Firm Place Research Articles

Tacit Collusion and Voluntary Disclosure: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. Automotive Industry

This study examines how industry peers share information when they are engaged in tacit collusion. We develop a model of firms' information sharing and production decisions and use it to establish that firms engaged in tacit collusion are more likely to share information when current market demand is low and when the firms' decision horizon is long. Using 31 years of monthly production forecast data shared among the Big Three U.S. automobile manufacturers, we find empirical evidence that is generally consistent with the predictions of the model. The frequency, horizon and accuracy of the shared production forecasts decrease when the expected demand increases, suggesting less information sharing when firms have greater incentives to compete aggressively to capture greater current demand rather than to tacitly agree to restrict production. The production forecast frequency and horizon also decrease when the firms focus more on short-term profit, consistent with less information sharing when firms place less weight on the future benefit from tacit collusion.

NETWORKING CAPABILITY AND THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED FIRMS

ABSTRACT Grounding on existing research, this paper provides insights on the interaction effects between networking capability, financial performance and environmental factors in the area of new technology-based business. According to the resource-based view, a firm's organizational resources are focused on its external networking capability, which determines the extent to which a firm sustains its competitive advantage. For firms to be competitive, accumulated resources must be valuable, rare, and difficult to imitate. It is widely known that firms place great emphasis on developing their organizational capabilities. This research investigates the relationships between social capital in networking capaability, and financial performance in Korean's technology-based firm. This study proposed statistical hypotheses and a regression model to study these based on the data sampled from 112 Korean technology-based firm firms, including electronic content and ICT business. By testing three hypotheses, this study finds that environmental dynamism is the negative moderating factor between networking capability and financial performance. It also shows that networking capability has a positive effect on financial performance. Finally, managerial implications are discussed and a brief conclusion is presented. Keywords networking capability; financial performance; environmental dynamism

Adverse events of lipoprotein apheresis and immunoadsorption at the Apheresis Center at the University Hospital Dresden

BackgroundLipoprotein apheresis and immunoadsorption methods have a firm place among therapeutic approaches in order to treat disorders of lipoprotein metabolism or anti-body induced diseases. The extracorporeal treatment is associated with adverse effects, we wanted to report the Dresden experience. MethodsIn this study we retrospectively analyzed the adverse events of several lipoprotein apheresis and immunoadsorption methods at the Apheresis Center in Dresden (Germany). We carefully looked into all available documents. The first extracorporeal lipoprotein apheresis was performed in 1990 and the first extracorporeal immunoadsorption was executed in 1995. Throughout the 23 years study period, 10 different methods were employed in treating 268 patients for a total of 25,293 treatments. ResultsAdverse events of varying severity occurred in 1948 of the treatments (7.7%). We subdivided them into mild (61.3% no treatment was necessary), moderate (37.0% oral medication or infusion was given) and severe (1.7% emergency hospitalization was necessary). Therapy had to be stopped prematurely in 1.5% of the treatments. We compared adverse events profiles among the different methods and evaluated for differences by gender. Females were found to have a significantly higher risk of adverse events than male patients. In males, the rate of adverse events ranged from 3.3% (Liposorber® D) to 11% (Therasorb™ Ig); in females the minimum rate was 7.8% (DALI) and the maximum 30% (rheopheresis). Adverse events were evenly distributed between the ages of 30–69, the age range at which most of the therapies were performed. We also found that all methods had a higher rate of adverse events during the first year of treatment. Puncture problems and hypotension were the most common adverse events. ConclusionIt can be stressed that in general the extracorporeal methods used can be regarded as safe.

Special issue: the 15th Taishotoyama International Symposium on Gastroenterology (2). Forward.

