The CEO Effect: A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis of the Relationship Between Executive Orientation and Corporate Social Strategy

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic issue. Yet, research in this area has primarily focused on establishing a link between CSR and financial performance, with significantly less attention given to the antecedents of CSR at the individual, firm or industry levels. Notably, despite popular anecdotal examples that link the personal values, beliefs or characteristics of business leaders to the socially responsible nature of their companies, very little is actually known empirically about the relationship between executive orientation and the corporate social strategy pursued by the firm. The empirical research study presented in this dissertation is designed to fill this important gap. First, I synthesize the vast literature in the general CSR domain into a new typology of corporate social strategy (CSS) that distinguishes a firm’s approach to CSR along its breadth and depth dimensions. Then, using an upper echelon framework based in the strategic choice and strategic decision-making literatures, I examine the relationship between executive orientation and variances observed in firm responses to social and environmental issues over time. I argue specifically that an open executive orientation, as reflected in a CEO’s worldview, and variables such as functional background, educational specialization and international experience affect the selective perception, interpretation and therefore choice of the breadth and depth of a firm’s CSS. Furthermore, institutional theory is used to argue that the level of managerial discretion at the industry level as well as general industry norms will attenuate theses relationships. In so doing, I develop a longitudinal, multi-level, mixed determinant model of the relationship between executive orientation and CSS. Random coefficient modeling (RCM) is then used to test the CEO effect on CSS over time, by modeling the individual CSS growth trajectories of 349 firms from 1991-2009 using HLM6 software. With 19 years of data, over 1,000 CEOs and 6,334 firm-year observations, this thesis represents the first longitudinal study to explicitly model the rate of adoption of aggregate corporate social strategy (ACSS), breadth of corporate social strategy (BCSS) and depth of corporate social strategy (DCSS) over the last two decades. This analysis yielded three important results at the CEO, firm and industry levels. First, the CEO effect on CSS ranges between 3-14% and evidence supports that some aspects of an open executive orientation are indeed important determinants of initial levels and rates of adoption of CSS over time. The findings also reveal that the overall level of CSS has not grown substantively over the last two decades, with most firms in 2009 still engaging in a Derivative (shallow/narrow) CSS. Furthermore, unlike previous studies that confound negative and positive CSR, this dissertation demonstrates that industry membership is not an important determinant of the strategic choice of positive CSS, nor are institutional pressures moderating factors in the executive orientation – CSS relationship. This thesis thus makes significant theoretical and methodological contributions to research in the upper echelons, CSR and institutional theory domains, as well as has important implications for practice

Transcriptional Basis of Mouse and Human Dendritic Cell Heterogeneity

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a critical role in orchestrating adaptive immune responses due to their unique ability to initiate T cell responses and direct their differentiation into effector lineages. Classical DCs have been divided into two subsets, cDC1 and cDC2, based on phenotypic markers and their distinct abilities to prime CD8 and CD4 T cells. While the transcriptional regulation of the cDC1 subset has been well characterized, cDC2 development and function remain poorly understood. By combining transcriptional and chromatin analyses with genetic reporter expression, we identified two principal cDC2 lineages defined by distinct developmental pathways and transcriptional regulators, including T-bet and RORgt, two key transcription factors known to define innate and adaptive lymphocyte subsets. These novel cDC2 lineages were characterized by distinct metabolic and functional programs. Extending our findings to humans revealed conserved DC heterogeneity and the presence of the newly defined cDC2 subsets in human cancer

Are your students safe to learn? The role of lecturer’s authentic leadership in the creation of psychologically safe environments and their impact on academic performance:The role of teacher's authentic leadership on the creation of psychologically safe environments and their impact on academic performance

As the role of students and lecturers in higher education changes, several questions emerge about the role of each of them on students? academic performance. This includes questions regarding the impact of the relationships between students, lecturer?s characteristics and the social environment on students? performance. To address these questions, this article reports a study of the impact of lecturer authentic leadership, psychological safety and network density on academic performance. It explores the relationship between network density, psychological safety and lecturer authentic leadership. A questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate students. A positive impact of lecturer authentic leadership and psychological safety on academic performance was found. Students from high-density groups tended to show better academic performance, higher psychological safety and tended to see their lecturers as being more authentic. A reflection on the role of the lecturer in higher education settings is presented. It also presents some recommendations on how student academic performance can be improved by the adoption of specific behaviours by their lecturer

Perspectivas clásicas y modernas de las virtudes en la empresa (II)".

