Legitimacy defense during post-merger integration: Between coupling and compartmentalization

During post-merger integration, the realization of the benefits of potential synergies depends on managing the legitimacy of the merger. However, we still know little about how threats that change stakeholders’ assessments of a merger’s legitimacy are managed. This study is based on the merger case of Air New Zealand’s trans-national acquisition of Ansett Australia where a delegitimizing event occurred at Ansett relatively early after the integration had started. The study builds a framework of an evolving legitimation process depicting the oscillation between legitimation responses that maintain the coupling between the two organizations and a compartmentalization response used to manage diverse stakeholders’ legitimacy demands and illegitimacy spillover concerns. We explain how these legitimation responses can create an unproductive oscillation where stakeholder assessments of illegitimacy build up and ultimately become unresolvable. Our processual framework provides novel insights regarding when attempts to defend legitimacy can prove self-defeating, demonstrating how previous responses emphasizing integration or separation can affect the success of subsequent swings back to coupling or compartmentalization

The promiscuity of publishing partners

This is the author accepted manuscrip. The final version is available from ISPIM via the link in this recordWhile some empirical evidence indicates clear benefits to coauthorship in terms of speed, volume and diffusion of publishing outcomes, coauthorships have also been shown to be prone to difficulties. There is also limited guidance available on how to initiate new publishing partnerships with higher likelihood of success. Through a review of literatures on co-authorship across numerous disciplines, we are able to identify author attributes that could provide some initial search criteria for evaluating prospective publishing partnerships. However, this same review suggests that the process through which successful co-authorships develop is complex, being influenced by contextual factors and with varying—even contradictory—outcomes associated with individual attributes and their combinations. With a view on the innovation management field, we argue that it is essential to extend previous research to analyze multiple author attributes and success measures simultaneously, encompass both individual and organizational-level variables, as well as understand the specificities of certain research areas and disciplinary tradition

Impact of anthropogenic and biogenic sources on the seasonal variation in the molecular composition of urban organic aerosols : a field and laboratory study using ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry

This study presents the molecular composition of organic aerosol (OA) using ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry (Orbitrap) at an urban site in Central Europe (Zurich, Switzerland). Specific source spectra were also analysed, including samples representative of woodburning emissions from Alpine valleys during wood-burning pollution episodes and smog chamber investigations of woodsmoke, as well as samples from Hyytiala, which were strongly influenced by biogenic secondary organic aerosol. While samples collected during winter in Alpine valleys have a molecular composition remarkably similar to fresh laboratory wood-burning emissions, winter samples from Zurich are influenced by more aged wood-burning emissions. In addition, other organic aerosol emissions or formation pathways seem to be important at the latter location in winter. Samples from Zurich during summer are similar to those collected in Hyytiala and are predominantly impacted by oxygenated compounds with an H/C ratio of 1.5, indicating the importance of biogenic precursors for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation at this location (summertime Zurich - carbon number 7.6, O : C 0.7; Hyytiala - carbon number 10.5, O : C 0.57). We could explain the strong seasonality of the molecular composition at a typical European site by primary and aged wood-burning emissions and biogenic secondary organic aerosol formation during winter and summer, respectively. Results presented here likely explain the rather constant seasonal predominance of non-fossil organic carbon at European locations.Peer reviewe

Real-time source apportionment of organic aerosols in three European cities.

97% of the urban population in the EU in 2019 were exposed to an annual fine particulate matter level higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines (5 μg/m3). Organic aerosol (OA) is one of the major air pollutants, and the knowledge of its sources is crucial for designing cost-effective mitigation strategies. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) on aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) or aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) data is the most common method for source apportionment (SA) analysis on ambient OA. However, conventional PMF requires extensive human labor, preventing the implementation of SA for routine monitoring applications. This study proposes the source finder real-time (SoFi RT, Datalystica Ltd.) approach for efficient retrieval of OA sources. The results generated by SoFi RT agree remarkably well with the conventional rolling PMF results regarding factor profiles, time series, diurnal patterns, and yearly relative contributions of OA factor on three year-long ACSM data sets collected in Athens, Paris, and Zurich. Although the initialization of SoFi RT requires a priori knowledge of OA sources (i.e., the approximate number of factors and relevant factor profiles) for the sampling site, this technique minimizes user interactions. Eventually, it could provide up-to-date trustable information on timescales useful to policymakers and air quality modelers

Time-dependent source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol for a rural site in an alpine valley using a rolling positive matrix factorisation (PMF) window

