Analyzing Business Research on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Clusters, Gaps, and Future Directions

This study comprehensively analyzed and summarized business-related research on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Research on the FCPA is essential because sanctions for violations have grown substantially, increasing risks for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Recent fines exceeded $1 billion, and business executives were personally fined and imprisoned (Stanford Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Clearinghouse, 2021). Unfortunately, theory-based and empirically-validated business research has not kept pace with this increased risk. Performance mapping and science mapping pinpointed the most prolific academic fields, the most cited articles, and clusters of authors, journals, and keywords. Analyses identified gaps in the literature. Prior research focused on public policy questions, like the impact of the FCPA on American companies (Shapiro, 2013), the propriety of attempting to regulate foreign business ethics, and international treaties. Moreover, significant clustering and fractionalization into legal academic silos have side-stepped business-related research topics. New and different research directions are proposed

National Culture and Union Membership : A Cultural-Cognitive Perspective

National Culture and Union Membership: A Cultural-Cognitive PerspectiveMoving beyond the normative and regulative perspectives of neo-institutional theory, this study adopted a cultural-cognitive perspective to study the influence of multiple dimensions of national culture on union membership. Cultural frameworks were compared using data from the World Values Survey that were matched to GLOBE and Hofstede national culture scores (n = 43,867 employees, 32 countries). Contrasts between GLOBE and Hofstede scores revealed that GLOBE culture constructs were better predictors and they also enabled an improved understanding of the relationships between national culture and union membership. This resolved the paradoxical lack of a significant relationship between collectivism and union membership in prior research. Specifically, union membership was positively related to institutional collectivism but not to in-group collectivism. Also, that fact that GLOBE Performance Orientation was negatively related to union membership explained why Hofstede’s Masculinity was negatively related to union membership in prior research. Moreover, prior research on union membership tended to use either individual level (i.e., employees) variables, or macro level (i.e., country) variables to explain union membership. Recently developed statistical techniques enabled the analysis of both individual and country level variables in a hierarchical model. Results show that union membership was positively related to sex (female), education, and institutional collectivism, and negatively related to occupation (supervisors and professionals) and performance orientation. There were curvilinear relationships between union membership and age and uncertainty avoidance. Younger and older people were less likely to be union members. Low or high uncertainty avoidance increased union membership. The juxtaposition of the influences of Age and Uncertainty Avoidance on union membership revealed an interesting phenomenon. Opposing curvilinear relationships (concave vs. convex), suggested a complex yet interrelated relationship between age and uncertainty avoidance that is worthy of future research. At different ages people may use uncertainty avoidance differently to evaluate the risks and benefits of union membership.La culture nationale et la syndicalisation : une approche culturelle et cognitiveVoulant aller au-delà des perspectives normatives et régulatrices de la théorie néo-institutionnelle, cette étude se sert d’une perspective culturelle et cognitive pour étudier l’influence portée par les dimensions multiples d’une culture nationale sur la syndicalisation. Dans ce but, les structures culturelles ont été comparées en utilisant des données du World Values Survey qui ont été associés aux résultats de GLOBE et Hofstede sur la culture nationale (n = 43 867 employées, 32 pays). Des contrastes entre les résultats de GLOBE et de Hofstede ont démontré que ceux de GLOBE fournissaient de meilleurs indices et qu’ils offraient une meilleure compréhension de la relation entre la culture nationale et la syndicalisation. Ceci a résolu le paradoxe concernant l’absence d’un rapport important entre le collectivisme et la syndicalisation dans les recherches précédentes.Plus précisément, la syndicalisation a été associée de manière positive au collectivisme institutionnel, mais non pas au collectivisme en groupe. De plus, le fait que l’orientation de performance de GLOBE ait été associée de manière négative à la syndicalisation explique le rapport négatif entre la masculinité et la syndicalisation chez Hofstede dans les recherches précédentes.Par ailleurs, les recherches précédentes sur la syndicalisation ont utilisé en général soit des variables au niveau individuel (c’est-à-dire des employés), soit des variables au niveau macro (c’est-à-dire du pays) pour expliquer la syndicalisation. Des techniques statistiques développées récemment ont permis l’analyse à la fois des variables individuelles et nationales dans un modèle hiérarchique. Les résultats ont démontré que la syndicalisation était associée de manière positive au sexe (féminin), au niveau de scolarité et au collectivisme institutionnel; la syndicalisation était aussi associée, de manière négative, au travail (superviseurs et professionnels) et à l’orientation vers la performance.Nous avons aussi observé des rapports curvilignes entre la syndicalisation et l’âge et le désir d’éviter l’incertitude. Il est moins probable que les personnes plus jeunes et les plus âgées deviennent membres d’un syndicat. Un désir exceptionnellement bas ou haut d’éviter l’incertitude augmenterait la syndicalisation. La juxtaposition des influences de l’âge et du désir d’éviter l’incertitude sur la syndicalisation révèle un phénomène intéressant. Des rapports curvilignes opposés (concave et convexe) suggèrent un rapport complexe mais étroitement lié entre l’âge et le désir d’éviter l’incertitude qui mérite d’être approfondi dans des recherches ultérieures. Il est possible que les gens d’âges différents se servent différemment du désir d’éviter l’incertitude pour évaluer les risques et les avantages de la syndicalisation.La cultura nacional y el sindicalismo: una perspectiva cognoscitiva-culturalEste estudio ha ido más allá de las perspectivas normativas y regulatorias de la teoría neo-institucional, al adoptar una perspectiva cognoscitiva-cultural para estudiar la influencia que las dimensiones múltiples de la cultura nacional tienen sobre el Sindicalismo. Se compararon los marcos culturales usando información de la Encuesta Mundial de Valores y los índices nacionales de cultura de GLOBE y Hofstede (n = 43,867 empleados, 32 países). El contraste entre los índices de GLOBE y Hofstede reveló que las construcciones culturales de GLOBE eran mejores pronósticos y pudieron brindar un entendimiento mejorado de las relaciones entre la cultura nacional y el Sindicalismo. Esto solucionó la paradójica falta de una relación importante entre el colectivismo y el Sindicalismo en estudios previos. De manera específica, el Sindicalismo se relacionó positivamente con el colectivismo institucional, pero no con el colectivismo grupal. Asimismo, el hecho de que la Orientación de Desempeño de GLOBE se relacionara negativamente con el Sindicalismo, explicó la razón por la que la Masculinidad de Hofstede fue relacionada de la misma manera, en investigaciones anteriores. Aún más, las investigaciones previas sobre el Sindicalismo tuvieron la tendencia a usar ya sea las variables de nivel individual (por ejemplo, los empleados) o las de nivel macro (por ejemplo, el país) para explicar la misma. Las técnicas estadísticas desarrolladas recientemente hicieron posible el análisis tanto de las variables a nivel individual como de las nacionales, en un modelo jerárquico. Los resultados demostraron que el Sindicalismo estaba relacionado de manera positiva con el sexo (femenino), educación y colectivismo institucional y se relacionaba de manera negativa con la ocupación (supervisores y profesionales) y la orientación del desempeño. Se percibe una relación curvilínea entre el Sindicalismo y la edad y la tendencia a eludir situaciones de incertidumbre. Era menos probable que las personas más jóvenes o de mayor edad, pertenecieran a un sindicato. Una mayor o menor tendencia a eludir situaciones de incertidumbre aumentaba el Sindicalismo. La yuxtaposición de la influencia de la edad y la tendencia a eludir situaciones de incertidumbre sobre el Sindicalismo reveló un fenómeno interesante. Las relaciones curvilíneas opuestas (cóncavas contra convexas), sugirieron una relación compleja, aunque interrelacionada, entre la edad y la tendencia a eludir situaciones de incertidumbre, que vale la pena investigar a futuro. A diferente edad, las personas pueden utilizar de diferente manera la tendencia a eludir situaciones de incertidumbre con el fin de evaluar los riesgos y beneficios del Sindicalismo

