Innovation for and from emerging countries: a closer look at the antecedents of trickle-down and reverse innovation

International new product launch speed is a crucial goal for firms, as it has major implications for their performance. The authors examine whether and how (1) the price and number of attributes of a new product, (2) the number of developed (emerging) countries in which it has been launched, and (3) the nature of the firm that originally launched it (i.e., multinational versus not) affect the new product’s speed of launch from developed countries to emerging ones (i.e., trickle-down) or vice versa (i.e., reverse innovation). In order to test the hypotheses, the authors use data on new product launches in the global packaged food industry in 2001–2014. The results indicate that a lower price accelerates trickle-down, while a higher price and more attributes accelerate reverse innovation. Further, having been launched in more countries and having been launched by a multinational firm both accelerate trickle-down and reverse innovation

Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation Accelerates Randall's Plaque Formation in a Murine Model

Most kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate crystals. Randall\u27s plaque, an apatite deposit at the tip of the renal papilla, is considered to at the origin of these stones. Hypercalciuria may promote Randall\u27s plaque formation and growth. We analyzed whether long-term exposure of Abcc6 mice (a murine model of Randall\u27s plaque) to vitamin D supplementation, with or without a calcium-rich diet, would accelerate the formation of Randall\u27s plaque. Eight groups of mice (including Abcc6 and wild type) received vitamin D alone (100,000 UI/kg every 2 weeks), a calcium-enriched diet alone (calcium gluconate 2 g/L in drinking water), both vitamin D supplementation and a calcium-rich diet, or a standard diet (controls) for 6 months. Kidney calcifications were assessed by 3-dimensional microcomputed tomography, μ-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Yasue staining. At 6 months, Abcc6 mice exposed to vitamin D and calcium supplementation developed massive Randall\u27s plaque when compared with control Abcc6 mice (P < 0.01). Wild-type animals did not develop significant calcifications when exposed to vitamin D. Combined administration of vitamin D and calcium significantly accelerates Randall\u27s plaque formation in a murine model. This original model raises concerns about the cumulative risk of vitamin D supplementation and calcium intakes in Randall\u27s plaque formation

Quantitative PCR tissue expression profiling of the human SGLT2 gene and related family members

SGLT2 (for “Sodium GLucose coTransporter” protein 2) is the major protein responsible for glucose reabsorption in the kidney and its inhibition has been the focus of drug discovery efforts to treat type 2 diabetes. In order to better clarify the human tissue distribution of expression of SGLT2 and related members of this cotransporter class, we performed TaqMan™ (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of SGLT2 and other sodium/glucose transporter genes on RNAs from 72 normal tissues from three different individuals. We consistently observe that SGLT2 is highly kidney specific while SGLT5 is highly kidney abundant; SGLT1, sodium-dependent amino acid transporter (SAAT1), and SGLT4 are highly abundant in small intestine and skeletal muscle; SGLT6 is expressed in the central nervous system; and sodium myoinositol cotransporter is ubiquitously expressed across all human tissues

Do resources mediate the relationships between the internet and performance in the marketing domain? Testing the role of customer orientation and brand equity

The adoption of internet solutions for marketing increases over time, but a strong empirical evidence of their effect on performance is still lacking. The paper investigates the links existing between the internet, marketing resources and marketing performance, and test a model where two marketing resources – customer orientation and brand equity – are expected to mediate the relationship between internet technologies and performance. The analysis, based on a sample of 277 service firms and handled with a structural equation model technique, reveals that a significant partial mediation effect exists for customer orientation but not for brand equity. This effect provides implications for both theory and management

Strategic capabilities and Internet resources in procurement

This paper seeks to adopt a resource-based approach to investigate the link between procurement capabilities, internet resources, and performance. It aims to cover two gaps in the operations management literature: the missing links between procurement capabilities and the performance of a firm, and the role of internet resources in shaping such links

Do resources mediate the relationships between the internet and performance in the marketing domain? Testing the role of customer orientation and brand equity

The adoption of internet solutions for marketing increases over time, but a strong empirical evidence of their effect on performance is still lacking. The paper investigates the links existing between the internet, marketing resources and marketing performance, and test a model where two marketing resources – customer orientation and brand equity – are expected to mediate the relationship between internet technologies and performance. The analysis, based on a sample of 277 service firms and handled with a structural equation model technique, reveals that a significant partial mediation effect exists for customer orientation but not for brand equity. This effect provides implications for both theory and management

Strategic Capabilities and Internet Resources in Procurement: A Resource-Based View of B-to-B Buying Process

This paper seeks to adopt a resource-based approach to investigate the link between procurement capabilities, internet resources, and performance. It aims to cover two gaps in the operations management literature: the missing links between procurement capabilities and the performance of a firm, and the role of internet resources in shaping such links. After the identification of two key capabilities in procurement and the introduction of internet resources, the relationships with performance are empirically tested in a sample of 93 firms in the textile and clothing industry in Italy. Data were analysed using a partial least-squares technique and main and interaction effects were investigated

The Release of “Greatest Hits” in the Italian Recording Industry: An Empirical Analysis of Strategies and Timing

The release of a greatest hits album is a way of extending a record company’s product line. It follows one of two strategies: take advantage of the success of current artists (exploitation), or resuscitate the careers of long-standing artists (revival). This paper analyses the relationship between the success of greatest hits and the timing of their launch. Through an empirical analysis of 402 greatest hits releases in the Italian market, the authors discuss fi ve hypotheses based on both strategies, in order to determine which time-to-market features are related to the product’s success. The findings reveal a strong relationship between timing and market performance, leading to several implications: exploitation and revival strategies have different time-to-market requirements; these requirements are not met in the case of many greatest hits releases; and a greatest hits album should not be used as a means of reviving an artist’s career

Incorporating Cultural Values for Understanding the Influence ofPerceived Product Creativity on Intention to Buy: An Examination in Italy and the U.S.

Extending our understanding of perceived product creativity, this study contributes to the literature by empirically investigating the influence of cultural values on the relationship between the creativity dimensions of novelty and meaningfulness and intention to buy. Schwartz’s values framework is employed to theorize cultural differences. The results, based upon 206 Italian and 201 U.S. consumers surveyed via a mall-intercept approach, indicate that novelty is a more important dimension of product creativity in the U.S. (i.e., a low-resultant conservative/high-resultant self-enhancement culture) than in Italy (i.e., a high-resultant conservatism/low-resultant self-enhancement culture) in influencing intention to buy and that meaningfulness is a more important dimension of creativity in Italy than in the U.S. in influencing intention to buy. These results provide important standardization/adaptation implications for international marketing academics and practitioner

Integrating Functional Knowledge and Embedding Learning in New Product Launches: How Project Forms Helped EMI Music

The article investigates whether and how the use of project-based structures can address the challenges of knowledge creation, retention and transfer in new product development processes. These issues are particularly problematic in the so-called ‘creative’ industries (movies, music, publishing, etc.), where getting marketing to work together with the creative side is a complex task, and where traditional sequential models for NPD seem to perform badly. The article analyses a recent strategy by EMI Music to use projects for organizing the launch of promising new releases onto the music market. Through an in-depth qualitative analysis of two relevant cases, the article illustrates how projects assist in integrating marketing and creative people (and their knowledge) in a purposeful way, and disseminating the consequential learning across initiatives. Project forms in creative industries are able to combine different types of knowledge and align different purposes across launch functions by synchronizing sequential activities and establishing joint decision making rules. They can also improve knowledge retention and diffusion among sequential initiatives, by creating artefacts where knowledge can be stored and re-used in other launches, and by removing organizational disincentives to knowledge sharing