Ability-based view in action: a software corporation study

This research investigates antecedents, developments and consequences of dynamic capabilities in an organization. It contributes by searching theoretical and empirical answers to the questions: (a) What are the antecedents which can provide an organization with dynamic and ordinary capabilities?; (b) How do these antecedents contribute to create capabilities in an organization?; (c) How do they affect an organization's competitive advantage?; (d) Can we assess and measure the antecedents and consequences to an organization? From a first (theoretical) perspective, this paper searches answers to the first, second and third questions by reviewing concepts of an ability-based view of organizations that involves the abilities of cognition, intelligence, autonomy, learning and knowledge management, and which contributes to explain the dynamic behavior of the firm in the pursuit of competitive advantage. From a second (empirical) perspective, this paper reinforces and delivers findings to the second, third and fourth questions by presenting a case study that evidences the ability-based view in action in a software corporation, where it contributes by investigating: (a) the development of organizational capabilities; (b) the effects of the new capabilities on the organization; and (c) the assessment and measurement of the abilities and consequences

Sequencing and timing of strategic responses after industry disruption: evidence from post-deregulation competition in the U.S. railroad industry

This paper examines the sequencing and timing of firms’ strategic responses after significant industry disruption. We show that it is not the single strategic choice or response per se, but the sequencing and patterns of consecutive strategic responses that drive a firm’s adaptation and survival in the aftermath of a shift in the industry. We find that firms’ renewal efforts involved differential adaptability in finding balance at the juxtaposition of responding to demand-side pressures and choosing a path of new capability acquisition efficiently. Our study underscores the importance of taking a sequencing approach to studying strategic responses to industry disruption

Protein-Binding Microarray Analysis of Tumor Suppressor AP2α Target Gene Specificity

Cheap and massively parallel methods to assess the DNA-binding specificity of transcription factors are actively sought, given their prominent regulatory role in cellular processes and diseases. Here we evaluated the use of protein-binding microarrays (PBM) to probe the association of the tumor suppressor AP2α with 6000 human genomic DNA regulatory sequences. We show that the PBM provides accurate relative binding affinities when compared to quantitative surface plasmon resonance assays. A PBM-based study of human healthy and breast tumor tissue extracts allowed the identification of previously unknown AP2α target genes and it revealed genes whose direct or indirect interactions with AP2α are affected in the diseased tissues. AP2α binding and regulation was confirmed experimentally in human carcinoma cells for novel target genes involved in tumor progression and resistance to chemotherapeutics, providing a molecular interpretation of AP2α role in cancer chemoresistance. Overall, we conclude that this approach provides quantitative and accurate assays of the specificity and activity of tumor suppressor and oncogenic proteins in clinical samples, interfacing genomic and proteomic assays

Genome Characterization of the Oleaginous Fungus Mortierella alpina

Mortierella alpina is an oleaginous fungus which can produce lipids accounting for up to 50% of its dry weight in the form of triacylglycerols. It is used commercially for the production of arachidonic acid. Using a combination of high throughput sequencing and lipid profiling, we have assembled the M. alpina genome, mapped its lipogenesis pathway and determined its major lipid species. The 38.38 Mb M. alpina genome shows a high degree of gene duplications. Approximately 50% of its 12,796 gene models, and 60% of genes in the predicted lipogenesis pathway, belong to multigene families. Notably, M. alpina has 18 lipase genes, of which 11 contain the class 2 lipase domain and may share a similar function. M. alpina's fatty acid synthase is a single polypeptide containing all of the catalytic domains required for fatty acid synthesis from acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA, whereas in many fungi this enzyme is comprised of two polypeptides. Major lipids were profiled to confirm the products predicted in the lipogenesis pathway. M. alpina produces a complex mixture of glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids. In contrast, only two major sterol lipids, desmosterol and 24(28)-methylene-cholesterol, were detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on genes involved in lipid metabolism suggests that oleaginous fungi may have acquired their lipogenic capacity during evolution after the divergence of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Mucoromycota. Our study provides the first draft genome and comprehensive lipid profile for M. alpina, and lays the foundation for possible genetic engineering of M. alpina to produce higher levels and diverse contents of dietary lipids

A Resource-Based Perspective of Growth Through Strategic Change: A Longitudinal View

141 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997.The study demonstrates that a firm must build a resource path that can be altered based upon the direction of environmental variation. The path direction is theoretically linked to the concept of a resource based life cycle. It is interesting to conjecture if this resource-based life cycle path exists in other industries that have been deregulated. The final finding of this study shows that the sequencing of a firm's resource development decisions can be seen as a process by which firms achieve long term growth.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

A Resource-Based Perspective of Growth Through Strategic Change: A Longitudinal View

141 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997.The study demonstrates that a firm must build a resource path that can be altered based upon the direction of environmental variation. The path direction is theoretically linked to the concept of a resource based life cycle. It is interesting to conjecture if this resource-based life cycle path exists in other industries that have been deregulated. The final finding of this study shows that the sequencing of a firm's resource development decisions can be seen as a process by which firms achieve long term growth.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Do the contingencies of external monitoring, ownership incentives, or free cash flow explain opposing firm performance expectations?

Neoclassical and strategy frameworks stipulate that managers promote corporate performance and shareholder interests in their resource allocation decisions. Agency related works anticipate that executives seek their own personal interests at a cost to performance and shareholder wealth in their resource allocation choices. In this study, an attempt is made to resolve these conflicting anticipations. We propose that changes in levels of resource allocations (advertising expenditure, R&D spending, capital intensity) may be more positively associated with changes in levels of subsequent corporate performance for firms with greater external monitoring or with higher CEO ownership incentives. We also propose that changes in levels of resource allocations may directly (inversely) affect changes in levels of subsequent performance of the actively (passively) monitored enterprises, lacking (possessing) free cash flow. Additionally, we propose that changes in levels of resource allocations may directly (inversely) affect changes in levels of subsequent performance of firms with high (low) CEO ownership incentives in the absence (presence) of free cash flow. Regression models are utilized to test our proposals on a longitudinal sample obtained from the Compustat database. The empirical findings are generally supportive of our proposals. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

A Theory of Change in Turbulent Environments: The Sequencing of Dynamic Capabilities Following Industry Deregulation

The dynamics of change and the path-dependent evolution of resources and capabilities are central concerns of contemporary strategic management. This paper integrates the resource-based and dynamic capabilities literatures to explain why development of dynamic capabilities is especially important for firms that transition from regulated to deregulated environments. We develop a theoretical model and specific propositions concerning the pattern and sequencing of dynamic capability development within environments experiencing substantial change, specifically in newly deregulated industries. We discuss implications of the proposed theoretical model for both research and managerial practice.

Field Intercomparison of Five Types of Fogwater Collectors

Fog samplers of five different designs were operated simultaneously to assess differences, if any, in measured acidity, analyte concentrations, and liquid water collection efficiencies. Measurements were made at Henninger Flats, a mountainous site at 777 m msl overlooking the Los Angeles, CA, basin. Samplers were operated by Aero Vironment, Inc. (Monrovia, CA), the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA), the Desert Research Institute (Reno, NV), Global Geochemistry Corp. (Canoga Park, CA), and the State University of New York Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (Albany, NY)