Applying Absorptive Capacity Construct to Customer-related Knowledge Processing

The importance of customer-related knowledge as a source of competitive advantage has been addressed by several researchers during the last decade. However, only a little is known about the processes through which firms learn to know their customers organization-wide. In this article we propose that one possibility to study how firms process customer-related knowledge, and thus learn about and from their customers organization-wide, is to apply absorptive capacity construct originally developed in the context of innovation activities. By building on previous literature on absorptive capacity, customer knowledge management and relationship marketing, we introduce a conceptual framework of customer-related absorptive capacity, and discuss the external and internal antecedents to the construct. We propose that customer relationship performance could at least partly be explained by the capability of the supplier firm to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit customer-related knowledge

Huostaanotetun nuoren resilienssin tukeminen hoitotyössä

Huostaanotto on viimeisin keino turvata lapsen ja nuoren kehitys. Huostaanottoon voi johtaa kotona tapahtuva kaltoinkohtelu, kasvuolosuhteiden laiminlyönti tai lapsen/nuoren itselleen haitallinen käyttäytyminen. Vuonna 2017 kodin ulkopuolelle sijoitettuja lapsia ja nuoria oli noin 18 000. Resilienssillä tarkoitetaan tässä tutkimuksessa kykyä toipua haasteellisista kasvuolosuhteista. Resilienssi on synnynnäinen ominaisuus, joka toisilla on luontaisesti vahvempi kuin toisilla. Resilienssiä voidaan vahvistaa monenlaisin keinoin. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli kerätä kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla huostaanotettujen nuorten kokemuksia heidän selviytymistään tukeneista asioista. Tavoitteena oli tuottaa ajantasaista tietoa resilienssin vahvistamisesta huostaanotettujen nuorten kanssa työskenteleville hoitotyöntekijöille. Tutkimustuloksesta selviää, että huostaanotettuja nuoria ja heidän selviytymistään haastavista elämäntilanteista, tukee parhaiten tasapainoisen kasvuympäristön mahdollistaminen. Nuoren näkökulmasta tärkeiksi asioiksi nousivat turvallisten aikuisten merkitys, kaverisuhteet, mahdollisuus harrastuksiin ja koulunkäynti. Resilienssiä tukeviksi tekijöiksi sijaishuollossa, huostaanotetut nuoret nimesivät osallisuuden merkityksen, aidosti välittävien aikuisten läsnäolon ja mahdollisuuden oman mielipiteensä ilmaisemiseen

Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Effect of the Decision-Making Logic on Business Model Change

Business models and business model change have drawn increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners across various disciplines, including the domain of entrepreneurship. However, even though the importance of business model innovation as a driver of firm performance has been widely acknowledged, empirical studies explaining the business model change remain limited. This study contributes to prior research by examining the effects of effectual and causation-based decision-making logics on the degree of business model change in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. The findings of hierarchical regression analysis show that both causation and effectuation-based logics have positive effects on business model change, thereby highlighting the need for both strategizing and seizing of opportunities in business model development

Alternative pathways to utilizing customer knowledge: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

This study explores alternative configurations of causes to customer knowledge utilization using a set theoretic approach with fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. The study uses a previous empirical dataset of Salojärvi, Sainio, and Tarkiainen (2010) to assess organizational factors that enhance customer knowledge utilization. The results show that use of key account management teams and customer relationship management systems are core predictors for high degrees of customer knowledge utilization. However, these core causes are not sufficient on their own; they need to be accompanied by different degrees (i.e. high/low) and combinations of other peripheral antecedents, such as customer relationship orientation, top management involvement, and formalization. This study shows that many firms make trade-off decisions regarding the use of these core and peripheral conditions. The present study identifies alternative pathways to customer knowledge utilization, discuss their differences, and suggest managerial implications and future research directions

ELIMÄKI Locus Is Required for Vertical Proprioceptive Response in Birch Trees.

Tree architecture has evolved to support a top-heavy above-ground biomass, but this integral feature poses a weight-induced challenge to trunk stability. Maintaining an upright stem is expected to require vertical proprioception through feedback between sensing stem weight and responding with radial growth. Despite its apparent importance, the principle by which plant stems respond to vertical loading forces remains largely unknown. Here, by manipulating the stem weight of downy birch (Betula pubescens) trees, we show that cambial development is modulated systemically along the stem. We carried out a genetic study on the underlying regulation by combining an accelerated birch flowering program with a recessive mutation at the ELIMÄKI locus (EKI), which causes a mechanically defective response to weight stimulus resulting in stem collapse after just 3 months. We observed delayed wood morphogenesis in eki compared with WT, along with a more mechanically elastic cambial zone and radial compression of xylem cell size, indicating that rapid tissue differentiation is critical for cambial growth under mechanical stress. Furthermore, the touch-induced mechanosensory pathway was transcriptionally misregulated in eki, indicating that the ELIMÄKI locus is required to integrate the weight-growth feedback regulation. By studying this birch mutant, we were able to dissect vertical proprioception from the gravitropic response associated with reaction wood formation. Our study provides evidence for both local and systemic responses to mechanical stimuli during secondary plant development.The Academy of Finland Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology of Primary Producers (CoE 2014-2019) project (271832) and the project (286404); Gatsby Foundation (GAT3395/PR3); University of Helsinki (award 799992091); European Research Council Advanced Investigator Grant SYMDEV (323052