HIRING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS IN EDUCATION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM STRUCTURED EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS

AbstractIn the educational setting, hiring transformational leaders is essential to a schools’ success or failure.  According to Burgess (2002), “transformational leadership is vital to school improvement initiatives” (p. 20).  In this study, we examine Confucianism and country influence on structured employment interviews from both Western (United States) and Eastern cultures (Taiwan).  Eastern cultures have certain values not prevalent in Western cultures that may reduce the use of transformational leadership questions in job interviews.  Eastern cultures have higher levels of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, and power distance.  We examined questions asked in actual job interviews in Taiwan and the United States (N = 178).  Additionally, we examined the three dimensions of interview structure including evaluation standardization, question sophistication, and questioning consistency.  We found that the number of questions about transformational leadership were less common in Taiwan, with its lower selection ratios, and when question sophistication and consistency were higher.  In the United States, we found that the number of questions about transformational leadership increased with selection ratio, question sophistication, and question consistency, but not in Taiwan.  The results of this study have important implications to all workplace settings around the globe where it may be argued that it is advantageous to hire transformational leaders to improve any organization.  However, the results of this study may have particular importance to the educational setting, in both China and the United States, and globally, where the need to attract and hire transformational leaders can be vital to a schools’ success (or failure). Key WordsLeadership, Employment Interviews, Transformational Leadership, Educatio

