External Paths Research Articles

External Earning Pressure，Diversified Equity Investment and Firm Financialization

In recent years, financialization appears in Chinese firms to inspire financial investment to exclude real ones, which also exists in the United States and other nations. As the microcosmic basis of financialization, the phenomenon of firm financialization whether exists and its causes have attracted wide attention of scholars. Previous research in firm financialization focuses on macroeconomic factors like monetary policies; therefore, it attributes financialization to general investment decisions in firms which are affected by macroeconomic background. However, research in internal factors especially in corporate governance has been ignored to some extent. Because of the complex background of financialization, the impact of internal governance factors on firm financialization is also in urgent need of effective analyses, and then effective supervision and policy guidance are generated to avoid potential risks of the real economy. This paper firstly uses a modified empirical model in measuring idiosyncratic effects on firm financialization from corporate governance. In this model, inefficient investment is settled as the object instead of total investment in order to measure idiosyncratic motivations in financialization, and then we use the PSM method to balance the effects from irrational factors in firms’ investment decisions. On this basis, we carry out an empirical analysis in using semi-annual data of listed companies in China from 2007 to 2016. We firstly measure excluding effects in real investment from financialization under the background of corporate governance, which carries out both at the parent firm level and conglomerate level to obtain comprehensive results. Then we measure the impact from external earning pressure and diversified equity investment on excluding effects to analyze impressions from internal shareholders and external ones. It comes to the following conclusions: First, On the basis of excluding irrational investment decision-making, firm financialization represented by financial investment returns and holding equity of financial institutions has produced significant excluding effects of real investment. Second, external earning pressure strengthens excluding effects to some extent. Third, the impact of diversified equity investment on financialization shows two-sided effects: one is to strengthen excluding effects at the parent firm level, while the other is to reduce the effects at the conglomerate level. The conclusions of this paper indicate that the shareholder value orientation in Chinese firms essentially strengthens excluding effects from financialization both in internal and external paths. On the one hand, financialization effects are relieved while the equity investment of parent firms weakens total shareholder values; on the other hand, outside shareholder values strengthen financialization effects by earning pressure from external capital markets. In short, this paper expands the existing research from the following two aspects. First, it provides new paths in analyzing how the shareholder value orientation influence financialization effects, which strengthens the financialization theory. Second, this paper also constructs an empirical model for measuring the impact of corporate heterogeneity on financialization, which provides a certain basis for the follow-up study of firm financialization in the micro-field.

COAGULATION TEST FEATURES DEPENDING ON THE AB0-BLOOD GROUPS SYSTEM ANTIGENIC COMPOSITION

The maintenance of normal blood flow through the vessels is the result of the coordinated work of the coagulation and anticoagulation systems of our body. The balance of this system depends on many factors, including endothelial, humoral, platelet ones, however, we still lack knowledge about the effect of antigenic determinants on the state of the hemostatic system. This study is devoted to assessing the effect of the presence and absence of antigens on the AB0 system, presented on erythrocyte and platelet membranes, on hemostatic parameters. The study was conducted in the Clinics of Samara State Medical University and consisted of127 clinically healthy individuals who underwent a general analysis and biochemical blood analysis, 52 people with the most stable indicators of cell composition and metabolic profile were selected for a coagulation test, including determination of the activity of coagulation factors and routine tests. A significant decrease in the activity of the VIII and VII coagulation factors was revealed, as well as an increase in the prothrombin time in patients with 0 (I) blood group compared to the "antigenic" blood groups. The presence of biological variation for indicators of external and internal coagulation paths was noted, depending on the group of blood belonging to the AB0 system. The findings suggest that there is an increased susceptibility to bleeding in patients with 0 (I) blood groups due to the absence of antigenic determinants on the cell membrane, while for "antigenic" blood groups, on the contrary, there is a susceptibility to thrombosis due to increased activity of the components of the coagulation system.

