eClusters and the Role of Intermediaries in Enabling Digital Enterprise Communities of SMEs

The potential for the emergence of digital enterprise communities enabled by one or more intermediaries, termed eClusters, has been predicted from empirical research in business communities of SMEs in the UK. The role of intermediaries, which will be pivotal to the formation of eClusters, is examined in this paper and forms part of a wider research project into the nature of digital enterprise communities. One conceptualisation of the role of intermediaries is the provision of a Trust Platform. As with IT outsourcing generally it is large companies that have been early adopter of application service providers (ASPs) services with little penetration in the SME sector. It is the notion of community and emergent properties of an eCluster that could provide the ‘key’ to this market and lead to the formation of community-centric ASPs

An Investigation into the Engagement of SMEs in E-Business: With Reference to Aggregation and Intermediaries.

Against a background of the low engagement of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in e-business this thesis investigates the emergence of, and potential for, critical e-aggregation applications defined as 'an e-business application, promoted by a trusted third party, which engages a significant number of SMEs by addressing an important shared business concern within an aggregation'. By using a triangulation of methodologies, namely qualitative case study, participant observation, context monitoring and quantitative survey the research shows that such applications can facilitate the e-business engagement of SMEs. Context monitoring is a proposed method of continuous appreciation, which was necessary because of the constantly changing environmental conditions during the period of the study. There were six key findings, namely (i) higher levels of e-business engagement by SMEs in aggregations, (ii) the emergence of critical e-aggregation applications, (iii) the emergence of collaborative 'one to many' business models, (iv) the importance of trusted third parties, (v) the deliberate accumulation of strategic information, and (vi) evidence of increased structure and integration. Significantly this work takes deliberately dual, user and provider, perspectives. The supporting literature review drew from both praxis and three areas of theory, namely IT adoption by SMEs, inter-organisational networks (IONs) and e-business models, in order to construct an interpretative framework for the dimensions of aggregations. In terms of future research the importance of a better conceptual understanding of complexity on the adoption of IT by SMEs and the impact of critical e-aggregation applications on business markets were highlighted

Promoting hotel innovation with social media use

Service innovation has turned to be essential for hotels, to cope with current turbulent environment and quickly adapt to customers changing needs. To maintain competitiveness, hotels need to differentiate from competitors, improving existing services or offering new ones, creating memorable experiences for customers. To enhance innovation, hospitality firms are increasingly engaging customers in co-creation activities, to capture valuable knowledge, and crowdsource ideas. Additionally, absorptive capacity is emphasized as a significant antecedent of innovation activity in the tourism and hospitality industry. It is defined as the firm’s ability to identify, acquire, and use external knowledge to generate competitive products. Consequently, this organizational capability is emphasized as a key driver of service innovation. Moreover, today travel has become inherently technological, and tourism activity is powered by social media tools. These platforms facilitate connectivity, information sharing, and consumer generated content. The emergence of social media not only has transformed customer relations but is also changing internal firm processes such as innovation. However, despite the relevance of the topic, as tourism is one of the main economic activities in Spain, empirical evidence about the main antecedents of service innovation in hotels remain scarce. To extend knowledge on the issue, in the current study we empirically examine how social media use can foster service innovation, analysing also the role of customer co-creation and absorptive capacity in this phenomenon. Results confirm how service innovation has become a strategic priority for hotels to face current changing markets. Findings provide a holistic understanding of the chain of effects that leads to innovativeness when using social media, and offer relevant implications for academics and hotel managers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Social media use and value-creation : a dynamic-capabilities perspective

Purpose - Although Social Media use has become all pervasive, previous research has failed to explain how to strategically use Social Media tools to create business value in today’s increasingly digital landscapes. Through adopting dynamic capabilities perspective, this paper empirically examines the specific process through a which Social Media use transforms into organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach - A research model is proposed including both the antecedents and consequences of Social Media use. Existing research was examined to derive the research hypotheses. Building on a sample of 212 hotels, these hypotheses were tested using a SEM methodology. Findings – Results confirm the of Social Media use on value creation, showing the key role played by Social CRM and Customer Engagement capabilities on this process. Findings also confirm the relevance of Organizational Readiness as an effective antecedent of Social Media use. Practical implications – Results illustrate how Social Media tools should be implemented and managed in order to generate real business value in hotels. Implications provide interesting insight for hotel managers. Originality/value - This study represents a first attempt to empirically examine the impact of digital media technologies, particularly Social Media tools, on value creation, drawing on the dynamic and focusing on service firms, in particular hotels. The inclusion of the variable ‘Organizational Readiness’ as a basic prerequisite to benefit from Social Media use enhances the novelty and contribution of the study