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders1. They are heritable2,3 and etiologically related4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts6-11. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures

Doxorubicin Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk in Survivors of Adolescent and Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma

PURPOSEFemale Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors treated with chest radiotherapy (RT) at a young age have a strongly increased risk of breast cancer (BC). Studies in childhood cancer survivors have shown that doxorubicin exposure may also increase BC risk. Although doxorubicin is the cornerstone of HL chemotherapy, the association between doxorubicin and BC risk has not been examined in HL survivors treated at adult ages.METHODSWe assessed BC risk in a cohort of 1,964 female 5-year HL survivors, treated at age 15-50 years in 20 Dutch hospitals between 1975 and 2008. We calculated standardized incidence ratios, absolute excess risks, and cumulative incidences. Doxorubicin exposure was analyzed using multivariable Cox regression analyses.RESULTSAfter a median follow-up of 21.6 years (IQR, 15.8-27.1 years), 252 women had developed invasive BC or ductal carcinoma in situ. The 30-year cumulative incidence was 20.8% (95% CI, 18.2 to 23.4). Survivors treated with a cumulative doxorubicin dose of &gt;200 mg/m2 had a 1.5-fold increased BC risk (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.1), compared with survivors not treated with doxorubicin. BC risk increased 1.18-fold (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.32) per additional 100 mg/m2 doxorubicin (Ptrend =.004). The risk increase associated with doxorubicin (yes v no) was not modified by age at first treatment (hazard ratio [HR]age &lt;21 years, 1.5 [95% CI, 0.9 to 2.6]; HRage ≥21 years, 1.3 [95% CI, 0.9 to 1.9) or chest RT (HRwithout mantle/axillary field RT, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.06 to 3.3]; HRwith mantle/axillary field RT, 1.2 [95% CI, 0.8 to 1.8]).CONCLUSIONThis study shows that treatment with doxorubicin is associated with increased BC risk in both adolescent and adult HL survivors. Our results have implications for BC surveillance guidelines for HL survivors and treatment strategies for patients with newly diagnosed HL.</p

Doxorubicin Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk in Survivors of Adolescent and Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma

PURPOSEFemale Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors treated with chest radiotherapy (RT) at a young age have a strongly increased risk of breast cancer (BC). Studies in childhood cancer survivors have shown that doxorubicin exposure may also increase BC risk. Although doxorubicin is the cornerstone of HL chemotherapy, the association between doxorubicin and BC risk has not been examined in HL survivors treated at adult ages.METHODSWe assessed BC risk in a cohort of 1,964 female 5-year HL survivors, treated at age 15-50 years in 20 Dutch hospitals between 1975 and 2008. We calculated standardized incidence ratios, absolute excess risks, and cumulative incidences. Doxorubicin exposure was analyzed using multivariable Cox regression analyses.RESULTSAfter a median follow-up of 21.6 years (IQR, 15.8-27.1 years), 252 women had developed invasive BC or ductal carcinoma in situ. The 30-year cumulative incidence was 20.8% (95% CI, 18.2 to 23.4). Survivors treated with a cumulative doxorubicin dose of &gt;200 mg/m2 had a 1.5-fold increased BC risk (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.1), compared with survivors not treated with doxorubicin. BC risk increased 1.18-fold (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.32) per additional 100 mg/m2 doxorubicin (Ptrend =.004). The risk increase associated with doxorubicin (yes v no) was not modified by age at first treatment (hazard ratio [HR]age &lt;21 years, 1.5 [95% CI, 0.9 to 2.6]; HRage ≥21 years, 1.3 [95% CI, 0.9 to 1.9) or chest RT (HRwithout mantle/axillary field RT, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.06 to 3.3]; HRwith mantle/axillary field RT, 1.2 [95% CI, 0.8 to 1.8]).CONCLUSIONThis study shows that treatment with doxorubicin is associated with increased BC risk in both adolescent and adult HL survivors. Our results have implications for BC surveillance guidelines for HL survivors and treatment strategies for patients with newly diagnosed HL.</p

The challenges of applying planetary boundaries as a basis for strategic decision-making in companies with global supply chains

YesThe Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the 'safe operating space' bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting 'distance from boundary' measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors

Understanding the Adaptive Growth Strategy of Lactobacillus plantarum by In Silico Optimisation

