Seriously personal:The reasons that motivate entrepreneurs to address climate change

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is freely available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.Scholars increasingly argue that entrepreneurs and their small- and medium-sized enterprises should play a central role in reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change. However, evidence suggests that while some entrepreneurs recognize their crucial role in addressing climate change, most do not. Why some entrepreneurs nevertheless concern themselves with climate change has largely been overlooked. Some initial work in this area tentatively suggests that these entrepreneurs may engage with climate change because of their personal values, which either focus on financial or socio-ecological reasons, or a combination of both. Yet, it is unclear if all for-profit entrepreneurs engage with climate change for the same reasons, or if indeed their motivations vary across business types. Over a period of four years, we examined entrepreneurs’ motivations to engage with climate change through a variety of qualitative research methods. Our findings illustrate how entrepreneurs who address climate change have motivations specific to their business activity/industry and level of maturity. In each instance, we link these motivations to distinct conceptualizations of time and place. We contend that, through a more differentiated understanding of entrepreneurial motivations, policy-makers can draft climate change-related policies tailored to entrepreneurial needs. Policies could both increase the number of entrepreneurs who already engage in climate change mitigation and leverage the impact of those entrepreneurs already mitigating climate change.This study was funded by the European Social Fund (09099NCO5). We acknowledge with thanks the participation of the entrepreneurs and the support of Business Leaders for Low Carbon, Cornwall Council, and Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project. The authors wish to thank Professor John Amis, Professor Kenneth Amaeshi and the anonymous reviewers who provided useful feedback on earlier versions of the article

Actor-Network Theory as a Framework to Analyse Technology Acceptance Model’s External Variables: The Case of Autonomous Vehicles

The main factor for growth in a globalised and highly competitive world is to have an innovative and continuous improvement for the new technologies; however, it is difficult to guarantee the success of such factor without considering the human nature of the people. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) is a model that has been used for years to help us understand the drivers of acceptance of new information technologies by its users. This paper presents the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a framework to analyse external variables influencing technology acceptance. We have identified a new construct and moderating factor enabling the extension of the UTAUT2. The scenario used to conduct our investigation is the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) which is a disruptive technology and may prove to be the next big evolution in personal transportation. The study was conducted using an anonymous survey, over 410 responses so far, and numerous interviews with experts in the field of sociology, psychology and computer science in order to refine the proposed model. Our research findings reveal not only the usefulness of ANT in developing an understanding the human and non-human actants playing a role in consumer’s behavioural intention of using AV, but ANT also helps us to argue that culture is a direct determinant of behavioural intention and social class is a very important moderating aspect

PDE4 associates with different scaffolding proteins: modulating interactions as treatment for certain diseases

cAMP is an ubiquitous second messenger that is crucial to many cellular processes. The sole means of terminating the cAMP signal is degradation by cAMP phosphodiesterases (PDEs). The PDE4 family is of particular interest because PDE4 inhibitors have therapeutic potential for the treatment of various inflammatory and auto-immune diseases and also have anti-depressant and memory-enhancing effects. The subcellular targeting of PDE4 isoforms is fundamental to the compartmentalization of cAMP signaling pathways and is largely achieved via proteinprotein interactions. Increased knowledge of these protein-protein interactions and their regulatory properties could aid in the design of novel isoform-specific inhibitors with improved efficacy and fewer prohibitive side effects