Focal Relationship Research Articles

Relationship of Racial Residential Segregation to Newly Diagnosed Cases of HIV among Black Heterosexuals in US Metropolitan Areas, 2008-2015.

Social science and public health literature has framed residential segregation as a potent structural determinant of the higher HIV burden among black heterosexuals, but empirical evidence has been limited. The purpose of this study is to test, for the first time, the association between racial segregation and newly diagnosed heterosexually acquired HIV cases among black adults and adolescents in 95 large US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in 2008-2015. We operationalized racial segregation (the main exposure) using Massey and Denton's isolation index for black residents; the outcome was the rate of newly diagnosed HIV cases per 10,000 black adult heterosexuals. We tested the relationship of segregation to this outcome using multilevel multivariate models of longitudinal (2008-2015) MSA-level data, controlling for potential confounders and time. All covariates were lagged by 1year and centered on baseline values. We preliminarily explored mediation of the focal relationship by inequalities in education, employment, and poverty rates. Segregation was positively associated with the outcome: a one standard deviation decrease in baseline isolation was associated with a 16.2% reduction in the rate of new HIV diagnoses; one standard deviation reduction in isolation over time was associated with 4.6% decrease in the outcome. Exploratory mediation analyses suggest that black/white socioeconomic inequality may mediate the relationship between segregation and HIV. Our study suggests that residential segregation may be a distal determinant of HIV among black heterosexuals. The findings further emphasize the need to address segregation as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce racial inequities in HIV.

Entrepreneurial Orientation and SME International Performance

The current research extends the knowledge of EO by examining EO in the context of SMEs’ international performance. We attempt to enhance our understanding of SMEs’ internationalisation by taking into account the mediating mechanisms (i.e., networking capability and experiential learning) through which firm EO leads to superior performance across borders. A sample of 163 international SMEs in New Zealand supported the direct impact of EO on international performance as well as the mediating role of experiential learning in this focal relationship. These findings reveal the importance of EO in internationalisation of resource-restricted SMEs.

Do Innovation Efficiency and Powerful Leadership Affect the Performance Effect of Technological Diversification?

Considering that technological diversification is rooted in distinct technological knowledge that usually comes from different business units, a firm’s practices that can improve efficiency in integrating and exploiting this knowledge may be key potential moderators in this focal relationship. Based on a sample of 3,277 firm-year observations of 435 firms in Taiwanese information and communication technology sectors during the 2004-2014 period, this study finds that technological diversification has an inverted U-shaped relationship with performance. Such relationship also can be moderated by high levels of innovation efficiency and CEO power. These findings caution against drawing universalistic normative implications for pursuing technological diversification.

Conceptual Model of the Psychosocial Effects of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease

The objective of this research was to develop a theoretical model that describes the psychosocial effects of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD). The medical, nursing, health education, and psychological literature was reviewed to identify theories that might support the development of a psychosocial model of BeS and CBD. A proposed model was synthesized based upon elements from multiple academic disciplines. The conceptual model is based on three prominent psychological theories: 1) health, stress, and coping, 2) uncertainty and illness, and 3) psychosocial adjustment to illness. The model hypothesizes that workers who are diagnosed with BeS or CBD experience a great deal of uncertainty that has a detrimental effect on their health quality of life. The focal relationship in this model is between the independent variable uncertainty and the dependent variable health quality of life. It is further hypothesized that the relationship between these two variables is affected by an intermediate variable, the ability to make psychosocial adjustments to disease. Creating this model is a step toward filling a void in our understanding of the natural history of CBD. Once validated it will establish a foundation for future research, interventions and program evaluations and may lead to changes in the psychological, social, financial, and disease management support provided to this population.

The effect of father's absence, parental adverse events, and neighborhood disadvantage on children’s aggression and delinquency: A multi-analytic approach

ABSTRACTWe applied multiple statistical approaches to address the covarying nature of neighborhood, household context, and children’s behavioral problems. The focal relationship under investigation was the effect of father's presence on child’s aggression. We take advantage of hybrid models to examine within-group fixed effects of time-varying variables, while paying attention to household stable characteristics. Findings demonstrate that the level of child's aggression was influenced more by household and neighborhood-level stable characteristics. Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood had direct and indirect effects on child 's aggression, controlling for other variables. Fixed effects model showed no significant relationship between having a father in the household and child's aggression. However, hybrid models with between- and within-group differences in father's absence indicated that the between-individual difference was significantly associated with child's aggression. The findings suggest that contextual forces that precede the relationship between father's absence and child's aggression might determine who may be likely to live in households with characteristics that affect both father's absence and child's aggression. When there are systematic selection biases, statistical methods suited for determining causal inference, such as fixed effects models, cannot fully tease out larger contextual and systemic forces that sort individuals into certain types of households and neighborhoods.