In the study of metabolic networks, optimization techniques are often used to predict flux distributions, and hence, metabolic phenotype. Flux balance analysis in particular has been successful in predicting metabolic phenotypes. However, an inherent limitation of a stoichiometric approach such as flux balance analysis is that it can predict only flux distributions that result in maximal yields. Hence, previous attempts to use FBA to predict metabolic fluxes in Lactobacillus plantarum failed, as this lactic acid bacterium produces lactate, even under glucose-limited chemostat conditions, where FBA predicted mixed acid fermentation as an alternative pathway leading to a higher yield. In this study we tested, however, whether long-term adaptation on an unusual and poor carbon source (for this bacterium) would select for mutants with optimal biomass yields. We have therefore adapted Lactobacillus plantarum to grow well on glycerol as its main growth substrate. After prolonged serial dilutions, the growth yield and corresponding fluxes were compared to in silico predictions. Surprisingly, the organism still produced mainly lactate, which was corroborated by FBA to indeed be optimal. To understand these results, constraint-based elementary flux mode analysis was developed that predicted 3 out of 2669 possible flux modes to be optimal under the experimental conditions. These optimal pathways corresponded very closely to the experimentally observed fluxes and explained lactate formation as the result of competition for oxygen by the other flux modes. Hence, these results provide thorough understanding of adaptive evolution, allowing in silico predictions of the resulting flux states, provided that the selective growth conditions favor yield optimization as the winning strategy

Frequent mutated B2M, EZH2, IRF8, and TNFRSF14 in primary bone diffuse large B-cell lymphoma reflect a GCB phenotype

Primary bone diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PB-DLBCL) is a rare extranodal lymphoma subtype. This retrospective study elucidates the currently unknown genetic background of a large clinically well-annotated cohort of DLBCL with osseous localizations (O-DLBCL), including PB-DLBCL. A total of 103 patients with O-DLBCL were included and compared with 63 (extra)nodal non-osseous (NO)-DLBCLs with germinal center B-cell phenotype (NO-DLBCL-GCB). Cell-of-origin was determined by immunohistochemistry and gene-expression profiling (GEP) using (extended)-NanoString/Lymph2Cx analysis. Mutational profiles were identified with targeted next-generation deep sequencing, including 52 B-cell lymphoma-relevant genes. O-DLBCLs, including 34 PB-DLBCLs, were predominantly classified as GCB phenotype based on immunohistochemistry (74%) and NanoString analysis (88%). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of an extended-NanoString/Lymph2Cx revealed significantly different GEP clusters for PB-DLBCL as opposed to NO-DLBCL-GCB (P < .001). Expression levels of 23 genes of 2 different targeted GEP panels indicated a centrocyte-like phenotype for PB-DLBCL, whereas NO-DLBCL-GCB exhibited a centroblast-like constitution. PB-DLBCL had significantly more frequent mutations in four GCB-associated genes (ie, B2M, EZH2, IRF8, TNFRSF14) compared with NO-DLBCL-GCB (P = .031, P = .010, P = .047, and P = .003, respectively). PB-DLBCL, with its corresponding specific mutational profile, was significantly associated with a superior survival compared with equivalent Ann Arbor limited-stage I/II NO-DLBCL-GCB (P = .016). This study is the first to show that PB-DLBCL is characterized by a GCB phenotype, with a centrocyte-like GEP pattern and a GCB-associated mutational profile (both involved in immune surveillance) and a favorable prognosis. These novel biology-associated features provide evidence that PB-DLBCL represents a distinct extranodal DLBCL entity, and its specific mutational landscape offers potential for targeted therapies (eg, EZH2 inhibitors)

The association of sociodemographic factors with total and item-level semantic fluency metrics

Objective: We aimed to estimate the association of age, education, and sex/gender with semantic fluency performance as measured by the standard total number of words as well as novel item-level metrics and to descriptively compare associations across cohorts with different recruitment strategies and sample compositions. Method: Cross-sectional data from 2,391 individuals from three cohorts were used: Washington Heights/Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a community-based cohort; Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease-Magnetic Resonance, a clinic-based cohort; and African American Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Study, a volunteer-based cohort. Total number of correct words and six item-level semantic fluency metrics were included as main outcomes: average cluster size, number of cluster switches, lexical/Zipf frequency, age of acquisition, and lexical decision response time. General linear models were run separately in each cohort to model the association between sociodemographic variables and semantic fluency metrics. Results: Across cohorts, older age was associated with a lower total score and fewer cluster switches. Higher level of education was associated with naming more words, performing more cluster switches, and naming words with a longer lexical decision response time, lower frequency of occurrence, or later age of acquisition. Being female compared to male was associated with naming fewer words, smaller cluster sizes, naming words with a longer lexical decision response time, and lower age of acquisition. The effects varied in strength but were in a similar direction across cohorts. Conclusions: Item-level semantic fluency metrics—similar to the standard total score—are sensitive to the effects of age, education, and sex/gender. The results suggest geographical, cultural, and cross-linguistic generalizability of these sociodemographic effects on semantic fluency performance