Macro-environmental Conditions Research Articles

Evaluation of Comparative Advantages of Trade in Service in Türkiye with RCA and TBI Indices

Technological developments in the last quarter century and the increase in the service sector in international trade enable schools to develop their foreign trade policies for service trade. To achieve a competitive advantage in this extended family service trade, it is necessary to determine the countries' comparative advantages. To choose the comparative advantage of Turkiye's service sector in this country between 2013-2021, the TBI index, which was used by RCA and supported the index results, was also included in the study. The data obtained from the survey show that Turkiye has a comparative advantage in maintenance and repair, transportation, travel, insurance and pension, and government goods and services in the relevant period. However, it is not generally observed during the elapsed time in government goods and services and insurance and pension services. On the other hand, while Turkiye has a net exporter position in manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others, transportation, travel, and construction services, it is also a net exporter in insurance and pension, financial services, charges for the use of intellectual property, telecommunications, computer, and information processing and government goods and services during the relevant period—Importer position. However, some services remain net importers or exporters throughout the period. These results are more sensitive than macro and micro environmental conditions.
 Key Words: Trade in Services, Comparative Advanteges, RCA Index, TBI Index, Türkiye
 JEL Classification: F14

Application of biosensors against food-borne pathogens

PurposeNature and occurrence of food-borne pathogens in raw and processed food products evolved greatly in the past few years due to new modes of transmission and resistance build-up against sundry micro-/macro-environmental conditions. Assurance of food health and safety thus gained immense importance, for which bio-sensing technology proved very promising in the detection and quantification of food-borne pathogens. Considering the importance, different studies have been performed, and different biosensors have been developed. This study aims to summarize the different biosensors used for the deduction of food-borne pathogens.Design/methodology/approachThe present review highlights different biosensors developed apropos to food matrices, factors governing their selection, their potential and applicability. The paper discusses some related key challenges and constraints and also focuses on the needs and future research prospects in this field.FindingsThe shift in consumers’ and industries’ perceptions directed the further approach to achieve portable, user and environmental friendly biosensing techniques. Despite of these developments, it was still observed that the comparison among the different biosensors and their categories proved tedious on a single platform; since the food matrices tested, pathogen detected or diagnosed, time of detection, etc., varied greatly and very few products have been commercially launched. Conclusively, a challenge lies in front of food scientists and researchers to maintain pace and develop techniques for efficiently catering to the needs of the food industry.Research limitations/implicationsBiosensors deduction limit varied with the food matrix, type of organism, material of biosensors’ surface, etc. The food matrix itself consists of complex substances, and various types of food are available in nature. Considering the diversity of food there is a need to develop a universal biosensor that can be used for all the food matrices for a pathogen. Further research is needed to develop a pathogen-specific biosensor that can be used for all the food products that may have accuracy to eliminate the traditional method of deduction.Originality/valueThe present paper summarized and categorized the different types of biosensors developed for food-borne pathogens.Graphical abstract

Exploring social influence effect on mobile marketing behaviors of young consumers in the USA and Mexico

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of social influence and value-driven mobile marketing activities on consumers’ acceptance of mobile marketing offers. Design/methodology/approach The method used is survey questionnaire. A proposed model was tested by using structural model analysis and data gathered from 356 Mexico consumers and 346 US consumers. Findings The study shows the number of peers and providing information are the main predictor variables of consumer acceptance of mobile marketing offers in both countries. These results suggest that social value factors are important variables for explaining consumers’ responses to mobile marketing offers across two countries characterized by dissimilar macro-environmental conditions. Research limitations/implications The study’s overall implication about standardization vs adaptation is that social value messages can be standardized across countries. However, the marketing tools and touch points required to communicate any message appeal must be adapted across countries. One limitation in this study is the use of a convenience sample of undergraduate college students. This study did not control for different types of mobile phones and the screen sizes of mobile phones. Practical implications The overall implication of standardization vs adaptation from the study results is that social value messages can be standardized across countries. However, the marketing tools and touch points required to communicate any message appeal must be adapted across countries. Originality/value Unlike previous studies where the emphasis is to explicate the effect of value-oriented mobile activity, this study examines the combined effect of social influence and value-driven mobile activities on acceptance of mobile marketing.

