What does it take to be good parent ? Opening the black-box of value creation in the unrealated multibusiness firm

This paper develops and tests new theory about the determinants of value creation in unrelated multibusiness firms from a resource-based perspective. The authors argue that the availability of "headquarter resources", which are at the basis of headquarter services provided to the business units, is the driving force behind unrelated diversification.diversification; private equity; management buyout; leveraged buyout; resource-based view; parenting effect; conglomerate

Changing nature and sustainability of the industrial district model : the case of Technic Valley in France

This paper examines the impact of contemporary pressures on industrial districts and analyses the changes that are taking place in an industrial district confronted with disembedding and globalization. We discuss the following questions: what are the processes and consequences of disembedding for the changing shape and form of inter-firm trust, contract and network forms? Is there an evolution in subcontracting and trade interdependency? What is the role of institutional infrastructures? We performed a longitudinal qualitative study using a number of different data sources to analyse the evolution of one French industrial district, particularly how new pressures of internationalization and disembedding work to reconfigure inter-firm relations in this district. While the recent literature is dominated by notions about industrial districts that concern only the trend towards increased competition or disembeddedness, this article shows that there is no unilinear trend. In contrast with the findings of certain recent studies, we argue that economic logic does not fully account for recent developments since the adjustment that are being made by the district are characterized rather by re-embeddedness, increased cooperation and institutionalization.industrial district, globalization, economic sociology

Approche Intégrée ou Partielle de l’Internationalisation des Firmes : Les Modèles Uppsala (1977 et 2009) face à l’Approche « International New Ventures » et aux Théories de la Firme

La firme qui décide de se développer hors de son marché local est confrontée à plusieurs questions : Quel pays choisir ? Quel mode d’entrée faut-il utiliser ? Et à partir de quels critères, ces différents choix vont-t-il se faire ? Plusieurs théories de la firme se sont intéressées à ces questions et ont proposé un certain nombre de réponses. Ces théories de la firme ont cependant pour la plupart d’entre-elles une approche partielle du processus d’internationalisation et des critères de choix (du pays et du mode d’entrée) associés. A notre connaissance, seul le modèle Uppsala a apporté une réponse conjointe à ces questions et a développé ainsi une véritable théorie du processus d’internationalisation de la firme. Dans cet article introductif, notre objectif est double : il s’agit tout d’abord de faire un état du modèle Uppsala dans ses deux versions, initiale (1977) et amendée (2009). Ensuite, cet article vise à présenter les critiques et les réponses apportées d’une part pour le choix du pays cible, par l’approche « international new ventures », et d’autre part pour le choix du mode d’entrée, par les théories de la firme.The firm expanding beyond its domestic market faces several issues: which country to select? Which entry mode to implement? And which criteria should be used for decisions regarding the target country and the entry mode? Many theories of the firm have addressed these issues and suggested a certain number of answers. These theories of the firm, however, have, for most of them, a partial approach to the internationalization process and to country and entry mode choice. To our knowledge, only the Uppsala model provides a joint answer to those issues and thus develops a real theory of the internationalization process. This introductory article has two objectives: first, it provides a state of the art of the Uppsala model (1977 and 2009). Second, it aims to present the questions and answers provided on one hand, by the “international new ventures” approach and on the other hand, by the theories of the firm.La firma que decide desarrollarse afuera de su mercado local se confronta a varias preguntas: ¿Qué país escoger? ¿Qué modo de entrada se debe usar? Y ¿Partiendo de qué criterios debe efectuarse la decisión? Varias teorías de la firma se han interesado a estas preguntas y han propuesto algunas respuestas. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estas teorías de la firma tienen un enfoque parcial del proceso de internacionalización y de los criterios de decisión asociados (sobre el país de destinación y del modo de entrada). Según nuestro conocimiento, solo el modelo Uppsala a propuesto una respuesta conjunta a estas preguntas, de tal manera a haber desarrollado una verdadera teoría del proceso de internacionalización de la firma .En este artículo introductivo tenemos un interés doble: Primero se trata de efectuar un estado del modelo en su versión inicial (1977) y actual (2009). Luego, este artículo se empeña en presentar las críticas y las respuestas dadas para la decisión del país de destino, para el estudio de las “international new ventures”, y para la decisión del modo de entrada, según las teorías de la firma

Paradigme éclectique, modèle Uppsala… Quoi de neuf pour analyser les décisions et modes d’investissement à l’international ?

