Explaining the servitization paradox: a configurational theory and a performance measurement framework

Purpose Previous research reports mixed results regarding the performance impact of servitization in manufacturing firms. To resolve this, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptually consistent and comprehensive measurement framework for both dimensions, servitization and its performance effect, and apply in a configurational analysis to reexamine previous evidence, arriving at a configurational theory of the relationship between servitization and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Combining systematic literature review (SLR) and inductive reasoning, the existing indicators for servitization and performance are identified and clustered into groups that adequately represent both dimensions. The dataset is reanalyzed against the resulting framework to identify the configurational patterns and to formulate the theoretical propositions. Findings Financial and nonfinancial indicators of servitization and its performance impact are organized into a comprehensive measurement framework grounded on existing research. The subsequent meta-analysis shows that the positive or negative impacts of servitization on performance depend on how firms implement servitization strategies and which performance aspects are examined. Research limitations/implications The results explain when servitization can be successful and confirm the existence of the so-called servitization paradox. The meta-analysis identified patterns that explain the previous mixed results, shaping a configurational theory of servitization. Thus, the measurement framework is conceptually robust and has sufficient detail to capture servitization and its performance outcome as it feasibly distinguished between different organizational configurations. Originality/value The framework provides a comprehensive portfolio of indicators for both managers and scholars to measure servitization intensity and performance. This supports managers of servitizing firms in leading this organizational transformation while avoiding its organizational and financial paradoxes

Emotions in business-to-business service relationships

Emotion in business-to-business service relationships regarding cargo services is explored. The service relationship is characterised by mutual trust and cooperation. Contact is mainly via telephone or e-mail with some face-to-face interactions and participants providing a complex, multi-skilled seamless service. Experience rather than training plays a vital role with long-term service relationships built up and maintained. Emotional sensitivity is acquired partly by experience and a repeat customer base but mainly through a genuine desire to help and get to know others. In contrast to the view of emotional labour bringing managerial control or adverse affects to service staff, the emotion engendered by this work is authentic expression bringing personal satisfaction

APOE polymorphism and its effect on plasma C-reactive protein levels in a large general population sample

The literature on association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene variations and plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) remains inconsistent, mainly due to low statistical power of previous studies. To clarify this question, we analysed data from large population sample of randomly selected individuals from 7 Czech towns (2886 males and 3344 females, the HAPIEE study). In both males and females, the lowest levels of plasma hsCRP were observed in the carriers of the APOE ε4ε4 and ε4ε3 genotypes. The median (inter-quartile range, IQR) concentration of hsCRP in carriers of the most common APOE ε3ε3 genotype (two thirds of participants) was 1.13 (IQR 0.56; 2.33) mg/l in men and 1.23 (IQR 0.61; 2.65) mg/l in women, compared with 0.72 (IQR 0.61; 0.86) mg/l in male and 0.72 (IQR 0.61-0.85) mg/l in female carriers of APOE ε4ε3/ε4ε4 genotypes; the differences were statistically significant (p<0.001). The association between APOE and CRP was not materially affected by adjustment for age, sex, history of cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors. This study, the largest to date, provides robust evidence of an association between plasma hsCRP and the APOE genotype, an association not explained by history of cardiovascular disease nor its risk factors

Adaptation of an Evaluation System for e-Health Environments

Proceedings of: 14th International Conference, KES 2010, Cardiff, UK, September 8-10, 2010The increase in ageing of European population implies a high cost in economy and society in any European country and it can be reduced if we pay attention and develop home care systems. Evaluation of these systems is a critical and challenging issue but seldom tackled. It is important before evaluating a system to figure out what is the evaluation goal. In our case, such a goal is to evaluate enhanced user experience and beyond the evaluation goal it is also a central concern about what to evaluate. In this paper we propose a multi-agent home care system where we describe how agents coordinate their decisions to provide e-services to patients when at home after hospitalization. Finally we center our proposal on the adaptation of an evaluation system, previously developed, to support the challenges of an e-Health environment and also the multi-user evaluation. These evaluation methods (online/offline) will provide user's (patients, patient's relatives and healthcare professionals) feedback into the system.This work was supported in part by Projects CICYT TIN2008-06742-C02-02/ TSI, CICYT TEC2008-06732-C02-02/TEC, CAM CONTEXTS (S2009/ TIC-1485) and DPS2008-07029-C02-02.Publicad

