Does culture matter? Corporate reputation and sustainable satisfaction in the Chinese and German banking sector

Corporate reputation is important for all types of banks across the world, despite these countries differing culturally. Building on an extended corporate reputation model, we identify the key drivers of customer-based reputation and sustainable customer satisfaction in two culturally different countries, namely China and Germany. We also consider two reputation dimensions—perceived competence and likeability—and their effects on the target construct. Empirical data from 625 German and 734 Chinese commercial bank customers allow us to estimate the corporate reputation model with the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method, and by substantiating the relationships by means of a necessary condition analysis (NCA) and a predictive power analysis. By comparing the two countries’ results, we identify their cultural differences. Overall, we confirm the model’s relevance for the two cultures, finding that banks’ perceived attractiveness is the most important driver of both cultures’ customer-perceived bank reputation. By means of an importance-performance map analysis, we identify a large overlap between the two cultures’ set of important constructs, likeability’s much greater importance in Germany, and the perceived quality construct’s relevance in both countries. We contribute to research and scientific knowledge about corporate reputation models by identifying the similarities in and differences between two countries’ markets with respect to the banking sector, all of which have implications for international banks’ management.</p

The Impact of Perceived Subgroup Formation on Transactive Memory Systems and Performance in Distributed Teams

With distributed teams becoming increasingly common in organizations, improving their performance is a critical challenge for both practitioners and researchers. This research examines how group members\u27 perception of subgroup formation affects team performance in fully distributed teams. The authors propose that individual members\u27 perception about the presence of subgroups within the team has a negative effect on team performance, which manifests itself through decreases in a team\u27s transactive memory system (TMS). Using data from 154 members of 41 fully distributed teams (where no group members were colocated), the authors found that members\u27 perceptions of the existence of subgroups impair the team\u27s TMS and its overall performance. They found these effects to be statistically significant. In addition, decreases in a group\u27s TMS partially mediate the effect of perceived subgroup formation on team performance. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for managerial action, as well as for researchers, and they propose directions for future research

High-Temperature Kinetics of the Reaction between Chlorine Atoms and Hydrogen Sulfide

Article on high-temperature kinetics of the reaction between chlorine atoms and hydrogen sulfide

Generating intravital super-resolution movies with conventional microscopy reveals actin dynamics that construct pioneer axons

Super-resolution microscopy is broadening our in-depth understanding of cellular structure. However, super-resolution approaches are limited, for numerous reasons, from utilization in longer-term intravital imaging. We devised a combinatorial imaging technique that combines deconvolution with stepwise optical saturation microscopy (DeSOS) to circumvent this issue and image cells in their native physiological environment. Other than a traditional confocal or two-photon microscope, this approach requires no additional hardware. Here, we provide an open-access application to obtain DeSOS images from conventional microscope images obtained at low excitation powers. We show that DeSOS can be used in time-lapse imaging to generate super-resolution movies in zebrafish. DeSOS was also validated in live mice. These movies uncover that actin structures dynamically remodel to produce a single pioneer axon in a 'top-down' scaffolding event. Further, we identify an F-actin population - stable base clusters - that orchestrate that scaffolding event. We then identify that activation of Rac1 in pioneer axons destabilizes stable base clusters and disrupts pioneer axon formation. The ease of acquisition and processing with this approach provides a universal technique for biologists to answer questions in living animals

Reinvestigating repurchase intentions for travel apps: A comparison of China's various tiers of cities

The intense competition amongst travel apps, regardless of their popularity, has made repurchase intention a critical financial challenge for travel providers. By combining the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and the New Economic Geography (NEG) theory, this research examined how city tier disparities influence the experiential features of travel apps and user repurchase intentions. Survey data was acquired from 739 travel app users in China. The findings indicate that a set of context-based experiential features significantly influences utilitarian and hedonic values, and consequently leading to a notable increase in repurchase intentions. In addition, the outcomes of a multigroup analysis revealed that China’s users located in tier 1 city (i.e. Beijing) and tier 3 city (i.e. Kunming) had distinct effects on the hypothesised relationships. Theoretically, the research provides extensive implications to information systems and tourism literatures; whilst offering some actionable insights to travel practitioners

Kinetics and Thermochemistry of the Addition of Atomic Chlorine to Acetylene

Article on the kinetics and thermochemistry of the addition of atomic chlorine to acetylene

Excretory/secretory proteome of females and males of the hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum

The dynamic host-parasite mechanisms underlying hookworm infection establishment and maintenance in mammalian hosts remain poorly understood but are primarily mediated by hookworm\u27s excretory/secretory products (ESPs), which have a wide spectrum of biological functions. We used ultra-high performance mass spectrometry to comprehensively profile and compare female and male ESPs from the zoonotic human hookwor

Predicted thermochemistry and unimolecular kinetics of nitrous sulfide

Article on predicted thermochemistry and unimolecular kinetics of nitrous sulfide

Elicitation of Neutralizing Antibodies Directed against CD4-Induced Epitope(s) Using a CD4 Mimetic Cross-Linked to a HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein

The identification of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) structures that can generate broadly neutralizing antibodies (BNAbs) is pivotal to the development of a successful vaccine against HIV-1 aimed at eliciting effective humoral immune responses. To that end, the production of novel Env structure(s) that might induce BNAbs by presentation of conserved epitopes, which are otherwise occluded, is critical. Here, we focus on a structure that stabilizes Env in a conformation representative of its primary (CD4) receptor-bound state, thereby exposing highly conserved “CD4 induced” (CD4i) epitope(s) known to be important for co-receptor binding and subsequent virus infection. A CD4-mimetic miniprotein, miniCD4 (M64U1-SH), was produced and covalently complexed to recombinant, trimeric gp140 envelope glycoprotein (gp140) using site-specific disulfide linkages. The resulting gp140-miniCD4 (gp140-S-S-M64U1) complex was recognized by CD4i antibodies and the HIV-1 co-receptor, CCR5. The gp140-miniCD4 complex elicited the highest titers of CD4i binding antibodies as well as enhanced neutralizing antibodies against Tier 1 viruses as compared to gp140 protein alone following immunization of rabbits. Neutralization against HIV-27312/V434M and additional serum mapping confirm the specific elicitation of antibodies directed to the CD4i epitope(s). These results demonstrate the utility of structure-based approach in improving immunogenic response against specific region, such as the CD4i epitope(s) here, and its potential role in vaccine application