Institutional entrepreneurship, governance, and poverty: Insights from emergency medical response servicesin India

We present an in-depth case study of GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute, an Indian public–private partnership (PPP), which successfully brought emergency medical response to remote and urban settings. Drawing insights from the case, we investigate how the organization established itself through institutional entrepreneurship using a process conceptualized as opportunity framing, entrenchment, and propagation. The case and context highlight the need for innovation in organizational design and governance modes to create a new opportunity that connects state actors, private healthcare providers, and the public at large. We consider the role of open innovation and novel business models in creating these service platforms. The implications of our findings for the literature on PPPs, institutional entrepreneurship, inclusive and open innovation, and organizational design in base of the pyramid contexts are discussed

The dark side of public money? The dual effect of public sponsorship on firm performance

We examine the effects of organizational sponsorship on firm performance by investigating the impact of subsidies as a public resource allocation mechanism in the context of French film industry. Existing research provides contradicting perspectives on the effect of public resource allocations on target organizations suggesting a positive effect on firm level outcomes, while also a potentially weakened competitive position and reduced performance. Drawing on economic theories on incentives and resource based perspective of the firm, we argue that these conflicting insights can be explained by untangling the initial resource buffering effect from a more gradual incentive and resource altering effect of public sponsorship on target firms. We propose a twostage model that demonstrates how repeated, cumulative public resource allocations are associated with positive first-order effects, yet, a gradual detrimental change in a target firm’s market-based resources and capabilities, leading to a curvilinear relationship between sponsorship and firm performance. We further argue and find this relationship being significantly attenuated by the horizontal scope of a firm, with both effects substantially more pronounced for generalist rather than specialist firms. Our work highlights the resource and incentive trade-offs associated with resource sponsorship by the state and other patrons, and carries important managerial and policy implications

Male mealworm beetles increase resting metabolic rate under terminal investment.

Harmful parasite infestation can cause energetically costly behavioural and immunological responses, with the potential to reduce host fitness and survival. It has been hypothesized that the energetic costs of infection cause resting metabolic rate (RMR) to increase. Furthermore, under terminal investment theory, individuals exposed to pathogens should allocate resources to current reproduction when life expectancy is reduced, instead of concentrating resources on an immune defence. In this study, we activated the immune system of Tenebrio molitor males via insertion of nylon monofilament, conducted female preference tests to estimate attractiveness of male odours and assessed RMR and mortality. We found that attractiveness of males coincided with significant down-regulation of their encapsulation response against a parasite-like intruder. Activation of the immune system increased RMR only in males with heightened odour attractiveness and that later suffered higher mortality rates. The results suggest a link between high RMR and mortality and support terminal investment theory in T. molitor

Facial attractiveness is related to women's cortisol and body fat, but not with immune responsiveness

Recent studies suggest that facial attractiveness indicates immune responsiveness in men and that this relationship is moderated by stress hormones which interact with testosterone levels. However, studies testing whether facial attractiveness in women signals their immune responsiveness are lacking. Here, we photographed young Latvian women, vaccinated them against hepatitis B and measured the amount of specific antibodies produced, cortisol levels and percentage body fat. Latvian men rated the attractiveness of the women's faces. Interestingly, in women, immune responsiveness (amount of antibodies produced) did not predict facial attractiveness. Instead, plasma cortisol level was negatively associated with attractiveness, indicating that stressed women look less attractive. Fat percentage was curvilinearly associated with facial attractiveness, indicating that being too thin or too fat reduces attractiveness. Our study suggests that in contrast to men, facial attractiveness in women does not indicate immune responsiveness against hepatitis B, but is associated with two other aspects of long-term health and fertility: circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol and percentage body fat

Data from: Facial attractiveness is related to women’s cortisol and body fat, but not with immune responsiveness

Recent studies suggest that facial attractiveness indicates immune responsiveness in men and that this relationship is moderated by stress hormones which interact with testosterone levels. However, studies testing whether facial attractiveness in women signals their immune responsiveness are lacking. Here, we photographed young Latvian women, vaccinated them against hepatitis B and measured the amount of specific antibodies produced, cortisol levels and percentage body fat. Latvian men rated the attractiveness of the women's faces. Interestingly, in women, immune responsiveness (amount of antibodies produced) did not predict facial attractiveness. Instead, plasma cortisol level was negatively associated with attractiveness, indicating that stressed women look less attractive. Fat percentage was curvilinearly associated with facial attractiveness, indicating that being too thin or too fat reduces attractiveness. Our study suggests that in contrast to men, facial attractiveness in women does not indicate immune responsiveness against hepatitis B, but is associated with two other aspects of long-term health and fertility: circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol and percentage body fat

Public-Private Partnerships

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are organizational forms involving public and private institutions and aiming at the provision of assets, goods, or services that, to a large extent, are relevant in terms of public interest. Alternatively, the same tasks (e.g., construction, operation, maintenance, financing) can be pursued by full-fledged public organizations. The nature of tasks and involved institutions (e.g., for-profit firms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governmental agencies) and the constraints shaping interactions among partners (e.g., contract or information incompleteness) determine different effects as regards the distribution of risks and payoffs among partners and allocative efficiency