Anchors aweigh: the sources, variety, and challenges of mission drift

The growing number of studies which reference the concept of mission drift imply that such drift is an undesirable strategic outcome related to inconsistent organizational action, yet beyond such references little is known about how mission drift occurs, how it impacts organizations, and how organizations should respond. Existing management theory more broadly offers initial albeit equivocal insight for understanding mission drift. On the one hand, prior studies have argued that inconsistent or divergent action can lead to weakened stakeholder commitment and reputational damage. On the other hand, scholars have suggested that because environments are complex and dynamic, such action is necessary for ensuring organizational adaptation and thus survival. In this study, we offer a theory of mission drift that unpacks its origin, clarifies its variety, and specifies how organizations might respond to external perceptions of mission drift. The resulting conceptual model addresses the aforementioned theoretical tension and offers novel insight into the relationship between organizational actions and identity

Gestão e práticas socialmente responsáveis na cooperação agrícola

Through its history, agricultural cooperation has developed standards and values, leading specific decision making processes. The article proposes a model of decision based on "dialectical tension". By taking into account the dynamic relationship between stakeholders and organizations, this innovative model overcomes the limits of the stakeholders’ theory

Doing management research : A comprehensive guide

Londonviii, 425 p.; 25 cm

Reconquérir les bords de Marne: un complexe multi-fonctionnel pour un parcours de lieux et de liens (Région parisienne, France)

De Paris intra-muros à Paris extra-muros, la ligne de Vincennes participe de la constitution d'une hiérarchie entre le centre et les bords de l'Est parisien. Le long de son tracé, topographie, eau, espaces verts et agricoles, réseaux de mobilité amènent un nouveau regard sur la métropole dans leur capacité à être reliés. Suivant une exploration de possibles dispositifs pour un continuum intra-extra muros, ils confèrent une épaisseur à la ligne de Vincennes. Sur un de ses tronçons ferrés, le périmètre de notre intervention cible une zone de confluence où toutes ces préoccupations se retrouvent dans un concentré spatial à forte richesse paysagère: le Bois de Vincennes, la Marne et ses berges, l'île Fanac, le canal de Polangis. A partir de deux gares et dans un souci de connecter ces éléments du territoire, une série d'événements offre une redécouverte du paysage donnant naissance à un parcours densifié, revitalisé et poreux. Susceptible d'être le point catalyseur de cette démarche, le site, localisé le long des berges et d'un axe historique, incarne la reconquête des bords de Marne comme lieu des possibles du loisir. Afin d'attirer les gens à l'extérieur de Paris, un complexe multi-fonctionnel, alliant culture et sport, vise à propager un ensemble de conditions nouvelles afin de nourrir d'anciennes traces aujourd'hui épuisées. Dans un rapport réciproque avec les éléments du territoire, ce projet insuffle une énergie nouvelle révélant au promeneur l'épaisseur du site

Extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in liver diseases: A clinician's point of view

International audienceExtracellular vesicles are membrane-bound vesicles containing proteins, lipids, RNAs and microRNAs. They can originate from both healthy and stressed cells, and provide a snapshot of the cell of origin in physiological and pathological circumstances. Various processes that may give rise to the release of extracellular vesicles occur in liver diseases, including hepatocyte apoptosis, hepatic stellate cell activation, liver innate immune system activation, systemic inflammation, and organelle dysfunction (mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stress). Numerous studies have therefore investigated the potential role of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in liver diseases. This review provides an overview of the methods that can be used to measure extracellular vesicle concentrations in clinical settings, ranging from plasma preparation to extracellular vesicle measurement techniques, as well as looking at the challenges of using extracellular vesicles as biomarkers. We also provide a comprehensive review of studies that test extracellular vesicles as diagnostic, severity and prognostic biomarkers in various liver diseases, including non-alcoholic and alcoholic steatohepatitis, viral hepatitis B and C infections, cirrhosis, primary liver cancers, primary sclerosing cholangitis and acute liver failure. In particular, extracellular vesicles could be useful tools to evaluate activity and fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, predict risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation, predict complications and mortality in cirrhosis, detect early hepatocellular carcinoma, detect malignant transformation in primary sclerosing cholangitis and predict outcomes in acute liver failure. While most studies draw on data derived from pilot studies, which still require clinical validation, some extracellular vesicle subpopulations have already been evaluated in solid prospective studies

Knowledge based transactions and decision framing in Information Technology Outsourcing

10.1016/j.jsis.2013.08.001Journal of Strategic Information Systems224315-327JSIY

An Empirical Investigation of Success Strategies for Businesses Along the Product Life Cycle

Since the introduction of the concept of the product life cycle (PLC) some decades ago a great deal has been written on the subject and several empirical studies have been conducted. However, empirical research to date is often limited in scope. It is oriented towards the analysis of the growth and saturation stages and focused primarily on the study of consumer goods. Furthermore, the application of the PLC concept in strategic planning is largely disappointing, the normative orientation of most of this literature being somewhat naive and misleading. The aim of the present research is to study the efficiency of different strategies for achieving market share and cash flow objectives. This study is performed on different types of businesses producing both consumer and industrial products situated at various stages on the product life cycle: growth, maturity and decline. A sample of approximately 1,100 businesses (217 in the growth stage, 315 in the maturity stage, 569 in the decline stage) is drawn from the PIMS data base. A cluster analysis is run to identify natural groups of homogeneous businesses. For each of the nine identified groups, linear regression models are estimated to study the influence of strategic actions---finance, marketings, production, R&D, personnel---on two criteria of performance: market share and cash flow. The research indicates that strategies not only depend on the life cycle stage but also are influenced by the goal orientation of the firm---short-term (cash-flow) or long-term (market share)---and that success strategies appear to be contingent upon the business and the environmental characteristics.organizational life cycle, corporate strategy, product life cycle