Developing Relational Capital in Team-Based New Ventures.

This dissertation develops and tests a theory of how entrepreneurial teams develop relational capital – or relationships characterized by trust, identification, and obligations – and the impact of this relational capital on the teams’ performance. I begin by identifying the challenges to relational capital development posed by the lack of social structure in the new venture context. I identify the gap in our understanding of the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial teams develop relational capital. Study 1 is a longitudinal qualitative study of relationships in entrepreneurial teams in new technology ventures. Findings suggest that teams in which members cared about each other and cared about preserving the relationship were characterized by higher-quality relationships than team that did not exhibit such caring. However, the findings also suggested that caring was not enough. Teams that supplemented caring with systematic communication practices that increased explicitness and transparency about goals and actions were better able to preserve the quality of their relationships in light of the challenges they faced as a new venture. Based on the findings of this qualitative study and building on research on inter-personal and inter-organizational relationships, I develop a theoretical framework for relational capital development and the impact of relational capital on performance. Specifically, I argue that the combination of communal relational schemas – caring about team members’ needs – and contracting practices – the process of making expectations explicit and transparent – enable entrepreneurial teams to develop trust, identification, and obligations. These forms of relational capital are hypothesized to increase creativity, resilience, and coordination in entrepreneurial teams. I test my hypotheses with a mail survey of high-technology entrepreneurial teams. The findings suggest that communal relational schemas and contracting practices both are positively associated with trust and obligations on the team and have no relationship with identification with the team. Trust and obligations were also found to be positively associated with creativity, resilience and coordination. Trust and obligations partially mediated the relationships between communal relational schemas and contracting practices on creativity, resilience, and coordination.Ph.D.Business AdministrationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61690/1/rblatt_3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61690/2/rblatt_1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61690/3/rblatt_2.pd

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 11

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Исследование эффективности брейкеров для жидкостей гидроразрыва пласта

Исследование влияния биоразлагаемых брейкеров на реологические характеристики жидкостей гидроразрыва пласта.Investigation of the effect of biodegradable breakers on the rheological characteristics of fracturing fluids

Investigation of autism and GABA receptor subunit genes in multiple ethnic groups

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of complex genetics, characterized by impairment in social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive behavior. Multiple lines of evidence, including alterations in levels of GABA and GABA receptors in autistic patients, indicate that the GABAergic system, which is responsible for synaptic inhibition in the adult brain, may be involved in autism. Previous studies in our lab indicated association of noncoding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a GABA receptor subunit gene on chromosome 4, GABRA4, and interaction between SNPs in GABRA4 and GABRB1 (also on chromosome 4), within Caucasian autism patients. Studies of genetic variation in African-American autism families are rare. Analysis of 557 Caucasian and an independent population of 54 African-American families with 35 SNPs within GABRB1 and GABRA4 strengthened the evidence for involvement of GABRA4 in autism risk in Caucasians (rs17599165, p=0.0015; rs1912960, p=0.0073; and rs17599416, p=0.0040) and gave evidence of significant association in African-Americans (rs2280073, p=0.0287 and rs16859788, p=0.0253). The GABRA4 and GABRB1 interaction was also confirmed in the Caucasian dataset (most significant pair, rs1912960 and rs2351299; p=0.004). Analysis of the subset of families with a positive history of seizure activity in at least one autism patient revealed no association to GABRA4; however, three SNPs within GABRB1 showed significant allelic association; rs2351299 (p=0.0163), rs4482737 (p=0.0339), and rs3832300 (p=0.0253). These results confirmed our earlier findings, indicating GABRA4 and GABRB1 as genes contributing to autism susceptibility, extending the effect to multiple ethnic groups and suggesting seizures as a stratifying phenotype

Making sense of health information technology implementation: A qualitative study protocol

