The explanatory power of trust and commitment and stakeholders' salience : their influence on the reverse logistics programs performance

There is a growing awareness among practitioners and scholars regarding the importance of Relationship Marketing and its advantages in the supply chain management context. This is particularly appropriate for Reverse Logistics (RL) activities, which are characterized by several relationships between different stakeholders and the firm. Drawing on multiple theoretical approaches, we propose that RL programs result from the combination of external, organizational, and individual factors. We emphasize the role of trust and commitment as key influential elements on the RL systems implementation and their subsequent performance

THE EXPLANATORY POWER OF TRUST AND COMMITMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS’ SALIENCE: THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE REVERSE LOGISTICS PROGRAMS PERFORMANCE

There is a growing awareness among practitioners and scholars regarding the importance of Relationship Marketing and its advantages in the supply chain management context. This is particularly appropriate for Reverse Logistics (RL) activities, which are characterized by several relationships between different stakeholders and the firm. Drawing on multiple theoretical approaches, we propose that RL programs result from the combination of external, organizational, and individual factors. We emphasize the role of trust and commitment as key influential elements on the RL systems implementation and their subsequent performance.

Reverse logistics, stakeholders' influence, organizational slack, and managers' posture

Reverse logistics (RL) has strategic importance. However, little is known concerning what motivates firms to adopt RL systems. Drawing on stakeholder theory formulations, organizational slack, and the manager's strategic stance concept, this article develops a model that proposes external, internal, and individual factors that affect the implementation of RL programs. Our framework considers three major explicative variables: the attributes of the stakeholder (power, legitimacy and urgency), organizational slack for RL programs, and the manager's strategic posture. The study draws on a sample of 118 Spanish companies and uses a probit model to determine the influence of these factors on the probability of firms to implement RL systems. The study finds that customers, employees, and the government salience in terms of RL activities and manager's progressive posture have a significant influence on the final decision of implanting RL programs. Conversely, the study finds that shareholder salience negatively impacts the decision.Fundación BBVA and the project “Estrategias en las empresas europeas internacionales y medioambiente: análisis de recursos humanos, producción y negocio” for supporting this research. They also acknowledge the help of Prof. Dr. Carlos Larrinaga in providing access to financial statements. They are indebted as well to the Spanish Minister of Education and Science and the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid which have provided financial support under the research projects entitled “Diseño e implantación de las estrategias medioambientales de aprovisionamiento, fabricación y comercialización: relación con el rendimiento organizativo” (sec2001-1578-c02- 01), “La dirección de operaciones y las teorías de stakeholders y de recursos y capacidades. Implicaciones estratégicas en la gestión del ciclo de vida de los equipos informáticos” (SEJ04- 07877-C02-02),. “Efectos de los distintos tipos de relaciones entre las empresas y sus mercados: prácticas de marketing, orientación al mercado y resultados económicos”, and “ Innovación versus imitacón: un test de la capacidad innovadora de las empresas de la Comunidad de Madrid “.Publicad

Polarized blazar X-rays imply particle acceleration in shocks

Most of the light from blazars, active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight, is produced by high-energy particles, up to around 1 TeV. Although the jets are known to be ultimately powered by a supermassive black hole, how the particles are accelerated to such high energies has been an unanswered question. The process must be related to the magnetic field, which can be probed by observations of the polarization of light from the jets. Measurements of the radio to optical polarization—the only range available until now—probe extended regions of the jet containing particles that left the acceleration site days to years earlier1,2,3, and hence do not directly explore the acceleration mechanism, as could X-ray measurements. Here we report the detection of X-ray polarization from the blazar Markarian 501 (Mrk 501). We measure an X-ray linear polarization degree ΠX of around 10%, which is a factor of around 2 higher than the value at optical wavelengths, with a polarization angle parallel to the radio jet. This points to a shock front as the source of particle acceleration and also implies that the plasma becomes increasingly turbulent with distance from the shock

Discovery of X-ray polarization angle rotation in active galaxy Mrk 421

The magnetic field conditions in astrophysical relativistic jets can be probed by multiwavelength polarimetry, which has been recently extended to X-rays. For example, one can track how the magnetic field changes in the flow of the radiating particles by observing rotations of the electric vector position angle $\Psi$. Here we report the discovery of a $\Psi_{\mathrm x}$ rotation in the X-ray band in the blazar Mrk 421 at an average flux state. Across the 5 days of Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observations of 4-6 and 7-9 June 2022, $\Psi_{\mathrm x}$ rotated in total by $\geq360^\circ$. Over the two respective date ranges, we find constant, within uncertainties, rotation rates ($80 \pm 9$ and $91 \pm 8 ^\circ/\rm day$) and polarization degrees ($\Pi_{\mathrm x}=10\%\pm1\%$). Simulations of a random walk of the polarization vector indicate that it is unlikely that such rotation(s) are produced by a stochastic process. The X-ray emitting site does not completely overlap the radio/infrared/optical emission sites, as no similar rotation of $\Psi$ was observed in quasi-simultaneous data at longer wavelengths. We propose that the observed rotation was caused by a helical magnetic structure in the jet, illuminated in the X-rays by a localized shock propagating along this helix. The optically emitting region likely lies in a sheath surrounding an inner spine where the X-ray radiation is released

