Strategic decision-making process (SDMP) in times of crisis:evidence from Greek banks

This paper investigates the strategic decision making process (SDMP) of Greek banks’ top management in the context of profound organisational changes introduced in 2012 due to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. It focuses on the impact of three key dimensions of the SDMP, namely, rationality, intuition and political behaviour, relating to four changes introduced, namely, mergers and acquisitions, branch network rationalisation, integration of information technology (IT) and downsizing of operations and personnel. A survey questionnaire was conducted, targeting Greek banks’ top management. Out of 140 questionnaires, 78 were returned, a 55.71% response rate. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling. Research findings identify rationality as a key dimension of SDMP for all organisational changes, as there was high focus on identifying and analysing all required information, use of external financial advisors, and reliance on multiple methods of information gathering. Decision-makers used their intuition in the form of past experience when making acquisition decisions, whilst their personal judgment and “inner voice” were neglected.Finally, political behaviour was not displayed during this process, as decision-makers were open with each other about their interests and preferences, and there was no bargaining, negotiation or use of power amongst them. One limitation was that of not considering all the factors that might help measure SDMP. Also, this study was conducted in a period of political and financial uncertainty for Greek banks, as well as for the Greek economy in general, so findings may not be generalizable to other industries and countries. Conducting interviews could have offered deeper insight as well. This study’s value lies in the fact that the organisational changes were determined by Greece’s leaders, and thus the Greek banks had to operate under a dynamic, inflexible and non-autonomous environment. Also, this study extends prior SDMP research by examining the impact of the three key SDMP dimensions on four types of organisational change

Influence of Portfolio Management in Decision-Making

Purpose: Today’s manufacturing facilities are challenged by highly customized products and just in time manufacturing and delivery of these products. In this study, a batch scheduling problem has been addressed to enable on-time completion of customer orders in a lean manufacturing environment. The problem is optimizing the partitioning of product components into batches and scheduling of the resulting batches where each customer order is received as a set of products made of various components. Design/methodology/approach: Three different mathematical models for minimization of total earliness and tardiness of customer orders are developed to provide on-time completion of customer orders and also, to avoid excess final product inventory. The first model is a non-linear integer programming model whereas the second is a linearized version of the first. Finally, to solve larger sized instances of the problem, an alternative linear integer model is presented. Findings: Computational study using a suit set of test instances showed that the alternative linear integer model is able to solve all test instances in varying sizes within quite shorter computer times compared to the other two models. It has also been showed that the alternative model is able to solve moderate sized real-world problems. Originality/value: The problem under study differentiates from existing batch scheduling problems in the literature owing to the inclusion of new circumstances that are present in real-world applications. Those are: customer orders consisting of multi-products made of multi-parts, processing of all parts of the same product from different orders in the same batch, and delivering the orders only when all related products are completed. This research also contributes to the literature of batch scheduling problem by presenting new optimization models.Peer Reviewe

Монотерапия ниволумабом у больных метастатическим колоректальным раком: современные подходы к оценке ответа опухоли