Resource dependence theory in international business: Progress and prospects

AbstractResearch SummaryResource dependence theory (RDT) has been widely applied in the context of international business (IB) over the past four decades. This study reviews and synthesizes the insights of RDT in IB literature accumulated over the past 40 years and derives an integrative addendum for future research. We highlight three critical dependence dimensions (i.e., locational, interorganizational, and intraorganizational dependencies) and three essential RDT themes (i.e., dependence solutions, dependence‐managing outcomes, and macro environmental conditions of RDT) in the IB context. Our review concludes that the IB literature has reached a good level of conceptual and empirical consensus concerning how multinational corporations (MNCs) take a large array of resource dependence actions and manage their resource dependence in various situations. We also find a strong need for further extension of RDT in IB research, offering suggestions for future research, including additional theoretical integration, underlying processes, and new dynamics that change the course of cross‐border interdependencies under the new global reality.Managerial SummaryThis study systematically reviews the stock of knowledge over the past 40 years on how the logic of resource dependencies unfolds in IB practices (e.g., cross‐border M&As, alliances and joint ventures, global supply chains, corporate political strategies, headquarters‐subsidiary relationships, and upper‐echelon decisions). Our findings and conclusions offer a decision roadmap for IB practitioners to assess various resource dependence situations with external and internal stakeholders in IB operations and to effectively manage such interdependencies. We also elaborate on the important implications of MNCs' strategies for effectively managing their resource dependencies in international exchanges in the modern world, which is characterized by the coexistence of trends leading of both globalization and de‐globalization.

Perspectives to Fight Viruses. The Example of Sars-CoV-2

Coronaviruses well studied in the past provide scientific tools and knowledge that is used for identifying the molecular basis of the new SARS-CoV-2. It belongs to complex systems and its evolution and mutations must be observed under the lens of the nonlinearity as it is far from the equilibrium conditions. The new properties that SARS-CoV-2 carries were incubated for a long time in microcosm refining its information content. Various animal species acted as transmitters of SARS-CoV-2 to human beings. In this perspective article, we argue that the infection ability of the new virus can correlate with its thermodynamic payload. Design: We suggest that by identifying the thermodynamic content and biophysical profile of the viruses’ proteins using a mathematical framework of nonlinear complex systems, we can simulate its molecular origin and design weapons for fighting it. We suggest discovering for artificial ‘decision-making’ nano-platforms that can decrypt the ‘crypted information code’ of viruses that permit their mutation process taking place not randomly but based on the self-assembly process of its nucleotides following the micro and macro environmental conditions. Main outcomes: Our proposition is to design nanoplatforms (decision making nanocarriers) that can carry thermodynamic variables that could interrupt the mutations, virulence, and proliferation. This approach is innovative and is a challenge that should be checked in the future. This concept needs generous funding by governments for supporting intelligence and innovative research projects. Mainly, we need solidarity between nations to shield the health of societies.

Perspectives to fight viruses. The example of Sars-CoV-2

Coronaviruses well studied in the past provide scientific tools and knowledge that is used for identifying the molecular basis of the new SARS-CoV-2. It belongs to complex systems and its evolution and mutations must be observed under the lens of the nonlinearity as it is far from the equilibrium conditions. The new properties that SARS-CoV-2 carries were incubated for a long time in microcosm refining its information content. Various animal species acted as transmitters of SARS-CoV-2 to human beings. In this perspective article, we argue that the infection ability of the new virus can correlate with its thermodynamic payload. Design: We suggest that by identifying the thermodynamic content and biophysical profile of the viruses’ proteins using a mathematical framework of nonlinear complex systems, we can simulate its molecular origin and design weapons for fighting it. We suggest discovering for artificial ‘decision-making’ nano-platforms that can decrypt the ‘crypted information code’ of viruses that permit their mutation process taking place not randomly but based on the self-assembly process of its nucleotides following the micro and macro environmental conditions. Main outcomes: Our proposition is to design nanoplatforms (decision making nanocarriers) that can carry thermodynamic variables that could interrupt the mutations, virulence, and proliferation. This approach is innovative and is a challenge that should be checked in the future. This concept needs generous funding by governments for supporting intelligence and innovative research projects. Mainly, we need solidarity between nations to shield the health of societies.