Temperature Rise Effect of Permanent Magnet Wind Turbine in Different Field Settings

Temperature rise is an essential factor affecting the safety operation of electric machines. An appropriate solving domain is the first step to consider when calculating the temperature rise. However, the effect of solving domain setting on the calculation results of electric machine temperature rise has not been deeply discussed. In this paper, a 3MW permanent magnet wind generator is taken as an example. Based on the electrical and numerical heat transfer theories, two different solving domain models are established to compare the flow thermal characteristics of the internal and external ventilated paths. The fluid velocity changes in external ventilated path, the central section temperature rise and the velocity trace distribution of the internal ventilated path are compared in detail. Furthermore, the temperature rise of each component is analyzed. It is found that the fluid development in the generator is affected by solving domain selection. The results can provide a reference for accurate calculation of temperature rise of permanent magnet wind generator.

Oligomeric Silica-Wrapped Perovskites Enable Synchronous Defect Passivation and Grain Stabilization for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Photovoltaics

The intrinsic instability of hybrid perovskite materials induced by trap states that are correlated with the internal dissociation and migration of constituent ions under illumination arises as one major challenge hampering their commercialization, although high efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been demonstrated. Here, we report a facile strategy of wrapping perovskite grains within oligomeric silica (OS) matrix in a core-shell geometry, which can effectively passivate the defects at surfaces and grain boundaries and stabilize the grains at nanoscale by blocking both internal and external degradation paths in perovskite thin films. We observe significant reduction of trap density and elongation of carrier recombination lifetime in OS-wrapped perovskite, which leads to an increased efficiency of 21.5% for p-i-n structured PSCs with a decent open circuit voltage of 1.15 V and a fill factor of 0.81. We propose that such performance enhancement occurs due to the passivation of under-coordinated Pb defects via coordination bond between the oxygen atoms (Lewis base sites) of the –OCH2CH3 group in the OS layer with under-coordinated lead ions in the perovskite. Moreover, the OS shells, as a physical barrier, not only can prevent the permeation of external moisture and atmospheric gases, but also suppress the migration and dissociation of constituent ions, which create and deepen the intrinsic defects. This all-round nanoscale grain wrapping leads to remarkable improvement of the operational stability of PSCs, sustaining 80% of the efficiency after “burn-in’ under full sunlight with UV for more than 5200 h with maximum power tracking. Our findings provide an avenue for synchronous defect passivation and grain stabilization to further enhance both the photovoltaic performance and operational stability of PSCs.

Flutter Clearance Investigation of Camber-Morphing Aileron Tailored for a Regional Aircraft

When dealing with adaptive lifting surfaces, the level of complexity of the structural design naturally increases as a consequence of the augmented functionality of the resulting system. Specifically, an adaptive structure ensures a controlled and fully reversible transition from a baseline shape to a set of different configurations, each one characterized by different external loads and transmission paths of the internal stresses. The Consortium de recherche et d’innovation en aérospatiale au Québec (CRIAQ) MD0-505 research project, born from an efficient transatlantic cooperation among Italian and Canadian academic departments, research centers, and leading companies, suggests a possible solution to more stringent government requirements on emissions and safety: an innovative morphing aileron implemented to increase both structural stability and the in-cruise load control, was designed, manufactured, and tested. The aim of this article is to predict the aero-servo-elastic impact of a true-scale prototype on a regional aircraft, following an experimental test campaign and the development of a well-correlated finite-element model of the device. A detailed trade-off flutter analysis was performed by means of SANDY, an in-house code, in compliance with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-25 airworthiness requirements and referring—initially—to nominal aileron functioning. Furthermore, a sensitivity investigation was carried out to assess the dynamic stability of the adaptive aileron, verifying the flutter clearance in the presence of critical scenarios related to malfunctions of the actuation system. Safety values for the aileron control harmonic were investigated looking at potential certification and industrialization issues.

