using stainless-steel beads with a diameter of 2 mm. In this way, 87–97% of the cells were disrupted in 40 min using a mixer mill. High-pressure homogenization was also effective, achieving 86% disruption efficiency after four passes on a 30–200 L scale using biomass with 15% (w/w) solids content. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the disrupted cells using a mixture of cellulases and mannanases yielded up to 25% saccharification efficiency after 72 h. Acidic hydrolysis of undisrupted cells followed by enzymatic treatment yielded around 30% saccharification efficiency but was coupled with significant dilution of the resulting hydrolysate. Microalgal biomass hydrolysate produced was determined to have ~8.1 g L−1 sugars and 2.5% (w/w) total carbon, as well as sufficient nitrogen and phosphorus content as a fermentation medium.

Identification of Supply Chain Disruption Risks and Strategies in the Electric Vehicle Industry Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP)

In recent years, the electric vehicle industry has witnessed unprecedented development opportunities. However, with rapid technological iterations and fluctuating market demands, the vulnerability and complexity of the electric vehicle supply chain have significantly increased the potential risk of supply chain disruptions. Against this backdrop, this study adopts the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to systematically analyze the risks of supply chain disruptions in the electric vehicle industry. By constructing a judgment matrix through industry data surveys and expert scoring, and conducting consistency checks, the weights of various risk factors are determined. The study finds that technological quality risk, demand forecast deviation, and logistics disruption are the primary factors affecting the stability of the electric vehicle supply chain. Additionally, although the probability is relatively low, the potential destructiveness of exogenous risks is equally undeniable. Accordingly, the study will propose targeted management strategies to enhance the resilience of the new energy vehicle supply chain at both the enterprise and industry levels in response to these risks.

Strategic agility and sustainable competitive advantage of licensed television stations in Kenya: The moderating role of disruptive innovation

This study examined the effect of disruptive innovation on the association between strategic agility and sustainable competitive advantage of licensed television stations in Kenya. A comprehensive scrutiny of literature revealed that the effect of disruptive innovation on the nexus between strategic agility and sustainable competitive advantage had not been been empirically tested within the context of licensed television stations in Kenya. The study was anchored on the positivist philosophy and adopted a cross-sectional descriptive research design. 210 television stations that were in operation at the time of the study were surveyed. Research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM), and the findings confirmed that disruptive innovation moderated the relationship between strategic agility and sustainable competitive advantage of licensed television stations in Kenya. While strategic agility had a significant and direct positive influence on sustainable competitive advantage, disruptive innovation enhanced that relationship. The results of this study contribute to literature on strategic agility and some of the contingency conditions necessary for sustainable competitive advantage. The findings have also enhanced the understanding of the competitive forces at play within the television sub sector of the media industry in Kenya. It is recommended that licensed television stations in Kenya pay keen attention to disruptive technologies and strategies such as entry into new markets, acquisition/partnerships with digital start-ups, focusing on underserved or overshot market segments, and experimentation with new business models.

High-Throughput Screening of Antioxidant Drug Candidates from Natural Antioxidants with a "Zero" Intrinsic Fluorescence Peroxynitrite Sensing Precursor.

The fluorescence high-throughput screening method is of importance for new antioxidant drug candidate discovery for the treatment of serious hepatorenal syndrome, which displayed an obvious upregulated peroxynitrite level. However, most of the current ONOO- probes possessed incomplete fluorescence quenching efficiency, which can result in non-negligible probe inherent fluorescence. Hence, we utilized the probe conjugated structure disruption strategy to construct hydrogenation phosphorus-substituted rhodamine (H-PRh) with "zero" probe inherent fluorescence character. Based on the precursor, a series of natural products were screened for identifying antioxidant drug candidates. Luteolin was screened out by activating the Sirt1-Nrf2-HO-1 signaling pathway to regulate the accumulation of ONOO- in the hepatorenal syndrome. Overall, the "zero" probe inherent fluorescence ONOO- sensor constructed here applies for a promising and versatile toolbox for illuminating the ONOO--related pathological process in the hepatorenal syndrome. Besides, this strategy of constructing highly sensitive sensors could serve as a valuable reference for further fluorescent probes.

