International search behavior of Business Group affiliated firms: Scope of institutional changes and intragroup heterogeniety

This paper investigates whether and when affiliation to business groups enables or constrains firms’ international search behavior during institutional transitions. We theorize that given the unique structure and complex form of business group organizations, the search behavior of affiliated firms is influenced by the degree of (mis)alignment in outlook at the group and affiliate levels of management. We identify the scope of institutional changes, business group attributes, and affiliate characteristics as sources of such (mis)alignment. The results from panel data on 298 firms from the Indian pharmaceutical industry for the 1992–2007 period show that the constraining effects of business group affiliation are observed only when institutional changes are specific to the affiliates’ industry and not when broad institutional changes affect the business group as a whole. Moreover, we observe heterogeneity in the search behavior of group affiliated firms. First, the degree of misalignment is greater in the case of affiliates belonging to older business groups and those that are more distant in terms of age and industry since the group’s founding. Second, by contrast and suggesting an alignment in outlook, we find that affiliated firms that occupy a prominent position within a group or industry are able to bargain for and receive attention and support from the business group to undertake international search. Our findings have implications for research on the role of business groups in a changing institutional context and for the strategic adaptation of firms embedded in complex organizational and institutional settings

A Content Analysis of Sustainability Reporting to Frame the Heterogeneity in Corporate Environment Sustainability Practices

While extant research has examined many aspects of differential corporate environmental outcomes and behavior, a holistic and integrated view of heterogeneity in corporate environment sustainability (CES) practices remains a puzzle to be fully unraveled – its extent and nature, its relationship to macro or micro level influences, or strategic orientations. Such a perspective would be meaningful for the field given notable strides in CES practices and the corporate social responsibility agenda over the last two decades, in the backdrop of altered global socio-political sensitivities and technological advances. To partly address this gap, this exploratory research adopted a content analysis approach to code patterns in the sustainability disclosures of the 160 largest global firms spread over 8 years. The sample of firms spanned seven industries, nine countries and three continents thereby presenting data rich and diverse enough in several dimensions to be representative of global heterogeneity in CES practices. Through a factor analysis of the coded data, four strategic CES orientations were extracted through the analysis, that effectively straddles most of the variation observed in current CES practices – one that seeks to reduce environmental damage on account of the firm's operations, another that prioritizes minimalism, a third that focuses on broader ecological status quo, and a final one that champions the 'business of green', extending the CES agenda beyond the firm's boundaries. These environment sustainability strategy orientations are further examined to elicit prominent patterns and explore plausible antecedents

Sustainability Factors of Self-Help Groups in Disaster-Affected Communities

Self-help groups are informal associations that use social capital to overcome resource constraints and act as a catalyst for rural development, women, and social empowerment. This study tries to identify the factors that affect the sustainability of self-help groups in natural disaster-affected communities. Natural calamities in the form of droughts, floods, or cyclones pose major challenges to livelihood in disaster-prone regions. The study is based on survey data from two different disaster-prone locations: the cyclone- and flood-prone Sundarbans, and drought-prone Bankura in West Bengal, India. Applying principal component analysis to the responses of 143 self-help group members, the study identifies four factors responsible for the sustainability of these self-help groups. This study shows that managerial functions, trust, fund utilization, and easy financing are the factors that matter the most. The findings suggest that policymakers and local governments can focus on these aspects to ensure the effectiveness of self-help groups in meeting their social objectives

Internal herniation of Meckel's diverticulum through meso-appendix in infant: An extremely rare occurrence

Intestinal obstruction due to internal herniation is rare. There is only 0.5–5.8% of incidence described in the available literature. In infancy, it is rarer. Internal herniation of Meckel's diverticulum through meso-appendix in an infant is an extremely rare emergency situation, and probably the first case to be reported in the literature

Oral 1832-2 – Charge Pairing and Phosphorylation Regulate The Conformational Equilibrium and Switching Rates in Neuronal and Endothelial NO Synthase Flavoprotein Domains

Electron flux through nitric oxide synthase reductase (NOSr) is thought to depend on conformational switching motions of their FMN domains, which enables the enzymes to cycle between closed unreactive and open reactive conformational states. However, the conformational equilibrium setpoints (Keq), rates of conformational switching, and interflavin electron transfer rates are mostly unknown, and how these parameters may combine to determine catalytic activities in NOSs is not well understood. To address these, we determined and compared the conformational equilibrium setpoints and rates of conformational switching between reactive open and unreactive closed states, in wild-type nNOSr and four FMN surface mutants (E762R, E762N, E816R, E819R) of nNOSr, and in wild-type eNOSr and the phospho-mimetic S1179D eNOSr mutant. We used stopped flow spectroscopy, single turnover methods, and a kinetic model that relates conformational setpoint and rates of conformational switching to the electron flux through each enzyme to cytochrome c. We found that charge neutralization or reversal at each of these residues alters the setpoint (Keq) of the NOSr conformational equilibrium to favor the open reactive (FMN-deshielded) conformational state. Moreover, computer simulations of the kinetic traces of cytochrome c reduction by the nNOSr mutants suggest that they have higher conformational transition rates (1.5–4-fold) relative to wild-type nNOSr. Wild-type eNOSr mostly exists in closed conformational state (88% closed, 12% open, Keq = 0.125) with a very slow electron flux. In comparison, the S1179D mutation alters the eNOSr setpoint to Keq = 1.5 (40% closed, 60% open), indicating that the open reactive conformation is favored in S1179D eNOSr. Our computer simulation data suggest that S1179D eNOSr also has a faster conformational transition, and a 20-fold faster opening rate relative to wild-type eNOSr. Thus, mutating Ser1179 to Asp alters both the setpoint and transition rates of equilibrium, and these can fully explain the increased electron flux seen in S1179D eNOSr mutant. Together, our studies provide the first measures of conformational equilibrium settings and conformational switching rates in nNOSr and eNOSr proteins, reveal that remarkable differences exist between the two proteins, and show how charge pairing interactions at the domain interface, or phosphorylation at Ser1179, alter NOS activity by modifying these conformational parameters