We collected 1 year of aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) data in Magadino, a village located in the south of the Swiss Alpine region, one of Switzerland's most polluted areas. We analysed the mass spectra of organic aerosol (OA) by positive matrix factorisation (PMF) using Source Finder Professional (SoFi Pro) to retrieve the origins of OA. Therein, we deployed a rolling algorithm, which is closer to the measurement, to account for the temporal changes in the source profiles. As the first-ever application of rolling PMF with multilinear engine (ME-2) analysis on a yearlong dataset that was collected from a rural site, we resolved two primary OA factors (traffic-related hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and biomass burning OA (BBOA)), one mass-to-charge ratio ( m/z) 58-related OA (58-OA) factor, a less oxidised oxygenated OA (LO-OOA) factor, and a more oxidised oxygenated OA (MO-OOA) factor. HOA showed stable contributions to the total OA through the whole year ranging from 8.1 % to 10.1 %, while the contribution of BBOA showed an apparent seasonal variation with a range of 8.3 %–27.4 % (highest during winter, lowest during summer) and a yearly average of 17.1 %. OOA (sum of LO-OOA and MO-OOA) contributed 71.6 % of the OA mass, varying from 62.5 % (in winter) to 78 % (in spring and summer). The 58-OA factor mainly contained nitrogen-related variables which appeared to be pronounced only after the filament switched. However, since the contribution of this factor was insignificant (2.1 %), we did not attempt to interpolate its potential source in this work. The uncertainties (σ) for the modelled OA factors (i.e. rotational uncertainty and statistical variability in the sources) varied from ±4 % (58-OA) to a maximum of ±40 % (LO-OOA). Considering that BBOA and LO-OOA (showing influences of biomass burning in winter) had significant contributions to the total OA mass, we suggest reducing and controlling biomass-burning-related residential heating as a mitigation strategy for better air quality and lower PM levels in this region or similar locations. In Appendix A, we conduct a head-to-head comparison between the conventional seasonal PMF analysis and the rolling mechanism. We find similar or slightly improved results in terms of mass concentrations, correlations with external tracers, and factor profiles of the constrained POA factors. The rolling results show smaller scaled residuals and enhanced correlations between OOA factors and corresponding inorganic salts compared to those of the seasonal solutions, which was most likely because the rolling PMF analysis can capture the temporal variations in the oxidation processes for OOA components. Specifically, the time-dependent factor profiles of MO-OOA and LO-OOA can well explain the temporal viabilities of two main ions for OOA factors, m/z 44 (CO⁺₂) and m/z 43 (mostly C2H3O+). Therefore, this rolling PMF analysis provides a more realistic source apportionment (SA) solution with time-dependent OA sources. The rolling results also show good agreement with offline Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) SA results from filter samples, except for in winter. The latter discrepancy is likely because the online measurement can capture the fast oxidation processes of biomass burning sources, in contrast to the 24 h filter samples. This study demonstrates the strengths of the rolling mechanism, provides a comprehensive criterion list for ACSM users to obtain reproducible SA results, and is a role model for similar analyses of such worldwide available data

An exploration of influences on women’s birthplace decision-making in New Zealand: a mixed methods prospective cohort within the Evaluating Maternity Units study

BACKGROUND: There is worldwide debate surrounding the safety and appropriateness of different birthplaces for well women. One of the primary objectives of the Evaluating Maternity Units prospective cohort study was to compare the clinical outcomes for well women, intending to give birth in either an obstetric-led tertiary hospital or a free-standing midwifery-led primary maternity unit. This paper addresses a secondary aim of the study – to describe and explore the influences on women’s birthplace decision-making in New Zealand, which has a publicly funded, midwifery-led continuity of care maternity system. METHODS: This mixed method study utilised data from the six week postpartum survey and focus groups undertaken in the Christchurch area in New Zealand (2010–2012). Christchurch has a tertiary hospital and four primary maternity units. The survey was completed by 82% of the 702 study participants, who were well, pregnant women booked to give birth in one of these places. All women received midwifery-led continuity of care, regardless of their intended or actual birthplace. RESULTS: Almost all the respondents perceived themselves as the main birthplace decision-makers. Accessing a ‘specialist facility’ was the most important factor for the tertiary hospital group. The primary unit group identified several factors, including ‘closeness to home’, ‘ease of access’, the ‘atmosphere’ of the unit and avoidance of ‘unnecessary intervention’ as important. Both groups believed their chosen birthplace was the right and ‘safe’ place for them. The concept of ‘safety’ was integral and based on the participants’ differing perception of safety in childbirth. CONCLUSIONS: Birthplace is a profoundly important aspect of women’s experience of childbirth. This is the first published study reporting New Zealand women’s perspectives on their birthplace decision-making. The groups’ responses expressed different ideologies about childbirth. The tertiary hospital group identified with the ‘medical model’ of birth, and the primary unit group identified with the ‘midwifery model’ of birth. Research evidence affirming the ‘clinical safety’ of primary units addresses only one aspect of the beliefs influencing women’s birthplace decision-making. In order for more women to give birth at a primary unit other aspects of women’s beliefs need addressing, and much wider socio-political change is required