How Upward Moral Comparison Influences Prosocial Behavioral Intention: Examining the Mediating Role of Guilt and the Moderating Role of Moral Identity.

Although it has been shown that exceptional good deeds exert influences on people's prosocial behavior and intention, we have known little about how common moral actions in our daily life. The present study aimed to examine how upward moral comparison influenced prosocial behavioral intention as well as to explore the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of moral identity in the focal relationship. An experimental study was conducted with 162 Chinese undergraduates (103 women, 59 men) randomly assigned to an upward moral comparison condition, an upward competence comparison condition or a control condition. Results indicated that participants in the upward moral comparison condition experienced higher levels of guilt and exhibited stronger motivation to act prosocially, relative to participants in the other two conditions. That is to say, upward moral comparison induces guilty experience, and then increases people's prosocial behavioral intention. Moreover, we have found that moral identity internalization moderates the upward moral comparison-guilt relationship, and the indirect effect of upward moral comparison on prosocial behavioral intention via guilt. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Exploring customer engagement valences in the social services

PurposeMinimal attention is given to the negative valences of customer engagement and how they manifest in ways that detract from service value. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning and conceptual dimensions of disengagement and negative engagement in conjunction with positive engagement. It explores how three valences of engagement manifest towards dual objects: the service community and the focal service organisation. This exploration is based within a new and novel social service context.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach using (four) focus groups is used.FindingsA conceptual model of customer engagement is derived from the groups that include strongly held and positive customer engagement; passive, yet negatively orientated customer disengagement; and active and destructive negative customer engagement. Positive customer engagement is found to be directed at the service community object, whereas customer disengagement and negative engagement are directed at the focal service organisation object. A spillover effect is also revealed whereby negative engagement with the focal service organisation detracts from customers’ positive engagement within their service community. This suggests that engagement within a social service is multifaceted: several engagement valences may exist within one service relationship. It also suggests that these engagement valences are interrelated.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to apply three valences of engagement within the one focal relationship and examine how they manifest towards two objects, providing a unique perspective of how different interactions within the service ecosystem can influence engagement.

Humor and workplace stress: a longitudinal comparison between Australian and Chinese employees

This study investigates how humor usage (including positive and negative humor styles) influences employees' responses to the same stressful events, namely, the auto‐correlation between stress experiences at two time points. Moreover, it examines differences between Australian and Chinese employees in such effects via bicultural comparisons. Results from a two‐wave survey of 109 Australian and 141 Chinese employees indicated that humor usage moderated the StressTime1 – StressTime2 relationship for Australian employees but not for Chinese employees. Specifically, the positive relationship between the two stress measures became weaker for Australians who were higher in humor than those lower in humor. Similarly, Positive humor mitigated the relationship between StressTime1 and StressTime2 only for the Australians but not the Chinese. However, Negative humor exerted no influence on the focal relationship in either sample. Organizations should encourage employees to use humor in effective ways, thereby improving stress coping skills and reducing workplace stress.

How relationships can influence an organic firm’s network identity

ABSTRACTA main challenge when organic food actors cooperate with conventional food actors is to maintain their identity in the relationship. In this paper, we analyse such a relationship through the use of the industrial marketing and purchasing perspective (IMP). The aim is to increase knowledge about changes in relationships that occur through growth processes and about how new relationships influence the identity of a quality-oriented firm. We use a case-study method when examining the relationship between the organic Røros Dairy and the retail chain Coop, and its effects on relationships within the dairy network. Results show that the focal relationship influences, and in turn is influenced by, the dairy’s network. Because of the dairy’s strong identity that preceded its formal cooperation with Coop, as well as its reputation for quality production and continuous product development, the dairy has strengthened its position in the network. We conclude that the IMP perspective contributes a valuable framework in this study of an organic food network. For business managers, our results highlight the importance of considering possible effects of relationships on the identity one would want to convey.

Entrepreneurial orientation and strategic alliance success: The contingency role of relational factors

This study extends entrepreneurship research into the domain of strategic alliances by hypothesizing a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm-level alliance success. Drawing on a relational view, we further examine the focal relationship within a contingency framework, building on the distinction between cooperation (joint action and bonding) and conflict. Findings from a study of 197 partner firms suggest that a high level of joint action strengthens the positive relationship between EO and alliance success. Bonding moderates the relationship in an inverted U-shape manner such that the effect of EO on alliance success will be greatest when bonding exists at the moderate level. However, conflict has no significant moderating effect on the EO–alliance success relationship. Overall, this study provides novel insights into whether and when partner firms can translate an EO into final alliance outcomes.