BACKGROUND: Implementing new practices, such as health information technology (HIT), is often difficult due to the disruption of the highly coordinated, interdependent processes (e.g., information exchange, communication, relationships) of providing care in hospitals. Thus, HIT implementation may occur slowly as staff members observe and make sense of unexpected disruptions in care. As a critical organizational function, sensemaking, defined as the social process of searching for answers and meaning which drive action, leads to unified understanding, learning, and effective problem solving -- strategies that studies have linked to successful change. Project teamwork is a change strategy increasingly used by hospitals that facilitates sensemaking by providing a formal mechanism for team members to share ideas, construct the meaning of events, and take next actions. METHODS: In this longitudinal case study, we aim to examine project teams' sensemaking and action as the team prepares to implement new information technology in a tiertiary care hospital. Based on management and healthcare literature on HIT implementation and project teamwork, we chose sensemaking as an alternative to traditional models for understanding organizational change and teamwork. Our methods choices are derived from this conceptual framework. Data on project team interactions will be prospectively collected through direct observation and organizational document review. Through qualitative methods, we will identify sensemaking patterns and explore variation in sensemaking across teams. Participant demographics will be used to explore variation in sensemaking patterns. DISCUSSION: Outcomes of this research will be new knowledge about sensemaking patterns of project teams, such as: the antecedents and consequences of the ongoing, evolutionary, social process of implementing HIT; the internal and external factors that influence the project team, including team composition, team member interaction, and interaction between the project team and the larger organization; the ways in which internal and external factors influence project team processes; and the ways in which project team processes facilitate team task accomplishment. These findings will lead to new methods of implementing HIT in hospitals

Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research RESILIENCE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS: DEVELOPING THE CAPACITY TO PULL THROUGH RESILIENCE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS: DEVELOPING THE CAPACITY TO PULL THROUGH

ABSTRACT Resilience, or the capacity to rebound from adversity strengthened and more resourceful, is an important quality for entrepreneurial teams, yet we know little about how entrepreneurial teams can foster resilience. I develop and test hypotheses about the antecedents and mechanisms for resilience in entrepreneurial teams. I argue that communal schemas in entrepreneurial teams, which entail caring for team members' needs, foster resilience through the mechanisms of trust and creativity. Moreover, I hypothesize that contracting practices that make expectations explicit and activities transparent facilitate resilience through the mechanisms of role clarity and accountability. The hypotheses are tested in a survey of 122 entrepreneurial teams. Results support the proposed framework

Old Assumptions, New Work: The Opportunities and Challenges of Research on Nonstandard Employment

We review the literature on nonstandard work with three aims: to portray the breadth and nature of the research and theorizing to date, to document the challenges and opportunities this domain poses to both practice and theory, and to bring the study of nonstandard work more to the center stage of micro-OB. After defining nonstandard work and documenting scholarly interest in it, we discuss the literature on the experience of nonstandard workers, on managing the nonstandard workforce, as well as that on managing the interface between standard and nonstandard workers. We analyze the themes that are raised in these literatures and point to new research questions that need to be addressed. Research on nonstandard work can enhance our understanding of the nature of work, the relationship between individuals and organizations, and how organizations and individuals can undertake these new work forms

Oviposition, Feeding Preferences and Distribution of Delia Species (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) in Eastern Canadian Onions

Delia antiqua, Delia platura and Delia florilega are three root maggot species commonly considered pests in Eastern Canadian onions. The onion maggot, D. antiqua, is considered the primary root maggot pest in onion but it remains unclear whether the other two species are also causing damage. In order to develop updated management strategies for root maggot, we tested adult oviposition and feeding preference by Delia larvae on four growth stages of onion using bioassays and we determined the Delia species composition across the four major onion growing regions in eastern Canada. Delia species oviposit readily on onion at the 5–7 true leaf growth stage but damage on onions is not statistically different between Delia species in our zero-inflated models. The four eastern Canadian onion growing regions have different proportions of Delia species. Southern Ontario and Quebec were the only two regions where Delia antiqua was collected. The highest average numbers of Delia spp. were caught in Quebec and Nova Scotia. Our study shows that timing is important in implementation of management strategies for root maggot in Eastern Canadian onions