Cognitive frames in corporate sustainability: managerial sensemaking with paradoxical and business case frames

Corporate sustainability confronts managers with tensions between complex economic, environmental, and social issues. Drawing on the literature on managerial cognition, corporate sustainability, and strategic paradoxes, we develop a cognitive framing perspective on corporate sustainability. We propose two cognitive frames—a business case frame and a paradoxical frame—and explore how differences between them in cognitive content and structure influence the three stages of the sensemaking process—that is, managerial scanning, interpreting, and responding with regard to sustainability issues. We explain how the two frames lead to differences in the breadth and depth of scanning, differences in issue interpretations in terms of sense of control and issue valence, and different types of responses that managers consider with regard to sustainability issues. By considering alternative cognitive frames, our argument contributes to a better understanding of managerial decision making regarding ambiguous sustainability issues, and it develops the underlying cognitive determinants of the stance that managers adopt on sustainability issues. This argument offers a cognitive explanation for why managers rarely push for radical change when faced with complex and ambiguous issues, such as sustainability, that are characterized by conflicting yet interrelated aspects

The influence of organizational culture and climate on entrepreneurial intentions among research scientists

Over the past decades, universities have increasingly become involved in entrepreneurial activities. Despite efforts to embrace their ‘third mission’, universities still demonstrate great heterogeneity in terms of their involvement in academic entrepreneurship. This papers adopts an institutional perspective to understand how organizational characteristics affect research scientists’ entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, we study the impact of university culture and climate on entrepreneurial intentions, including intentions to spin off a company, to engage in patenting or licensing and to interact with industry through contract research or consulting. Using a sample of 437 research scientists from Swedish and German universities, our results reveal that the extent to which universities articulate entrepreneurship as a fundamental element of their mission fosters research scientists’ intentions to engage in spin-off creation and intellectual property rights, but not industry-science interaction. Furthermore, the presence of university role models positively affects research scientists’ propensity to engage in entrepreneurial activities, both directly and indirectly through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Finally, research scientists working at universities which explicitly reward people for ‘third mission’ related output show higher levels of spin-off and patenting or licensing intentions. This study has implications for both academics and practitioners, including university managers and policy makers

Dynamically Integrating Knowledge in Teams: Transforming Resources into Performance

In knowledge-based environments, teams must develop a systematic approach to integrating knowledge resources throughout the course of projects in order to perform effectively. Yet, many teams fail to do so. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we examine how teams can develop a knowledge-integration capability to dynamically integrate members‘ resources into higher performance. We distinguish among three sets of resources: relational, experiential, and structural, and propose that they differentially influence a team‘s knowledge-integration capability. We test our theoretical framework using data on knowledge workers in professional services, and discuss implications for research and practice

L-Arginine and arterial hypertension: antihypertensive and metabolic effects

The effectiveness of antihypertensive treatment remains at a low level despite of numerous antihypertensives. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension (AH). It is synthesized from L-arginine in the presence of endothelial NOsynthase but the practical use of the above mentioned amino acid in the treatment of AH remains uncertain. In this study a total of 80 adult patients (men and women in equivalent amounts) with AH II stage were recruited. The whole group of patients was divided into 2 subgroups according to the prescribed antihypertensive pharmacotherapy: 1st subgroup (n=40) used Valsartan 0.08 g per os once a day in the morning + Amlodipinum 0.005 g per os once a day in the evening; 2nd subgroup (n=40) in addition to the above mentioned medicines used L-arginine 1.0 g three times a day before meal. To estimate the efficacy of treatment and its metabolic effects were evaluated the following parameters: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, high- and low- density lipoproteins, triglycerides. The period of clinical observation was 30 days. All patients had different neurological complaints, such as: anxiety, headache, loss of concentration, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue. At the end of clinical observation their quantity and expressiveness decreased, especially in the 2nd group. One patient even required lower dose of L-arginine (2.0 g/day) because of the significant daytime sleepiness. After the correction of pharmacotherapy this complaint disappeared. In 5 patients the use of L-arginine before meal caused gastrointestinal disorders, such as nausea, flatulence and epigastric discomfort. That is why they began to use this medicine during or after meal. Such change in the treatment didn’t reduce the effectiveness of Larginine. In 30 days the levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased, especially in the 2nd group of comparison (p<0.05). The effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy in the 1st group was 78%, the optimal levels of blood pressure were achieved after 12-14 days of treatment. Patients of the 2nd group achieved stable levels of blood pressure in 10-12 days, but in 10 patients the dose of Amlodipin was reduced to 0.0025 mg/day because of the threat of hypotension. In this study had not found any effects of L-arginine on levels of glucose, total cholesterol, high- and low- density lipoproteins, triglycerides (p>0.05). Absence of significant effect of Larginine on the levels of blood glucose and lipids allows to use it in patients with different risk factors or comorbid pathology