Profiles of human capital and strategic technological decisions on turbulence environment

[EN] The objective of this article is to examine the absorptive capacity in the technology industry and aspires to recognize how firms can manage their strategic decisions in the turbulence contexts. In particular, we examine how organizations can strengthen their organizational contexts in order to absorb knowledge. From the knowledge management literature, this investigation extends our perception of the relationship between the human capital profiles (organization, research and development unit, and recent incorporations) and technological decision-making. Through the SEPI Foundation, a balanced panel of 1,220 Spanish industrial companies has used that answer to the Survey of Business Strategies (SBS) for a threeyear period, which signifies a total of 3,660 cases. The principal finding is the presence of high levels of human resources to understand a decision efficiency process. It also highlights its relationship to the firm’s technological committee. These contributions are notable for both researchers and practitioners. It could be stimulating to expand the study to the association between human capital profiles and other strategic technological decisions, as the preparation of an innovation plan or the measurement of innovation performance.The authors want to acknowledge the practical support of the SEPI Foundation and University of Burgos to facilitate access to the SBS.Pérez, D.; Saiz-Bárcena, L.; Manzanedo, M.; Pérez, A. (2019). Profiles of human capital and strategic technological decisions on turbulence environment. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 7(1):39-47. https://doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2019.10812SWORD394771Aribi, A., Dupouët, O. (2016). Absorptive capacity: A non-linear process. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 14(1), 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2014.17Baba, M., Mahmood, R., Halipah, A. (2017). The moderating role of environmental turbulence on the relationship between organizational learning and firm innovativeness. International Journal of Management Research & Review, 7(2), 148-159.Batarseh, F., Usher, J., Daspit, J. (2017). Absorptive capacity in virtual teams: examining the influence on diversity and innovation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(6), 1342-1361. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-06-2016-0221Baumann, M.R., Bonner, B.L. (2013). Member awareness of expertise, information sharing, information weighting, and group decision making. Small Group Research, 44, 532-562. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496413494415Buenechea-Elberdin, M., Sáenz, J., Kianto, A. (2017). Exploring the role of human capital, renewal capital and entrepreneurial capital in innovation performance in high-tech and low-tech firms. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 15(3), 369-379. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41275-017-0069-3Chesbrough, H. (2012). Open innovation. Where we've been and where we're going. Research Technology Management, 55(4), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.5437/08956308X5504085Cohen, M.W., Levinthal, D.A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393553Dahlander, L., Gann, D.M. (2010). How open is innovation? Research Policy, 39(6), 699-709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.013Datta, A. (2012). IT-based knowledge capability and commercialization of innovations: Modeling the impacts of ambidexterity and absorptive capacity. International Journal of Knowledge Management, 8(3), 83-97. https://doi.org/10.4018/jkm.2012070105Díaz-Díaz, N.L., De Saá, P. (2014). The interaction between external and internal knowledge sources: An open innovation view. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(2), 430-446. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2013-0257Díaz-Díaz, N.L., Aguilar, I., De Saá, P. (2006). Technological knowledge assets in industrial firms. R&D Management, 36(2), 189-203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00425.xGarcía, J., Maldonado, A., Alvarado, A., Rivera, D. (2014). Human Critical Success Factors for Kaizen and Its Impacts in Industrial Performance. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 70, 2187-2198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-013-5445-4Grandinetti, R. (2011). Local/global interfaces within industrial districts: an Italian case study. The Learning Organization, 18(4), 301-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696471111132513.Grandinetti, R., Tabacco, R. (2015). A return to spatial proximity: combining global suppliers with local subcontractors. International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 7(2), 139-161. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGSB.2015.071189Grandinetti, R. (2016). Absorptive capacity and knowledge management in small and medium enterprises. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 14(2), 159-168. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2016.2Jansen, J., Van Den Bosch, F.,Volberda, H. (2005). Managing potential and realized absorptive capacity: how do organizational antecedents matter? Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 999-1015. