Enemy in the house? Antecedents of employees’ company-related bad mouthing in social media

Given that company rating sites encourage employees to evaluate their company - which might lead to a loss of reputation -, this research focuses on identifying and quantifying the importance of antecedents of employees’ company-related bad mouthing in social media. Data for this study was collected through a qualitative interview study (N = 33) and a quantitative online survey approach (N = 472). Drawing on social identity theory and using the job demands-resources model as a theoretical lens, we found that job demands are positively associated with turnover intention, which in turn increases company-related bad mouthing in social media of employees. This study enriches the understanding of employees’ behavior in social media and provides implications for managers such that the strategy of reducing turnover intention is more successful to limit the amount of employees’ bad mouthing than enhancing employees’ commitment

Schädlingsregulierung im ökologischen Winterrapsanbau

Die Versuche unter norddeutschen Praxisbedingungen sowie die Ergebnisse der Feldversuche belegen eine durchgehend höhere Attraktivität des Rübsens gegenüber Raps für den Rapsglanzkäfer. Damit werden die Beobachtungen aus der Praxis zunächst bestätigt. Durch den direkten Vergleich von Rapsfeldern mit und ohne Rübsen-Randstreifen sowie von Raps/Rübsen-Mischsaaten mit Rapsreinsaat in Praxis- sowie Feldversuchen war es möglich, den Erfolg dieser Maßnahme in seiner gesamten Wirkungsvielfalt zu untersuchen. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass entgegen den Erwartungen weder der Schädlingsbesatz noch der Schaden im Rapskernbestand durch den Rübsen-Fangstreifen wesentlich reduziert werden konnte. Ebenso erbrachte die flächige Mischsaat von Raps mit Rübsen keine deutliche Entlastung für die Schadensausprägung in der Hauptkomponente Raps. Die Wirkungsgrade der Fangpflanzen blieben damit deutlich hinter den Erwartungen der Praxis zurück und die Mehraufwendungen überstiegen den erwarteten Nutzen. Zusammenfassend muss festgestellt werden, dass der alleinige Fangpflanzenanbau als Randstreifen um den Rapsbestand herum oder als Mischsaat der Praxis als alleiniges Konzept für die Schädlingsregulierung nicht empfohlen werden kann und sogar das ökonomische Verlustrisiko erhöht. Diese Erkenntnis ist für die Praxis sehr wertvoll, da die Anwendung der Fangpflanzen zum Teil empfohlen wird und der Landwirt durch die stärkere Bindung der Rapsglanzkäfer an den Rübsen vermeintlich glaubt, erfolgreich den Schädlingsbefall zu regulieren und damit die Erträge zu erhöhen. Die praxisnahen Versuche haben noch einmal die Schwierigkeiten des ökologischen Rapsanbaus in seiner gesamten Breite aufgezeigt. Ausgehend von dem hohen Nährstoffbedarf reichen die Probleme bei der Unkraut- und Schädlingsregulierung bis zur Ernte, bei der zusätzlich durch ungleichmäßige Abreife und geringe Schotenfestigkeit, hohe Ernteverluste entstehen können. Die Untersuchungen zur Wirkung naturstofflicher Pflanzenschutzmittel konnten einen Hinweis darauf geben, welche Wirkstoffe eine wirksame Kontrolle der Rapsglanzkäfer ermöglichen. Dazu zählen Spinosad, ein Fermentationsprodukt aus einem Bodenmikroorganismus sowie Gesteinsmehle, die allerdings mehrfach angewendet werden müssen und deshalb nur für die Teilflächenbehandlung in Frage kommen. Während in der Schweiz Spinosad in einem Pflanzenschutzmittel im Raps zugelassen ist, fehlt eine derartige Zulassung bisher in Deutschland und darf nicht angewendet werden

Efficacy of Anti-Inflammatory Therapy in a Model of Acute Seizures and in a Population of Pediatric Drug Resistant Epileptics

Targeting pro-inflammatory events to reduce seizures is gaining momentum. Experimentally, antagonism of inflammatory processes and of blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage has been demonstrated to be beneficial in reducing status epilepticus (SE). Clinically, a role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of drug resistant epilepsies is suspected. However, the use anti-inflammatory drug such as glucocorticosteroids (GCs) is limited to selected pediatric epileptic syndromes and spasms. Lack of animal data may be one of the reasons for the limited use of GCs in epilepsy. We evaluated the effect of the CG dexamethasone in reducing the onset and the severity of pilocarpine SE in rats. We assessed BBB integrity by measuring serum S100β and Evans Blue brain extravasation. Electrophysiological monitoring and hematologic measurements (WBCs and IL-1β) were performed. We reviewed the effect of add on dexamethasone treatment on a population of pediatric patients affected by drug resistant epilepsy. We excluded subjects affected by West, Landau-Kleffner or Lennox-Gastaut syndromes and Rasmussen encephalitis, known to respond to GCs or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The effect of two additional GCs, methylprednisolone and hydrocortisone, was also reviewed in this population. When dexamethasone treatment preceded exposure to the convulsive agent pilocarpine, the number of rats developing status epilepticus (SE) was reduced. When SE developed, the time-to-onset was significantly delayed compared to pilocarpine alone and mortality associated with pilocarpine-SE was abolished. Dexamethasone significantly protected the BBB from damage. The clinical study included pediatric drug resistant epileptic subjects receiving add on GC treatments. Decreased seizure frequency (≥50%) or interruption of status epilepticus was observed in the majority of the subjects, regardless of the underlying pathology. Our experimental results point to a seizure-reducing effect of dexamethasone. The mechanism encompasses improvement of BBB integrity. Our results also suggest that add on GCs could be of efficacy in controlling pediatric drug resistant seizures

