An updated systematic review of business accelerators : functions, operation, and gaps in the existing literature

Business accelerators have emerged as an important innovation intermediary, with their primary role identified as stimulating premature startups through mentorship and training programs. However, despite significant improvement and 17 years of working history, there are still gaps in working behavior, business accelerator forms, organizational structure, operations, and outcomes. This systematic review aims to boost the understanding of seed accelerators in innovation and entrepreneurial activities. The Context, Intervention, Mechanism, and Outcome (CIMO) framework was used to collect data from the 53 articles published in the last 17 years. In this current systematic review of applying a CIMO analysis to business accelerators, we retrieved 53 articles for further detailed studies, out of which 21 articles were assessed for the risk of bias analysis. The current review highlights that by providing learning opportunities, idea validation, increased access to growth, and innovation, startup accelerators achieved their goals. Moreover, the study also identified gaps in the literature and opportunities for cohort-based, short-term mentorship programs. The outcomes of the present study will provide suggestions for policymakers, entrepreneurs, managers, and investors

From design of activity-based costing systems to their regular use

Objeto: Entender por qué muchas empresas que desarrollan modelos de costes basados en actividades (ABC) no los utilizan de forma regular. Diseño/metodología/enfoque: Revisamos la literatura existente sobre el proceso de implementación de modelos ABC, concentrándonos específicamente en el paso de la aceptación de un modelo ABC a su uso rutinario. Identificamos factores clave para la introducción de los sistemas ABC como herramienta de gestión operativa y los utilizamos para interpretar la experiencia de dos empresas que ilustran, respectivamente, un éxito y un fracaso. Aportaciones y resultados: Se identifican dieciséis factores candidatos a influir positiva o negativamente en la utilización real del modelo. Estos factores se pueden agrupar en seis categorías: factores estratégicos, individuales, organizativos, tecnológicos, operativos y externos. Valor añadido: Este trabajo arroja luz sobre la situación paradójica de que el uso rutinario de los sistemas ABC no es tan común como podría esperarse dada su aceptación generalizada en un nivel conceptual.Purpose: To understand why many companies that develop activity-based costing (ABC) systems do not use them on a regular basis. Design/methodology/approach: We review the existing literature on the process of ABC implementation, concentrating specifically on the step from the acceptance of an ABC model to its routine use. We identify key factors for successful uptake of ABC systems as a regular management tool and use these factors to interpret the experience of two companies that illustrate, respectively, a success and a failure. Findings: Sixteen factors are identified that positively or negatively influence the actual use of ABC costing systems. These factors can be grouped into six categories: strategic, individual, organizational, technological, operational and external factors. Originality/value: This paper sheds some light on the paradoxical situation that regular usage of ABC systems is not as common as might be expected given their widespread acceptance on a conceptual level.Peer Reviewe

¿Es comparable la información contable antes y después de las NIIF?

El estudio analiza el impacto de la aplicación de las NIIF en las magnitudes más importantes de las cuentas anuales consolidadas de grupos que cotizan en el mercado continuo español, ofreciéndose explicaciones a los cambios encontrados con el PGC90. Para numerosas empresas se dan cambios materiales al pasar a NIIF (definidos como diferencias de 10% o más en su valoración). Las partidas con cambios más importantes son los activos financieros (en el caso del 44% de las empresas), el resultado (40%), pasivos no corrientes (38%) y el patrimonio neto (31%), aunque en muchas otras hay cambios también relevantes. A causa del cambio de las partidas anteriores, las ratios de rentabilidad cambian de forma material para aproximadamente la mitad de las empresas, y la de endeudamiento total para un 30%

Common Genetic Variation And Age at Onset Of Anorexia Nervosa

Background Genetics and biology may influence the age at onset of anorexia nervosa (AN). The aims of this study were to determine whether common genetic variation contributes to AN age at onset and to investigate the genetic associations between age at onset of AN and age at menarche. Methods A secondary analysis of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium genome-wide association study (GWAS) of AN was performed which included 9,335 cases and 31,981 screened controls, all from European ancestries. We conducted GWASs of age at onset, early-onset AN (< 13 years), and typical-onset AN, and genetic correlation, genetic risk score, and Mendelian randomization analyses. Results Two loci were genome-wide significant in the typical-onset AN GWAS. Heritability estimates (SNP-h2) were 0.01-0.04 for age at onset, 0.16-0.25 for early-onset AN, and 0.17-0.25 for typical-onset AN. Early- and typical-onset AN showed distinct genetic correlation patterns with putative risk factors for AN. Specifically, early-onset AN was significantly genetically correlated with younger age at menarche, and typical-onset AN was significantly negatively genetically correlated with anthropometric traits. Genetic risk scores for age at onset and early-onset AN estimated from independent GWASs significantly predicted age at onset. Mendelian randomization analysis suggested a causal link between younger age at menarche and early-onset AN. Conclusions Our results provide evidence consistent with a common variant genetic basis for age at onset and implicate biological pathways regulating menarche and reproduction.Peer reviewe

Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes:Evidence from genome-wide association studies

First published: 16 February 202

A genome-wide association study of anorexia nervosa suggests a risk locus implicated in dysregulated leptin signaling

J. Kaprio, A. Palotie, A. Raevuori-Helkamaa ja S. Ripatti ovat työryhmän Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium jäseniä. Erratum in: Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 21;7(1):8379, doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-06409-3We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of anorexia nervosa (AN) using a stringently defined phenotype. Analysis of phenotypic variability led to the identification of a specific genetic risk factor that approached genome-wide significance (rs929626 in EBF1 (Early B-Cell Factor 1); P = 2.04 x 10(-7); OR = 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.61-0.8) with independent replication (P = 0.04), suggesting a variant-mediated dysregulation of leptin signaling may play a role in AN. Multiple SNPs in LD with the variant support the nominal association. This demonstrates that although the clinical and etiologic heterogeneity of AN is universally recognized, further careful sub-typing of cases may provide more precise genomic signals. In this study, through a refinement of the phenotype spectrum of AN, we present a replicable GWAS signal that is nominally associated with AN, highlighting a potentially important candidate locus for further investigation.Peer reviewe

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

An Updated Systematic Review of Business Accelerators: Functions, Operation, and Gaps in the Existing Literature

Business accelerators have emerged as an important innovation intermediary, with their primary role identified as stimulating premature startups through mentorship and training programs. However, despite significant improvement and 17 years of working history, there are still gaps in working behavior, business accelerator forms, organizational structure, operations, and outcomes. This systematic review aims to boost the understanding of seed accelerators in innovation and entrepreneurial activities. The Context, Intervention, Mechanism, and Outcome (CIMO) framework was used to collect data from the 53 articles published in the last 17 years. In this current systematic review of applying a CIMO analysis to business accelerators, we retrieved 53 articles for further detailed studies, out of which 21 articles were assessed for the risk of bias analysis. The current review highlights that by providing learning opportunities, idea validation, increased access to growth, and innovation, startup accelerators achieved their goals. Moreover, the study also identified gaps in the literature and opportunities for cohort-based, short-term mentorship programs. The outcomes of the present study will provide suggestions for policymakers, entrepreneurs, managers, and investors