Taishotoyama International Symposium was established to educate and encourage young Japanese scientists. This was accomplished through the great efforts of 4 members of the organizing committee, Prof. T. Takemoto, Prof. K. Kobayashi, Prof. A.S. Tarnawski and Prof. G. L. Eastwood. I was assigned the great responsibility of the post of Secretary General by the organizing committee. The first International Symposium was held in 1987 at Shimoda Central Hotel. After a long series of advanced scientific planning and good organization, the symposium has established a brilliant tradition and a firm place in the scientific community. The 14th Taishotoyama International Symposium on Gastroenterology was planned to be held from April 14th to 16th at Regal Royal Hotel in Tokyo, however, it was canceled due to the massive earthquake that occurred off the coast of East Japan in March, 2011 and the subsequent major tsunami. Accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant of Tokyo Electronic Power Co. resulted in radioactive contamination and residents living near the nuclear power plant had to take refuge in distant locations. As devastated districts in several Tohoku Prefectures are currently undergoing re-construction, the Organizing Committee and Taishotoyama Pharmaceuticals decided to hold the 15th Symposium again in 2013 in order to continue the tradition and provide educational concepts that support and encourage the research minds and scientific prowess on the international stage. On this occasion I am extremely delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the latest topics in gastroenterology, which have progressed over past three years and to inform you again that I will be presiding over the 15th Symposium in Tokyo on September 26–28, 2013. The topics to be discussed by the organizing committee are: 1. GI Mucosal Injury and Repair, 2. GI inflammation and 3. Cancer Research of the GI tract. The organizing committee sincerely requests that all participants submit a large number of papers, and to present the impressive results of their scientific efforts in order to add to the excitement of the final symposium. All things considered, and to our great regret, this international symposium finally came to end this year. However, we take pride in this symposium which has continued to educate and encourage many young Japanese scientists since 1987 and has sent a huge number of contributions on gastroenterology all over the world. All of the papers involving invited foreign speakers will be published in two installments in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the direction of Editor in chief, Prof. Mamoru Watanabe. Finally, on behalf of the Organizing Committee for the Taishotoyama International Symposium, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for the earnest and heart-felt cooperation and strong support we have received especially from Mr. Akira Uehara, The Chairman, Mr. Akira Ohira, The President, and Mr. Yoshiaki Sasaki, executive Director of Taishotoyama Pharmaceuticals.

Somnology - what is of importance for the ENT-specialist? An overview on the current guidelines in sleep medicine

The somnology occupies a firm place in medical care of the ENT physician. The S3 guideline "non-restorative sleep/sleep" defines the standards in diagnosis and therapy. Among the sleep-disordered breathing obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the most common sleep breathing disorder among those aged 30-60 years. The diagnostics is based on a stepwise approach by ambulatory polygraphy and subsequent inpatient polysomnography. Depending on the focus degree of OSA and symptoms of the patient various treatment options surgical and conservative for the ENT specialist are available today. The superior form of therapy for all severities of OSA remains the non-invasive nocturnal airway pressure (CPAP). Detailed knowledge of sleep medicine is essential for differential diagnosis and the correct treatment decision. An interdisciplinary collaboration with a neurologist, pediatrician or pulmonologist should be included in more complex cases.

Spirituality: what is its role in pain medicine?

For many years, spirituality has been regarded as an integral aspect of patient care in fields closely allied to pain medicine such as palliative and supportive care. Despite this, it has received relatively little attention within the field of pain medicine itself. Reasons for this may include a lack of understanding of what spirituality means, doubtfulness of its relevance, an uncertainty about how it may be addressed, or a lack of awareness of how addressing spirituality may be of benefit. A review of the literature was conducted to determine the changing conceptual frameworks that have been applied to pain medicine, the emergence of the biopsychospiritual approach and what that means as well as evidence for the benefits of incorporation of this approach for the management of pain. Although the concept of spirituality is broad, there is now greater consensus on what is meant by this term. Many authors and consensus panels have explored the concept and formulated a conceptual framework and an approach that is inclusive, accessible, relevant, and applicable to people with a wide range of health conditions. In addition, there is accumulating evidence that interventions that address the issue of spirituality have benefits for physical and emotional health. Given the firm place that spirituality now holds within other fields and the mounting evidence for its relevance and benefit for people with pain, there is increasing evidence to support the inclusion of spiritual factors as an important component in the assessment and treatment of pain.

Versatile genetic paintbrushes: Brainbow technologies.

Advances in labeling technologies are instrumental to study the developmental mechanisms that control organ formation and function at the cellular level. Until recently, genetic tools relied on the expression of single markers to visualize individual cells or lineages in developing and adult animals. Exploiting the expanding color palette of fluorescent proteins and the power of site-specific recombinases in rearranging DNA fragments, the development of Brainbow strategies in mice made it possible to stochastically label many cells in different colors within the same sample. Over the past years, these pioneering approaches have been adapted for other experimental model organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster, zebrafish, and chicken. Balancing the distinct requirements of single cell and clonal analyses, adjustments were made that both enhance and expand the functionality of these tools. Multicolor cell labeling techniques have been successfully applied in studies analyzing the cellular components of neural circuits and other tissues, and the compositions and interactions of lineages. While being continuously refined, Brainbow technologies have thus found a firm place in the genetic toolboxes of developmental and neurobiologists.

