Did the global financial crisis impact firms’ innovation performance? The role of internal and external knowledge capabilities in high and low tech industries

This paper examines the role exerted by internal innovation efforts and external knowledge assets as dynamic capabilities to overcome adverse economic conditions. Additionally, we examine the differential impacts of the financial crisis in high and low-tech industries. Using panel data of manufacturing firms in Spain for the period 2006-2013, our results show that maintaining strong internal and external knowledge capabilities enables firms to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis. Findings emphasise the value of human capital, by enabling internal capabilities, as a coping mechanisms in low-tech sectors during the financial downturn. Similarly, open innovation allows firms to minimise the resources limitations and risk surrounding innovation, particularly during the financial crisis. This study provides valuable insights to managers aiming to develop strong internal knowledge bases to remain competitive under uncertain financial conditions

Capturing Value from Alliance Portfolio Diversity: The Mediating Role of R&D Human Capital in High and Low Tech Industries

Research has demonstrated the value of external linkages to augment in-house R&D efforts; however, very little is known about how managers can operationally leverage the potential benefits of open innovation to create an innovative edge. This paper examines the value of alliance portfolio diversity and whether R&D human capital is the pathway through which alliance portfolio diversity influences innovation novelty. We reason that the absorptive capacity of R&D human capital determines a firm’s potential gains from highly diverse alliance portfolios. Using data from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for the period 2005–2012, results support the curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) association between alliance portfolio diversity and firm innovation performance reported in studies, suggesting that not only too little, but also too much alliance portfolio diversity may be detrimental to firm innovation performance. Findings emphasise the value of alliance portfolio diversity in high-technology industries to achieve explorative performance objectives, given the technological complexity, market uncertainty and the divergent skill sets required for breakthrough innovations in these sectors. Further, we find evidence that R&D human capital plays an important role in innovation novelty by partially mediating the relationship between alliance partner diversity and firm innovation performance, emphasising the importance of internal capabilities to harness external knowledge assets. This study provides valuable insights to managers aiming to increase the effectiveness of their alliance portfolios

International entrepreneurship in Africa: The roles of institutional voids, entrepreneurial networks and gender

This paper explored how institutional voids (market-unfriendly regulations and corruption) in the home country affect the internationalization degree of early-stage entrepreneurs in Africa. We examined the contingent roles of entrepreneurial networks and gender in the relationship between these institutional voids and entrepreneurs’ internationalization degree. We used 2003–2017 GEM data from 17 African countries and applied multilevel-ordered logistic models. Our analysis revealed that market-unfriendly regulations have a negative effect on the entrepreneurs’ internationalization degree and that corruption, in line with the escapism view, has a positive effect. Our results indicated that entrepreneurs engage in networking bricolage to internationalize their ventures and overcome context limitations. They also suggested that the internationalization degree of female entrepreneurs increases in market-unfriendly regulatory environments. Finally, our results showed that the ‘escapism effect’ of corruption is greater for female entrepreneurs; however, for female entrepreneurs with medium and large internationalization degrees, this context imposes additional constraints on them

DETERMINACIÓN DE LOS PARÁMETROS ÓPTIMOS PARA LA DESTILACIÓN EN CONTINUO DE UNA MEZCLA BINARIA ETANOL-AGUA.

El presente proyecto permitió determinar los Parámetros óptimos para la Destilación en Continuo de una Mezcla Binaria Etanol-Agua, aplicando bajas presiones para romper el azeotropo que se forma entre el etanol y el agua a concentraciones de 96% (v/v). Se trabajó a presiones de 300 a 500mbar y a reflujos de de 0.7 a 0.9.Los parámetros óptimos para obtener la máxima concentración de etanol % (v/v) son presión 300mBar y reflujo de 0.9, obteniéndose un máximo de concentración de etanol de de 98.78% (v/v), demostrando que bajas esas condiciones se rompe el azeotropo de la mezcla binaria etanol-agua

A Methodology to Sequence the Service Management Processes in IT Departments: Application to theTourism Industry

One of the key elements to consider in business management is the management of IT (In- formation Technology) departments by implementing processes as described in the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standard. This is particularly important in industries that are not directly related to ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), such as the tourism industry. In this paper, we present a methodology to sequence the implementation of the ITIL processes in any company to support its development. The methodology is based on an optimization algorithm and the information extracted from a survey. The optimal sequence is built from this information and from the information of the restrictions imposed by the company that implements the ITIL processes. We applied the methodology to a company in the tourism industry. The sequence obtained shows the need to implement operative processes (initial positions in the sequence), and afterwards strategic processes (final positions in the sequence). A comparison with other authors’ proposals shows differences in the order of processes proposed by this methodology. The main conclusion is that it is possible to use the information of companies to efficiently generate an optimal sequence of ITIL processes which enhances their management; this sequence is unique for every company that wants to implement ITIL in the tourism industry, and it is independent from the proposals of other authors who designed generic/non-optimal sequences.2021-2

