Do employer preferences contribute to sticky floors?

We investigate the importance of employer preferences in explaining Sticky Floors, the pattern that women are, compared to men, less likely to start to climb the job ladder. To this end we perform a randomised field experiment in the Belgian labour market and test whether hiring discrimination based on gender is heterogeneous by whether or not jobs imply a promotion (in comparison with employees’ current position). We find that women get 33% less interview invitations when they apply for jobs implying a first promotion in functional level. On the other hand, their hiring chances are not significantly affected by the job authority level of the job

Bridging the faultline gap : antecedents of cooperative decision-making in crossed-groups social dilemmas

Teamwork has gained increasing importance in organizations for both decision-making and production. For companies to retain a competitive advantage, more emphasis is placed on processes as creativity and social innovation where added value is created by bundling forces via cooperation in work groups. At the same time in our globalized world, these teams have become more diverse due to increasing internationalization of organizations, in operations and in workforce. Furthermore, strategic processes within and between organizations - such as mergers and acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures and other internal organizational restructurings - result in the formation of newly composed teams, with employees originating from different organizations or departments that are now restructured into one. In these heterogeneous teams, (at least) two subgroups arise. Team members represent two (or more) social entities and categorize members of their own subgroup as ‘in-group’, while considering the other subgroup as ‘out-group’. They are confronted with a crossed-groups social dilemma: continue to act in their self-interest or that of their former team – which is now only a subgroup in the new team – or act in everyone’s interest and contribute to the newly composed team? Free-riding always results in more individual profit on the short-term, regardless of other group members’ choices, but all team members and the organization as a whole are better off if all members cooperate. Aim of this doctoral research is to identify individual and contextual antecedents of cooperation in such heterogeneous teams, in which members – in the presence of subgroups – are confronted with a crossed-groups social dilemma. To realize this objective, five empirical studies investigating these antecedents were conducted. In the first part, we describe the development of the crossed-groups social dilemma game. This game allows to study individual decision-making in heterogeneous teams, in the presence of two (or more) subgroups. Two empirical studies show the effect of group composition: team members cooperate more if their in-subgroup forms a majority than when their own subgroup represents a minority. We also study the effect of social value orientation as an antecedent of cooperation in these heterogeneous teams. Results show that individuals with a prosocial value orientation cooperate consistently, irrespective of group composition, whereas a proself value orientation results in consistent defection. In the second part, we investigate the effect of faultline deactivation as a contextual antecedent of cooperative decision-making in heterogeneous teams. ‘Faultlines’ are hypothetical dividing lines that split up a team in two (or more) subgroups based on one or more attributes, such as pre-merger team membership. The results of two empirical studies show that faultline deactivation – via a common goal for the team – makes team members less sensitive for (sub)group composition when deciding to cooperate (or not): more team members cooperate consistently, irrespective of group composition, but also more team members defect consistently. To address the latter phenomenon it can be of importance to combine a common goal for the team with other managerial strategies, such as leadership. In the third part, we describe the impact of a visionary leader, with a common goal and a long-term vision for the future of the team, on cooperation in these heterogeneous teams. Results of the empirical study show that the visionary leader can increase cooperation levels in the heterogeneous team. Moreover, there is not only more consistent cooperation of team members, but also less consistent defection. The leader’s affiliation with the ‘in-subgroup’ or the ‘out-subgroup’ has no impact on team members’ cooperation in this study

Cost-effectiveness analysis of pharmaceutical treatment options in the first-line management of major depressive disorder in Belgium

The objective of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of commonly used antidepressants as first-line treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in Belgium. The model structure was based on a decision tree developed by the Swedish TLV (TandvAyenrds- och lakemedelsformAyennsverket) and adapted to the Belgium healthcare setting, using primary local data on the patterns of treatment and following KCE [Federal Knowledge Center (Federaal Kenniscentrum voor de Gezondheidszorg)] recommendations. Comparators were escitalopram, citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, duloxetine, venlafaxine, and mirtazapine. In the model, patients not achieving remission or relapsing after remission on the assessed treatment moved to a second therapeutic step (titration, switch, add-on, or transfer to a specialist). In case of failure in the second step or following a suicide attempt, patients were assumed to be referred to secondary care. The time horizon was 1 year and the analysis was conducted from the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI; national health insurance) and societal perspectives. Remission rates were obtained from the TLV network meta-analysis and risk of relapse, efficacy following therapeutic change, risk of suicide attempts and related death, utilities, costs (2012), and resources were derived from the published literature and expert opinion. The effect of uncertainty in model parameters was estimated through scenario analyses and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA). In the base-case analysis, escitalopram was identified as the optimal strategy: it dominated all other treatments except venlafaxine from the NIHDI perspective, against which it was cost effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of a,not sign6,352 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Escitalopram also dominated all other treatments from the societal perspective. At a threshold of a,not sign30,000 per QALY and from the NIHDI perspective, the PSA showed that the probability of escitalopram being identified as the optimal strategy ranged from 61 % (vs. venlafaxine) to 100 % (vs. fluoxetine). Escitalopram was associated with the highest probability of being the optimal treatment from the NIHDI and societal perspectives. This analysis, based on new Belgian clinical practice data and following KCE requirements, provides additional information that may be used to guide the choice of treatments in the management of MDD in Belgium

Chronic sulfasalazine treatment in mice induces system xc- - independent adverse effects

Despite ample evidence for the therapeutic potential of inhibition of the cystine/glutamate antiporter system x(c) (−) in neurological disorders and in cancer, none of the proposed inhibitors is selective. In this context, a lot of research has been performed using the EMA- and FDA-approved drug sulfasalazine (SAS). Even though this molecule is already on the market for decades as an anti-inflammatory drug, serious side effects due to its use have been reported. Whereas for the treatment of the main indications, SAS needs to be cleaved in the intestine into the anti-inflammatory compound mesalazine, it needs to reach the systemic circulation in its intact form to allow inhibition of system x(c) (−). The higher plasma levels of intact SAS (or its metabolites) might induce adverse effects, independent of its action on system x(c) (−). Some of these effects have however been attributed to system x(c) (−) inhibition, calling into question the safety of targeting system x(c) (−). In this study we chronically treated system x(c) (−) - deficient mice and their wildtype littermates with two different doses of SAS (160 mg/kg twice daily or 320 mg/kg once daily, i.p.) and studied some of the adverse effects that were previously reported. SAS had a negative impact on the survival rate, the body weight, the thermoregulation and/or stress reaction of mice of both genotypes, and thus independent of its inhibitory action on system x(c) (−). While SAS decreased the total distance travelled in the open-field test the first time the mice encountered the test, it did not influence this parameter on the long-term and it did not induce other behavioral changes such as anxiety- or depressive-like behavior. Finally, no major histological abnormalities were observed in the spinal cord. To conclude, we were unable to identify any undesirable system x(c) (−)-dependent effect of chronic administration of SAS