The Social Sources of Migration and Enterprise: Italian Peasants and Chinese Migrants in Prato

This article begins with an analysis of small-firm economies in Italy and China and then compares and contrasts the migrations of Italian peasants and Wenzhou Chinese to Prato, a historic center of textile production in northern Italy. The purpose of our analysis is not to argue that, despite many differences, the rural to urban migration of Italian peasants and the international migration of Wenzhou Chinese are fundamentally the same. Instead, through an analysis of similarities and differences into the organizational nature of these two migrations, we can better understand the crucial historical differences between the two cases, differences that give us insight into the more complex questions about the place of Italian and Chinese family firms in the global economy of the twenty-first century.

GENERIC STRATEGY AND INTERNATIONALIZATION: THE ROLE OF TRANSACTION COST AND MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

ABSTRACT Using transaction cost theory framework, this paper attempts to examine the influence of a domestic firm's generic strategy on its internationalization decision. It is initially proposed in this paper that a firm's vulnerability to opportunism is not uniform across all firms, but differs according to the firm's management philosophy, which is embedded in its generic strategy. Because of the philosophical differences, the threat of opportunism, a central source of transaction cost, may not be perceived as the same for firms pursuing different types of generic strategies. Furthermore, the strategic emphasis that each firms place on their various functions can moderate the above relationship. In order to show the moderating effect, an open systems perspective is adopted to derive a set of propositions regarding a firm’s international entry mode. Keywords Generic Strategy, Internationalization, Transaction Cost

Should a Multinational Firm Place Part of its Supply Chain in a Tax Haven?: Strategies to Enable International Tax Arbitrage

What motivates the geographic footprint of the supply chains that multinational firms (MNFs) deploy? Traditional prescriptive research in the operations and supply chain management literature tends to recommend locations primarily based on differentials in production costs and the ramifications of physical distance. The role of taxation has received much less attention.MNFs that strategically position parts of their supply chains in low-tax locations can allocate the profits across the different pieces of the firm so as to improve post-tax profits. For the profit allocation to be defensible to tax authorities, the operations in tax havens must possess real decision authority and bear meaningful risks such as the consequences of uncertainty in market demand. Generally speaking, the greater the transfer of risk and control, the larger the allowable allocation of profit. These transfers may also create inefficiencies due to misalignment of business goals and attitudes towards risk. We model these tradeoffs in the context of placing in a low-tax region a subsidiary that oversees product distribution (as a Commissionaire, Limited-Risk Distributor, or Fully-Fledged Distributor). Our analysis ultimately informs the questions of motive for the MNF: whether and when to use these tax-aware supply chain strategies.

Integración del diseño en las empresas portuguesas, del sector de la transformación de la Piedra Natural: definición de un perfil

Portuguese natural stone processing companies are suffering a decline in emerging markets. Design, as an integral component of innovation and strategic business management, plays a vital role in a company's growth, internationalization and competitiveness. By conducting an Internet survey with companies that participated in the Pedra trade fair in Batalha, Portugal, the value these firms place on design was analyzed. The profile of companies that differentiate themselves based on design was also identified. Results indicate that none of the companies surveyed have an R&D department, not even those that differentiate themselves based on design. Nor did these companies value the majority of benefits that design offers. They do, however, expressly value the qualities of the material they work with (its durability, texture and unique character) and use these to differentiate themselves in the market. It can be concluded that there is experience, deep technical knowledge and a culture related to the product in this sector, but there is no model to encourage the integration of design management into values of innovation, differentiation and competitiveness. As a result, opportunities for product innovation with natural stone are continually missed.

Forum der Psychoanalyse: A journal documenting the “normalization” of the psychoanalytic field in Germany

Forum der Psychoanalyse, which holds a firm place in the German-speaking world today, was founded in 1984 in a rugged landscape of psychoanalysis in Germany that was the consequence of the malignant group processes that had occurred between psychoanalytic societies after World War II. The Forum's foundation was guided by the idea of creating a constructive climate between the rivalrous groups and moderating the gap between them, given the increasing recognition of the shared history of psychoanalysis in Germany that had started to take root in the 1980s. Emphasizing the common ground in psychoanalytic theory and practice, the Forum is open to all psychoanalysts, to discussions of the various psychoanalytic trends, and to contemporary interdisciplinary dialogue. It promotes exchanges between psychoanalytic societies, and is also meant as a bridge to the development of psychoanalysis abroad.