Foreign market entry modes for servitization under diverse macroenvironmental conditions: taxonomy and propositions

PurposeThe article explores how servitization influences firms' foreign market entry mode decisions. This relationship is researched under the contingent effect of macroenvironmental factors in the host country, namely, market attractiveness, institutional environment and national culture differences between the home and host country.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a conceptual framework typology that interrelates, contextualizes and conceptualizes extant knowledge to develop explicit propositions.FindingsBased on the extant literature, using a 2 × 2 matrix, the authors delineate the influence of two dimensions of servitization on entry mode decisions: customer relationship focus and digitalization focus. They conceptualize that relationship management and digitalization-based servitization have an antagonistic effect on the need for entry mode resource commitments, and macroenvironmental factors' favorability moderates this tension.Research limitations/implicationsThe study extends and incorporates the servitization literature into the context of international marketing by exploring the combined effect of the two most significant dimensions of servitization, i.e. investment in customer relations versus investment in digitalization on entry mode, thus delivering valuable new insights and perspectives, as well as explicit propositions toward empirical testing.Practical implicationsThe authors’ framework increases foreign market managers' awareness of how servitization drives entry mode decisions of firms in international markets. Also, the framework explicates how the host country's market attractiveness, institutional environment and difference with the home country's national culture tangibly influence the relationship.Originality/valueThe study provides novel insights into the implications of servitization on international marketing, particularly regarding foreign market entry mode. The study also elucidates the combined effect of two servitization dimensions, i.e. customer relations and digitalization – a critical research area in which the literature is scant.

Conspecific Density as a Driver of Offspring Body Condition in Three Cormorant Colonies in Denmark

Density-dependent depletion of prey during the breeding season may affect breeding performance and colony development in seabirds and colonial waterbirds. Breeding Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis are central place foragers, so parental flight distances to profitable foraging grounds and thus parental provisioning of offspring are likely affected by local food availability. Chick body condition in a given colony may therefore be influenced by the distance to feeding areas, changes in fish stocks and fish distribution as well as the number of Cormorants from neighbouring colonies using the same feeding areas. At three Danish Great Cormorant colonies with overlapping foraging ranges and variable access to shallow marine areas, Vorsø (VO), Mågeøerne (MA) and Stavns Fjord (SF), we investigated variation in mean chick body condition (n = 9697) in relation to colony location, year, colony size and estimated density of foraging conspecifics during 1993–2007. Foraging areas available to VO colony parents had the highest theoretical densities of conspecifics and the VO chicks were invariably in poorer condition than the chicks at the other two colonies. Chick body condition was negatively correlated with estimated foraging density, especially within a foraging range of 20 km. Body condition between all three colonies was weakly correlated over the years, suggesting that changes in macro-environmental conditions (e.g. fish density) only had moderate impacts on food availability, independently of Cormorant numbers. We conclude that both the geographical location of colonies, the size of the colony itself and the nearest neighbouring colonies and the associated variation in density of foraging Cormorants were major drivers of variation in chick body condition between colonies and years.

Space, Context, and Human Capital: A Micro–Macro Perspective on the Social Environment and Financial Literacy in Later Life

Despite a large body of literature documenting the association between individual characteristics and financial literacy, our understanding of the impact of macro-environmental conditions on individual financial literacy remains limited, particularly in later life. Drawing from a micro–macro perspective on the social environment and individual processes, we examined the extent to which three state-level contextual characteristics were associated with individual financial literacy: tertiary educational attainment, poverty prevalence, and Internet penetration. We utilized data from the Understanding America Study for adults aged 50 years or older to assess financial literacy and data from the American Community Survey to evaluate contextual conditions. Cross-sectional multilevel regression models were used to examine the hypothesized effects. We found that state-level poverty prevalence was negatively associated with individual financial literacy, while state-level Internet penetration was positively associated with individual financial literacy, over and above individual characteristics known to impact financial literacy. No association was found between state-level educational attainment and individual financial literacy after controlling for respondents’ own education. Findings suggest that the social environment may condition older adults’ financial literacy through exposure to opportunities that promote knowledge acquisition. Interventions to enhance older adults’ financial literacy may benefit from targeted approaches that take into account the environmental characteristics of their locations of residence.