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.19573106Khandwalla, P.N. The design of organizations (Vol. 260). New York: harcourt brace Jovanovich, 1977.Lowik, S., Kraaijenbrink, J., Groen, A. (2017). Antecedents and effects of individual absorptive capacity: a micro-foundational perspective on open innovation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(6), 1319-1341. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-09-2016-0410Lucena, A., Roper, S. (2016). Absorptive capacity and ambidexterity in R&D: Linking technology alliance diversity and firm innovation. European Management Review, 13(3), 159-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12074Mell, J.N., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W.P. (2014). The catalyst effect: The impact of transactive memory system structure on team performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57, 1154-1173. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0589Nonaka, I., Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.Rezaei, M., Darwish, T.K. (2016). Antecedents of absorptive capacity: A new model for developing learning processes. The Learning Organization, 23(1), 77-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-04-2015-0026Pérez-Miguel, D., Sáiz Bárcena, L., Manzanedo, M.A. (2017). The knowledge absorptive capacity to improve the cooperation and innovation in the firm. 11th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management. XXI Congreso de Ingeniería de Organización.Revilla, A.J., Fernández, Z. (2012). The relation between firm size and R&D productivity in different technological regimes. Technovation, 32(11), 609-623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2012.06.004Roberts, N., Galluch, P., Dinger, M., Grover, V. (2012). Absorptive capacity and information systems research: review, synthesis, and directions for future research. MIS Quarterly, 36(2), 625-648. https://doi.org/10.2307/41703470Sáiz, L., Pérez-Miguel, D., Manzanedo-del Campo, M.A. (2018). The knowledge absorptive capacity to improve the cooperation and innovation in the firm. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 11(2), 78-89. https://doi.org/10.3926/jiem.2505Sánchez, P., Rosell, J., García, J.M. (2013). Innovation as a driver of absorptive capacity from foreign direct investment in Spanish manufacturing firms. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 75, 236-245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.027Santoro, M.D., Gopalakrishnan, S. (2015). Alliances with universities - how firms absorb and apply knowledge. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 6(2), 175-199. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJKMS.2015.071768Segarra-Ciprés, M., Bou-Llusar, J.C., Roca-Puig, V. (2012). Exploring and exploiting external knowledge: The effect of sector and firm technological intensity. Innovation-Management Policy & Practice, 14, 192-206. https://doi.org/10.5172/impp.2012.14.2.203Spithoven, A., Clarysse, B., Knockaert, M. (2011). Building absorptive capacity to organise inbound open innovation in traditional industries. Technovation, 31(1), 10-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2010.10.003Sun, P. (2010). Five critical knowledge management organizational themes. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14(4), 507-523. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673271011059491Szulanski, G. (1996). Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250171105Todorova, G., Durisin, B. (2007). Absorptive capacity: Valuing a reconceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 774-786. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.25275513Tortorella, G.L., Marodin, G.A., Fogliatto, F.S., Miorando, R. (2015). Learning organisation and human resources management practices: an exploratory research in medium-sized enterprises undergoing a lean implementation. International Journal of Production Research, 53(13), 3989-4000. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2014.980462Tsai, K.H., Wang, J.C. (2009). External technology sourcing and innovation performance in LMT sectors: An analysis based on the Taiwanese Technological Innovation Survey. Research Policy, 38(3), 518-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.10.007van Knippenberg, D., Mell, J.N. (2016). Past, present, and potential future of team diversity research: From compositional diversity to emergent diversity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.05.007van Winkelen, C., McKenzie, J. (2008). Integrating Individual and Organisational Learning Initiatives: Working Across Knowledge Management and Human Resource Management Functional Boundaries. The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 5(4), 527-538.Volberda, H.W., Foss, N.J., Lyles, M.A. (2010). Absorbing the concept of absorptive capacity: How to realize its potential in the organization field. Organization Science, 21(4), 931-951. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0503Wang, C., Han, Y. (2011). Linking properties of knowledge with innovation performance: The moderate role of absorptive capacity. Journal of Knowledge Management, 15(5), 802-819. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673271111174339Zahra, S.A., George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185-203. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2002.658799

