Multilevel Conceptual Model Research Articles

Towards a strategic place brand-management model

Using earlier research into models of place branding-management processes, this paper develops a multi-level conceptual model of strategic place brand management designed to support managers in embracing a holistic approach to place brand management. The model identifies the following components for attention and activity: place brand evaluation; brand infrastructure relationships, including infrastructure (regeneration) and stakeholder engagement (management); place brand articulation; and brand communications. The model identifies the influences and action processes between these components, including brand identity and architecture, influencing brand experience. Existing place branding models take different perspectives on the branding process – respectively, relationship management, communications, and strategic planning; none of these models are comprehensive and neither are they widely adopted or tested. This paper proposes an integrative model that builds on and subsumes these earlier models and is also grounded in the wider research on branding and place branding concept and processes.

Assessing a multilevel model of young children's oral health with national survey data.

To empirically test a multilevel conceptual model of children's oral health incorporating 22 domains of children's oral health across four levels: child, family, neighborhood and state. The 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, is a nationally representative telephone survey of caregivers of children. We examined child-, family-, neighborhood-, and state-level factors influencing parent's report of children's oral health using a multilevel logistic regression model, estimated for 26 736 children ages 1-5 years. Factors operating at all four levels were associated with the likelihood that parents rated their children's oral health as fair or poor, although most significant correlates are represented at the child or family level. Of 22 domains identified in our conceptual model, 15 domains contained factors significantly associated with young children's oral health. At the state level, access to fluoridated water was significantly associated with favorable oral health for children. Our results suggest that efforts to understand or improve children's oral health should consider a multilevel approach that goes beyond solely child-level factors.

Knowledge ties among subsidiaries in MNCs: A multi-level conceptual model

Abstract While ties among subsidiaries—the key players of a MNC network—are a prerequisite for the formation of the network and the flow of knowledge within the organization, we know little about factors influencing the formation of such ties. By building on the literature on inter-firm networks and knowledge-based view of the firm, we develop a multi-level model consisting of subsidiary characteristics, dyadic dynamics, and salient contextual factors to explain the inter-subsidiary collaboration for knowledge development and exchange. We bring to the fore the importance of examining multiple dimensions in understanding what predicts tie formation and the efficacy of these ties in creating a knowledge advantage. This paper advances the notion of subsidiary knowledge networking capability—the ability to form, manage, and leverage a network for gaining and sharing knowledge—and suggests that such capability is critical for subsidiaries and by extension the MNC, to achieve a competitive advantage.

Co‐opetition and Technological Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: A Multilevel Conceptual Model

Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises (SMEs) face tremendous challenges in their attempt to pursue technological innovations. This paper argues that co‐opetition strategy—simultaneous pursuit of competition and collaboration—helps SMEs to develop their ability to effectively pursue technological innovations. We developed a multilevel conceptual model consisting of factors at the industry, dyadic, and firm level to understand the drivers of co‐opetition and discuss benefits and costs of co‐opetition for SMEs. We believe that this paper will stimulate future conceptual and empirical research on this important topic and has implications for SME managers and policymakers.

Exploring Travel Behavior of Elderly Women in Rural and Small Urban North Dakota

Many studies focus on the mobility patterns of elderly people. However, few studies have explored the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban areas. Compared with their peers in large urban areas, these women tend to face greater challenges because of limited services and mobility options. Using data from 1,021 respondents to a survey conducted in North Dakota, this study examines the determinants of the travel behavior of elderly women. In particular, a multilevel conceptual ecological model was applied to identify how individual-level social environment and physical environment factors influence their travel patterns. Ordered probit models were estimated for the frequencies of nine types of trips. It was found that individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy and physical limitations), social environment factors (e.g., clubs and family), and physical environment factors (e.g., rural versus small urban areas) significantly affect the mobility of elderly women in North Dakota. The implications of these results for policies that aim to enhance the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban locations are discussed.

Influences on Children's Oral Health: A Conceptual Model

Despite marked improvements over the past century, oral health in America is a significant problem: caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Much oral health research examines influences primarily in the oral cavity or focuses on a limited number of individual-level factors. The purpose of this article was to present a more encompassing conceptual model of the influences on children's oral health. The conceptual model presented here was derived from the population health and social epidemiology fields, which have moved toward multilevel, holistic approaches to analyze the complex and interactive causes of children's health problems. It is based on a comprehensive review of major population and oral health literatures. A multilevel conceptual model is described, with the individual, family, and community levels of influence on oral health outcomes. This model incorporates the 5 key domains of determinants of health as identified in the population health literature: genetic and biological factors, the social environment, the physical environment, health behaviors, and dental and medical care. The model recognizes the presence of a complex interplay of causal factors. Last, the model incorporates the aspect of time, recognizing the evolution of oral health diseases (eg, caries) and influences on the child-host over time. This conceptual model represents a starting point for thinking about children's oral health. The model incorporates many of the important breakthroughs by social epidemiologists over the past 25 years by including a broad range of genetic, social, and environmental risk factors; multiple pathways by which they operate; a time dimension; the notion of differential susceptibility and resilience; and a multilevel approach. The study of children's oral health from a global perspective remains largely in its infancy and is poised for additional development. This work can help inform how best to approach and improve children's oral health.

Two-Level Negotiations and U.S. Foreign Policy: The Failure of the Johnson Plan for the Palestinian Refugees, 1961–1962

The Kennedy administration sought to resolve the Palestine refugee problem in 1961–62 with a plan for compensation, resettlement, or repatriation under the formal auspices of the United Nations Palestine Conciliation Commission and negotiated by UN special envoy Dr. Joseph Johnson. The negotiations failed and the plan was canceled by the administration in December 1962. The article utilizes a multi-level conceptual model which examines the links between interstate negotiation, domestic politics and boundary-crossing interactions between foreign states and non-state domestic actors and their impact on foreign policy. It analyzes the multi-level negotiations that were conducted between representatives of the governments of Israel and the United States regarding the Johnson proposals, discussions held between Israel representatives and American Jewish leaders and prominent Jewish individuals, and between American government representatives and these same Jewish leaders and individuals. The study analyzes the factors that contributed to the failure of the plan and illustrates the nexus between foreign policy and domestic politics and the role of non-state actors in foreign policy decision making.

Framing Interorganizational Network Change: A Network Inertia Perspective

We introduce the construct of network inertia, referring to a persistent organizational resistance to changing interorganizational network ties or difficulties that an organization faces when it attempts to dissolve old relationships and form new network ties. Previous research has neglected the process of network change in favor of an emphasis on identifying beneficial content effects of networks. We emphasize the constraints on network change and propose a multilevel conceptual model relating key sources of network inertia to changes in network ties. We also discuss the implications of network inertia for the evolution of networks.

Cooperative Networks and Competitive Dynamics: a Structural Embeddedness Perspective

Firms are embedded in networks of cooperative relationships that influence the flow of resources among them. Dynamic resource flows and differentiated structural positions lead to asymmetries and influence firms' competitive behavior toward others in the network. We develop a multilevel conceptual model relating key network properties to competitive action and response. A structural embeddedness perspective with a focus on simultaneous cooperation and competition advances our understanding of competitive dynamics and provides intriguing possibilities for future research.