Unicorns and agency theory: Agreeable moral hazard?

The number of unicorns, startups valued over $1 billion, has steadily risen over the past decade. The abnormally high valuation of a unicorn from investors is based on their potential to disrupt a market and create a new paradigm. With this as the backdrop, this piece asks the question, what theoretical tools do we have to understand unicorns? Specifically, we explore agency theory. We argue that if principals and agents agree on the goal of disruption, then perhaps the agency problem that does occur in unicorns is beneficial, not a cost. Further, we argue that the principals of unicorns do want agents to take higher than normal risks with their investment to disrupt a given market. From this phenomenon, we introduce the concept of agreeable moral hazard and its use in the unicorn setting. Not only does the concept of agreeable moral hazard provide theoretical implications for future research, but it also highlights the need for more research to test existing theory on the unicorn population

Why small firms are different: Addressing varying needs from boards of directors

Board of director member diversity has an impact on the functions each director successfully provides. Appropriate and necessary board member capabilities differ between small and large firms. Although these differences seem apparent, current research has favored studies related to large firms and neglected those related to board member needs of small firms. Grounded in Agency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory, the following manuscript theoretically suggests that firm size moderates the relationship between board member diversity and the two primary functions (monitoring and the provision of resources) of board members. Furthermore, small firms can enhance performance through appropriate member composition in differing ways than large firms

Oblique frozen modes in periodic layered media

We study the classical scattering problem of a plane electromagnetic wave incident on the surface of semi-infinite periodic stratified media incorporating anisotropic dielectric layers with special oblique orientation of the anisotropy axes. We demonstrate that an obliquely incident light, upon entering the periodic slab, gets converted into an abnormal grazing mode with huge amplitude and zero normal component of the group velocity. This mode cannot be represented as a superposition of extended and evanescent contributions. Instead, it is related to a general (non-Bloch) Floquet eigenmode with the amplitude diverging linearly with the distance from the slab boundary. Remarkably, the slab reflectivity in such a situation can be very low, which means an almost 100% conversion of the incident light into the axially frozen mode with the electromagnetic energy density exceeding that of the incident wave by several orders of magnitude. The effect can be realized at any desirable frequency, including optical and UV frequency range. The only essential physical requirement is the presence of dielectric layers with proper oblique orientation of the anisotropy axes. Some practical aspects of this phenomenon are considered.Comment: text and 9 figure

Quasi Normal Modes description of transmission properties for Photonic Band Gap structures

In this paper, we use the 'Quasi Normal Modes' (QNM) approach for discussing the transmission properties of double-side opened optical cavities: in particular, this approach is specified for one dimensional (1D) 'Photonic Band Gap' (PBG) structures. Moreover, we conjecture that the density of the modes (DOM) is a dynamical variable which has the flexibility of varying with respect to the boundary conditions as well as the initial conditions; in fact, the e.m. field generated by two monochromatic counter-propagating pump waves leads to interference effects inside a quarter-wave (QW) symmetric 1D-PBG structure. Finally, here, for the first time, a large number of theoretical assumptions on QNM metrics for an open cavity, never discussed in literature, are proved, and a simple and direct method to calculate the QNM norm for a 1D-PBG structure is reported.Comment: 43 pages, 10 figures, submitted to JOSA

Controlling the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle focused laser beams with a dispersive beam expander

We report on a procedure to focalize few-cycle laser pulses in dispersive media with controlled waveform. Stationarity of the carrierenvelope phase for extended depth of focus is attained by shaping the spatial dispersion of the ultrashort beam. An adjustable group velocity is locally tuned in order to match a prescribed phase velocity at focus. A hybrid diffractive-refractive lens system is proposed to drive the wavefield to an immersion microscope objective under convenient broadband modulation. Numerical simulations demonstrate robustness over positioning of this dispersive beam expander

Surface plasmon polaritons on deep, narrow-ridged rectangular gratings

Copyright © 2009 Optical Society of America. This paper was published in Journal of the Optical Society of America B and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josab/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-26-6-1228 Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.The dispersion diagrams of surface plasmon polaritons have been calculated for rectangular gratings, with very narrow wires, of varying depths. For gratings with a moderate height a family of vertical-standing-wave resonances may be excited, which consist of surface plasmons, oscillating on either vertical surface, coupling together through the metal wires. These modes evolve similarly to the manner in which shallow-grating surface-plasmon dispersion curves evolve into cavity modes in the grooves of the structure. However, on further increase in grating height these vertical standing waves evolve into a second resonant feature, which is independent of yet further increases in height. This new mode is shown to be equivalent to the resonances found on infinite multilayer metal/dielectric structures illuminated at normal incidence

Some Advancements In Monte Carlo Integration Methods With Applications To Proximity Fuze Detection Probabilities

A simulation model is developed for estimating any quantity defined as a multiple integral with constant, variable or infinite limits of integration. The model evaluates multiple integrals by sampling uniformally over the multidimensional volume defined by the original region of integration, and employing the sample variance (associated with Monte Carlo methods) to obtain a probabilistic representation for the error bound. Uniform sampling over any region of integration is accomplished by determining the appropriate conditional probability density functions and integrating-an approach which is not shown in the simulation literature. The calculation of detection probabilities for a proximity fuze is used to illustrate the results (and to show how such problems arise), and comparison with alternative solution procedures (e.g. Gaussian quadrature) are discussed. © 1992

Straight OUTTA Detroit: Embracing Stigma as Part of the Entrepreneurial Narrative

Through an inductive field study, we set out to better understand how and why ventures would embrace a non-core stigma; this is perplexing given that a majority of stigma literature suggests that organizations tend to avoid/disidentify from stigmatized entities. To do so, we study organizational locational stigma, which we define as a label arising from an organization\u27s geographic location that evokes a collective stakeholder group-specific perception that an organization possesses a fundamental, deep-seated flaw that deindividuates and discredits the organization. Our findings from Detroit, Michigan reveal that entrepreneurs embrace the locational stigma by taking part in Detroit\u27s underdog narrative and comeback story. Entrepreneurs use the underdog narrative in hope of differentiating their ventures from those in other locations, while they leverage the comeback story to gain access to the resources and in-group advantages. We thus advance the concept of locational stigma and show how it can benefit organizations