Aim of the study: a systematic analysis of the modern literature data on the nivolumab monotherapy efficacy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Material and methods. The review summarizes the results of clinical studies of the nivolumab efficacy in patients with mCRC between 2012 and 2022. The current approaches to assessing the tumor response in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors are considered, including response patterns and criteria. Results. Data analysis showed that the use of nivolumab in mCRC patients had significant clinical benefits. Nivolumab monotherapy was shown to improve survival in patients with high microsatellite instability (MSI) or deficiencies in mismatch repair (dMMR) that progressed during standard chemotherapy. Numerous clinical studies indicate the atypical response to nivolumab. Traditional response criteria, such as RECIST do not always adequately assess the therapeutic efficacy of nivolumab in patients with mCRC. Conclusion. To improve the efficacy of mCRC treatment, standardized approaches based on the proposed specific criteria for response to immunotherapy, including immune related RECIST, immune RECIST, and immune-modified RECIST must be developed.Цель исследования ‒ систематический анализ данных современной литературы об эффективности применения ниволумаба в монорежиме у больных метастатическим колоректальным раком (мКРР). Материал и методы. В обзор включены данные клинических исследований за период с 2012 по 2022 г., оценивающих эффективность лечения ниволумабом у больных мКРР. Рассмотрены текущие подходы к оценке опухолевого ответа, включая характер иммунного ответа и критерии ответа. Результаты. Анализ литературы показал, что применение ниволумаба при мКРР имеет значимые клинические преимущества. Продемонстрировано, что монотерапия ниволумабом улучшает показатели выживаемости у пациентов с высокой микросателлитной нестабильностью (MSI) или нарушением механизма репарации неспаренных оснований ДНК (dMMR), которые прогрессировали на фоне стандартной химиотерапии. Многочисленные клинические исследования указывают на развитие атипичных реакций ответа на ниволумаб. Традиционные критерии ответа, такие как RECIST, не всегда адекватно оценивают терапевтическую эффективность ниволумаба у пациентов с мКРР. Заключение. Для повышения эффективности лечения мКРР необходима разработка стандартизированных подходов, основанных на предложенных специфических критериях ответа на иммунотерапию, включая иммунологический Recist, иммунный Recist и иммуномодифицированный RECIST

Organizational Readiness for Business Intelligence and Analytics Systems Success

BI&A systems have the potential to improve business performance by facilitating innovations, creating new products and service, and enhancing decision making effectiveness. However, it requires certain technological and organizational capabilities to fully realize the values of BI&A systems. This study investigates how an organization needs to prepare itself to harvest from its investments in BI&A systems. We build a model using the contingency approach to test factors that affect the success of BI&A systems. The insights from this study can inform managers of business organizations about their organizational readiness for the success of their BI&A systems and identify best practices to implement BI&A systems in business organizations. It will also help advance our knowledge in how to accurately assess the success of BI&A systems

The Evolving Landscape of Biomarkers for Anti-PD-1 or Anti-PD-L1 Therapy

The administration of antibodies blocking the immune checkpoint molecules programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) has evolved as a very promising treatment option for cancer patients. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition has significantly enhanced expansion, cytokine secretion, and cytotoxic activity of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, resulting in enhanced antitumor responses. Anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapy has induced tumor regression and improved clinical outcome in patients with different tumor entities, including melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. These findings led to the approval of various anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibodies for the treatment of tumor patients. However, the majority of patients have failed to respond to this treatment modality. Comprehensive immune monitoring of clinical trials led to the identification of potential biomarkers distinguishing between responders and non-responders, the discovery of modes of treatment resistance, and the design of improved immunotherapeutic strategies. In this review article, we summarize the evolving landscape of biomarkers for anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapy

An efficiency perspective on carbon emissions and financial performance

International policy actions to constrain carbon emissions create substantial risks and opportunities for firms. In particular, production processes that are relatively high emitting will be more sensitive to uncertain costs of emitting carbon dioxide and might further reflect productive inefficiencies. We employ a productive efficiency model to evaluate firms’ carbon emission levels relative to those of best practice (efficient) peers with comparable production structures. By accounting for total factor productivity and sector-relative performance aspects, this measure of carbon efficiency helps to quantify and rank firms’ relative dependency on carbon in the production process. We investigate the impact of carbon efficiency on various financial performance outcomes, and evaluate the role of general resource efficiency in explaining these impacts. Using an international sample of 1,572 firms over the years 2008-2016, we find superior financial performance in carbon efficient (best-practice) firms. On average, a 0.1 higher carbon efficiency is associated with a 1.0% higher profitability and 0.6% lower systematic risk. While carbon efficiency closely relates to resource efficiency, it also has distinct financial performance impacts, particularly lowering systematic risk. Overall, our findings suggest that carbon efficient production can be valuable from both operational and risk management perspectives.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe