The case for formal theory

The article introduces this issue of "Academy of Management Review" which focuses on topics such as the performance differentials between diversified companies and new business enterprises, the prediction of business mortality that is based on the industry conditions at the time of the company's founding, and the free-rider problem

A Cognitive Organization Theory (COT) of organizational change: measuring organizational texture, audience appeal, and leadership engagement

Purpose We focus on an application of COT: internal processes of organizational change. In re-conceptualizing and extending part of COT to fine-tune the theoretical logic to the case of internal processes of organizational change - defining appeal and engagement. We suggest a series of measures to proxy for the theory’s key theoretical constructs, and run psychometric analyses with data from two pilot studies. Design/methodology/approach Developing reliable and valid survey measures of COT’s key constructs - using 3 steps (e.g., Hinkin, 1998; Ferris et al., 2008). 1. use of scale items via OB proxy constructs, and (b) self-developed potential items/scales. 2. factor analysis, assessed with Cronbach’s alpha. 3. estimate a structural equation model (SEM). We collected tailor-made survey data from police forces in Belgium and the UK. Findings We re-conceptualized COT in combining micro OB with macro OT reasoning, applied to internal processes of organizational change at the individual level. We developed a number of survey-based measures to proxy COT’s key theoretical constructs, and estimate a COT-inspired SEM with police forces data from Belgium and the UK. Asperity and opacity are of relatively greater importance than intricacy or viscosity for change. We provide evidence as to the criterion-related validity of our measures of COT constructs 22/39 coefficients of COT-inspired independent and control variables are significant. Research limitations/implications Our contribution is a first step, requiring further theoretical and methodological refinement. First, we may explore differences across types of internal audience members (e.g., according to gender and rank), and introduce interaction variables (e.g., with identity). Second, we might conduct the survey in other police forces and other public organizations. Third, for replication, we could improve the measurement instrument by adding extra scales and items, and collecting further data (e.g., objective HRM and performance data). Fourth, provided that the number of observations is high, we can test COT-inspired hypotheses at the aggregate level of (units within) organizations. Originality/value We develop survey measures for each of the central theoretical constructs of the COT of organizational change. The core of this paper involves a scale development endeavor. We contribute to the relatively limited organization ecology theory in Management (e.g., Isett et al., 2013), taking mathematical modeling and the three-step procedure as our workhorses (e.g., Hinkin, 1998; Ferris et al., 2008), offering the first formal modeling and scale development of cognitive organization theory (Hannan et al., 2007)

Hybrid- and complex-type N-glycans are not essential for Newcastle disease virus infection and fusion of host cells

N-linked glycans are composed of three major types: high-mannose (Man), hybrid or complex. The functional role of hybrid- and complex-type N-glycans in Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infection and fusion was examined in N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnT I)-deficient Lec1 cells, a mutant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell incapable of synthesizing hybrid- and complex-type N-glycans. We used recombinant NDV expressing green fluorescence protein or red fluorescence protein to monitor NDV infection, syncytium formation and viral yield. Flow cytometry showed that CHO-K1 and Lec1 cells had essentially the same degree of NDV infection. In contrast, Lec2 cells were found to be resistant to NDV infection. Compared with CHO-K1 cells, Lec1 cells were shown to more sensitive to fusion induced by NDV. Viral attachment was found to be comparable in both lines. We found that there were no significant differences in the yield of progeny virus produced by both CHO-K1 and Lec1 cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that NDV infection and fusion in Lec1 cells were also inhibited by treatment with sialidase. Pretreatment of Lec1 cells with Galanthus nivalis agglutinin specific for terminal α1-3-linked Man prior to inoculation with NDV rendered Lec1 cells less sensitive to cell-to-cell fusion compared with mock-treated Lec1 cells. Treatment of CHO-K1 and Lec1 cells with tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N-glycosylation, significantly blocked fusion and infection. In conclusion, our results suggest that hybrid- and complex-type N-glycans are not required for NDV infection and fusion. We propose that high-Man-type N-glycans could play an important role in the cell-to-cell fusion induced by NDV