Process innovation and performance : the role of divergence

Process innovation is a key determinant of performance. While extant literature paints a clear picture of the drivers of process innovation, the effect of process innovation on performance has received little attention. This paper contributes to theory building in this important area and examines how divergence of process innovation impacts performance. Divergence concerns the extent to which the observed level of process innovation diverges from the expected level of process innovation. Positive (negative) divergence occurs when the observed level of process innovation is higher (lower) than expected. In turn, we consider how divergence acts as a driver of performance. This approach is useful and important for managers and theory development as it provides insight into situations where a firm may have “too little” or “too much” process innovation. We use survey and archival data from 5,594 firms across 15 countries and find negative divergence to reduce performance under high competitive intensity, whereas positive divergence is detrimental under high environmental uncertainty. Thus, divergence advances understanding as, in contrast with previous work, we do not suggest that more innovation is always better. These findings contribute to understanding the process innovation-performance relationship and has important implications for strategic management research and practice alike

Frontline employees’ innovative service behavior as key to customer loyalty:insights into FLEs’ resource gain spiral

Many service firms require frontline service employees (FLEs) to follow routines and standardized operating procedures during the service encounter, to deliver consistently high service standards. However, to create superior, pleasurable experiences for customers, featuring both helpful services and novel approaches to meeting their needs, firms in various sectors also have begun to encourage FLEs to engage in more innovative service behaviors. This study therefore investigates a new and complementary route to customer loyalty, beyond the conventional service-profit chain, that moves through FLEs' innovative service behavior. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study introduces a resource gain spiral at the service encounter, which runs from FLEs' emotional job engagement to innovative service behavior, and then leads to customer delight and finally customer loyalty. In accordance with COR theory, the proposed model also includes factors that might hinder (customer aggression, underemployment) or foster (colleague support, supervisor support) FLEs' resource gain spiral. A multilevel analysis of a large-scale, dyadic data set that contains responses from both FLEs and customers in multiple industries strongly supports the proposed resource gain spiral as a complementary route to customer loyalty. The positive emotional job engagement-innovative service behavior relationship is undermined by customer aggression and underemployment, as hypothesized. Surprisingly though, and contrary to the hypotheses, colleague and supervisor support do not seem to foster FLEs' resource gain spiral. Instead, colleague support weakens the engagement-innovative service behavior relationship, and supervisor support does not affect it. These results indicate that if FLEs can solicit resources from other sources, they may not need to invest as many of their individual resources. In particular, colleague support even appears to serve as a substitute for FLEs' individual resource investments in the resource gain spiral

Arterial switch for pulmonary venous obstruction complicating mustard procedure

Two patients underwent an arterial switch procedure for the relief of severe pulmonary venous obstruction complicating a Mustard procedure. Without preparatory pulmonary banding, both patients had adequate left ventricular function due to secondary pulmonary hypertension. At 8 and 4 years after the procedure, both patients are in New York Heart Association functional class I, with echocardiographic evidence of good left and right ventricular function