Facile synthesis of rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalytic dye degradation of crystal violet dye solution

The rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite (NCs) was synthesized using a hydrothermal method. The crystallite size, morphology, and optical properties of rGO, ZnCo2O4, and the rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite were extensively characterized using TG/DTA, FT-IR, UV-DRS, XRD, SEM with EDAX, and TEM techniques. The synthesized rGO/ZnCo2O4 NCs were crystalline with a cubic spinel structure and an average crystallite size of 19 nm, as confirmed by XRD. The optical bandgaps of pure ZnCo2O4 and the rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite were estimated to be 2.3 eV and 1.8 eV, respectively. The crystal violet (CV) dye was efficiently removed from an aqueous solution by photocatalytic degradation under visible light and sunlight irradiation in the presence of pure ZnCo2O4 and the rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite. The degradation results revealed that nearly 99.9 % of dye degradation was achieved with the rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite compared to pure ZnCo2O4 nanoparticles in 60 minutes. Hence, the rGO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite can be considered a promising and efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of crystal violet dye. The key highlight of this work is the low-cost, disruptive engineering strategy for synthesizing nanocatalysts for multifaceted applications.

S24-01 Building an IATA-based testing strategy for thyroid hormone disruption resulting in developmental neurotoxicity

S24-01 Building an IATA-based testing strategy for thyroid hormone disruption resulting in developmental neurotoxicity

Performance Implications of Digital Disruption in Strategic Competition

Pervasive digitalization is changing how firms engage in strategic competition. Some firms are pursuing digital disruption strategies, using digital resources to rewire their value chain and change the landscape of their industry by redefining performance expectations. Other firms are adapting to digitalization by adding digital resources into their existing value chain. Through NK model simulations, we advance our understanding of digital disruption vis-à-vis adaptation in strategic competition in two main ways. First, we unearth important nuances in performance trade-offs: A digital disruption strategy may be effective for relative performance at the expense of absolute performance gains. Second, we explore relevant market- and competitor-related conditions under which firms should opt (or not) for a digital disruption strategy.

Network disruption via continuous batch removal: The case of Sicilian Mafia.

Network disruption is pivotal in understanding the robustness and vulnerability of complex networks, which is instrumental in devising strategies for infrastructure protection, epidemic control, cybersecurity, and combating crime. In this paper, with a particular focus on disrupting criminal networks, we proposed to impose a within-the-largest-connected-component constraint in a continuous batch removal disruption process. Through a series of experiments on a recently released Sicilian Mafia network, we revealed that the constraint would enhance degree-based methods while weakening betweenness-based approaches. Moreover, based on the findings from the experiments using various disruption strategies, we propose a structurally-filtered greedy disruption strategy that integrates the effectiveness of greedy-like methods with the efficiency of structural-metric-based approaches. The proposed strategy significantly outperforms the longstanding state-of-the-art method of betweenness centrality while maintaining the same time complexity.

Regional Breakthrough Innovation Change Strategies, Ecological Location Suitability of High-Tech Industry Innovation Ecosystems, and Green Energy

Against the backdrop of an ongoing energy revolution, this study measured the regional green energy efficiency and ecological niche suitability of high-tech industry innovation ecosystems using the Super-SBM and entropy methods. We employed panel data from 30 mainland provinces (excluding Tibet) from 2009 to 2021 to conduct a quasi-natural experiment using spatial difference-in-differences models and double machine learning models. This was performed in order to investigate the impact mechanisms of the transformation of ecological niche suitability within the innovation ecosystems of high-tech industries driven by regional breakthrough innovation change strategies on green energy efficiency. The findings of this study revealed the following: (1) Driven by regional breakthrough innovation strategies, the transformation of the ecological niche suitability of high-tech industry innovation ecosystems has significant and positive local effects and spillover effects on green energy efficiency. (2) Regional breakthrough innovation strategies have a significant and positive mediating transmission effect on green energy efficiency through the development and optimization of internal factors within the ecological niche suitability of high-tech industry innovation ecosystems, including innovation entities, support, vitality, resources, and environment. (3) The transformation of the ecological niche suitability of high-tech industry innovation ecosystems driven by regional breakthrough innovation strategies promotes the advancement and rationalization of the industrial structure, thus indirectly enhancing regional green energy efficiency. These findings are of paramount importance for propelling the next wave of regional disruptive innovation reform strategies, ensuring that the outcomes of these reforms drive the ecological niche suitability of high-tech industry innovation ecosystems toward the advancement and realization of clean and efficient energy utilization.