Investigation of proper external air flow path for tubular fuel cell stacks with an anode support feature

Although solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks are generally considered promising devices due to their many unique advantages, there are very few experiments and reports on anode support-type SOFC stacks with tubular (T-) designs, since it is quite difficult to determine a proper external air flow path design to support proper air and heat distribution qualities compared with cathode support T-SOFC stacks. In this paper, a large-scale 3D multiphysics model for the external air flow path of a convenient anode support T-SOFC stack is developed for the first time to investigate the general flow distribution characteristics of the external air flow paths. A novel external air flow path for an anode support T-stack is achieved by modifying the main and sub inlet/outlet manifolds, feed/exhaust headers structures and cross-section parameters. This new design is proven to greatly increase the air supply qualities among the tubes and over each tube surface and decrease the temperature gradients in the entire stack. The design could be the proper basic form used for anode support for T-SOFC stacks to achieve good stack performance and duration time in the near future.

Energy Harvesting with a Liquid-Metal Microfluidic Influence Machine

We describe and demonstrate a new energy harvesting technology based on a microfluidic realization of a Wimshurst influence machine. The prototype device converts the mechanical energy of a pressure-driven flow into electrical energy, using a multiphase system composed of droplets of liquid mercury surrounded by insulating oil. Electrostatic induction between adjacent metal droplets drives charge through external electrode paths, resulting in continuous charge amplification and collection. We demonstrate a power output of 4 nW from the initial prototype and present calculations suggesting that straightforward device optimization could increase the power output by more than 3 orders of magnitude. At that level the power efficiency of this energy harvesting mechanism, limited by viscous dissipation, could exceed 90%. The microfluidic context enables straightforward scaling and parallelization, as well as hydraulic matching to a variety of ambient mechanical energy sources such as human locomotion.

Development and characterization of a multilayer matrix textile sensor for interface pressure measurements

Matrix textile sensors hold great potential for measuring pressure distribution in applications of modern daily lives, mainly regarding the biomedical field, but also robotics, automotive systems, and wearable and consumer electronics. However, an experimental analysis of their metrological properties is lacking in the literature, thus compromising their widespread acceptance. In the present work, we report the characterization of an 8 × 8 textile sensor assembled by sandwiching a piezoresistive fabric sheet between two outer fabric layers embedding conductive rows and columns. The location of the applied pressure can be identified by detecting the position where the change of resistances occurs between the external conductive paths. The sensor structure, its electrical circuit and characteristics are described in detail, after studying both the integration levels of the hierarchical structure and the composition of the piezoresistive fabric sheet. The pressure measurement range and the calibration curve were studied by tuning circuital parameters. Repeatability, time drift, temperature dependence, signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic response were analyzed. Novel tests were employed to consider the sensor sensitivity to stretch, shear force and surface curvature. A special analysis was taken over hysteresis and dynamic accuracy, focusing on a possible compensating solution. Results indicated that the system provides overall good quality performances with the main drawback of a limited dynamic accuracy, typical of piezoresistive sensing elements. Nevertheless, the use of textiles allows the realization of lightweight, wearable, washable, thin and stretchable sensors. In addition fabric sensors are robust, cheap, easy-to-use and employable to cover large area three dimensional surfaces. The wide characterization reported here could provide precious insights and guidelines to help researchers and users in taking advantages from all of these benefits, supporting them in choosing the best sensor design and application.

Continuously tunable mode-spacing of a dual-mode external cavity InAs/InP quantum dot laser.

A tunable double-mode external cavity InAs/InP quantum dot laser based on a dual-Littrow configuration is demonstrated. A 115nm single-mode tuning spectrum with obviously varied mode intensity has been obtained. A modified tuning method has been adopted to realize continuously tunable mode-spacing between two modes. It is found that single and double modes coexist in the tuning spectrum when one grating angle is fixed while the other grating is rotated; the biggest mode-spacing between double modes is about 75nm. A continuously tunable range of mode-spacing between double wavelengths has reached up to 80nm by inserting an attenuation slice in the external optical feedback paths to balance the intensity of the double modes; the separation of double modes is about 50nm at best. The average output power of the double-mode laser is about a few milliwatts.

