Mismatch between entrepreneurs and their firms: the role of cognitive fit / misfit

(WP 10/04 Clave pdf) This paper examines the relationship between cognitive fit/misfit, and burnout, satisfaction, and intentions to exit the firm in entrepreneurs. Given the disordinal (crossed) nature of the significant interactions, the results indicate when cognitive misfit in entrepreneurs (based on their dominant decision-making approach) is more likely lead them to experience negative outcomes, given the nature and degree of firm structure.

The Fallacy of ´Only the Strong Survive´: The Effects of Extrinsic (...)

(WP 07/04 Clave pdf) According to economic theory, under-performing firms should be selected out of the market. However, research shows that these firms persist, often for long periods of time. In this article we explore the non-firm-performance factors that contribute to the decision to persist with an under-performing firm. Using the escalation of commitment literature we identify seven variables that are associated with the persistence decision. We reconcile the economic and psychological views by finding that the extent to which some of these non-firm-performance factors influence the persistence decision is, in part, dependent upon the owner-managers’ level of extrinsic motivation.

Matching owner-managers´ cognitive style and organizational demands in family firms

(WP 09/04 Clave pdf) Based on responses from 159 owners-managers in family firms, we examined the association between specific individual characteristics, firm characteristics, and the individual psychosocial outcomes of satisfaction, intentions to exit, and perceived fit. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated higher satisfaction, lower intentions to exit, and higher perceived fit for owner-managers whose dominant decision-making style complemented the levels of formalization in their firms.The results suggested that owner-managers with intuitive decision-making styles were better fitted to the demands corresponding to less structured firm environments than their analytic counterparts.

Piracy as Strategy? A Reexamination of Product Piracy

(WP 08/04 Clave pdf) To explore the impact that piracy has on demand for legal versions of a product and firm performance, we use the literatures of information economics and strategic management to expand the analysis of piracy to markets other than software. Our paper helps clarify the nature of customer demand for legal versions of products, and gain a deeper understanding of the way that piracy can enhance the performance of those firms that own the intellectual property. We contend that although piracy represents unauthorized imitation of a firm’s intellectual property, there are some circumstances when piracy can improve the value of the intellectual property.

Entrepreneurs´ perceptions of success: examining differences across gender and family status

Our study examines to what extent female and male entrepreneurs differ in the way they perceive and assess entrepreneurial success, measured by extrinsic or intrinsic dimensions. Our results indicate a number of similarities between men and women entrepreneurs but also reveal interesting gender-based differences related to family status. Rather than assuming that women entrepreneurs are a homogeneous group, we found that family factors, and especially parental status, play a key role in shaping fundamentally different perceptions of entrepreneurial success amongst different types of women entrepreneurs.Entrepreneur, Gender, Children, Perception of success

Family involvement and firm performance: a family embeddedness perspective

This paper uses family embeddedness (Cliff and Aldrich, 2003) and Work Family Interface (WFI) (Jennings and McDougald, 2007) to analyze the effect of gender and income on the relationship between family employment and firm performance in the context of micro and small family enterprises. Our results indicate that family employment contributed to increase sales but was negatively related to firm´s profitability. Moreover, the results indicate that when the business is the main source of household income the family employee´s positive impact on performance is reduced, and that the positive relationship between family employment and firm performance is stronger in woman run firms.Family firms, Gender

Effects of Diets Supplemented with Branched-Chain Amino Acids on the Performance and Fatigue Mechanisms of Rats Submitted to Prolonged Physical Exercise

This study aimed to determine the effects of diets chronically supplemented with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) on the fatigue mechanisms of trained rats. Thirty-six adult Wistar rats were trained for six weeks. The training protocol consisted of bouts of swimming exercise (one hour a day, five times a week, for six weeks). The animals received a control diet (C) (n = 12), a diet supplemented with 3.57% BCAA (S1) (n = 12), or a diet supplemented with 4.76% BCAA (S2) (n = 12). On the last day of the training protocol, half the animals in each group were sacrificed after one hour of swimming (1H), and the other half after a swimming exhaustion test (EX). Swimming time until exhaustion was increased by 37% in group S1 and reduced by 43% in group S2 compared to group C. Results indicate that the S1 diet had a beneficial effect on performance by sparing glycogen in the soleus muscle (p < 0.05) and by inducing a lower concentration of plasma ammonia, whereas the S2 diet had a negative effect on performance due to hyperammonemia (p < 0.05). The hypothalamic concentration of serotonin was not significantly different between the 1H and EX conditions. In conclusion, chronic BCAA supplementation led to increased performance in rats subjected to a swimming test to exhaustion. However, this is a dose-dependent effect, since chronic ingestion of elevated quantities of BCAA led to a reduction in performance.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research