Design principles for corporate venture transition processes in established technology firms

Corporate venturing has become a well known approach towards new business development and strategic renewal for established technology firms. However, without an effectively designed process for aligning and integrating a corporate venture in the established business, the firm increases the risk of venture failure. This paper provides a process perspective on corporate venture transition. Based on the results of an empirical study of six corporate venture transition processes we present suitable actions for each of the different phases of the venture transition process. In addition, we indicate the proper timing for venture transition, which is one of the long-standing difficulties in this area. Finally, we integrate the results of the empirical study with knowledge from extant literature in a set of design principles. These design principles provide practical guidelines to improve corporate venture transition processes

Lung function in oil spill responders 4-6 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) workers were exposed to hazardous airborne chemicals following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The aim of this study was to evaluate lung function in workers 4–6 years following the disaster using a prospective cohort. Participants who completed two spirometry test sessions 1–3 years, and 4–6 years after the spill (N = 1,838) were included and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1; ml), forced vital capacity (FVC; ml), and ratio (FEV1/FVC; %) determined. Linear mixed models were utilized to estimate relationships between OSRC exposures and lung function 4–6 years after the spill and changes since the prior measurement. Despite suggestive reduced lung function at 1–3 years, at the 4–6-year exam workers with total hydrocarbon (THC) exposure 1–2.99 ppm and ≥3 ppm compared to those with ≤0.29 ppm exhibited higher FEV1 (β: 108 ml, 95% CI: 17, 198) and (β: 118 ml, 95% CI: 5, 232), respectively. Compared with support workers, those in higher exposed jobs displayed greater improvement in FEV1 between visits: cleanup on water (β: 143 ml, 95% CI: 35, 250), operations (β: 132 ml, 95% CI: 30, 234) and response (β: 149 ml, 95% CI: 43, 256). Greater FEV1 improvement was also associated with higher versus the lowest level THC exposure: 1–2.99 ppm (β: 134 ml, 95% CI: 57, 210) and ≥3 ppm (β: 205 ml, 95% CI: 109, 301). Lung function decrements seen shortly after the spill were no longer apparent 4–6 years later, with the greatest improvement among those with the highest exposures

Lung Function in Oil Spill Response Workers 1-3 Years after the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Background: Little is known about the effects of inhalation exposures on lung function among workers involved in the mitigation of oil spills. Our objective was to determine the relationship between oil spill response work and lung function 1-3 years after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster. Methods: We evaluated spirometry for 7,775 adults living in the Gulf states who either participated in DWH response efforts (workers) or received safety training but were not hired (nonworkers). At an enrollment interview, we collected detailed work histories including information on potential exposure to dispersants and burning oil/gas. We assessed forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1; mL), forced vital capacity (FVC; mL), and the ratio (FEV 1 /FVC%) for differences by broad job classes and exposure to dispersants or burning oil/gas using multivariable linear and modified Poisson regression. Results: We found no differences between workers and nonworkers. Among workers, we observed a small decrement in FEV 1 (Beta, -71 mL; 95% confidence interval [CI], -127 to -14) in decontamination workers compared with support workers. Workers with high potential exposure to burning oil/gas had reduced lung function compared with unexposed workers: FEV 1 (Beta, -183 mL; 95% CI, -316 to -49) and FEV 1 /FVC (Beta, -1.93%; 95% CI, -3.50 to -0.36), and an elevated risk of having a FEV 1 /FVC in the lowest tertile (prevalence ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.92). Conclusions: While no differences in lung function were found between workers and nonworkers, lung function was reduced among decontamination workers and workers with high exposure to burning oil/gas compared with unexposed workers

Plakophilin 1 stimulates translation by promoting eIF4A1 activity

p120 armadillo protein plakophilin 1 binds to eukaryotic translation factor eIF4A1, recruiting it into cap-binding complexes and stimulating translation

Research on information systems failures and successes: Status update and future directions

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9500-yInformation systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Plakophilin-3 Is Required for Late Embryonic Amphibian Development, Exhibiting Roles in Ectodermal and Neural Tissues