A three‐dimensional micromechanically based model

SummaryGranular materials react with complicated mechanical responses when subjected to external loading paths. This leads to sophisticated constitutive formulations requiring large numbers of parameters. A powerful and straightforward way consists in developing micro‐mechanical models embedding both micro‐scale and meso‐scale. This paper proposes a 3D micro‐mechanical model taking into account an intermediate scale (meso‐scale) that makes it possible to describe a variety of constitutive features in a natural way. The comparison between experimental tests and numerical simulations reveals the predictive capability of this model. Particularly, several simulations are carried out with different confining pressures and initial void ratios, based on the fact that the critical state is quantitatively described without requiring any critical state formulations and parameter. The model mechanism is also analyzed from a microscopic view, wherein the evolution of some key microscopic parameters is investigated. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integration of polarization-multiplexing and phase-shifting in nanometric two dimensional self-mixing measurement.

Integration of phase manipulation and polarization multiplexing was introduced to self-mixing interferometry (SMI) for high-sensitive measurement. Light polarizations were used to increase measuring path number and predict manifold merits for potential applications. Laser source was studied as a microwave-photonic resonator optically-injected by double reflected lights on a two-feedback-factor analytical model. Independent external paths exploited magnesium-oxide doped lithium niobate crystals at perpendicular polarizations to transfer interferometric phases into amplitudes of harmonics. Theoretical resolutions reached angstrom level. By integrating two techniques, this SMI outperformed the conventional single-path SMIs by simultaneous dual-targets measurement on single laser tube with high sensitivity and low speckle noise. In experimental demonstration, by nonlinear filtering method, a custom-made phase-resolved algorithm real-time figured out instantaneous two-dimensional displacements with nanometer resolution. Experimental comparisons to lock-in technique and a commercial Ploytec-5000 laser Doppler velocity meter validated this two-path SMI in micron range without optical cross-talk. Moreover, accuracy subjected to slewing rates of crystals could be flexibly adjusted.

Defining Open Innovation

In the last installment of this column, I initiated a new series of topics aimed at defining the vocabulary of innovation management. The object is to look critically at the profession's terms of art, exploring their origins and mapping their limitations, to provide new clarity, and in the process restore some of their power. By looking at the terminology at the heart of innovation management and exploring how it has emerged and evolved, perhaps we can also get a glimpse of where innovation is heading. In the first entry in the series, we looked at the concept of disruptive innovation. This time, we're examining another concept whose usage has become confused and, at times, diluted: open innovation. Henry Chesbrough introduced the concept of open innovation in his 2003 book, Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Despite popular conceptions, Chesbrough didn't actually invent open innovation--his book is rich with examples of companies already doing it. Rather, he gave a name to the pattern and defined the paradigm: Innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology. Innovation combines internal and external ideas into architectures and systems whose requirements are defined by a business model. He refined that definition in a 2006 book he co-edited, Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm: Open innovation is the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for external use of innovation, respectively. The key in both definitions is the focus on an approach driven by the business model. As Gene Slowinski and Matt Sagal point out, in their 2003 book and in a 2010 RTM article, that approach must be supported by a set of tools and processes designed to facilitate the relationships--with universities, with researchers, with individual inventors, even with competitors--that are at the core of open innovation. Slowinski and Sagal's Want-Find-Get-Manage model, described in detail by Slowinski in Reinventing Corporate Growth, offers one framework for sustaining collaborative innovation. Chesbrough's assertion--in the books and in a series of journal articles between the two books (including two in the pages of this journal)--that open innovation would become absolutely essential was not wildly speculative; the precursors were clearly in place in the early 2000s. But he could not have predicted the changes to come in the few years after that first work, or the ways in which they would make openness both easier and more vital. Indeed, Innovation arrived on the cusp of revolutionary change. As markets became ever more dynamic and unpredictable, new technology platforms allowed knowledge to circulate ever more freely and far more widely. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Kickstarter all were born after open innovation. Wikipedia, Linux, Google's Raspberry Pi, and other open-source projects revealed the power of mass collaboration to create knowledge through unfettered sharing. And Red Hat and others showed that there was money to be made from open-source platforms. The crowd and the cloud became viable, even essential, tools. Wired magazine introduced the term crowdsourcing to the world in a 2006 article by Jeff Howe, and suddenly innovation had an entire new toolset. All companies had to do was figure out what to do with it. As Kevin Boudreaux and Karim Lakhani warned in a 2013 HBR article on the subject, Crowds are moving into the mainstream; even if you don't take advantage of them, your competitors surely will. All of these developments offered new tools for pursuing open innovation. But what many practitioners and researchers alike have done is conflate these new tools with open innovation itself, either treating crowdsourcing and open innovation as synonyms or suggesting some other kind of equivalence between the two concepts. …