Fisher score-based feature selection for ordinal classification: a social survey on subjective well-being

This paper approaches the problem of feature selection in the context of ordinal classification problems. To do so, an ordinal version of the Fisher score is proposed. We test this new strategy considering data from an European social survey concerning subjective well-being, in order to understand and identify the most important variables for a person’s happiness, which is represented using ordered categories. The input variables have been chosen according to previous research, and these have been categorised in the following groups: demographics, daily activities, social well-being, health and habits, community well-being and personality/opinion. The proposed strategy shows promising results and performs significantly better than its nominal counterpart, therefore validating the need of developing specific ordinal feature selection methods. Furthermore, the results of this paper can shed some light on the human psyche by analysing the most and less frequently selected variables

Velocity Dispersions and Stellar Populations of the Most Compact and Msssive early-Type Galaxies at Redshift similar to 1

We present Gran-Telescopio-Canarias/OSIRIS optical spectra of four of the most compact and massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the Groth Strip Survey at redshift z similar to 1, with effective radii R-e = 0.5-2.4 kpc and photometric stellarmasses M-star = (1.2-4) x 10(11)M(circle dot). We find that these galaxies have velocity dispersions sigma = 156-236 km s(-1). The spectra are well fitted by single stellar population models with approximately 1 Gyr of age and solar metallicity. We find that (1) the dynamical masses of these galaxies are systematically smaller by a factor of similar to 6 than the published stellarmasses using BRIJK photometry, and (2) when estimating stellarmasses as 0.7xM(dyn), a combination of passive luminosity fading with mass/size growth due to minor mergers can plausibly evolve our objects to match the properties of the local population of ETGs

Hepatic and serum branched-chain fatty acid profile in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A case–control study

Objective Alterations in the hepatic lipidome are a crucial factor involved in the pathophysiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum and hepatic profile of branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) in patients with different stages of NAFLD. Methods This was a case–control study performed in 27 patients without NAFLD, 49 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver, and 17 patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, defined by liver biopsies. Serum and hepatic levels of BCFAs were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The hepatic expression of genes involved in the endogenous synthesis of BCFAs was analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results A significant increase in hepatic BCFAs was found in subjects with NAFLD compared with those without NAFLD; no differences were observed in serum BCFAs between study groups. Trimethyl BCFAs, iso-BCFAs, and anteiso-BCFAs were increased in subjects with NAFLD (either nonalcoholic fatty liver or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) compared with those without NAFLD. Correlation analysis showed a relationship between hepatic BCFAs and the histopathological diagnosis of NAFLD, as well as other histological and biochemical parameters related to this disease. Gene expression analysis in liver showed that the mRNA levels of BCAT1, BCAT2, and BCKDHA were upregulated in patients with NAFLD. Conclusions These results suggest that the increased production of liver BCFAs might be related to NAFLD development and progression.This work was funded by the Institute of Health “Carlos III” (ISCIII) and cofunded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER (grant number PI20/00505). J.C.F-G was supported by an intensification research program (INT21/00078, ISCIII, Spain; cofunded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER), M.A.M-S was supported by a PFIS predoctoral fellowship from the ISCIII (FI21/00003, ISCIII, Spain; cofunded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER), and B.R-M was supported by the “Miguel Servet Type I” program (CP19/00098, ISCIII, Spain; cofunded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER). The funding organizations played no role in the design of the study, review and interpretation of the data, or final approval of the manuscript. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

CARACTERIZACIÓN DEL COMPORTAMIENTO AL FLUJO DE PULPA SIMPLE Y CONCENTRADA DE MANZANA (Phyrus malus L.) VARIEDAD SAN ANTONIO

En este trabajo se ha determinado el comportamiento reológico de pulpa de manzana medianteun reómetro de cilindros concéntricos, en muestras de pulpa con un contenido en sólidos solubles de 11 y 17°Brix, en el intervalo de temperaturas de 10 a 80°C. La ley de la potencia ha descrito adecuadamente el comportamiento reológico de la pulpa de manzana (R2>0.99), en tanto que los bajos valores del índice de comportamiento aI flujo confirmaron su comportamiento seudoplástico. EI efecto de la temperatura sobre el comportamiento al flujo ha sido descrito por una ecuación de tipo Arrhenius, mientras que el efecto de la concentración sobre el índice de consistencia se ha ajustado óptimamente a un modelo exponencial