An Investigation of Interpersonal Ties in Interorganizational Exchanges in Emerging Markets

This study examines personal ties between boundary-spanning personnel in interorganizational exchanges in emerging markets. Drawing on social embeddedness theory and boundary spanning theory, we propose that strong ties between boundary spanners may benefit exchange parties in their interorganizational relationships through two heightened boundary-spanning behaviors—information processing and external representation. The results from 225 manufacturer–distributor dyads in China indicate that interpersonal ties at the higher levels (between top executives) and at the lower levels (between salespersons and individual buyers) are both positively associated with relationship quality of the buyer–supplier relationship through dyadic boundary-spanning behaviors. Between two levels of interpersonal ties, ties at the lower levels exhibit a stronger association with relationship quality than do ties at the higher levels. Furthermore, the positive effects of interpersonal ties on conflict resolution and cooperation are amplified when both levels of ties are strong in the focal relationship.

Opportunities and opportunism with high-status B2B partners in emerging economies

PurposeThis study examines the potential of foreign business-to-business (B2B) firms to select high-status local partners in emerging markets to achieve positive relationship outcomes. Because a domestic firm’s high status may also promote opportunism, the study also examines if the foreign B2B firms may mitigate such behavior through either or both transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and socialization.Design/methodology/approachThe research is conducted via a model that suggests a positive correlation between high local partner status and the focal relationship outcomes and the moderating effects of structural TSIs and social governance systems. The model was developed and empirically tested using data collected from 96 foreign firms operating in China.FindingsUsing multiple regressions, the findings suggest that foreign B2B firms are likely to achieve more beneficial relationship outcomes with high-status local partners. Standing alone, foreign B2B firms’ TSIs mitigate the positive relationship outcomes, whereas their socialization with the high-status partners enhances the beneficial outcomes. Most importantly, combining socialization with TSIs increases beneficial outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study adds to B2B marketing, status theory and the application of transaction cost economics (TCE) and social exchange theory to foreign-local B2B exchange relationships in emerging markets. The findings confirm the attractiveness of high status in emerging markets by exploring how the selection, formation and chosen B2B governance processes may lead to competing outcomes of opportunism or success. Future research will benefit from simultaneously securing data from both sides of the dyad.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests that foreign B2B firms consider high status as a key criterion in selecting local partners in emerging markets and the importance of managing high-status partners’ potential opportunism by effective governance mechanisms.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to apply and explore the workings of status theory in the foreign-local B2B partner selection process and relationship outcomes in emerging markets and thereby contributes to B2B marketing, status theory and both TCE and social exchange theories in the focal foreign-local B2B context.

When limited availability of data meets with a thorough meta-analysis: a comment on Moore et al.