Tip-to-tail numerical simulation of a hypersonic air-breathing engine with ethylene fuel

End to end CFD simulations of external and internal flow paths of an ethylene fueled hypersonic airbreathing vehicle with including forebody, horizontal fins, vertical fins, intake, combustor, single expansion ramp nozzle are carried out. The performance of the scramjet combustor and vehicle net thrust-drag is calculated for hypersonic cruise condition. Three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations are solved along with SST-k–ω turbulence model using the commercial CFD software CFX-14. Single step chemical reaction based on fast chemistry assumption is used for combustion of gaseous ethylene fuel. Simulations captured complex shock structures including the shocks generated from the vehicle nose and compression ramps, impingement of cowl-shock on vehicle undersurface and its reflection in the intake and combustor etc. Various thermochemical parameters are analyzed and performance parameters are evaluated for nonreacting and reacting cases. Very good mixing (~98%) of fuel with incoming air stream is observed. Positive thrust–drag margins are obtained for fuel equivalence ratio of 0.6 and computed combustion efficiency is observed to be 94 %. Effect of equivalence ratio on the vehicle performance is studied parametrically. Though the combustion efficiency has come down by 8% for fuel equivalence ratio of 0.8, net vehicle thrust is increased by 44%. Heat flux distribution on the various walls of the whole vehicle including combustor is estimated for the isothermal wall condition of 1000K in reacting flow. Higher local heat flux values are observed at all the leading edges of the vehicle (i.e., nose, wing, fin and cowl leading edges) and strut regions of the combustor.

DNA Interactions Probed by Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange (HDX) Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry Confirm External Binding Sites on the Minichromosomal Maintenance (MCM) Helicase

The archaeal minichromosomal maintenance (MCM) helicase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsoMCM) is a model for understanding structural and mechanistic aspects of DNA unwinding. Although interactions of the encircled DNA strand within the central channel provide an accepted mode for translocation, interactions with the excluded strand on the exterior surface have mostly been ignored with regard to DNA unwinding. We have previously proposed an extension of the traditional steric exclusion model of unwinding to also include significant contributions with the excluded strand during unwinding, termed steric exclusion and wrapping (SEW). The SEW model hypothesizes that the displaced single strand tracks along paths on the exterior surface of hexameric helicases to protect single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and stabilize the complex in a forward unwinding mode. Using hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance MS, we have probed the binding sites for ssDNA, using multiple substrates targeting both the encircled and excluded strand interactions. In each experiment, we have obtained >98.7% sequence coverage of SsoMCM from >650 peptides (5-30 residues in length) and are able to identify interacting residues on both the interior and exterior of SsoMCM. Based on identified contacts, positively charged residues within the external waist region were mutated and shown to generally lower DNA unwinding without negatively affecting the ATP hydrolysis. The combined data globally identify binding sites for ssDNA during SsoMCM unwinding as well as validating the importance of the SEW model for hexameric helicase unwinding.

