An organisational perspective on the cluster paradox : exploring how members of a cluster manage the tension between continuity and renewal

Clusters face what has been referred to as a 'cluster paradox'; a situation in which a collective identity breeds cohesion and efficiency in inter-organisational collaboration, yet it hinders the variety needed to adapt to disruptive change and prevent lock-in situations. Accordingly, a recurring theme in the literature on cluster evolution and cluster life-cycles is the need for constant renewal to allow clusters to adapt to a changing environment. However, how individual firms enact a process of cluster renewal and consider possible response options is not well understood. Using a French energy cluster as empirical setting, this paper investigates individual members' enactment of the renewal in terms of how it could affect their current position, both structurally and relationally, and to what extent members felt that they had agency to steer the process to safeguard their position. The findings show that members' enactment of the proposed change does not only depend on the perceived impact of cluster renewal on the member itself but also on the impact the renewal might have on other members in the firm's network. The analysis also suggests that cluster renewal leads to a leadership vacuum where it is not clear who, if anyone, will lead the renewal process

Social capital of venture capitalists and start-up funding

How does the social capital of venture capitalists (VCs) affect the funding of start-ups? By building on the rich social capital literature, we hypothesize a positive effect of VCs' social capital, derived from past syndication, on the amount of money that start-ups receive. Specifically, we argue that both structural and relational aspects of VCs' social networks provide VCs with superior access to information about current investment objects and opportunities to leverage them in the future, increasing their willingness to invest in these firms. Our empirical results, derived from a novel dataset containing more than 1,500 first funding rounds in the Internet and IT sector, strongly confirm our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of venture capital and entrepreneurship, showing that the role and effect of VCs' social capital on start-up firms may be more complex than previously argued in the literature

Pitch accent type matters for online processing of information status: Evidence from natural and synthetic speech

Chen A, Den O, de Ruiter J. Pitch accent type matters for online processing of information status: Evidence from natural and synthetic speech. The Linguistic Review. 2007;24(2-3):317-344

Urinary potassium excretion and mortality risk in community-dwelling individuals with and without obesity

BACKGROUND : Potassium intake has been shown to be inversely associated with blood pressure and premature mortality. Previous studies have suggested that the association between potassium intake and blood pressure is modified by obesity, but whether obesity similarly influences the association between potassium intake and mortality is unclear. OBJECTIVES : We investigated whether potassium intake, reflected by 24-h urinary excretion, is associated with all-cause mortality, and explored potential effect modification by obesity. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study in community-dwelling individuals. The association between urinary potassium excretion and all-cause mortality was investigated by using multivariable Cox regression. We performed multiplicative interaction analysis and subgroup analyses according to BMI and waist circumference. RESULTS : In 8533 individuals (50% male), the mean age was 50 ± 13 y, mean urinary potassium excretion was 71 ± 21 mmol/24 h, median BMI (in kg/m2) was 25.6 (IQR: 23.1, 28.4) and mean waist circumference was 89 ± 13 cm. During median follow-up of 18.4 (IQR: 13.5, 18.8) y, 1663 participants died. Low urinary potassium excretion (first compared with third sex-specific quintile) was associated with an increased mortality risk (fully adjusted HR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.61), P < 0.001, irrespective of body dimensions (HR range for all body dimensions: 1.36-1.70, all P < 0.05). High urinary potassium excretion (fifth compared with third quintile) was associated with increased mortality risk in participants with obesity (BMI ≥30; HR: 1.52; CI: 1.00, 2.30), but not in participants without obesity (BMI: <25; HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.62, 1.26; P-interaction = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS : Low potassium intake was associated with increased mortality risk in community-dwelling individuals. In individuals with obesity, high potassium intake was also associated with increased mortality risk

Urinary potassium excretion and mortality risk in community-dwelling individuals with and without obesity

BACKGROUND: Potassium intake has been shown to be inversely associated with blood pressure and premature mortality. Previous studies suggested that the association between potassium intake and blood pressure is modified by obesity, but whether obesity similarly influences the association between potassium intake and mortality is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether potassium intake, reflected by 24-hour urinary excretion, is associated with all-cause mortality, and to explore potential effect modification by obesity. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study in community-dwelling individuals. The association between urinary potassium excretion and all-cause mortality was investigated by multivariable Cox regression. We performed multiplicative interaction analysis and subgroup analyses according to BMI and waist circumference. RESULTS: In 8,533 individuals (50% male) mean age was 50 ± 13 years, mean urinary potassium excretion was 71±21 mmol/24 hrs, median BMI was 25.6 (IQR 23.1-28.4) kg/m2 and mean waist circumference was 89±13 cm. During follow-up of 18.4 [IQR 13.5-18.8] years, 1,663 participants died. Low urinary potassium excretion (1st vs. 3rd sex-specific quintile) was associated with an increased mortality risk (fully adjusted HR 1.38 [95% CI 1.18, 1.61], P < 0.001, irrespective of body dimensions (Range of HR for all body dimensions 1.36 to 1.70, all P < 0.05). High urinary potassium excretion (5th vs. 3rd quintile) was associated with increased mortality risk in participants with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2; HR 1.52 [1.00, 2.30]), but not in participants without obesity (BMI <25 kg/m2; HR 0.89 [0.62, 1.26]) (P-interaction = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Low potassium intake was associated with increased mortality risk in community-dwelling individuals. In individuals with obesity, high potassium intake was also associated with increased mortality risk