Niche Divergence at Intraspecific Level in the Hyrcanian Wood Frog, Rana pseudodalmatina: A Phylogenetic, Climatic, and Environmental Survey

The role of ecological niche divergence in lineage speciation has recently stimulated the interest of evolutionary biologists and ecologists. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed that the Hyrcanian wood frog,Rana pseudodalmatina, has diverged into two western and eastern regional clades (WRC and ERC) within the Hyrcanian forest. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the ecological niches of WRC and ERC are conserved or diverged, as well as to figure out what variables promote niche conservatism or divergence. For this purpose, the maximum entropy model was employed to assess environmental niche modeling in geographical (G) space utilizing climatic and macro-environmental data. The niche overlap, equivalency, and similarity tests based on PCAenvanalyses were used to assess niche divergence or conservatism in environmental (E) space. The findings strongly support the hypothesis that WRC and ERC have undergone substantial niche divergence and are constrained by a unique set of climatic and macro-environmental conditions. This study by ecological niche comparisons based on phylogenetic data provides new insights into the exploration of species diversification processes in the Hyrcanian forests.

Current trends and future research themes for sustainable business management post-COVID-19

Recently, it became more important for businesses to remain dynamic in both macro and micro environmental conditions to ensure operations are sustainable. The new sustainable business approaches and management practices that emerged during the COVID-19 era have increased business' resilience to social, environmental, and financial problems. Sustainable business management requires knowledge about relevant research in sustainable business management, regarding both the COVID-19 era and future trends. Therefore, this study used a systematic literature review to identify future research themes related to sustainable business management in the post-COVID-19 era. Based on an analysis of current research tendencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable business management practices, six research themes were proposed for integrated studies in manufacturing and service industries. These findings contribute to the current literature by providing a new perspective on research into sustainable business management in the post-COVID-19 era.

The influence of school principals as potential entrepreneurial leaders on the emergence of entrepreneurial activities for school funding

The South African Department of Basic Education introduced school funding regulations to ensure that all learners will have access to quality education. However, the dynamic, complex, turbulent and competitive macroenvironmental conditions, which have resulted in decreased public finances being available, will have a negative impact on the already burdened school funding system. This study explored the role of school principals as entrepreneurial leaders who influence the emergence of entrepreneurial activities for the purpose of school funding. This article explores school principals’ entrepreneurial leadership characteristics and entrepreneurial activities and the outcomes thereof. The qualitative findings of 9 interviews conducted with school principals show that these individuals possess the necessary entrepreneurial know-how and, in their leadership roles, they have the personal, and managerial skills required to identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. The study found that the entrepreneurial activities introduced by the school principals comprised internal resource mobilisation through learner-led and management-led projects, and external mobilisation through partnerships with the private sector and former learners. Overall, the entrepreneurial activities contributed positively to the schools’ finances and improved learners’ entrepreneurial skills. The article concludes by making certain recommendations for various stakeholders.

What are the key success factors for strategy formulation and implementation? Perspectives of managers in the hotel industry.

This study investigates how hotel managers describe strategy and identify key success factors for its formulation and implementation. The study analyzes qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with property level top managers of hotels in Hong Kong. The findings show that hotel managers prioritize competition analysis and macro-environmental conditions over internal characteristics such as teamwork in strategy formulation. In the implementation phase, however, internal considerations such as employee involvement and strategic consensus are given prominence. This study provides a significant contribution by examining how top level practitioners in the industry interpret success factors in their strategic management efforts, and it highlights a largely neglected area in the hospitality and tourism management literature.

Micro- and Macroenvironmental Conditions and Stability of Terrestrial Models.

Environmental variables can have profound effects on the biological responses of research animals and the outcomes of experiments dependent on them. Some of these influences are both predictable and unpredictable in effect, many are challenging to standardize, and all are influenced by the planning and conduct of experiments and the design and operation of the vivarium. Others are not yet known. Within the immediate environment where the research animal resides, in the vivarium and in transit, the most notable of these factors are ambient temperature, relative humidity, gaseous pollutant by-products of animal metabolism and physiology, dust and particulates, barometric pressure, electromagnetic fields, and illumination. Ambient temperatures in the animal housing environment, in particular those experienced by rodents below the thermoneutral zone, may introduce degrees of stress and thermoregulatory compensative responses that may complicate or invalidate study measurements across a broad array of disciplines. Other factors may have more subtle and specific effects. It is incumbent on scientists designing and executing experiments and staff responsible for animal husbandry to be aware of, understand, measure, systematically record, control, and account for the impact of these factors on sensitive animal model systems to ensure the quality and reproducibility of scientific studies.

Intra-horizon differentiation of the bacterial community and its co-occurrence network in a typical Plinthic horizon

Subsurface soil bacterial community composition and the controlling factors remain largely unknown, especially the micro-zone differentiation of community composition within a horizon. We studied a plinthic horizon to determine how different micro-zones in a horizon affect the bacterial community. The plinthic horizon is a net-like horizon characterized by the segregation of iron forms as shown by contrasting red matrix and white veins, which share common macro-environmental conditions such as climate and land use but differ only in physical and chemical compositions. The studied horizon is typical of the red soils of southeastern China and is an important layer in the red soil Critical Zone. The plinthite is considered to have been formed in the Quaternary and thus is a record of the paleo-environment. We evaluated the difference in the bacterial community composition between the red matrix and white veins and explored the possible assembly mechanisms of their co-occurrence patterns. Compared to the eutrophic environments of a red matrix, higher relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Nitrospirae were observed in the white veins. Similarly, more niches led to a higher density of bacterial co-occurrence patterns in the red matrix. The differences in the bacterial community composition and association networks are due to environmental selection, including the legacy of the paleoclimate that is represented by major element contents and contemporary hydrological properties that are mainly controlled by the soil texture. Our study shows that micro-zones even within a same plinthic horizon can provide different habitats and thus select for specific bacterial communities. Furthermore, this study could improve our understanding of the differentiation of bacterial communities among microenvironments caused by both historical and contemporary processes and help to predict how these communities may respond to future environmental changes.

Holistic sustainability assessment of green building industry in Turkey

In the Turkish green building industry, firms need to do an industrial analysis as this market has an emerging nature and potentially unstable business environment. By performing such a strategic analysis, they may determine their own holistic sustainability approaches and thereby become long-lasting enterprises. Therefore, this paper presents a fuzzy model of the macro-environmental assessment (FMMA) in the green building industry in Turkey through PESTLE (political, economic, social, technical, legal, and environmental) framework. To achieve this objective, fuzzy synthetic evaluation was used in quantifying macro-environmental conditions (MECs). The required data for this analysis were obtained from professionals working in the national industry. To illustrate how FMMA works, the current case of the industry was presented. As a result, FMMA offers a comprehensive and practical tool. Given empirical findings, the effect of MECs on the industry was found to be medium-to-high. Also, technological factors were identified as the most effective group, followed by environmental, economic, legal, political, and social factors, respectively. Subsequent researches may examine other regions and industries by modifying the existing criteria and weights. Similarly, the green building industry may be investigated from the viewpoint of other parties in the market. Consequently, this study is first to offer a structured PESTLE quantification model and to evaluate MECs in this emerging industry.

Fatal and non-fatal overdose among opiate users in South Wales: A qualitative study of peer responses