Long-term chemical analysis and organic aerosol source apportionment at 9 sites in Central Europe : Source identification and uncertainty assessment

Long-term monitoring of the organic aerosol is important for epidemiological studies, validation of atmospheric models, and air quality management. In this study, we apply a recently developed filter-based offline methodology of the 20 aerosol mass spectrometer to investigate the regional and seasonal differences of contributing organic aerosol sources. We present offline-AMS measurements for particulate matter smaller than 10 \u3bcm 9 stations in central Europe with different exposure characteristics for the entire year of 2013 (819 samples). The focus of this study is a detailed source apportionment analysis (using PMF) including in-depth assessment of the related uncertainties. Primary organic aerosol (POA) is separated in three components: hydrocarbon-like OA which is related to traffic emissions (HOA), cooking OA (COA), and biomass- 25 burning OA (BBOA). We observe enhanced production of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in summer, following the increase in biogenic emissions with temperature (summer oxygenated OA, SOOA). In addition, a SOA component was extracted that correlated with anthropogenic secondary inorganic species which is dominant in winter (winter oxygenated OA, WOOA). A factor (SC-OA) explaining sulfur-containing fragments (CH3SO2+), which has an event-driven temporal behavior, was also identified. The relative yearly average factor contributions range for HOA from 3 to 15%, for COA from 30 3 to 31%, for BBOA from 11 to 61%, for SC-OA from 5 to 23%, for WOOA from 14 to 28%, and for SOOA from 14 to 40%. The uncertainty of the relative average factor contribution lies between 5 and 9% of OA. At the sites north of the alpine crest, the sum of HOA, COA, and BBOA (POA) contributes less to OA (POA/OA=0.3) than at the southern alpine valley sites (0.6). BBOA is the main contributor to POA with 88% in alpine valleys and 43% north of the alpine crest. Furthermore, the influence of primary biological particles (PBOA), not resolved by PMF, is estimated and could contribute significantly to OA in PM10

Insights into organic-Aerosol sources via a novel laser-desorption/ionization mass spectrometry technique applied to one year of PM10 samples from nine sites in central Europe

We assess the benefits of offline laser-desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in understanding ambient particulate matter (PM) sources. The technique was optimized for measuring PM collected on quartz-fiber filters using silver nitrate as an internal standard for m\uc4\u9d\ue2\u80\ua2z calibration. This is the first application of this technique to samples collected at nine sites in central Europe throughout the entire year of 2013 (819 samples). Different PM sources were identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) including also concomitant measurements (such as NOx, levoglucosan, and temperature). By comparison to reference mass spectral signatures from laboratory wood burning experiments as well as samples from a traffic tunnel, three biomass burning factors and two traffic factors were identified. The wood burning factors could be linked to the burning conditions; the factors related to inefficient burns had a larger impact on air quality in southern Alpine valleys than in northern Switzerland. The traffic factors were identified as primary tailpipe exhaust and most possibly aged/secondary traffic emissions. The latter attribution was supported by radiocarbon analyses of both the organic and elemental carbon. Besides these sources, factors related to secondary organic aerosol were also separated. The contribution of the wood burning emissions based on LDI-PMF (laser-desorption/ionization PMF) correlates well with that based on AMS-PMF (aerosol mass spectrometer PMF) analyses, while the comparison between the two techniques for other components is more complex

Nighttime NO emissions strongly suppress chlorine and nitrate radical formation during the winter in Delhi

Atmospheric pollution in urban regions is highly influenced by oxidants due to their important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and smog. These include the nitrate radical (NO3), which is typically considered a nighttime oxidant, and the chlorine radical (Cl), an extremely potent oxidant that can be released in the morning in chloride-rich environments as a result of nocturnal build-up of nitryl chloride (ClNO2). Chloride makes up a higher percentage of particulate matter in Delhi than has been observed anywhere else in the world, which results in Cl having an unusually strong influence in this city. Here, we present observations and model results revealing that atmospheric chemistry in Delhi exhibits an unusual diel cycle that is controlled by high concentrations of NO during the night. As a result of this, the formation of both NO3 and dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5), a precursor of ClNO2 and thus Cl, are suppressed at night and increase to unusually high levels during the day. Our results indicate that a substantial reduction in nighttime NO has the potential to increase both nocturnal oxidation via NO3 and the production of Cl during the day.</p