Este cuaderno contiene: "En busca de la virtud: el papel de las virtudes, los valores y las fortalezas de carácter en la toma de decisiones éticas" "Participar en el bien común de la empresa" "Antes de la virtud: biología, cerebro, comportamiento y ‘sentido moral’" "La posibilidad de la virtud

Marimo machines: Oscillators, biosensors and actuators

BackgroundThe green algae balls (Aegagropila linnaei), known as Marimo, are large spherical colonies of live photosynthetic filaments, formed by rolling water currents in freshwater lakes. Photosynthesis therein produces gas bubbles that can attach to the Marimo, consequently changing its buoyancy. This property allows them to float in the presence of light and sink in its absence.ResultsWe demonstrate that this ability can be harnessed to make actuators, biosensors and bioprocessors (oscillator, logic gates). Factors affecting Marimo movement have been studied to enable the design, construction and testing of working prototypes.ConclusionsA novel actuator design is reported, incorporating an enhanced bubble retention system and the design and optimisation of a bio-oscillator is demonstrated. A range of logic gates (or, and, nor, nand, xor) implementable with Marimo have been proposed

Cognitive frames in corporate sustainability: managerial sensemaking with paradoxical and business case frames

Corporate sustainability confronts managers with tensions between complex economic, environmental, and social issues. Drawing on the literature on managerial cognition, corporate sustainability, and strategic paradoxes, we develop a cognitive framing perspective on corporate sustainability. We propose two cognitive frames—a business case frame and a paradoxical frame—and explore how differences between them in cognitive content and structure influence the three stages of the sensemaking process—that is, managerial scanning, interpreting, and responding with regard to sustainability issues. We explain how the two frames lead to differences in the breadth and depth of scanning, differences in issue interpretations in terms of sense of control and issue valence, and different types of responses that managers consider with regard to sustainability issues. By considering alternative cognitive frames, our argument contributes to a better understanding of managerial decision making regarding ambiguous sustainability issues, and it develops the underlying cognitive determinants of the stance that managers adopt on sustainability issues. This argument offers a cognitive explanation for why managers rarely push for radical change when faced with complex and ambiguous issues, such as sustainability, that are characterized by conflicting yet interrelated aspects

Statistical Modeling of Single Target Cell Encapsulation

High throughput drop-on-demand systems for separation and encapsulation of individual target cells from heterogeneous mixtures of multiple cell types is an emerging method in biotechnology that has broad applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, genomics, and cryobiology. However, cell encapsulation in droplets is a random process that is hard to control. Statistical models can provide an understanding of the underlying processes and estimation of the relevant parameters, and enable reliable and repeatable control over the encapsulation of cells in droplets during the isolation process with high confidence level. We have modeled and experimentally verified a microdroplet-based cell encapsulation process for various combinations of cell loading and target cell concentrations. Here, we explain theoretically and validate experimentally a model to isolate and pattern single target cells from heterogeneous mixtures without using complex peripheral systems.Wallace H. Coulter Foundation (Young Investigator in Bioengineering Award)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01AI081534)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R21AI087107

The study of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles via microfluidically generated droplets

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) play a significant role in the climate and hydrological cycle by triggering ice formation in supercooled clouds, thereby causing precipitation and affecting cloud lifetimes and their radiative properties. However, despite their importance, INP often comprise only 1 in 10³–10⁶ ambient particles, making it difficult to ascertain and predict their type, source, and concentration. The typical techniques for quantifying INP concentrations tend to be highly labour-intensive, suffer from poor time resolution, or are limited in sensitivity to low concentrations. Here, we present the application of microfluidic devices to the study of atmospheric INPs via the simple and rapid production of monodisperse droplets and their subsequent freezing on a cold stage. This device offers the potential for the testing of INP concentrations in aqueous samples with high sensitivity and high counting statistics. Various INPs were tested for validation of the platform, including mineral dust and biological species, with results compared to literature values. We also describe a methodology for sampling atmospheric aerosol in a manner that minimises sampling biases and which is compatible with the microfluidic device. We present results for INP concentrations in air sampled during two field campaigns: (1) from a rural location in the UK and (2) during the UK’s annual Bonfire Night festival. These initial results will provide a route for deployment of the microfluidic platform for the study and quantification of INPs in upcoming field campaigns around the globe, while providing a benchmark for future lab-on-a-chip-based INP studies

Single-cell analysis tools for drug discovery and development

The genetic, functional or compositional heterogeneity of healthy and diseased tissues presents major challenges in drug discovery and development. Such heterogeneity hinders the design of accurate disease models and can confound the interpretation of biomarker levels and of patient responses to specific therapies. The complex nature of virtually all tissues has motivated the development of tools for single-cell genomic, transcriptomic and multiplex proteomic analyses. Here, we review these tools and assess their advantages and limitations. Emerging applications of single cell analysis tools in drug discovery and development, particularly in the field of oncology, are discussed