On the basis of a systematic literature survey, Moore et al. (2016) have reviewed correlative evidence for the relationship between the expression of sexual signals and stress response. They have identified 38 published studies on 26 species reporting 118 effect sizes for the focal relationship that were entered in a phylogenetic metaanalysis. The analysis failed to derive a general support for the hypothesis that males (or females) with more elaborate traits would experience different stress regimes at the metabolic level than conspecifics with smaller traits. Although Moore et al. (2016) elegantly applied a modern statistical approach, I suggest that the inferences that can be made from their study are limited due to the scarcity of data that are currently available to test the underlying hypothesis. Below, I point to 3 issues to consider for the interpretations of the meta-analytic results. First, the available sample sizes correspond to a statistical power that allow identifying significant associations for very strong effects only. Although Moore et al. (2016) relied on more than 100 effect sizes, these were largely nonindependent. The variation in the predictor variables typically resided on the betweenstudy or between-species levels; thus, the degrees of freedom that were associated with most of the meta-regression tests were determined by the number of studies/species (and not by the number of effect sizes). As a result, most of the effect size estimates were derived with a considerably broad confidence interval (see Table 2 in Moore et al. 2016), which incurs the risk that a biologically meaningful association with smaller effect size remains undetected in a null hypothesis–testing framework. However, for biological reasons, it is expected that most of the relationships would fall into weak to intermediate effect size ranges (sensu Cohen 1988). This is because the focal traits (both physiological measure of stress and sexual traits) are measured with error, and the causal relationship between them, if one exists, is indirect (i.e., mediated by immune suppression or body condition) and involves other physiological/behavioral components (i.e., testosterone levels, escape behaviors). These confounding factors likely set up an upper limit for the strength of the correlations, well below the magnitude of large effect sizes that can be detected between the studied traits. The underlying dataset of Moore et al. (2016) does not have an appropriate statistical power to cope with the biologically expected range of effect sizes. Second, the relationship between the focal traits is complex, may involve nonlinear associations, and be mediated by different mechanistic routes that are difficult to handle statistically given the available sample sizes (and degrees of freedom). For example, as the authors also mention, completely different rules might be applied for the relationship between call rate and glucocorticoid levels in a toad species than for the relationship between repertoire size and levels of heat-shock proteins in a bird species. Furthermore, it would be desirable to distinguish between mechanisms due to baseline stress levels and stress response and to consider confounding effects that are mediated by the ecology of species (Moore et al. 2016). To investigate such complex associations, statistical models that include higher level of interactions between the fixed effects and consider additional potentially confounding variables would be needed. Currently, the limited sample size precludes modeling complex biological mechanisms. Third, at low sample sizes, the problems imposed by influential data points are more emphasized. A careful inspection of the single significant result that has been found in the study (the difference in mean effect size across different types of sexually selected traits) was caused by a single species. This species is the human, which has a distinguished phylogenetic position and the only species that falls in the “opposite sex preference” category. It is therefore likely that the exclusion of this species/category would change the results, and such sensitivity would limit considerably what can be generalized from the current data. In summary, Moore et al. (2016) investigate a timely question in behavioral ecology by summarizing currently available evidence in a thorough meta-analysis. However, the data that have been accumulated on the topic to date are so limited that they undermine any conclusions that can be made from their systematic review. When more data become available, the approach of Moore et al. (2016) will be a straightforward way to follow.

Buyer attractiveness as a catalyst for buyer–supplier relationshipdevelopment

The concept of buyer attractiveness has received increasing scholarly attention in the recent business marketing literature, yet empirical studies of the dynamics between buyer and supplier attractiveness and their implications for relationship development are scarce. The research framework presented in this study suggests that buyer attractiveness is connected, first, to supplier's experienced and expected business outcomes within the focal relationship, and second, to the leverage impact of the focal relationship on supplier's other relationships. A qualitative case study of two buyers and their key suppliers scrutinizes the dimensions of attractiveness associated with relationship development. The findings indicate that attractiveness and adaptations performed by the buyer and the supplier are interlinked in a mutually reinforcing or deteriorating manner, forming a mechanism that catalyzes relationship development. These findings and the resultant empirically grounded framework provide a conceptualization and enhanced understanding of the dynamics between attractiveness, adaptations and relationship development.

Social Engagement and Health: Findings From the 2013 Survey of the Shanghai Elderly Life and Opinion.

What are the social factors that matter most to the health of elderly Chinese? Are there any gender and age differences? Using a representative sample of elderly Chinese in Shanghai, the most developed city in China with the nation's largest proportion of elderly residents, this study found that economic conditions, chronic health status, living arrangements, social activity participation, and caring for grandchildren are factors that are most important to the health of elderly Chinese. This is true for both self-rated health and psychological well-being. The beneficial effects of participation in social activities are particularly salient for elderly women and for the old-old, whereas the salutary effects of caring for grandchildren are more substantial for elderly men and for the young-old. Our findings suggest the importance of social engagement in promoting health and successful aging of elderly Chinese and disclose the moderating roles of gender and age in this focal relationship.

Home institutions, internationalization and firm performance

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine how home institutions moderate the influence of internationalization, and the effect this has on the performance of stock-listed Chinese firms.Design/methodology/approach– A sample of 118 stock-listed Chinese firms over the period 2006-2011 was considered, using the panel data method.Findings– The results show that foreign ownership and region-specific marketization help firms reap the performance benefits of internationalization, while state ownership plays an insignificant role.Research limitations/implications– The findings may not hold for unlisted firms, service firms or firms from other emerging economies.Practical implications– The study suggests that Chinese managers should take advantage of home country institutions to improve the effects of internationalization on performance.Originality/value– This research suggests that the analysis of the performance consequences of internationalization should go beyond the nexus between internationalization and performance, and also consider the home institutional factors that may facilitate or constrain the focal relationship.