The p120-catenin family has undergone a significant expansion during the evolution of vertebrates, resulting in varied functions that have yet to be discerned or fully characterized. Likewise, members of the plakophilins, a related catenin subfamily, are found throughout the cell with little known about their functions outside the desmosomal plaque. While the plakophilin-3 (Pkp3) knockout mouse resulted in skin defects, we find larger, including lethal effects following its depletion in Xenopus. Pkp3, unlike some other characterized catenins in amphibians, does not have significant maternal deposits of mRNA. However, during embryogenesis, two Pkp3 protein products whose temporal expression is partially complimentary become expressed. Only the smaller of these products is found in adult Xenopus tissues, with an expression pattern exhibiting distinctions as well as overlaps with those observed in mammalian studies. We determined that Xenopus Pkp3 depletion causes a skin fragility phenotype in keeping with the mouse knockout, but more novel, Xenopus tailbud embryos are hyposensitive to touch even in embryos lacking outward discernable phenotypes, and we additionally resolved disruptions in certain peripheral neural structures, altered establishment and migration of neural crest, and defects in ectodermal multiciliated cells. The use of two distinct morpholinos, as well as rescue approaches, indicated the specificity of these effects. Our results point to the requirement of Pkp3 in amphibian embryogenesis, with functional roles in a number of tissue types

The ethical nature of critical research in information systems.

Critical research in information systems is based on and inspired by ethics and morality. In order to support this proposition, this paper will suggest a way of classifying critical research that differs from definitions common IS research. According to the current definition, research is critical when it is motivated by the intention to change social realities and promote emancipation. Based on this critical intention, critical research is furthermore characterized by critical topics, critical theories, and critical methodologies. Using these criteria of critical research, the paper argues that critical research is ethical in nature. To support this view, the paper introduces the concepts of ethics and morality by analysing two traditions of moral philosophy, here called the ‘German tradition’ and the ‘French tradition’. Using three examples of current critical research in information systems, the paper will show that ethics and morality strongly influence critical intention, topics and theories. Having thus established the ethical nature of critical research, the paper concludes by discussing the weaknesses of critical research from the point of view of ethics and morality

The value captor's process: getting the most of your new business ventures

The high failure rate among new business ventures is usually chalked up to the fundamental uncertainty of the process. In actuality, say McGrath and Keil, flawed ways of assessing and managing ventures may account for the disappointing amount of value they generate. Instead of taking the go/no-go approach, whereby a project either advances toward launch or is killed, decision makers should consider a range of alternatives: recycling the venture by aiming it at a new target market; spinning it off to other owners or a joint venture; spinning it in to an established business unit; or salvaging useful elements such as technologies, capabilities, knowledge, and patents. Firms that excel in value extraction, the "value captors," whose practices and mind-set this article explores have created formal processes to systematically mine successes, failures, and everything in between. They know that a venture should be treated like a scientific experiment, in which learning plays a critical role. They are ready to seize new opportunities if a venture falters on its original course. They foster networks to promote cooperation and collaboration between established business leaders and venture teams and involve people from throughout the company in the venture review process. They don't allow financial criteria to dominate the reviews, and they recognize that the best people to launch a business may not be the ones who developed the idea. If your innovation pipeline is dry, your promising projects are being strangled for lack of a speedy payback, or someone else has made a fabulous business out of a slightly altered idea that you abandoned, consider the value captor's path. INSETS: Ten Telltale Signs of a Flawed Venturing Process;The Value Captor's Process;How Texas Instruments Discovered a Promising Business

Is a counterattack the best defense? Competitive dynamics through acquisitions

How do acquisitions of competitors by new entrants or by other existing competitors affect a firm's performance, and how should a firm respond to such competitive actions? Acquisition research argues that because acquisitions cause consolidation, which can lead to collusive synergies, acquisitions by rivals will lead to decreased competitive intensity. In contrast, competitive dynamics research regards acquisitions as competitive moves that are difficult to match, and can have negative effects on a firm's performance. Based on an analysis of 1316 public software firms in the United States during 1980-2005, our findings are consistent with the prediction of the competitive dynamics research, that acquisitions of rivals in a firm's product segment negatively affect firm performance. Contrary to the competitive dynamics research, however, we find that matching the move with one's own acquisition has a further negative effect on firm performance. A focal firm's acquisition in another segment is the only response to an acquisition by a new entrant that has a positive effect. Thus, our results suggest that the optimal response strategies depend on the source of the competitive pressure, and that an acquisitive response may not be the best response strategy