X-ray Polarization Observations of BL Lacertae

Blazars are a class of jet-dominated active galactic nuclei with a typical double-humped spectral energy distribution. It is of common consensus the Synchrotron emission to be responsible for the low frequency peak, while the origin of the high frequency hump is still debated. The analysis of X-rays and their polarization can provide a valuable tool to understand the physical mechanisms responsible for the origin of high-energy emission of blazars. We report the first observations of BL Lacertae performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer ({IXPE}), from which an upper limit to the polarization degree $\Pi_X<$12.6\% was found in the 2-8 keV band. We contemporaneously measured the polarization in radio, infrared, and optical wavelengths. Our multiwavelength polarization analysis disfavors a significant contribution of proton synchrotron radiation to the X-ray emission at these epochs. Instead, it supports a leptonic origin for the X-ray emission in BL Lac.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Reverse logistics, stakeholders' influence, organizational slack, and managers' posture.

Reverse logistics (RL) has strategic importance. However, little is known concerning what motivates firms to adopt RL systems. Drawing on stakeholder theory formulations, organizational slack, and the manager's strategic stance concept, this article develops a model that proposes external, internal, and individual factors that affect the implementation of RL programs. Our framework considers three major explicative variables: the attributes of the stakeholder (power, legitimacy and urgency), organizational slack for RL programs, and the manager's strategic posture. The study draws on a sample of 118 Spanish companies and uses a probit model to determine the influence of these factors on the probability of firms to implement RL systems. The study finds that customers, employees, and the government salience in terms of RL activities and manager's progressive posture have a significant influence on the final decision of implanting RL programs. Conversely, the study finds that shareholder salience negatively impacts the decision.Reverse logistics; Stakeholder theory; Organizational slack; Strategic posture;

Reunión científica del Programa Geomateriales: durabilidad y conservación de geomateriales del patrimonio construido, 9 de octubre 2013

El Programa Geomateriales Durabilidad y conservación del geomateriales del patrimonio construido, enmarcado en el IV Plan Regional de Investigación Científica e Innovación Tecnológica (IV PRICIT), fue concedido a través de su Convocatoria de Programas de I+D en Tecnologías 2009 (orden 679/2009). Iniciado el 1 de enero de 2010 y finalizado el 31 de mayo de 2014, el programa de investigación se plantea con una clara concepción experimental, pretendiendo dar solución y optimizando las actuaciones aplicadas para mejorar la durabilidad y conservación de los geomateriales utilizados en el patrimonio construido. El consorcio que integra el programa está constituido por grupos de investigación que desarrollan su labor en la Comunidad de Madrid, pertenecientes a la Agencia Estatal del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), a la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) y a la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (UAH), otros grupos, laboratorios y/o centros tecnológicos ubicados en otras provincias españolas y en países europeos así como empresas privadas y otros organismos de colaboración. El programa ha conseguido alcanzar los objetivos científico-tecnológicos planteados, en gran parte mediante la colaboración de los diferentes grupos integrantes, jugando un papel esencial la participación también en el programa del Laboratorio de Petrofísica (RedLab 217). El presente volumen recoge las ponencias presentadas en la Reunión Científica del Programa Geomateriales, celebrada el 9 de octubre de 2013. Estas ponencias se organizaron fundamentalmente en base a los objetivos científicos del programa, incidiendo en las principales actividades realizadas y resultados obtenidos, y apostando por los jóvenes investigadores incorporados. En los resúmenes incluidos se pretende resaltar, por un lado, los resultados científicos de mayor relevancia, las investigaciones que han generado el desarrollo de patentes, las colaboraciones establecidas entre los diferentes grupos y/o empresas y las previsiones futuras. Por otro, aspectos relacionados con los objetivos de formación, como la realización de tesis doctorales y movilidad de investigadores, así como la participación conjunta en los objetivos de difusión y en actividades de gestión de los diferentes miembros del programa. El Programa Geomateriales ha supuesto un importante avance del conocimiento, permitiendo los logros científicos obtenidos posicionar al consorcio en unas condiciones muy favorables respecto a las diversas temáticas implicadas en la conservación del patrimonio. Este aspecto hace del consorcio el único a nivel nacional que aborda su estudio de forma integral y confirma, una vez más, la necesidad y conveniencia de crear equipos de trabajo que apuesten por la colaboración y conjunción de esfuerzos para alcanzar mayores y mejores logros.Peer Reviewe