How Abusive Supervisors Influence Employees’ Voice and Silence: The Effects of Interactional Justice and Organizational Attribution

ABSTRACTIn this research we investigated the influence of abusive supervision on employees’ prosocial voice and silence, as well as clarified the roles of interactional justice (as a mediator) and organizational attribution (as a moderator). Moreover, we examined a mediated moderating model stipulating that interactional justice mediated the moderating effect of organizational attribution on the focal relationship. A scenario experiment was employed in Study 1, and after analyzing data from 196 employees, we found that abusive supervision influenced employees’ prosocial voice and silence via interactional justice. In Study 2, data were collected from 379 employees in two waves separated by 1 week. The results not only replicated the findings of Study 1 but also indicated that organizational attribution buffered the abusive supervision-voice and silence relationship, and that interactional justice mediated this moderating effect.

Typology and Effects of Co-opetition in Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Evidence from the Chinese Home Appliance Industry. 供应链关系中竞合分类及其影响：来自中国家电业的实证研究

Building on the co-opetition perspective, this study takes a unified approach to examine relationship benefits and transaction costs in buyer–supplier relationships. We argue that buyer–supplier vertical dyads fall into one of four distinct co-opetition types based on their respective degrees of cooperation and competition. Each co-opetition situation then corresponds to unique levels of relationship benefits and transaction costs. A sample of 225 supplier–buyer dyads from the Chinese home appliance industry confirms that competition has a positive effect on transaction costs and a negative effect on relationship benefits, while cooperation stimulates greater relationship benefits but affects transaction costs mainly at low competition levels. The results advance prior research on buyer–supplier relationships and co-opetition and offer valuable avenues for future research. 摘要 基于竞合的观点，本文采用了一个整合的模型对供应链关系中的关系收益和交易成本进行了研究。本文认为，依据双方合作和竞争程度的不同，买卖双方间的交易关系可以划分为四种不同的竞合关系类型，且每种竞合类型分别对应不同的关系收益和交易成本水平。利用来自中国家电行业225对买卖双方的配对样本，本文发现，买卖双方间的竞争对交易成本有正向作用，对关系收益有负面影响；而双方间的合作会促进关系收益的提高，但只在竞争水平较低时，合作才会对交易成本产生影响。本文研究发展了以往关于买卖双方关系和竞合的相关文献，并指明了有价值的未来研究发展方向。

How does firm innovativeness enable supply chain resilience? The moderating role of supply uncertainty and interdependence

Despite its potential benefits in a wide range of circumstances, firm innovativeness received scant attention in relation to managing the various risks and uncertainties in the global business environment. Likewise, there is still a limited understanding of firms’ supply chain resilience (SCR) and its related antecedents in the strategic management literature. This research focuses on exploring the relationship between firm innovativeness and SCR in an attempt to facilitate bridging the gap between two important research streams and shed some light on the contingent value of firm innovativeness against disruptions and adversities. The moderating role of supply uncertainty and interdependence in the focal relationship was also hypothesised and tested. Findings suggest that firm innovativeness is positively associated with firm SCR, and supply uncertainty negatively moderates this relationship but interdependence does not. We argue that this could be due to the dual nature of interdependence in supply networks.

Focal relationship between structure and function within the central 10 degrees in glaucoma.

To investigate which measurements of inner macular thickness are the most useful for evaluating the focal relationship with visual sensitivity within the central 10° in glaucoma and which layers require correction for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) displacement. Sixty eyes of 60 subjects with glaucoma were included. Sensitivity of each test point of 10-2 standard automated perimetry was compared with the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), GCL+ inner plexiform layer (IPL), and RNFL+GCL+IPL (GCC), with and without RGC displacement, using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Visual sensitivity was evaluated by unlogged 1/Lambert (1/L) values. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness correlated significantly with the sensitivities of all test points except for some in the papillomacular bundle region when adjusting for RGC displacement (rs = 0.287-0.767, P < 0.05). In the central 5.8°, the GCL and (GCL+IPL) thickness correlated significantly with the sensitivities of all test points when adjusting for RGC displacement (GCL: rs = 0.363-0.729, P < 0.01; (GCL+IPL): rs = 0.359-0.715, P < 0.01). The GCC thickness correlated significantly with the sensitivities of all 68 test points when adjusting for RGC displacement (rs = 0.359-0.767, P < 0.01). RGC displacement improved the correlation between sensitivity and GCL, (GCL+IPL), and GCC in the central 4 points (GCL: rs = from 0.270-0.470 to 0.421-0.540; (GCL+IPL): rs = from 0.195-0.450 to 0.381-0.549; GCC: rs = from 0.132-0.449 to 0.359-0.562). The GCC is the most useful parameter to evaluate structure and function within the central 10° in glaucoma. Adjusting for RGC displacement is essential to evaluate the relationship between structure of the GCL-related layer and function at the central macula.