The Last Planner System in China's construction industry — A SWOT analysis on implementation

The Last Planner System™ (LPS) is well-documented in the literature, and has sometimes been used to represent lean construction or lean project management. LPS aims to achieve reliable workflow by encouraging foremen to have a sense of ownership of the project programme and to build-in their commitment into it. This study reports on the perceptions of Chinese building professionals of the application of LPS in Chinese construction projects. It reveals that several components of LPS have already taken place in large Chinese construction firms. Further, this study employs a SWOT analysis to examine the possible strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat factors that might have an impact on implementation of LPS in construction projects in China.

Disseminating Knowledge and Writing for Publication

One of the last steps of evidence-based design (EBD) is disseminating the new knowledge via numerous outlets and in-service presentations. Such presentations take place in hospitals, design firms, through posters or podium presentations at national conferences, and in articles in professional journals such as HERD. In this article we describe the methodology of writing for publication in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal (for example, a submittal to HERD). We seek to assist aspiring and beginning authors in successfully disseminating their experience and knowledge through case studies of their projects, results of evidence-based design projects, and actual research projects with findings that help others to design better healthcare facilities. Although this article is not primarily directed at seasoned academic scholars or researchers in practice who have experience in writing scholarly pieces, some aspects of this article may remind such scholars of common problems that often delay publication. As such we intend to help you learn the process of systematically recording your thoughts, summarizing your projects, and disseminating the knowledge that you hold to others in the healthcare design field who can benefit from what you know and have experienced.To ensure a shared understanding, a few writing and editing terms need to be defined. The term manuscript refers to a paper that is not yet published; whereas an article denotes an already accepted or published paper. Peer review refers to a process of sending a manuscript out to three or four peers to read the manuscript and provide feedback to the author(s) for improvement and a recommendation of reject, revise, or accept to the editor. The author must address each peer reviewer's comment, making the recommended changes in the paper or providing rationale as to why they are not. Author queries, or AQs, are questions that the final copy editor needs the author to address before publication. Additional terms will be defined in the text of this article as appropriate.The Writing ProcessNone of us has time to write! Potential authors commonly cite lack of time as the primary reason they do not share their knowledge and expertise by writing articles for publication. Others say I have nothing to write about, and yet most of us have important stories to tell about our projects, our inter-professional relationships and planning projects, and the post-occupancy experiences of patients and healthcare providers in the built environment. Some potential authors might indicate that they don't know where to begin in writing an article or that they feel that they lack the skills for writing, including researching and reviewing the literature, or even the publishing process. Many cite fear of rejection as the reason for not even attempting to write an article.None of us has time to write an article, if by that we mean the time to sit down and get it all done in one sitting, or the ability to set aside several hours or days to accomplish the task. We hope this methodology article will provide the reader with some helpful tips to write articles in short sections that later can be pieced together into a complete article for consideration for publication.Basic FormatScholarly journals such as HERD use a peer-refereed process for reviewing all submitted manuscripts, and the panel of reviewers might reject one's work. Carefully and assiduously following the author guidelines for a journal, however, is the best way to ensure the greatest likelihood of a manuscript's acceptance. Editors often reject articles before they even get to the peer-review process because the author ignored the formatting guidelines which the journal publishes on its website. All journal editors take author guidelines seriously, and you must carefully adhere to the preferred style of referencing citations; creating separate files for tables, figures, and illustrations; page limits; and word counts. …

Addressing Spirituality in Experiential Learning

Experiential learning has had a firm place in Education since the time of John Dewey. Nevertheless in the Czech Republic, due to its isolation during the Communist era, its development has been unique in some respects. This study aims to examine whether experiential learning is capable of addressing spirituality as a significant aspect of human life. The findings of a research survey conducted among participants of two experiential courses show that a kind of spiritual experience did occur, although it was not intended in the original design of the course. An insight into the question of addressing spirituality through experiential learning is thus provided.

An analysis of recruitment, training and retention practices in domestic and multinational enterprises in the country of Brunei Darussalam

This paper studies the behavioural differences in the recruitment, training and retention practices of domestic enterprises (DEs) versus multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the country of Brunei Darussalam. Hypotheses from literature survey predict MNEs to be more stringent in their recruitment and training and rigourous with promotion practices. Results show this is to be largely true. MNEs are found to be more rigourous in recruitment and place more emphasis on such traits as candidates' ‘devotion to task’, ‘self-motivation’ and ‘independent judgement’. MNEs were found to rely more on internal appointments. MNEs place more emphasis on training; they also emphasise a stronger work culture by relying on ‘induction by socialisation’ and ‘buddy system for mentoring’. When analysed by age, older firms were found to place more importance on language and commitment. They also rely on training via the buddy system and on external appointments for senior posts. Large firms place emphasis on employees' willingness to travel and on work experience in other countries as the main recruitment criteria. Large firms also believe in external appointments for senior positions. The study, which is one of few of its kind conducted in non-Western environment, and the only one in the context of Brunei, adds to our understanding of human resource practices in the context of two different genres of enterprises and has implications for future research.