Does Reputable Employee Behaviour in Social Networks Affect Customers\u27 Trust and Word of Mouth? An Experimental Study

Firms must create, maintain and manage their corporate reputation to stay competitive. With the rise of social media and social network applications this management includes upholding the reputation online. Employees especially can harm companies’ reputation with thoughtless behaviour in social networks because their behaviour might be attributed to the firm’s products and services. This study investigates how employees’ behaviour in social networks affects customer outcome variables of corporate reputation such as trust and word of mouth. The study extends prior reputation research that centred on offline contexts and investigates reputation-related online behaviour of employees. The authors use an experimental design and surveyed 199 customers. The results indicate that employees’ reputable behaviour in social networks positively affect trust and word of mouth. Additionally, the authors find support for a mediating effect of customer-based corporate reputation. The findings contribute to corporate reputation research by enhancing our understanding of the effect of employee behaviour in social networks

Dr. Miller or Dr. Smith? Patients’ Intentions to Make Appointments on Physician Rating Platforms

Digital processes have permeated even less digitized, people-processing services, such as gastronomy, hairdressing, and healthcare. This research focuses on online appointment systems (OAS) on physicians’ rating platforms, with which patients can self-book into physicians’ calendars. These systems help physicians to save resources by increased patient integration. This research aims to bridge traditional research concerning technology acceptance in health care and digitization-focused research concerning online reputation. One qualitative and two quantitative studies (Survey: N=276 and Experimental study: N=130) were employed. For the experimental study, a novel eye-tracking technique was used to assess the difference in experimental conditions. This research shows that traditional adoption theories hold in new digitization contexts but may be extended by alternative explanations that involve digitization-specific aspects. In particular, a physician’s digital profile at OAS is more important in terms of intention to make an appointment than attitude towards usage, an important TAM element

Does Being Reputable Drive Customer Equity? Evidence from E-Commerce

Reputation stems from overall assessments of an e-business’s standing, according to various stakeholders, and it affects key customer outcomes. Despite burgeoning literature on the correlates of the customer-based reputation of e-commerce companies (ECCR), scarce research examines how reputation affects monetary outcomes. To extend existing literature on ECCR outcomes, this study focuses on customer equity. Surveys of customers from various online shopping contexts reveal, across two studies, the relationship between ECCR and customer equity. The authors also investigate contingencies of this relationship, positing that trust has a mediating role and perceived risk takes a moderating role. This study thereby adds a richer understanding of the customer-related effects of corporate reputation and yields important managerial insights into the mechanisms through which an e-business’s reputation affects customer equity

Finding meaning in contradiction on employee review sites: Effects of discrepant online reviews on job application intentions

Sharing experiences with peers through online reviews has amplified the impacts of individual articulations on the reputations of firms across many industries. With employee review sites, current and former employees share their positive and negative experiences with their company, which has become an increasingly important aspect for reputation management and for job seekers' decision-making on where to apply. In the present study, the effects of discrepant reviews (i.e., reviews with a high variance in company evaluations) are examined in the context of employer review sites. In particular, we investigate how review discrepancy, persuasion knowledge activation, and constructive company responses affect job seekers' trust in the company and the resulting application intentions. In our preliminary study, we analyzed a sample of 25,827 published company reviews on the German employee rating site Kununu.de. The results revealed that high levels of discrepant reviews for the same company exist, thus underlining the need for additional studies. In our main study, a 2 (review discrepancy)?×?2 (persuasion knowledge activation)?×?2 (company response) between-subject-design experiment was conducted with 311 respondents. We find that high levels of discrepancies lead to increased intentions to avoid submitting applications to the focal company and reduced intentions to pursue employment. This study complements the research concerning online reputation by highlighting the relevance of discrepant reviews for job seekers' application intentions

5th generation district heating and cooling systems as a solution for renewable urban thermal energy supply

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease dependency on depleting fossil fuel resources the shift to a renewable energy system is necessary. District heating and cooling systems are a viable solution to provide heat and cold in urban environments. Renewable heat and cold sources that may get incorporated in future urban energy systems will not provide the same high temperature output as current fossil fuel fired systems. Fifth generation district heating and cooling (5GDHC) systems are decentralized, bi-directional, close to ground temperature networks that use direct exchange of warm and cold return flows and thermal storage to balance thermal demand as much as possible. 5GDHC offers a way to incorporate low temperature renewable heat sources including shallow geothermal energy, as well as reduce total demand by recuperating generated heat from cooling and generated cold from heating. The large scale of 5GDHC allows for optimal design of technical parts like heat pumps and thermal storage vessels, while increasing overall system efficiency by incorporating a large variety of supply and demand profiles. We provide a definition for 5GDHC and show how this concept differs from conventional district heating systems. The Mijnwater system in Heerlen, the Netherlands is showing what a city-level 5GDHC system can look like