BackgroundOverdose is a major cause of death among injecting drug users in Wales. Few studies, however, have explored the overdose responses of witnesses in this context. This study applies Rhodes’ concept of the ‘risk environment’ to examine how witnesses respond to opiate overdose. MethodIn depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifty-five participants recruited from statutory and third sector drug treatment providers operating across South Wales and from two Welsh prisons. Eligibility was based on whether the person was, or had recently been, an opiate user and whether they had personally experienced or witnessed an overdose event. ResultsWitnesses were amenable to assisting overdosed peers. However, a number of micro- and macro-level factors impeded the successful implementation of harm reduction techniques in response to an overdose. At micro level, the social setting of injecting drug use, peer group drug use norms and difficulties in identifying an overdose were linked to ineffective response. Macro-level factors including laws governing the possession of drugs and harm reduction discourse were also found to limit the uptake of overdose response techniques. ConclusionFindings suggest a need to insert pragmatic solutions into overdose prevention programmes and training to counter the factors hindering effective responses to overdose. This includes simpler techniques and harnessing the support and knowledge of injecting drug users’ social networks. Although these will go some way to addressing specific micro-level barriers, we also emphasise the need for additional policy measures that can address the macro-environmental conditions that produce and maintain features of injecting drug users’ risk environments.

The financial crisis, acquisition premiums and the moderating effect of CEO power

The recent financial crisis brought upon a period of increased information uncertainty for firms and market agents and in the context of mergers and acquisitions, increased information asymmetry between bidders and targets. This led to an overall increase in average acquisition premiums. However, the final realized premium can be moderated through CEO characteristics in dealing with such issues as uncertainty and asymmetry. Bidder CEOs can reduce these premiums through their expertise, networks and control: powerful CEOs will tend to pay smaller premiums than weaker CEOs because they are better equipped to deal with the increased information uncertainty and asymmetry, either through risk-averse behavior or better assessment of target quality. Our results based on a six-year sample of S&P500 firms engaged in M&A activity, and centered on the onset of the recent financial crisis, largely support our predictions. While earlier research suggested that CEO power could lead to higher premiums, our study points to the opposite conclusion: during times of financial crisis, CEO power effectively constrains premiums. This extends our understanding of why bidder CEOs overpay beyond the role of bidder anchoring bias, hubris, and target resistance by considering the role of macro-environmental conditions and power.

Work-Life Balance in the Nigerian Polytechnic Education Sector: Evidence from Employees' Perspectives of Coping with the Role Conflicts in Federal Polytechnics Ede Osun State

Using a phenomenological methodology, the purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of work-life conflicts (WLC) in Nigeria. Evidently, work-life research is a social concept originating from the western societies but over the years, advanced management and business studies are beginning to emerge showcasing the relevance, significance and challenges of Work-Life Balance (WLB) practices in developing nations. Against this backdrop, 51 in-depth interviews were conducted with employees working in the Nigerian Polytechnic Education Sector - NPES using Federal Polytechnic Ede as a focal study, about their cultural perceptions and knowledge of work-life balance. Study findings manifested views alleging the prominence of role conflict situations rather than desired expectations of available social incentives for appropriate management of employees’ work and family affairs. These were attributed to the adverse macro environmental conditions entrenched in so many social-economic upheavals found to be plaguing Nigeria as a whole. Thus, the antecedents of these national issues have necessitated personal coping strategies utilized by participants of current study as moderating buffers against role imbalances encountered. Thus, this paper provides a preliminary study that provides an academic platform for further research into circumstances instigating role conflicts in African societies by presenting major impediments detected to hinder workable WLB practices in Nigeria.

Species site matching: Selecting palms (Arecaceae) for urban growing spaces

Palms (Arecaceae) are part of many urban environments in warmer climatic zones where they are mainly planted for their aesthetical value. Due to physiological and morphological characteristics they provide many common services at lower levels than trees, putting them in danger of being replaced. To avoid this, it is necessary to adequately match them to available sites so that costs remain small in comparison to their benefits. To determine what factors might be related to palm health, and therefore aesthetic value, information on the total palm population in Olhão, Portugal, was collected and statistically analysed for relationships between crown state and variables like palm height, distance to the nearest road or objects located within a species-specific growing space. While city-scape related variables showed no or only very weak correlations, it was found that the three most common species differed significantly from each other as comparatively many Phoenix canariensis palms were in poor state due to red palm weevil damage. The results of the study suggest that, in order to reduce financial inputs required to create high levels of desired benefits, a focus should be on macro-environmental conditions which cannot easily be manipulated or only with considerable costs associated. In addition to often discussed general climatic suitability of different species it is also necessary to consider the factor ‘pests and diseases’ when evaluating the appropriateness of certain plant types for designated growing spaces.