Building regions:a resource-based view of a policy-led knowledge exchange network

This study looks to further understanding about how important the choice of intermediary can be in supporting policymakers in their regional development activities. Drawing on the resource based view as a framework, the paper provides new insights into resource combinations underpinning the successful creation and expansion of a regional network for knowledge exchange. Through an in-depth study of a partnership of three intermediaries involved in designing and implementing a regional ICT network, our study highlights that policymakers need to consider not only organizational resources of intermediaries, but also the resources of key individuals from those organizations

Changes in health in England, with analysis by English regions and areas of deprivation, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

BACKGROUND: In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), knowledge about health and its determinants has been integrated into a comparable framework to inform health policy. Outputs of this analysis are relevant to current policy questions in England and elsewhere, particularly on health inequalities. We use GBD 2013 data on mortality and causes of death, and disease and injury incidence and prevalence to analyse the burden of disease and injury in England as a whole, in English regions, and within each English region by deprivation quintile. We also assess disease and injury burden in England attributable to potentially preventable risk factors. England and the English regions are compared with the remaining constituent countries of the UK and with comparable countries in the European Union (EU) and beyond. METHODS: We extracted data from the GBD 2013 to compare mortality, causes of death, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with a disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in England, the UK, and 18 other countries (the first 15 EU members [apart from the UK] and Australia, Canada, Norway, and the USA [EU15+]). We extended elements of the analysis to English regions, and subregional areas defined by deprivation quintile (deprivation areas). We used data split by the nine English regions (corresponding to the European boundaries of the Nomenclature for Territorial Statistics level 1 [NUTS 1] regions), and by quintile groups within each English region according to deprivation, thereby making 45 regional deprivation areas. Deprivation quintiles were defined by area of residence ranked at national level by Index of Multiple Deprivation score, 2010. Burden due to various risk factors is described for England using new GBD methodology to estimate independent and overlapping attributable risk for five tiers of behavioural, metabolic, and environmental risk factors. We present results for 306 causes and 2337 sequelae, and 79 risks or risk clusters. FINDINGS: Between 1990 and 2013, life expectancy from birth in England increased by 5·4 years (95% uncertainty interval 5·0-5·8) from 75·9 years (75·9-76·0) to 81·3 years (80·9-81·7); gains were greater for men than for women. Rates of age-standardised YLLs reduced by 41·1% (38·3-43·6), whereas DALYs were reduced by 23·8% (20·9-27·1), and YLDs by 1·4% (0·1-2·8). For these measures, England ranked better than the UK and the EU15+ means. Between 1990 and 2013, the range in life expectancy among 45 regional deprivation areas remained 8·2 years for men and decreased from 7·2 years in 1990 to 6·9 years in 2013 for women. In 2013, the leading cause of YLLs was ischaemic heart disease, and the leading cause of DALYs was low back and neck pain. Known risk factors accounted for 39·6% (37·7-41·7) of DALYs; leading behavioural risk factors were suboptimal diet (10·8% [9·1-12·7]) and tobacco (10·7% [9·4-12·0]). INTERPRETATION: Health in England is improving although substantial opportunities exist for further reductions in the burden of preventable disease. The gap in mortality rates between men and women has reduced, but marked health inequalities between the least deprived and most deprived areas remain. Declines in mortality have not been matched by similar declines in morbidity, resulting in people living longer with diseases. Health policies must therefore address the causes of ill health as well as those of premature mortality. Systematic action locally and nationally is needed to reduce risk exposures, support healthy behaviours, alleviate the severity of chronic disabling disorders, and mitigate the effects of socioeconomic deprivation. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Public Health England.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Public Health EnglandThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00195-

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Closing the Gap Between the Expectations of Relationship Marketing and the Reality of E-CRM Neil F.

editoRial pReface Marketing is no longer simply about devel-oping, selling, and delivering products. It is pro-gressively more concerned with the development and maintenance of mutually satisfying long-term relationships with customers (Buttle, 1996, p. vii). To this end, organisations are seeking to adopt relationship marketing (RM) with the expectation that it will help them retain customers and in so doing deliver long-term and value-added customer relationships. The economic case for RM is clear: It is far cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to win a new one, and RM has an important role to play in customer retention (Buttle, 1996, p. vii). For example, Payne (2000a, p. 110) note