Impacts of dynamic managerial capability and international opportunity identification on firm performance

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of international opportunity identification (IOI) in export-manufacturing firms. The fundamental question addressed in this research is: How does dynamic managerial capability (DMC) of entrepreneurs contribute to IOI and success of the firms? Design/methodology/approach: The research model was tested through structural equation modeling among the readymade garment manufacturing firms in the least developed country, Bangladesh. A survey was conducted with a random sampling approach and responses were collected from 390 firms. Findings: The salient findings are: DMC has direct and indirect impacts through IOI on financial and non-financial performance; IOI mediates the relationship between managerial social capital and non-financial performance and between managerial cognition and non-financial performance; IOI has a negative relationship with the financial performance of the firms; and scope of accelerated internationalization positively moderates the relationship between IOI and financial performance of firms. Originality/value: This paper notably shows that DMC of export-manufacturing entrepreneurs leads to the identification of the right kind of opportunities, which, in turn, generate better performance. It is advantageous for this type of firm to operate a business in multiple countries

A Nonerythropoietic Peptide that Mimics the 3D Structure of Erythropoietin Reduces Organ Injury/Dysfunction and Inflammation in Experimental Hemorrhagic Shock

Recent studies have shown that erythropoietin, critical for the differentiation and survival of erythrocytes, has cytoprotective effects in a wide variety of tissues, including the kidney and lung. However, erythropoietin has been shown to have a serious side effect—an increase in thrombovascular effects. We investigated whether pyroglutamate helix B-surface peptide (pHBSP), a nonerythropoietic tissue-protective peptide mimicking the 3D structure of erythropoietin, protects against the organ injury/ dysfunction and inflammation in rats subjected to severe hemorrhagic shock (HS). Mean arterial blood pressure was reduced to 35 ± 5 mmHg for 90 min followed by resuscitation with 20 mL/kg Ringer Lactate for 10 min and 50% of the shed blood for 50 min. Rats were euthanized 4 h after the onset of resuscitation. pHBSP was administered 30 min or 60 min into resuscitation. HS resulted in significant organ injury/dysfunction (renal, hepatic, pancreas, neuromuscular, lung) and inflammation (lung). In rats subjected to HS, pHBSP significantly attenuated (i) organ injury/dysfunction (renal, hepatic, pancreas, neuromuscular, lung) and inflammation (lung), (ii) increased the phosphorylation of Akt, glycogen synthase kinase-3β and endothelial nitric oxide synthase, (iii) attenuated the activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and (iv) attenuated the increase in p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 phosphorylation. pHBSP protects against multiple organ injury/dysfunction and inflammation caused by severe hemorrhagic shock by a mechanism that may involve activation of Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and NF-κB