Value appropriation in business exchange: literature review and future research opportunities

Purpose – Value appropriation is a central, yet neglected aspect in business exchange research. The purpose of the paper is to generate an overview of research on active value appropriation in business exchange and provide the foundation for further research into value appropriation, as well as some initial guidance for managers. Design/methodology/approach – Literatures investigating value appropriation were identified by the means of a systematic review of the overall management literature. Findings – The authors provide an overview and comparison of the literatures and find that they apply diverse understandings of the value appropriation process and emphasize different mechanisms and outcomes of value appropriation. Research limitations/implications – Based on the literature comparison and discussion, in combination with inspiration from alternative business exchange literature, the authors propose four areas with high potential for future research into value appropriation: network position effects, appropriation acts and behaviors, buyer-seller relationship effects, and appropriation over time. Practical implications – Boundary spanning managers acting in industrial markets must master the difficult balance between value creation and appropriation. This review has provided an overview of the many managerial options for value appropriation and created knowledge on the effects of the various appropriation mechanisms enabling managers to secure company rents while not jeopardizing value creation. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this paper represents the first attempt at reviewing the management literature on value appropriation in business exchange. The authors provide overview, details, comparisons, and frame a research agenda as a first step towards establishing value appropriation as a key phenomenon in business exchange research.Chris Ellegaard, Christopher J. Medlin, Jens Geersbr

Potential applications of conditional cash transfers for prevention of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

A growing number of developing countries have introduced conditional cash transfer programs that provide money to poor families with certain contingencies attached - such as requiring school attendance or regular immunization and health check-ups. As the popularity of conditional cash transfer programs has grown, experimentation with potential applications in other areas of health, such as sexual and reproductive health, and HIV prevention, in particular, has also increased. Evaluations of conditional cash transfer programs have focused almost exclusively on uptake of health and educational services, which make relatively low demands of participants compared with more complex interventions, which require the cessation of risky behaviors, such as smoking, obesity, and substance abuse. The literature on contingency management - based on the principle that behavioral change occurs when appropriate behaviors are reinforced and rewarded - provides a richer picture of the complexity of the use of conditionality to encourage healthy behavioral change. This paper examines developing countries'experiences with conditional cash transfer programs and the results of trials in clinical settings on the efficacy of contingency management, and addresses their relevance for designing conditional cash transfer programs to address risky sexual behavior and promote the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Population Policies,Adolescent Health,Disease Control&Prevention,HIV AIDS

Land surface topography map, Jo Daviess County, Illinois

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Electrochemical detection of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii with a DNA-biosensor

The steady rise of observations of harmful or toxic algal blooms throughout the world in the past decades constitute a menace for coastal ecosystems and human interests. As a consequence, a number of programs have been launched to monitor the occurrence of harmful and toxic algae. However, the identification is currently done by microscopic examination, which requires a broad taxonomic knowledge, expensive equipment and is very time consuming. In order to facilitate the identification of toxic algae, an inexpensive and easy-to-handle DNA-biosensor has been adapted for the electrochemical detection of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii. The detection of the toxic algae is based on a sandwich hybridisation, which is carried out on a disposable sensor chip. A set of two probes for the species specific identification of A. ostenfeldii was developed. The specificity of the probes could be shown in dot-blot hybridisation and with the DNA-biosensor. The sensitivity of the DNA-biosensor was optimised with respect to hybridisation temperature and NaCl-concentration and a significant increase of the sensitivity of the DNA-biosensor could be obtained by a fragmentation of the rRNA prior to the hybridisation and by adding a helper oligonucleotide, which binds in close proximity to the probes to the hybridisation

CYANO RT-Microarray: A Novel Tool to Detect Gene Expression in Cyanobacteria

EU μAQUA made early warning systems for freshwater pathogens and toxins. Barcodes for each cyanobacterial toxin gene published before 2011 were designed and used in a microarray format to capture messenger RNA to detect toxin gene expression at early stages of bloom development. A reverse transcriptase (RT) microarray was developed to detect toxin expression, which had low expression levels. Probes immobilized on the microarray slide captured the mRNA and were extended directly on the microarray. RT extension incorporated fluorescently labeled oligonucleotides to ensure a high signal detected by the microarray scanner. The CYANO RT microarray was laboratory tested with known toxic cyanobacteria and field-tested. Hybridizations without RT extensions were barely detectable in the cultured strains. However, with RT extensions, hybridized mRNA was easily detected. Field samples were equally successful and consistent with companion studies from the same sites using HPLC/(MS-MS) (High Performance Liquid Chromotography/ Mass Spec). In some cases, amplified expression produced a signal with no detection of that toxin using chemical means. The RT microarray may be more sensitive than HPLC/MS-MS. Further studies are needed to determine if the RT-microarray is detecting a very low expression of the toxin genes and, hence, more sensitive as an early warning system predicting the toxin potential