Value Creation Mechanism of Social Enterprises in Manufacturing Industry: Empirical Evidence from Korea

A variety of social enterprises (SEs) have recently emerged in many different countries in an effort to resolve diverse social problems. However, the value creation mechanism of SEs has not yet been disclosed. The purpose of this study is to reveal the value creation mechanism of SEs in manufacturing industry. To do so, we verify the role of social entrepreneurship and examine the effects of product innovation attributes and social capital on social value creation and financial performance by using structural equation modelling. Then, we conduct interviews with six experts in SE fields. According to the results of empirical study, the social entrepreneurship works as an antecedent of product innovation and social capital in SEs and the degrees of products’ simplicity, usability and standardization positively affect the social value creation of SEs. In addition, the social value creation works as a complete mediator between the product innovation of SEs and their financial performance. The interviews suggest policy implications for successful social value creation and sustainability of SEs. This research contributes towards further studies on innovation of SEs and provides social entrepreneurs with guidelines in planning their innovation strategy or developing their products

Inter-Specific and Intra-Specific Competition of Two Sympatrically Breeding Seabirds, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins, at Two Neighboring Colonies

Theory predicts that sympatric predators compete for food under conditions of limited resources. Competition would occur even within the same species, between neighboring populations, because of overlapping foraging habits. Thus, neighboring populations of the same species are hypothesized to face strong competition. To test the hypothesis that intra-specific competition is more intense than inter-specific competition owing to a lack of niche partitioning, we estimated the foraging area and diving depths of two colonial seabird species at two neighboring colonies. Using GPS and time-depth recorders, we tracked foraging space use of sympatric breeding Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins at Ardley Island (AI) and Narębski Point (NP) at King George Island, Antarctica. GPS tracks showed that there was a larger overlap in the foraging areas between the two species than within each species. In dive parameters, Gentoo penguins performed deeper and longer dives than Chinstrap penguins at the same colonies. At the colony level, Gentoo penguins from NP undertook deeper and longer dives than those at AI, whereas Chinstrap penguins did not show such intra-specific differences in dives. Stable isotope analysis of δ13C and δ15N isotopes in blood demonstrated both inter- and intra-specific differences. Both species of penguin at AI exhibited higher δ13C and δ15N values than those at NP, and in both locations, Gentoo penguins had higher δ13C and lower δ15N values than Chinstrap penguins. Isotopic niches showed that there were lower inter-specific overlaps than intra-specific overlaps. This suggests that, despite the low intra-specific spatial overlap, diets of conspecifics from different colonies remained more similar, resulting in the higher isotopic niche overlaps. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that intra-specific competition is higher than inter-specific competition, leading to spatial segregation of the neighboring populations of the same species

Faecal microbiota changes associated with the moult fast in chinstrap and gentoo penguins.

In many seabirds, individuals abstain from eating during the moult period. Penguins have an intense moult that lasts for weeks, during which they are confined to land. Despite the importance for survival, it is still unclear how the faecal microbiota of Antarctic penguins changes in response to the moult fast. Here, we investigated the faecal microbiota of chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) on King George Island, Antarctica. The bacterial community compositions during the feeding and moulting stages were compared for both species using bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon on an Illumina MiSeq platform. Our results showed that the moult fast altered the bacterial community structures in both penguin species. Interestingly, the bacterial community composition shifted in the same direction in response to the moult fast but formed two distinct clusters that were specific to each penguin species. A significant increase in bacterial diversity was observed in gentoo penguins, whereas no such change was observed for chinstrap penguins. By analysing the contribution of the ecological processes that determine bacterial community assembly, we observed that processes regulating community turnover were considerably different between the feeding and moulting stages for each penguin. At the phylum level, the relative abundances of Fusobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were dominant in chinstrap penguins, and no significant changes were detected in these phyla between the feeding and moulting periods. Our results suggest that moult fast-induced changes in the faecal microbiota occur in both species

Diel diving behavior of breeding gentoo penguins on King George Island in Antarctica

<div><p>Many marine birds dive to catch prey in water. The gentoo penguin (<i>Pygoscelis papua</i>), a specialized diving seabird that preys on krill and fish, is distributed from the sub-Antarctic islands to Antarctic regions. Here, we observed the diving behavior of breeding gentoo penguins on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Using a time–depth recorder, we collected diving depths every second from seven gentoo breeders for 5–21 days during the chick-rearing period and analyzed their diving characteristics. Most dives occurred in shallow water, although the dive efficiency (=bottom duration time/[dive duration + post-dive surface time]) was highest at depths of 30–35 m and decreased as the penguins dove deeper. Gentoo penguins did not dive more frequently during the day than at night, but during nighttime, most dives occurred in shallow water (<20 m) and the dive efficiency was also higher at this time. As penguins repeated their foraging trips, the number of dives, depth of dives, and trip duration did not change significantly. Our results suggest that the diel dive patterns of gentoo penguins might be related to the vertical migration of krill (upward to the surface at night). In addition, we observed that gentoo penguins could perform active diving behavior even at night, possibly aided by civil twilight during the chick-rearing period in Antarctic regions.</p></div

Tie2 activation promotes choriocapillary regeneration for alleviating neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Choriocapillary loss is a major cause of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD). Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockade for NV-AMD has shown beneficial outcomes, unmet medical needs for patients refractory or tachyphylactic to anti-VEGF therapy exist. In addition, the treatment could exacerbate choriocapillary rarefaction, necessitating advanced treatment for fundamental recovery from NV-AMD. In this study, Tie2 activation by angiopoietin-2–binding and Tie2-activating antibody (ABTAA) presents a therapeutic strategy for NV-AMD. Conditional Tie2 deletion impeded choriocapillary maintenance, rendering eyes susceptible to NV-AMD development. Moreover, in a NV-AMD mouse model, ABTAA not only suppressed choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and vascular leakage but also regenerated the choriocapillaris and relieved hypoxia. Conversely, VEGF blockade degenerated the choriocapillaris and exacerbated hypoxia, although it suppressed CNV and vascular leakage. Together, we establish that angiopoietin-Tie2 signaling is critical for choriocapillary maintenance and that ABTAA represents an alternative, combinative therapeutic strategy for NV-AMD by alleviating anti-VEGF adverse effects. Copyright © 2019 The Author