In vitro growth regulation of endometrial carcinoma cells by tamoxifen and medroxyprogesterone acetate,

The growth inhibitory effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and tamoxifen (TAM) were tested on three long-established endometrial carcinoma cell lines (HEC-1, KLE, and RL95-2) and on UM-EC-1, a new endometrial carcinoma cell line established in our laboratory. MPA and TAM were used in growth experiments either alone, simultaneously, or sequentially. The MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was used as a control. None of the endometrial carcinoma cell lines showed significant sensitivity to 0.1-10 [mu]M MPA. In contrast, 10 days exposure to 5 [mu]M TAM induced 83 and 70% growth inhibition in HEC-1 and KLE cultures, whereas the growth of UM-EC-1 was inhibited by 99.7% and RL95-2 cultures by 100%. TAM-induced growth inhibition was reversible since all cell lines resumed logarithmic growth when TAM was removed from the culture medium. Addition of 17-[beta]-estradiol (E2) to the culture medium did not accelerate recovery, and reversal of TAM-induced growth inhibition was not seen when TAM and E2 were added simultaneously. This is consistent with our finding that, except for MCF-7, these cell lines did not show detectable estrogen receptor (ER) activity in assays performed at the time of these experiments. When treated sequentially with TAM and MPA, all cell lines resumed logarithmic growth when medium containing TAM was replaced with medium containing MPA. Simultaneous exposure to 5 [mu]M MPA and 5 [mu]M TAM resulted in a slight additive growth inhibitory effects only in KLE cultures. Our results show that MPA does not have growth inhibitory effects in these endometrial carcinoma cell cultures, whereas TAM exerts a potent growth inhibitory effect that is not reversed by estrogen and may thus be mediated through a mechanism different from blockade of ER. In vitro results with the UM-EC-1 cell line correlated with the clinical response of the cell line donor. Her disease progressed during postoperative MPA therapy, but subsequently she responded to TAM therapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27275/1/0000291.pd

CKS1 inhibition depletes leukemic stem cells and protects healthy hematopoietic stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematological disorder comprising a hierarchy of quiescent leukemic stem cells (LSCs) and proliferating blasts with limited self-renewal ability. AML has a dismal prognosis, with extremely low 2-year survival rates in the poorest cytogenetic risk patients, primarily due to the failure of intensive chemotherapy protocols to deplete LSCs and toxicity of therapy toward healthy hematopoietic cells. We studied the role of cyclin-dependent kinase regulatory subunit 1 (CKS1)-dependent protein degradation in primary human AML and healthy hematopoiesis xenograft models in vivo. Using a small-molecule inhibitor (CKS1i), we demonstrate a dual role for CKS1-dependent protein degradation in reducing patient-derived AML blasts in vivo and, importantly, depleting LSCs, whereas inhibition of CKS1 has the opposite effect on normal hematopoiesis, protecting normal hematopoietic stem cells from chemotherapeutic toxicity. Proteomic analysis of responses to CKS1i in our patient-derived xenograft mouse model demonstrate that inhibition of CKS1 in AML leads to hyper-activation of RAC1 and accumulation of lethal reactive oxygen species, whereas healthy hematopoietic cells enter quiescence in response to CKS1i, protecting hematopoietic stem cells. Together, these findings demonstrate that CKS1-dependent proteostasis is a key vulnerability in malignant stem cell biology.Peer reviewe

Clinicopathological characteristics and cell cycle proteins as potential prognostic factors in myoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands

Myoepithelial carcinoma (MCA) is a rare malignancy of salivary glands that was included in the WHO Classification of Head and Neck Tumors in 1991. MCA has shown a broad spectrum of clinical outcomes, but attempts to identify prognostic markers for this malignancy have not resulted in significant progress. Conventional histopathological characteristics such as tumour grade, nuclear atypia, mitotic index and cell proliferation have failed to predict the outcome of MCA. In this study, we reviewed the histopathology of 19 cases of MCA focusing on nuclear atypia, mitotic count, tumour necrosis, nerve and vascular invasion and occurrence of a pre-existing pleomorphic adenoma in connection to the MCA. Histopathological characteristics and clinical information were correlated with the immunohistochemical expression of cell cycle proteins including c-Myc, p21, Cdk4 and Cyclin D3. The proportion of tumour cells immunoreactive for these markers and their intensity of staining were correlated with clinical information using logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. Using logistic regression analysis, cytoplasmic c-Myc expression was associated with the occurrence of metastases (P = 0.019), but limitations of semi-quantitation of immunostaining and the limited number of cases preclude definitive conclusions. Our data show that the occurrence of tumour necrosis predicts poor disease-free survival in MCA (P = 0.035).Peer reviewe