PPAR-γ Gene Expression in Human Adipose Tissue Is Associated with Weight Loss After Sleeve Gastrectomy

Background: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ plays a key role in adipose tissue differentiation and fat metabolism. However, it is unclear which factors may regulate its expression and whether obese patients have changes in adipose tissue expression of PPAR-γor potential regulators such as miR-27. Thus, our aims were to analyze PPAR-γ and miR-27 expression in adipose tissue of obese patients, and to correlate their levels with clinical variables. Subjects and methods: We included 43 morbidly obese subjects who underwent sleeve gastrectomy (31 of them completed 1-year follow-up) and 19 non-obese subjects. mRNA expression of PPAR-γ1 and PPAR-γ2, miR-27a, and miR-27b was measured by qPCR in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Clinical variables and serum adipokine and hormone levels were correlated with PPAR-γ and miR-27 expression. In addition, a systematic review of the literature regarding PPAR-γ expression in adipose tissue of obese patients was performed. Results: We found no differences in the expression of PPAR-γ and miR-27 in adipose tissue of obese patients vs. controls. The literature review revealed discrepant results regarding PPAR-γ expression in adipose tissue of obese patients. Of note, we described a significant negative correlation between pre-operative PPAR-γ1 expression in adipose tissue of obese patients and post-operative weight loss, potentially linked with insulin resistance markers. Conclusion: PPAR-γ1 expression in adipose tissue is associated with weight loss after sleeve gastrectomy and may be used as a biomarker for response to surgeryThis work was funded by the following grants to M.M.: ISCIII and FEDER, PI10/01692, PI16/01548, RD16/0017/0023, and I3SNS-INT12/049, L.H.C.: Junta de Castilla y León GRS 681/A/11, J.-L. T.: GRS 1587/A/17 and GRS1356/A/16, G.S.: ERC 260464, EFSD 2030, MICINNSAF2013-43506-R, and Comunidad de Madrid S2010/BMD-2326. G.S. is an investigator of the Ramón y Cajal Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ISCIII,PI10/01692,Miguel Marcos,PI16/01548,Miguel Marcos,Gerencia regional de salud,junta de castilla y león,GRS 681/A/11,Lourdes Hernández-Cosido,J.-L. T,Lourdes Hernández-Cosido,Gerencia Regional de Salud,Junta de Castilla y León,GRS 1587/A/17,Jorge-Luis Torres,GRS1356/A/16,Jorge-Luis Torre

The Disease Burden of Taenia solium Cysticercosis in Cameroon

Taenia solium cysticercosis is a zoonotic disease occurring in many developing countries. A relatively high prevalence in humans and pigs has been reported in several parts of the world, but insufficient data are available on the disease burden. Disease impact assessment needs detailed information on well-defined epidemiological and economic parameters. Our work conducted in West Cameroon over several years allowed us to collect the necessary information to estimate the impact of the parasite on the human and animal populations in this area using both cost and Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) estimations. This study identified the professional inactivity caused by the disease as the major loss factor in comparison to the cost of health care and losses due to infected pigs. These findings should allow a simpler estimation of the global disease burden based on information on salary levels and human cysticercosis prevalence in endemic areas of the world. In addition, the number of DALYs lost was higher than estimates already available for some other neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa

Tractography dissection variability: What happens when 42 groups dissect 14 white matter bundles on the same dataset?

White matter bundle segmentation using diffusion MRI fiber tractography has become the method of choice to identify white matter fiber pathways in vivo in human brains. However, like other analyses of complex data, there is considerable variability in segmentation protocols and techniques. This can result in different reconstructions of the same intended white matter pathways, which directly affects tractography results, quantification, and interpretation. In this study, we aim to evaluate and quantify the variability that arises from different protocols for bundle segmentation. Through an open call to users of fiber tractography, including anatomists, clinicians, and algorithm developers, 42 independent teams were given processed sets of human whole-brain streamlines and asked to segment 14 white matter fascicles on six subjects. In total, we received 57 different bundle segmentation protocols, which enabled detailed volume-based and streamline-based analyses of agreement and disagreement among protocols for each fiber pathway. Results show that even when given the exact same sets of underlying streamlines, the variability across protocols for bundle segmentation is greater than all other sources of variability in the virtual dissection process, including variability within protocols and variability across subjects. In order to foster the use of tractography bundle dissection in routine clinical settings, and as a fundamental analytical tool, future endeavors must aim to resolve and reduce this heterogeneity. Although external validation is needed to verify the anatomical accuracy of bundle dissections, reducing heterogeneity is a step towards reproducible research and may be achieved through the use of standard nomenclature and definitions of white matter bundles and well-chosen constraints and decisions in the dissection process

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Rhodiola rosea Impairs Acquisition and Expression of Conditioned Place Preference Induced by Cocaine

A novel approach to the treatment of adverse effects of drugs of abuse is one which makes use of natural products. The present study investigated the effect of Rhodiola rosea L. hydroalcoholic extract (RHO) on cocaine-induced hyperactivity and conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice. In a first experiment, mice received RHO (15, 20 or 25 mg/kg, IG), cocaine (25 mg/kg, i.p.) (COC), or a combination of both drugs (COC + RHO15, COC + RHO20, and COC + RHO25), and their locomotor activity was evaluated. In a second experiment, the effects of RHO on the acquisition, expression, and reinstatement of cocaine CPP (induced by drug priming or social defeat stress) were evaluated. RHO alone did not increase activity but potentiated the hyperactivity induced by cocaine. Rhodiola did not induce motivational effects by itself but attenuated the acquisition and expression of cocaine-induced CPP. Moreover, it was found that RHO did not block reinstatement. The results indicate that RHO is effective in reducing the rewarding properties of cocaine but is ineffective in preventing priming or stress-induced cocaine reinstatement. In light of these findings, the benefits of Rhodiola rosea L. as a treatment of cocaine addiction would seem to be limited