Drivers of the lifecycle - the example of the German insurance industry

Lifecycles have been accepted widely as a matter of fact in business. Existing literature focuses on their theoretical implications for product managers and cor¬po¬rate strategists. There are major shortcomings of the research in that field concerning the populations covered (if at all, mostly hardware) and the theo¬retic¬cal as well as empirical analysis of the drivers of the lifecycles in the various industries. Based on the research of Menhart et al. (2003), we chose a population of service organizations to analyze the drivers of the lifecycle. Biological lifecycles describe the development processes of an individual from birth to death. Economic life cycle concepts assume, that in analogy to bio¬lo¬gical organisms, economic systems also experience typical phases of develop¬ment in their evolution. In the economic literature, life cycle concepts were used to explain the development patterns of single products, organizations, techno¬logies and whole industries. In the standard model of the life cycle concept, specific characteristics of the unit of analysis such as sales volume, turnover or number of competitors first increase to a maximum, then decrease sig¬nificantly and finally reach a level of stability, or they are discontinued com¬pletely. We have developed a concept for an insurance specific industry life cycle with a non-typical matu¬ration and degeneration phase, and discuss to what extent the concept of Mas¬low's pyramid of needs can have explanatory power regarding the pattern of density dynamics.Lebenszyklen sind in der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Forschung inzwischen ein etabliertes Konzept, wobei der Großteil der vorhandenen Literatur auf Normstrategien in Produktmanagement oder auf Unternehmensebene abstellt. Industriepopulation wurden bislang dagegen ebenso wenig untersucht (und wenn, dann ausschließlich im Sachgüterbereich) wie die theoretische oder praktische Triebkräfte für Veränderungen von Industriepopulationen. Basierend auf den Forschungsergebnissen von Menhart et al. (2003) untersuchen wir die Treiber des Lebenszyklus für eine Population von Dienstleistungsunternehmen. Biologische Lebenszyklen beschreiben das Leben eines Individuums von der Geburt bis zum Tode. Ökonomische Lebenszyklen liegt die Annahme zugrunde, dass – analog zu den biologischen Organismen – auch ökonomische Systeme typische Evolutionsphasen in ihrer Entwicklung durchlaufen. In der Literatur werden Lebenszykluskonzepte zur Erklärung der Entwicklungsverläufe einzelner Produkte, von Organisationen, Technologien und ganzen Industrien genutzt. Im Standardmodell des Lebenszyklus wachsen spezifische Charakteristika des Untersuchungsgegenstands wie z.B. Absatz, Umsatz oder Anzahl der Mitbewerber zunächst auf ein Maximum an, um dann signifikant zurück zu gehen und sich schließlich auf ein stabiles Maß einzupendeln. In extremen Fällen endet der Lebenszyklus auch abrupt. Wir haben ein spezifisches Konzept für Industrielebenszyklen in der Versicherungsbranche entwickelt, das einen untypischen Verlauf in der Reife- und Degenerationsphase zeigt. Weiter diskutieren wir, inwieweit die Maslowsche Bedürfnispyramide ein möglicher Erklärungsansatz für Veränderungen in der Populationsdichte ist

Product Innovation and Population Dynamics in the German Insurance Market

Empirical research in organizational ecology has mainly focused on analyzing founding and mortality rates using life history data of the organizations. We try to extend this approach in our study in a number of ways. In contrast to most empirical studies in organizational ecology, we chose a population of service organizations, in particular the German insurance companies, the development dynamics of which are rather obvious in the innovative activities of existing organizations than in founding activities. We further discuss the points of contact between the organizational ecology approach and the theory of industry life cycles and extend the analysis to the relationship between innovative activities and population dynamics. The study examines the effects of population density, former events, and organizational size and age structure in the population of property & casualty insurance companies on the number of product innovations generated. We will further develop a concept for an insurance specific industry life cycle with a non-typical maturation and degeneration phase.service industries; population ecology; industry life cycles

US-Schuldenkrise: Droht den USA ein Vertrauensverlust?

Angesichts der ungelösten Schuldenkrise in Europa geht Harm Bandholz, UniCredit Bank, New York, davon aus, dass die Investoren weiterhin auf Altbewährtes setzen und ihr Vertrauen in US-Staatsanleihen behalten müssen. Für Michael Menhart, Munich RE, bleiben Zweifel an der langfristigen Tragfähigkeit des amerikanischen Wachstumsmodells. Allerdings greife eine Fokussierung der Diskussion auf die USA in jedem Fall zu kurz. Für Josef Braml, Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP), Berlin, werden die gesellschaftlichen und politischen Konflikte die wirtschaftlichen Probleme der USA verschärfen, während Bernd Weidensteiner, Commerzbank, Frankfurt am Main, trotz steigender Belastungen in den USA keine Schuldenkrise sieht. Nach Ansicht von Eckhard Janeba, Universität Mannheim, steckt hinter den Vertrauensproblemen in den USA eine ökonomische Schieflage, die das Vertrauen in die USA weiter schwinden lassen könnte.Öffentliche Schulden, Krise, Vertrauen, Wachstumstheorie, Vereinigte Staaten

FDG PET/CT to detect bone marrow involvement in the initial staging of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma: results from the prospective, multicenter PETAL and OPTIMAL>60 trials