Institutional evolution and economic development in Iran and Turkey

Iran and Turkey historically had outwardly similar politoconomic experiences. Particularly after World War I there were both similar institutional reform programs on the two countries’ agendas and convergence in their economic growth and development levels. However, this convergence came to a standstill with their picking of totally diverse economic institutions in 1980s. This study attempts to provide an analysis of this diverse transformation of economic institutions in Iran and Turkey in light of the new approach proposed – The Clash of Paths (CoP). We assume that institutions are not typically chosen for the general benefit of society, but are rather imposed by groups with political power. We propose that the establishment, reformation and transformation of economic institutional structures in different countries are endogenous to two important determinants: (i) diverse political institutional structures that determine formal constraints on political power relations; (ii) diverse societal ‘mental models’ that create informal constraints on cognitive and relational patterns. The ‘formal’ and the ‘informal’ constraints evolve in interaction with external institutional paths that a country's path clashes with. In this study we also construct a simple bargaining game to integrate macro aspects of institutional evolution drawn under CoP to a micro-level explanation of the emergence and change of institutions. The micro-level analysis suggests that institutional evolution is very much connected to politically powerful groups’ decisions to reach or reject a consensus, which is something that is built or destroyed on the basis of actors’ projected utilities. Actors’ decisions in turn are dependent on their ability to solve the collective action and resource mobilization problems in order for their commitments or threats to be credible.

Liquid spread mechanisms in packed beds and heaps. The separation of length and time scales due to particle porosity

The distribution of liquid within a heap is a key factor in the system performance as it has a strong effect on the transport of both reagents and leached species and thus the leaching rate. How liquid spreads from drippers and the subsequent development of flow paths and any associated channelling is thus important. In this paper a pseudo 2-D column was used to investigate the horizontal spread of liquid in the vicinity of dripper in columns packed with both narrowly sized particles and more realistic particle size distributions. Both systems had distinct separation of the time scales at which different saturation features developed. There was an initial rapid formation of flow paths in the inter-particle spaces with only local wetting of the intra-particle spaces, though this was associated with little spread. Over a much longer time period there was extensive horizontal spread of the liquid within the ore particles, though this was associated with virtually no vertical flow. The externally held liquid (liquid content between the particles) showed strong channelling behaviour, especially in the realistically sized particles, despite the care that was taken to ensure uniform packing. This effect can be reduced by changing initial bed conditions and employing dense drip emitter locations, but it cannot be completely eliminated as particle level heterogeneities in heap leaching systems affect external flow paths creation. Hysteresis in the amount of liquid spread was also demonstrated, with the total spread depending not only on the current flow rate, but also on the flow history.

Technology Exploitation Paths: Combining Technological and Complementary Resources in New Product Development and Licensing