Criminal organizations exhibit hysteresis, resilience, and robustness by balancing security and efficiency

The interplay between (criminal) organizations and (law enforcement) disruption strategies is critical in criminology and social network analysis. Like legitimate businesses, criminal enterprises thrive by fulfilling specific demands and navigating their unique challenges, including balancing operational visibility and security. This study aims at comprehending criminal networks’ internal dynamics, resilience to law enforcement interventions, and robustness to changes in external conditions. Using a model based on evolutionary game theory, we analyze these networks as collaborative assemblies of roles, considering expected costs, potential benefits, and the certainty of expected outcomes. Here, we show that criminal organizations exhibit strong hysteresis effects, with increased resilience and robustness once established, challenging the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement strategies focused on deterrence through increased punishment. The hysteresis effect defines optimal thresholds for the formation or dissolution of criminal organisation. Our findings indicate that interventions of similar magnitude can lead to vastly different outcomes depending on the existing state of criminality. This result suggests that the relationship between stricter punishment and its deterrent effect on organized crime is complex and sometimes non-linear. Furthermore, we demonstrate that network structure, specifically interconnectedness (link density) and assortativity of specialized skills, significantly influences the formation and stability of criminal organizations, underscoring the importance of considering social connections and the accessibility of roles in combating organized crime. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the systemic nature of criminal behavior from an evolutionary perspective and highlight the need for adaptive, strategic approaches in policy-making and law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks effectively.

The Effects of Classroom Disruptive Behavioral Management Strategies for Middle School Students Talking out of Turn

The Effects of Classroom Disruptive Behavioral Management Strategies for Middle School Students Talking out of Turn

Peptide-IR820 Conjugate: A Promising Strategy for Efficient Vascular Disruption and Hypoxia Induction in Melanoma.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has emerged as a noninvasive and precise cancer treatment modality known for its high selectivity and lack of drug resistance. However, the clinical translation of many PTT agents is hindered by the limited biodegradability of inorganic nanoparticles and the instability of organic dyes. In this study, a peptide conjugate, IR820-Cys-Trp-Glu-Trp-Thr-Trp-Tyr (IR820-C), was designed to self-assemble into nanoparticles for both potent PTT and vascular disruption in melanoma treatment. When co-assembled with the poorly soluble vascular disrupting agent (VDA) combretastatin A4 (CA4), the resulting nanoparticles (IR820-C@CA4 NPs) accumulate efficiently in tumors, activate systemic antitumor immune responses, and effectively ablate melanoma with a single treatment and near-infrared irradiation, as confirmed by our in vivo experiments. Furthermore, by exploiting the resulting tumor hypoxia, we subsequently administered the hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) to capitalize on the created microenvironment, thereby boosting therapeutic efficacy and antimetastatic potential. This study showcases the potential of short-peptide-based nanocarriers for the design and development of stable and efficient photothermal platforms. The multifaceted therapeutic strategy, which merges photothermal ablation with vascular disruption and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy, holds great promise for advancing the efficacy and scope of cancer treatment modalities.

Evaluating factors influencing community readiness for post-mining environmental development strategies

This research delves into the complex factors that affect how ready a community is to embrace new environmental development strategies, which could significantly change the region's social and economic fabric. Using a structured questionnaire, exploratory factor analysis and logistic regression analysis, the study assesses how corporate practices in resource management, environmental governance, efforts to enhance community capabilities, and various demographic factors influence the community's willingness to adapt to change. Despite its intentions to benefit both the mining operations and the community, corporate resource management appears to have a paradoxical impact on the community's willingness to pursue new environmental paths. This negative impact can be attributed to the dependency it creates. Effective corporate resource management can lead to a community becoming heavily reliant on the stability and benefits provided by the mining company. This dependency fosters a sense of security and satisfaction with the status quo, making community members less inclined to explore or support new and potentially disruptive environmental strategies. The stability provided by the mine's resource management practices may inadvertently anchor the community to existing economic structures, reducing their impetus to seek alternative livelihoods or adapt to new socioeconomic conditions. However, it is essential to consider the limitations of this finding. One limitation is the potential bias in community perceptions, where immediate benefits from corporate resource management overshadow long-term considerations for sustainable development. Additionally, the context-specific nature of this study means that these findings may not be universally applicable to all mining communities.