Purpose Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) is the standard for staging aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Limited data from prospective studies is available to determine whether initial staging by FDG PET/CT provides treatment-relevant information of bone marrow (BM) involvement (BMI) and thus could spare BM biopsy (BMB). Methods Patients from PETAL (NCT00554164) and OPTIMAL>60 (NCT01478542) with aggressive B-cell NHL initially staged by FDG PET/CT and BMB were included in this pooled analysis. The reference standard to confirm BMI included a positive BMB and/or FDG PET/CT confirmed by targeted biopsy, complementary imaging (CT or magnetic resonance imaging), or concurrent disappearance of focal FDG-avid BM lesions with other lymphoma manifestations during immunochemotherapy. Results Among 930 patients, BMI was detected by BMB in 85 (prevalence 9%) and by FDG PET/CT in 185 (20%) cases, for a total of 221 cases (24%). All 185 PET-positive cases were true positive, and 709 of 745 PET-negative cases were true negative. For BMB and FDG PET/CT, sensitivity was 38% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32–45%) and 84% (CI: 78–88%), specificity 100% (CI: 99–100%) and 100% (CI: 99–100%), positive predictive value 100% (CI: 96–100%) and 100% (CI: 98–100%), and negative predictive value 84% (CI: 81–86%) and 95% (CI: 93–97%), respectively. In all of the 36 PET-negative cases with confirmed BMI patients had other adverse factors according to IPI that precluded a change of standard treatment. Thus, the BMB would not have influenced the patient management. Conclusion In patients with aggressive B-cell NHL, routine BMB provides no critical staging information compared to FDG PET/CT and could therefore be omitted. Trial registration NCT00554164 and NCT0147854

Innovationsdynamik und Lebenszyklen in der Versicherungsindustrie

Innovationsdynamik und Lebenszyklen in der Versicherungsindustrie : eine empirische Analyse auf Basis evolutorischer Modelle. - Aachen : Shaker, 2003. - 278 S. - (Berichte aus der Volkswirtschaft). - Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss

Product innovation and population dynamics in the German insurance market

Empirical research in organizational ecology has mainly focused on analyzing founding and mortality rates using life history data of the organizations. We try to extend this approach in our study in a number of ways. In contrast to most empirical studies in organizational ecology, we chose a population of service organizations, in particular the German insurance companies, the development dynamics of which are rather obvious in the innovative activities of existing organizations than in founding activities. We further discuss the points of contact between the organizational ecology approach and the theory of industry life cycles and extend the analysis to the relationship between innovative activities and population dynamics. The study examines the effects of population density, former events, and organizational size and age structure in the population of property & casualty insurance companies on the number of product innovations generated. We will further develop a concept for an insurance specific industry life cycle with a non-typical maturation and degeneration phase

Product innovation and population dynamics in the German insurance market

Empirical research in organizational ecology has mainly focused on analyzing founding and mortality rates using life history data of the organizations. We try to extend this approach in our study in a number of ways. In contrast to most empirical studies in organizational ecology, we chose a population of service organizations, in particular the German insurance companies, the development dynamics of which are rather obvious in the innovative activities of existing organizations than in founding activities. We further discuss the points of contact between the organizational ecology approach and the theory of industry life cycles and extend the analysis to the relationship between innovative activities and population dynamics. The study examines the effects of population density, former events, and organizational size and age structure in the population of property & casualty insurance companies on the number of product innovations generated. We will further develop a concept for an insurance specific industry life cycle with a non-typical maturation and degeneration phase

Diagnostic value of FDG PET/CT imaging in patients with surgically managed infective endocarditis – results of a retrospective analysis at a tertiary center

Background We assessed the diagnostic value of FDG PET/CT in a real-world cohort of patients with surgically managed infective endocarditis (IE). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients hospitalized in a tertiary IE referral medical center from January 2014 to October 2018 fulfilling the following criteria: ICD-10 code for IE and OPS code for both, heart surgery and FDG PET/CT. Results Final analysis included 29 patients, whereof 28 patients had surgically proven IE. FDG PET/CT scan was true-positive in 15 patients (sensitivity (SEN) 56%) and false-negative in 12 patients. Combination of Duke criteria (DC) with FDG PET/CT scan resulted in gain of SEN for all patients with confirmed IE (SEN of DC 79% vs SEN of combination DC and FDG PET/CT 89%), driven by a relevant gain in PVE patients only (SEN of DC 78% vs SEN of combination DC and FDG PET/CT 94%). Interestingly, higher prosthesis age was observed in patients with false-negative scans. Conclusions We found a SEN of 56% for FDG PET/CT in a real-world cohort of patients with surgically proven IE which was associated with a 16% gain of IE diagnosis in patients with PVE when combined with DC

Bulk and surface characterization of In2O3(001) single crystals

A comprehensive bulk and surface investigation of high-quality In2O3(001) single crystals is reported. The transparent-yellow, cube-shaped single crystals were grown using the flux method. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) reveals small residues of Pb, Mg, and Pt in the crystals. Four-point-probe measurements show a resistivity of 2.0 +/- 0.5 x 10(5) Omega cm, which translates into a carrier concentration of approximate to 10(12) cm(-3). The results from x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revise the lattice constant to 10.1150(5) angstrom from the previously accepted value of 10.117 angstrom. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of a reduced (sputtered/annealed) and oxidized (exposure to atomic oxygen at 300 degrees C) surface show a step height of 5 angstrom, which indicates a preference for one type of surface termination. The surfaces stay flat without any evidence for macroscopic faceting under any of these preparation conditions. A combination of low-energy ion scattering (LEIS) and atomically resolved STM indicates an indium-terminated surface with small islands of 2.5 angstrom height under reducing conditions, with a surface structure corresponding to a strongly distorted indium lattice. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) reveals a pronounced surface state at the Fermi level (E-F). Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) shows additional, deep-lying band gap states, which can be removed by exposure of the surface to atomic oxygen. Oxidation also results in a shoulder at the O 1s core level at a higher binding energy, possibly indicative of a surface peroxide species. A downward band bending of 0.4 eV is observed for the reduced surface, while the band bending of the oxidized surface is of the order of 0.1 eV or less