Slack resources and the rent-generating potential of firm-specific knowledge

We examine how two types of slack resources relevant to knowledge employees—human resource slack and financial slack at the R&D functional level—influence the rent-generating potential of firm-specific knowledge resources. According to the resource- and knowledge-based views of the firm, firm-specific knowledge resources are critical for generating economic rents for a firm. However, without motivated knowledge employees investing in the corresponding specialized human capital in the process of absorbing and deploying firm-specific knowledge resources, the resource potential for rent generation would be greatly discounted. We argue that human resource slack among knowledge employees and financial slack available for R&D activities affect the rent-generating potential of firm-specific knowledge resources by influencing knowledge employees’ incentives to invest in specialized human capital. In particular, while financial slack facilitates rent generation of firm-specific knowledge resources by increasing employee incentives to invest in specialized human capital, human resource slack hinders it by reducing such incentives. Empirical results based on longitudinal R&D employment data, U.S. patent data, and Compustat support these arguments

Social Networks, Personal Values, and Creativity: Evidence for Curvilinear and Interaction Effects

Taking an interactional perspective on creativity, the authors examined the influence of social networks and conformity value on employees' creativity. They theorized and found a curvilinear relationship between number of weak ties and creativity such that employees exhibited greater creativity when their number of weak ties was at intermediate levels rather than at lower or higher levels. In addition, employees' conformity value moderated the curvilinear relationship between number of weak ties and creativity such that employees exhibited greater creativity at intermediate levels of number of weak ties when conformity was low than when it was high. A proper match between personal values and network ties is critical for understanding creativity.Psychology, AppliedManagementSSCI0ARTICLE61544-15529

국내 논필지 모니터링 자료를 이용한 APEX-paddy 모델 적용성 평가

APEX 모형은 다양한 영농 활동의 토양과 물환경에 대한 영향을 필지 및 유역 규모로 평가하기 위해 개발된 모형이다. 최근 APEX의 주요기작을 바탕으로 논에서의 수도작 운영에 따른 물수지, 양분 유출에 대한 모의가 가능하도록 한 APEX-Paddy가 고안된 바 있다. 본연구에서는 익산 지역의 논 시험포 모니터링 자료를 이용하여 APEX-Paddy 모형의 적용성을 평가하고자 하였다. 2013년과 2014년의 논유출량과 부하량 자료를 수집하고 자동보정 툴 APEX-CUTE 4.1과 추가적 수동보정을 통해 모형의 모의성능을 검토하고 한계점을고찰하였다. 연구결과, 논의 물수지와 질소 배출부하량은 대체로 합리적인 수준의 모의성능을 보이는 한편 유사량과 인 배출부하량 모의에있어 논의 담수상태 유사배출 기작에 대한 고려가 미흡하여 모의성능에 한계가 있는 것으로 분석되었으며 원인에 대해 고찰하였다. 더불어자동보정 툴의 적용에 있어 매개변수 민감도를 바탕으로 한 수동보정 결과보다 정확도가 다소 떨어지는 경향을 보여 그 활용에 유의가필요한 것으로 판단되었다. The APEX model has been developed for assessing agricultural management efforts and their effects on soil and water at the field scale as well asmore complex multi-subarea landscapes, whole farms, and watersheds. Recently, a key component of APEX application, named APEX-Paddy, hasbeen modified for simulating water quality by considering paddy rice management practices. In this study, the performance of the APEX-Paddy modelwas evaluated using field data at Iksan experimental paddy sites in Korea. The discharge and pollutant load data during 2013 and 2014 were usedto both manually and automatically calibrate the model. The APEX auto-calibration tool (APEX-CUTE 4.1) was used for model calibration andsensitivity analysis. Results indicate that APEX-Paddy reasonably performs in predicting runoff discharge rate and nitrogen yield. However, sedimentand phosphorus yield is not correctly predicted due to the limitation of model schemes. With APEX-Paddy, the performance in reproducing thedischarge and nitrogen yield is found to be a satisfactory level after manual calibration. The manually calibrated model performed better than theautomatically calibrated model in nearly all comparisons. For runoff, manual calibration reduced PBIAS while R2 and NSE values of the automaticallycalibrated model were the same as the manual calibration. For T-N, NSE and PBIAS were reduced when using manual calibration, whereas R2 valuewas the same as manual calibration. The limitation of the APEX-Paddy model for predicting sediment, as well as the phosphorous yield, was discussedin this study.N

Too Little or Too Much? Untangling the Relationship between Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Financial Performance

What is the relationship between corporate philanthropy and corporate financial performance? Some scholars argue that corporate philanthropy facilitates stakeholder cooperation and helps secure access to critical resources controlled by those stakeholders, suggesting that corporate philanthropy should be positively associated with corporate financial performance. In contrast, other scholars take a negative stance, suggesting that corporate philanthropy diverts valuable corporate resources and tends to inhibit corporate financial performance. Existing empirical studies have not found conclusive evidence on the corporate philanthropy-financial performance relationship. Integrating and extending existing perspectives, this study develops the argument that the relationship between corporate philanthropy and financial performance is best captured by an inverse U-shape. In addition, it posits that the inverse U-shaped relationship varies with the level of dynamism in firms' operational environment. Using a panel data set of 817 firms listed in the Taft Corporate Giving Directory from 1987 to 1999, we find strong support for these arguments