Ligand-Receptor Interaction-Induced Intracellular Phase Separation: A Global Disruption Strategy for Resistance-Free Lethality of Pathogenic Bacteria.

Addressing the global challenge of bacterial resistance demands innovative approaches, among which multitargeting is a widely used strategy. Current strategies of multitargeting, typically achieved through drug combinations or single agents inherently aiming at multiple targets, face challenges such as stringent pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic requirements and cytotoxicity concerns. In this report, we propose a bacterial-specific global disruption approach as a vastly expanded multitargeting strategy that effectively disrupts bacterial subcellular organization. This effect is achieved through a pioneering chemical design of ligand-receptor interaction-induced aggregation of small molecules, i.e., DNA-induced aggregation of a diarginine peptidomimetic within bacterial cells. These intracellular aggregates display affinity toward various proteins and thus substantially interfere with essential bacterial functions and rupture bacterial cell membranes in an "inside-out" manner, leading to robust antibacterial activities and suppression of drug resistance. Additionally, biochemical analysis of macromolecule binding affinity, cytoplasmic localization patterns, and bacterial stress responses suggests that this bacterial-specific intracellular aggregation mechanism is fundamentally different from nonselective classic DNA or membrane binding mechanisms. These mechanistic distinctions, along with the peptidomimetic's selective permeation of bacterial membranes, contribute to its favorable biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic properties, enabling its in vivo antimicrobial efficacy in several animal models, including mice-based superficial wound models, subcutaneous abscess models, and septicemia infection models. These results highlight the great promise of ligand-receptor interaction-induced intracellular aggregation in achieving a globally disruptive multitargeting effect, thereby offering potential applications in the treatment of malignant cells, including pathogens, tumor cells, and infected tissues.

A global sensitivity analysis method based on IBWO-SVR-SS

PurposeAiming at the inefficiency of solving the Sobol index using the traditional mathematical analytical method, a Sobol global sensitivity analysis method is proposed.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, a support vector regression (SVR) surrogate model is constructed to solve the Sobol index. The optimal combination of SVR hyperparameters is obtained by using the improved beluga whale optimization (IBWO). Meanwhile, in order to solve the problem that Sobol sequences will form correlation regions in high-dimensional space leading to the uneven distribution of sampling points, a scrambled strategy is introduced in the Sobol sensitivity analysis using IBWO-SVR. Thus, the IBWO-SVR-SS sensitivity analysis model is established.FindingsThe results of two test functions show that the method further improves the accuracy of the sensitivity analysis. Finally, the first-order Sobol index and second-order Sobol index are solved by the IBWO-SVR-SS method using the metro bogie frame as an engineering example. Through the analysis results, the key design parameters of the frame and the design parameter combinations with more obvious coupling relationships are identified, providing a strong reference for the subsequent analysis and structural optimization.Originality/valueSobol sensitivity analysis using the surrogate model method can effectively improve the efficiency of the solution. In addition, IBWO is used for the optimization of the SVR hyperparameters to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the optimization, and finally, the correction of the Sobol sequence through the introduction of the disruption strategy also further improves the accuracy of the sensitivity analysis of Sobol.

Chrononutrition in Critical Illness.

Circadian rhythms in humans are biological rhythms that regulate various physiological processes within a 24-hour time frame. Critical illness can disrupt the circadian rhythm, as can environmental and clinical factors, including altered light exposure, organ replacement therapies, disrupted sleep-wake cycles, noise, continuous enteral feeding, immobility, and therapeutic interventions. Nonpharmacological interventions, controlling the ICU environment, and pharmacological treatments are among the treatment strategies for circadian disruption. Nutrition establishes biological rhythms in metabolically active peripheral tissues and organs through appropriate synchronization with endocrine signals. Therefore, adhering to a feeding schedule based on the biological clock, a concept known as "chrononutrition," appears to be vitally important for regulating peripheral clocks. Chrononutritional approaches, such as intermittent enteral feeding that includes overnight fasting and consideration of macronutrient composition in enteral solutions, could potentially restore circadian health by resetting peripheral clocks. However, due to the lack of evidence, further studies on the effect of chrononutrition on clinical outcomes in critical illness are needed. The purpose of this review was to discuss the role of chrononutrition in regulating biological rhythms in critical illness, and its impact on clinical outcomes.