Business model innovation and digital transformation in global management consulting firms

Purpose: This paper contains an exploratory analysis of the business model innovations (BMIs) that management consulting firms (MCFs) undertake to remain competitive during digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses data from a longitudinal multiple case study of the European practices of major global MCFs to provide an overview of how they reconfigure their business model (BM) to gain competitive advantages. It maps BMIs in MCFs through value creation innovation, value proposition innovation and value capturing innovation. Findings: There is a shift in value proposition from solely giving advice or supporting information technology (IT) implementation to providing end-to-end digital solutions. To materialize value propositions, MCFs acquire new knowledge and digital assets through talent scouting, and mergers and acquisitions (M&As). MCFs rely heavily on complementary knowledge and capabilities of actors within ecosystems; thus, they focus on expanding, creating their ecosystems and adopting platforms' configuration and characteristics. Research limitations/implications: Inductively, the authors reached an analytical generalization through six propositions and a theoretical frame that embeds propositions in the previous literature. Future research should test them across the overall management consulting industry. Practical implications: MCFs are recognized as drivers of innovation and BMIs in most client firms. However, MCFs are rarely analyzed with respect to their BMIs. Understanding how MCFs innovate their business models (BMs) to provide digital transformation (DT) consulting services is relevant for delivering management innovation across industries. Originality/value: This is the first exploratory study on BMI inside global MCFs during DT

Benefits of Urologic-Dermatologic Consultations for the Diagnosis of Cutaneous Penile Lesions: A Prospective Study

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the benefits of a specialized consultation created in 2014 for cutaneous penile lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a descriptive prospective study evaluating all patients sent for a monthly urologic-dermatologic consultation at a French university hospital from September 2014 to September 2015 for cutaneous penile lesions. All patients evaluated were included. We collected the demographic data, clinical examination findings, and the proposed diagnosis and treatment for every patient. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients were included; 4 (14.8%) had been referred by a general physician and 23 (85.2%) by a specialist. Cutaneous penile lesions had evolved within 12 months in 15 patients (55.6%). Penile cancer was diagnosed in 5 patients (18.5%), of which 3 were squamous cell carcinoma (11.1%), 1 was metastasis of melanoma (3.7%), and 1 was extramammary Paget disease (3.7%). In addition, 1 patient (3.7%) had a premalignant lesion on a condyloma, 12 (44.4%) had balanitis, 2 (7.4%) had psoriasis lesions, 3 (11.1%) had condylomas, 1 (3.7%) had genital melanosis, and 3 (11.2%) had normal findings. Four patients (16.6%) underwent biopsy, 8 (33.3%) underwent surgery, and 12 (50%) received local treatment. CONCLUSION: The use of urologic-dermatology specialized consultations resulted in encouraging findings. Patients can benefit from multidisciplinary expertise and rapid treatment of various disorders. Thus, it seems important to develop reference centers created specifically for cancerous disease

A trivial observation on time reversal in random matrix theory

It is commonly thought that a state-dependent quantity, after being averaged over a classical ensemble of random Hamiltonians, will always become independent of the state. We point out that this is in general incorrect: if the ensemble of Hamiltonians is time reversal invariant, and the quantity involves the state in higher than bilinear order, then we show that the quantity is only a constant over the orbits of the invariance group on the Hilbert space. Examples include fidelity and decoherence in appropriate models.Comment: 7 pages 3 figure

Iron causes lipid oxidation and inhibits proteasome function in multiple myeloma cells: A proof of concept for novel combination therapies

Adaptation to import iron for proliferation makes cancer cells potentially sensitive to iron toxicity. Iron loading impairs multiple myeloma (MM) cell proliferation and increases the efficacy of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. Here, we defined the mechanisms of iron toxicity in MM.1S, U266, H929, and OPM-2 MM cell lines, and validated this strategy in preclinical studies using Vk*MYC mice as MM model. High-dose ferric ammonium citrate triggered cell death in all cell lines tested, increasing malondialdehyde levels, the by-product of lipid peroxidation and index of ferroptosis. In addition, iron exposure caused dose-dependent accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins in highly iron-sensitive MM.1S and H929 cells, suggesting that proteasome workload contributes to iron sensitivity. Accordingly, high iron concentrations inhibited the proteasomal chymotrypsin-like activity of 26S particles and of MM cellular extracts in vitro. In all MM cells, bortezomib-iron combination induced persistent lipid damage, exacerbated bortezomib-induced polyubiquitinated proteins accumulation, and triggered cell death more efficiently than individual treatments. In Vk*MYC mice, addition of iron dextran or ferric carboxymaltose to the bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone (VMP) regimen increased the therapeutic response and prolonged remission without causing evident toxicity. We conclude that iron loading interferes both with redox and protein homeostasis, a property that can be exploited to design novel combination strategies including iron supplementation, to increase the efficacy of current MM therapies

Motion control in free-standing shape-memory actuators

In this work, free-standing shape-memory thermally triggered actuators are developed by laminating 'thiol-epoxy'-based glassy thermoset (GT) and stretched liquid-crystalline network (LCN) films. A sequential curing process was used to obtain GTs with tailored thermomechanical properties and network relaxation dynamics, and also to assemble the final actuator. The actuation extent, rate and time were studied by varying the GT and the heating rate in thermo-actuation with an experimental approach. The results demonstrate that it is possible to tailor the actuation rate and time by designing GT materials with a glass transition temperature close to that of the liquid-crystalline-to-isotropic phase transition of the LCN, thus making it possible to couple the two processes. Such coupling is also possible in rapid heating processes even when the glass transition temperature of the GT is clearly lower than the isotropization temperature of the LCN, depending on the network relaxation dynamics of the GT and the presence of thermal gradients within the actuators. Interestingly, varying the GT network relaxation dynamics does not affect the actuation extent. As predicted by the analytical model developed in our previous work, the modulus of the GT layer is mainly responsible for the actuation extent. Finally, to demonstrate the enhanced control of the actuation, specifically designed actuators were assembled in a three-dimensional actuating device able to make complex motions (including 'S-type' bending). This approach makes it possible to engineer advanced functional materials for application in self-adaptable structures and soft robotics.Postprint (author's final draft

Phase transitions as topology changes in configuration space: an exact result

The phase transition in the mean-field XY model is shown analytically to be related to a topological change in its configuration space. Such a topology change is completely described by means of Morse theory allowing a computation of the Euler characteristic--of suitable submanifolds of configuration space--which shows a sharp discontinuity at the phase transition point, also at finite N. The present analytic result provides, with previous work, a new key to a possible connection of topological changes in configuration space as the origin of phase transitions in a variety of systems.Comment: REVTeX file, 5 pages, 1 PostScript figur