The Intentional Use of Service Recovery Strategies to Influence Consumer Emotion, Cognition and Behaviour

Service recovery strategies have been identified as a critical factor in the success of. service organizations. This study develops a conceptual frame work to investigate how specific service recovery strategies influence the emotional, cognitive and negative behavioural responses of . consumers., as well as how emotion and cognition influence negative behavior. Understanding the impact of specific service recovery strategies will allow service providers' to more deliberately and intentionally engage in strategies that result in positive organizational outcomes. This study was conducted using a 2 x 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design. The results suggest that service recovery has a significant impact on emotion, cognition and negative behavior. Similarly, satisfaction, negative emotion and positive emotion all influence negative behavior but distributive justice has no effect

Fish, Fish-Derived n-3 Fatty Acids, and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Results of observational and experimental studies investigating the association between intake of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) have been inconsistent.We studied the association of fish and the fish-derived n-3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) with the risk of incident AF in individuals aged 45-64 from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort (n = 14,222, 27% African Americans). Intake of fish and of DHA and EPA were measured via food frequency questionnaire. Plasma levels of DHA and EPA were measured in phospholipids in a subset of participants (n = 3,757). Incident AF was identified through the end of 2008 using ECGs, hospital discharge codes and death certificates. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios of AF by quartiles of n-3 PUFAs or by fish intake.During the average follow-up of 17.6 years, 1,604 AF events were identified. In multivariable analyses, total fish intake and dietary DHA and EPA were not associated with AF risk. Higher intake of oily fish and canned tuna was associated with a nonsignificant lower risk of AF (p for trend = 0.09). Phospholipid levels of DHA+EPA were not related to incident AF. However, DHA and EPA showed differential associations with AF risk when analyzed separately, with lower risk of AF in those with higher levels of DHA but no association between EPA levels and AF risk.In this racially diverse sample, dietary intake of fish and fish-derived n-3 fatty acids, as well as plasma biomarkers of fish intake, were not associated with AF risk

Chronic kidney-disease screening service quality: questionnaire survey research evidence from Taichung city

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious public health problem in Taiwan and the world. The most effective, affordable treatments involve early prevention/detection/intervention, requiring screening. Successfully implementing CKD programs requires good patient participation, affected by patient perceptions of screening service quality. Service quality improvements can help make such programs more successful. Thus, good tools for assessing service quality perceptions are important. Aim: to investigate using a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire in assessing patient expectations, perceptions, and loyalty towards kidney disease screening service quality.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>1595 kidney disease screening program patients in Taichung City were requested to complete and return a modified kidney disease screening SERVQUAL questionnaire. 1187 returned them. Incomplete ones (102) were culled and 1085 were chosen as effective for use. Paired t-tests, correlation tests, ANOVA, LSD test, and factor analysis identified the characteristics and factors of service quality. The paired t-test tested expectation score and perception score gaps. A structural equation modeling system examined satisfaction-based components' relationships.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The effective response rate was 91.4%. Several methods verified validity. Cronbach's alpha on internal reliability was above 0.902. On patient satisfaction, expectation scores are high: 6.50 (0.82), but perception scores are significantly lower 6.14 (1.02). Older patients' perception scores are lower than younger patients'. Expectation and perception scores for patients with different types of jobs are significantly different. Patients higher on education have lower scores for expectation (r = -0.09) and perception (r = -0.26). Factor analysis identified three factors in the 22 item SERVQUAL form, which account for 80.8% of the total variance for the expectation scores and 86.9% of the total variance for the satisfaction scores. Expectation and perception score gaps in all 22 items are significant. The goodness-of-fit summary of the SEM results indicates that expectations and perceptions are positively correlated, perceptions and loyalty are positively correlated, but expectations and loyalty are not positively correlated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this research suggest that the SERVQUAL instrument is a useful measurement tool in assessing and monitoring service quality in kidney disease screening services, enabling the staff to identify where service improvements are needed from the patients' perspectives.</p