International audienc

SuspensionFeeding Benthic Species’ Physiological and Microbiome Response to Salmon Farming and Associated Environmental Changes

Caged salmon farming is increasingly undertaken in water bodies with strong hydrodynamics where hard and mixed substrate habitats are more prevalent. Yet, these structurally complex and heterogeneous habitats support diverse benthic communities including several cnidarians and sponges that remain poorly characterized. This study used a combination of respirometry measurements, gas chromatography and 16S rRNA metabarcoding to define the respiration rate, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotopes (δ15N), fatty acid (FA) and microbial profiles, and assess the impact of salmon farming on four important epibenthic suspension-feeders along the western Norwegian coast: the sponges Craniella and Weberella, the soft coral Duva florida and the anemone Hormathia digitata. Our results showed striking differences in fatty acid profiles and host microbiome communities in terms of identity, functional capabilities and genetic properties across the suspension-feeders. We found evidence of increased mortality rate in specimens located near fish farm activities and of a species-specific effect on respiration rate, with D. florida showing increased activity under the farm. Effects of fish farming on the suspension feeders were also species-specific and particularly evidenced by functional microbial turnover and by alteration of overall FA profiles in the soft coral and sea anemone. In particular, D. florida showed reduced level of FAs close to the farm (0-350 m), with significant difference in composition along a distance gradient. Only H. digitata showed evidence of incorporation of organic material from the fish farm waste via fatty acids trophic markers (FATM) and stable isotope analysis. Overall, our study demonstrates that suspension feeders have taxon-specific sensitivity towards the effect of salmon farming, and identified several potential molecular indicators that could be used as surrogate of impact gradient upon further research and validation. It also provides a wealth of ecological and physiological information on some of the most common sessile epibenthic organisms within Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, enabling us to better understand their response and evaluate their resilience to environmental changes.publishedVersio

Effects of fish farm activities on the sponge Weberella bursa, and its associated microbiota

Sustained growth of world-wide sea farming and the search of optimal growing conditions have driven several countries, including Norway, to establish new finfish sites in more exposed, high current locations. Characterized by a range of gravel, broken rock and/or bedrock, these complex environments and the associated diverse range of epifauna species are not easily monitored via traditional methodologies (e.g. morpho-taxonomic identification and enumeration, and compound analyses of sediment grabs). Consequently, little is known about many of the benthic inhabitants, or how they may respond to fish farming. In this study, we aimed to initiate addressing this knowledge gap by assessing the response of the sponge Weberella bursa (Polymastidea) to salmon aquaculture. Fourteen specimens were translocated along a distance gradient from a salmon farm located along the mid-west coast of Norway. Following 7 months of exposure, their epithelial tissue were analysed for gene expression analysis (mRNA), fatty acid (FA), stable isotope and taxonomic and functional microbiome characterization. Among all datasets, only fatty acid profiles showed significant changes associated with fish farm activities, with higher proportion of terrestrial FAs and long saturated and monounsaturated FAs near the farm. These results suggest that W. bursa sponges may be more resistant to organic enrichment than previously thought. Nonetheless, several putative indicators of non-lethal response could be identified. Specifically, W. bursa specimens located underneath the farm tended to have reduced ribosomal activity while having increased expression of genes controlling cell apoptosis (e.g. caspase-3, cytochrome c oxidase and death domain proteins). Based on predictive functional analysis, specimens near to the farm were also found to be particularly enriched in sulfur and nitrogen cycling bacteria, and in microbial taxa with anti-toxin and xenobiotic biodegradation capability, notably of benzyl benzoate compounds used in sea lice treatments. These results indicate that potentially harmful elements such as sulfite, nitrite and pesticides may be neutralized and degraded by a particularly enriched set of bacteria in W. bursa microbiome. While additional research is needed to validate these putative indicators, our study provides a first glimpse as to how sessile organisms may respond and adapt to environmental changes induced by fin fish farming, and pave the way to the development of novel monitoring tools adapted to mix and hard bottom habitats.publishedVersio

Hemispheric Tectonics on super-Earth LHS 3844b

The tectonic regime of rocky planets fundamentally influences their long-term evolution and cycling of volatiles between interior and atmosphere. Earth is the only known planet with active plate tectonics, but observations of exoplanets may deliver insights into the diversity of tectonic regimes beyond the solar system. Observations of the thermal phase curve of super-Earth LHS 3844b reveal a solid surface and lack of a substantial atmosphere, with a temperature contrast between the substellar and antistellar point of around 1000 K. Here, we use these constraints on the planet's surface to constrain the interior dynamics and tectonic regimes of LHS 3844b using numerical models of interior flow. We investigate the style of interior convection by assessing how upwellings and downwellings are organized and how tectonic regimes manifest. We discover three viable convective regimes with a mobile surface: (1) spatially uniform distribution of upwellings and downwellings, (2) prominent downwelling on the dayside and upwellings on the nightside, and (3) prominent downwelling on the nightside and upwellings on the dayside. Hemispheric tectonics is observed for regimes (2) and (3) as a direct consequence of the day-to-night temperature contrast. Such a tectonic mode is absent in the present-day solar system and has never been inferred from astrophysical observations of exoplanets. Our models offer distinct predictions for volcanism and outgassing linked to the tectonic regime, which may explain secondary features in phase curves and allow future observations to constrain the diversity of super-Earth interiors.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters; 9 pages, 5 figures; summary available at http://exoplanet-talks.org/talk/26