Gender Inequality in Small and Large Audit Firms

Women are still a minority in the audit profession, especially at the partner level. An increasing amount of literature has explored the sources of this gender inequality. Past studies have, however, neglected the possibility that the processes that lead to the (re)production of gender differences and hierarchies may differ between audit firms of different sizes. In this article, we combine quantitative with qualitative data to explore how gender inequalities regarding promotion and access to resources of power (at the partner level) might differ between audit firms of different sizes. Our data show that women who achieve partnership in large firms (but not in some smaller firms) are confronted with a second-level glass ceiling, as they do not play leading roles within their firms. This can be explained by the higher demands of commitment large firms place upon (prospective) partners and these firms’ greater focus on the commercial side of auditing.

Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets: The Theoretical Framework and Recent Developments

This chapter investigates the theoretical frameworks and recent empirical evidence 3 of executive compensation in emerging markets. The author outlines theoretical 4 evolutions and identifies unique aspects of institutional features in determining the 5 pay scheme in emerging markets. Due to family ownership and political influence 6 within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in emerging economies, the agency-based 7 bargaining takes place in firms with strong governance while entrenchment-based 8 skimming takes place in firms with weak governance, and this could lead to a 9 relation-based rather than a market-based compensation contract. The literature 10 seems to be heading into the direction of considering executive pay as an outcome 11 of pay setting practices, embedded in socially constructed corporate governance 12 arrangements. The author highlights the importance of executive compensation 13 studies in emerging economies and calls for future research by integrating the 14 institutional features of emerging markets into investigations of the various pay 15 practices across different jurisdictions. 16

Disease-targeted sequencing: a cornerstone in the clinic

With the declining cost of sequencing and the ongoing discovery of disease genes, it is now possible to examine hundreds of genes in a single disease-targeted test. Although exome- and genome-sequencing approaches are beginning to compete, disease-targeted testing retains certain advantages and still holds a firm place in the diagnostic evaluation. Here I examine the current state of clinical disease-targeted sequencing and evaluate the benefits and challenges of incorporating sequencing tests into patient care.

Cornelius Celsus--ancient encyclopedist, surgeon-scientist, or master of surgery?

PurposeThe Roman nobleman Cornelius Celsus (25 BC–AD 50) wrote a general encyclopedia (De Artibus) dealing with several subjects, among which some had medical content (De Medicina), an eight-volume compendium, including two books about surgery (VII + VIII). It is the most significant medical document following the Hippocratic writings. In 1443, Pope Nicolas V rediscovered the work of Cornelius Celsus, despite it having been forgotten for several centuries, and it was the first medical and surgical book to be printed (AD 1478). Up until the nineteenth century, 60 editions were published in Latin as well as numerous translations in European languages, the last of which was a French translation in 1876. While Celsus’ work is the best account of Roman medicine as practiced in the first century of the Christian era and its influence persisted until the nineteenth century, there is controversy as to whether Cornelius Celsus himself actually practiced as a surgeon or was only an encyclopedist who collected in the Latin language the medical knowledge available at that time.MethodsThe detailed analysis of the surgical techniques described by Celsus, the modifications tailored to the findings, possible complications, detailed description of pre- and postsurgical activities, give the general impression that he himself practiced surgery at least within his family and among his dependents. In addition, his descriptions give a clear insight into the astonishingly high standard of surgical knowledge available at the time of Celsus.ResultsHis work thus reflects the state of knowledge of his time, which is why he also assumed the role of teacher and scientist. As such, his meets the modern criteria addressed to a surgeon–scientist, who apart from the practical surgical activity, also had a role as teacher of surgery and scientist. Whether Cornelius Celsus had inaugurated a new surgical technique and was the first to describe that, and as such can be described as a master of surgery, cannot be corroborated.ConclusionCornelius Celsus deserves a firm place in the history of surgery because with his publication De Medicina, Book VII + VIII, he has preserved Roman surgical knowledge in the first century of the Christian era and, thanks to the use of Latin in medicine and surgery, this continues to be retained up till the present day.