Selection of planned supply initiatives: the role of senior management expertise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the selection of planned supply initiatives and the role of senior management expertise. The drivers that influence the selection of particular supply initiatives by firms are of major interest to both practitioners and academics, as choices indicate priorities for resources, potential performance gaps and needs for future research. Moreover, theory indicates that senior management expertise and firm‐level resources might influence the likelihood of selecting particular initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – A synthesis of the literature supported the development of a five‐dimensional framework of major supply initiatives. Logistic regression was conducted with data from a survey of chief purchasing officers at large North American firms. The impact of firm‐level resources and senior management expertise, including background and experience, was assessed for the selection of supply initiatives. Findings – After controlling for general industry‐level factors, both firm resources and senior management expertise were found to systematically affect the likelihood of a firm planning to pursue particular initiatives. First, hiring senior management from outside the firm decreased the likelihood that network‐based initiatives were planned, while senior management who last worked in supply were found to be negatively related to planned supply strategy initiatives. Second, firms with greater use of e‐business technologies favored additional investment in supply networks. Research limitations/implications – This research focused on large firms in developed countries, and additional research is needed to explore the generalizability to small and medium‐sized enterprises and less‐developed countries. Moreover, additional work is needed to explore trade‐offs between planned and emergent initiatives, as only the former were empirically assessed. Originality/value – Senior management expertise has received relatively little attention in prior research, yet was found to be a significant factor influencing strategic, process and network‐related supply initiatives. Moreover, the framework of supply initiatives provides a basis for assessing and benchmarking firm‐level supply chain strategy and investment patterns. Finally, empirical evidence emerged that both firm and individual‐level factors influenced the probability of selecting particular initiatives

Utilizing e-business technologies in supply chains: The impact of firm characteristics and teams

This paper presents findings from an exploratory study that analyzes the drivers and outcomes of e-business technology use in the supply chain. Using a combination of case studies and survey data from a diverse sample of industries, the research examines how industry context, firm characteristics and firm-level strategic resources, such as purchasing teams, influence the exploitation of e-business technologies and the relationship between e-business technology use and firm performance. Based on a synthesis of related literatures from transaction cost economics and the relational view of the supply chain, a two-dimensional framework for e-business technology is proposed with transactional and relational dimensions. However, empirical analysis indicated that transactional technologies can be further subdivided into two factors: dyadic cooperation and price determination. Significant differences were found between the two dimensions in terms of their overall levels of adoption, with dyadic coordination being the most widely adopted. In addition, the development of strategic resources expanded, in particular internal and customer teams, the use of e-business technologies expanded. Purchasing organizational structure and firm size also were positively related to the adoption of transactional e-business technologies. Finally, of particular importance to practitioners, e-business technologies targeted at reducing dyadic coordination costs lead to improved financial performance

Differential Kinetics of Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus Phagocytosis

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge Fraser P. Coxon and Ian Ganley for providing LC3-GFP-mCherry BMDMs. M.S.G. was supported by an FEMS research grant and F.L.v.d.V. was supported by ZonMW under the name EURO-CMC frame of E-Rare-2, the ERA-Net for Research on Rare Diseases.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Human phosphodiesterase 4D7 (PDE4D7) expression is increased in TMPRSS2-ERG positive primary prostate cancer and independently adds to a reduced risk of post-surgical disease progression

background: There is an acute need to uncover biomarkers that reflect the molecular pathologies, underpinning prostate cancer progression and poor patient outcome. We have previously demonstrated that in prostate cancer cell lines PDE4D7 is downregulated in advanced cases of the disease. To investigate further the prognostic power of PDE4D7 expression during prostate cancer progression and assess how downregulation of this PDE isoform may affect disease outcome, we have examined PDE4D7 expression in physiologically relevant primary human samples. methods: About 1405 patient samples across 8 publically available qPCR, Affymetrix Exon 1.0 ST arrays and RNA sequencing data sets were screened for PDE4D7 expression. The TMPRSS2-ERG gene rearrangement status of patient samples was determined by transformation of the exon array and RNA seq expression data to robust z-scores followed by the application of a threshold >3 to define a positive TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion event in a tumour sample. results: We demonstrate that PDE4D7 expression positively correlates with primary tumour development. We also show a positive association with the highly prostate cancer-specific gene rearrangement between TMPRSS2 and the ETS transcription factor family member ERG. In addition, we find that in primary TMPRSS2-ERG-positive tumours PDE4D7 expression is significantly positively correlated with low-grade disease and a reduced likelihood of progression after primary treatment. Conversely, PDE4D7 transcript levels become significantly decreased in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). conclusions: We further characterise and add physiological relevance to PDE4D7 as a novel marker that is associated with the development and progression of prostate tumours. We propose that the assessment of PDE4D7 levels may provide a novel, independent predictor of post-surgical disease progression

The Role of the Relationship with Parents with Respect to Work Orientation and Work Ethic

We examined the extent to which individual relationships with mother and father, social support from partner, and quality of the relationship with the partner, are related to work orientation and work ethic. Survey data were obtained from 3841 respondents from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (wave 2). The results showed that, overall, people with a more positive relationship with their parents had a more positive work orientation and a stronger work ethic. A positive relationship with the father had a greater influence on these work aspects than a positive relationship with the mother, particularly for men. Partner support and the quality of the partner relationship partially mediated the association between the relationship with one's parents and work orientation only for women. There were no significant relationships between partner support or the quality of the partner relationship, and work ethic. Research on the relationship with parents and work-related variables is discussed

Striatal glucose metabolism and dopamine D2 receptor binding in asymptomatic gene carriers and patients with Huntington's disease

We used PET scans with the tracers [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and [11C]raclopride (RACLO) to study glucose metabolism and dopamine D2 receptor binding in the caudate nucleus and putamen of 18 carriers of the Huntington's disease gene mutation (10 asymptomatic subjects and eight untreated symptomatic Huntington's disease patients in an early disease stage). We also performed MR1 scans and measured the bicaudate ratio (BCR) in the same subjects. Data were compared with those from nine mutation-negative members of Huntington's disease families and separate groups of age matched controls. The PET scans were repeated 1.5-3 years later in six of the asymptomatic gene carriers. Symptomatic Huntington's disease patients showed a marked reduction of FDG and RACLO uptake in the caudate nucleus and putamen and a significant increase of BCR. Asymptomatic mutation carriers revealed significant hypometabolism in the caudate nucleus and putamen. The RACLO binding was significantly decreased in the putamen. Decrements of caudate nucleus tracer uptake, particularly RACLO, correlated significantly with BCR increases in both symptomatic and asymptomatic gene carriers. In asymptomatic carriers, metabolic and receptor binding decreases were also significantly associated with the CAG repeat number but not with the individual's age. Discriminant function analysis correctly classified clinical and genetic status in 24 of 27 subjects on the basis of their striatal PET values (83% sensitivity and 100% specificity). Three asymptomatic mutation carriers were classified/grouped together with mutation-negative subjects, indicating that these individuals had normal striatal RACLO and FDG uptake. Follow-up PET data from gene-positive subjects showed a significant reduction in the mean striatal RACLO binding of 6.3% per year. Striatal glucose metabolism revealed an overall non significant 2.3% decrease per year These data indicate that asymptomatic Huntington's disease mutation carriers may show normal neuronal function for a long period of life. These findings also suggest that it may be possible to predict when an asymptomatic gene carrier will develop clinical symptoms from serial PET measurements of striatal functio