Technological resources in the form of patents, trade secrets, and know‐how have become key assets for modern enterprises. This paper addresses a critical issue in technology and innovation management, namely, the commercial exploitation of technological resources resulting from research and development (R&D) investments. Extracting economic value from these resources by maximizing the benefits for shareholders is an extremely challenging task because technological resources are intangible, idiosyncratic, uncertain, predominantly tacit, and with poorly defined property rights.In their attempt to extract the maximum value from their technological resources, firms increasingly combine their internal exploitation through new product development (NPD) with external exploitation through licensing. However, most existing studies on NPD and technology licensing have treated the two exploitation paths independently and in isolation, which has resulted in two separate research streams using different theories and addressing different managerial challenges.The purpose of this paper is to contribute to filling this gap by developing and testing a comprehensive conceptual framework that simultaneously considers the antecedents affecting the successful implementation of NPD and licensing strategies as well as their consequences on firm profitability. The paper in particular investigates the effects of the interplay between technological resources and three types of complementary resources, marketing, manufacturing, and relational.We test the model using structural equation modeling on a sample of 733 Spanish manufacturing firms observed from 2003 to 2007. The data provide support for the existence of different paths to market firm technologies: an internal path, whereby the ownership of technological resources fully explains NPD performance, and an external path, whereby high intensity of marketing and relational resources reinforces the positive effect of technological resources on licensing performance. This sustains the relevance of the resource‐based value‐enhancing effects of complementary resources in licensing, as opposed to the motivation‐reducing effects advanced by transaction cost‐based literature.Moreover, the empirical analysis shows a substitution effect between NPD and licensing, whereby their simultaneous pursuit at intense levels is associated with lower profit margins. This provides evidence of the much theorized, but seldom tested, rent dissipation effect.These findings offer several contributions to research on licensing, NPD, open innovation, and the resource‐based view of the firm. On a managerial level, they suggest that achieving maximum value from proprietary technologies may not entail exploiting them both through external and internal paths. Managers are also informed that the resource combinations that enhance licensing performance include marketing and relational resources.

Open innovation as a new paradigm for global collaborations in health

Open innovation, which refers to combining internal and external ideas and internal and external paths to market in order to achieve advances in processes or technologies, is an attractive paradigm for structuring collaborations between developed and developing country entities and people. Such open innovation collaborations can be designed to foster true co-creation among partners in rich and poor settings, thereby breaking down hierarchies and creating greater impact and value for each partner. Using an example from Concern Worldwide’s Innovations for Maternal, Newborn &Child Health initiative, this commentary describes an early-stage pilot project built around open innovation in a low resource setting, which puts communities at the center of a process involving a wide range of partners and expertise, and considers how it could be adapted and make more impactful and sustainable by extending the collaboration to include developed country partners.

The Contribution of In‐house and External Design Activities to Product Market Performance

Design may be seen as one of several key factors contributing to new product development, along with research and development, marketing, manufacturing, purchasing, etc. More and more, creative design comes to the fore, and many companies believe that superior design will be the key to winning customers. It has the ability to create corporate distinctiveness and also possesses the potential to give a product an individual or new look. Furthermore, the model of open innovation suggests that firms can and should use external and internal knowledge flows in order to create valuable ideas, and also internal and external paths to the market. Also, in the design process, a common trend toward external design skills has emerged in recent years. Due to cost and control factors, firms are increasingly outsourcing design activities. By using a sample of Belgian companies, this paper explores the contribution of design activities to product market performance. While there is mounting evidence that design can be seen as a strategic tool to successfully spur sales of new product developments at the firm level, the topic of design innovation has not yet been linked to the open innovation concept. In this paper, it is empirically tested whether design activities conducted in house differ in their contribution to new product sales from externally acquired design. So, do design activities that have been developed only with internal resources lead to a greater success than those that have been carried out with external sources of knowledge? Using a large cross‐section of manufacturing and service firms, the effects on sales of products new to the market and of imitations or significantly improved products of the firm are investigated. At first glance, the findings indicate that externally acquired design is not superior to in‐house design activities: the results show that only design activities that are mainly conducted with internal knowledge sources play a crucial role regarding the product innovation's success with market novelties. Design conducted in collaboration with external partners, however, has no significant influence. This is not the case for imitations, that is, products only new to the firm. Their success is also influenced by design activities developed with external collaborators. This effect is robust for several modifications of the model specification. In contrast to earlier literature on new technological developments, this paper argues that external design may not affect the sales of market novelties as the “market news” may spill over quickly to rivals through common suppliers including external designers.

On Auslander-Reiten components of algebras without external short paths

We describe the structure of semi-regular Auslander–Reiten components of artin algebras without external short paths in the module category. As an application, we give a complete description of self-injective artin algebras whose Auslander–Reiten quiver admits a regular acyclic component without external short paths.