Business models: A challenging agenda

Most research on business models lies in the literature on strategy and competitive advantage and focuses on their role as descriptors of actual phenomenon, often by reference to taxonomic categories. In this article, we explore how business models can be seen as a set of cognitive configurations that can be manipulable in the minds of managers (and academics). By proposing a typology of business models that emphasizes the connecting of traditional value chain descriptors with how customers are identified and satisfied, and how the firm monetizes its value, we explore how business model configurations can extend current work on cognitive categorization and open up new possibilities for organization research

Business Models and Modelling

International audienceThe business model topic has generated a lot of discussion since the phrase first gained currency in academic articles the late 1990s (Zott, Amit & Massa, 2011). This growing attention culminated in the 2010 Long Range Planning Special Issue that brought the field’s leading scholars together to answer questions about what the business model was and what was its purpose. A key point that emerged was that a business model is more than a statement of how “value is created and captured”; it is a ‘model’ - and, like many other kinds of models - can appear in many guises and serve many purposes. These include being a ‘manipulable device’ that can be used to help academics or managers understand the linkages between value creation and value capture more clearly; as well as being an artefact that can be used to convey knowledge about a business and its status to others (see for instance, Morgan and Morrison, 1999; Teece, 2010, Baden-Fuller & Morgan, 2010)

Learning at the Interstices; Locating Practical Philosophies for Understanding Physical/virtual Inter-spaces

Virtual worlds are relatively recent developments, and so it is tempting to believe that they need to be understood through newly developed theories and philosophies. However, humans have long thought about the nature of reality and what it means to be “real.” This paper examines the three persistent philosophical concepts of Metaxis, Liminality and Space that have evolved across more than 2000 years of meditation, contemplation and reflection. Our particular focus here is on the nature of the interface between the virtual and the physical: at the interstices, and how the nature of transactions and transitions across those interfaces may impact upon learning. This may, at first, appear to be an esoteric pursuit, but we ground our arguments in primary and secondary data from research studies in higher education

Openspritzer: an open hardware pressure ejection system for reliably delivering picolitre volumes

The ability to reliably and precisely deliver picolitre volumes is an important component of biological research. Here we describe a high-performance, low-cost, open hardware pressure ejection system (Openspritzer), which can be constructed from off the shelf components. The device is capable of delivering minute doses of reagents to a wide range of biological and chemical systems. In this work, we characterise the performance of the device and compare it to a popular commercial system using twophoton fluorescence microscopy. We found that Openspritzer provides the same level of control over delivered reagent dose as the commercial system. Next, we demonstrate the utility of Openspritzer in a series of standard neurobiological applications. First, we used Openspritzer to deliver precise amounts of reagents to hippocampal neurons to elicit time- and dose-precise responses on neuronal voltage. Second, we used Openspritzer to deliver infectious viral and bacterial agents to living tissue. This included viral transfection of hippocampal interneurons with channelrhodopsin for the optogenetic manipulation of hippocampal circuitry with light. We anticipate that due to its high performance and low cost Openspritzer will be of interest to a broad range of researchers working in the life and physical sciences

Exposing the human nude phenotype [4]

Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Can colour vision re-evolve? Variation in the X-linked opsin locus of cathemeral Azara’s owl monkeys (Aotus azarae azarae)

Background: Do evolutionary specializations lead to evolutionary constraint? This appears plausible, particularly when specialization leads to loss of complex adaptations. In the owl monkey lineage, nocturnality clearly arose from a diurnal ancestor. This behavioural shift was accompanied by morphological changes in the eye and orbit and complete loss of colour vision via missense mutations in the gene encoding the short-wave sensitive visual pigment (SWS opsin). Interestingly, at least one subspecies of owl monkey, Azara’s owl monkey (Aotus azarae azarae), has regained activity in daylight. Given that all primate species that are active in daylight, including primarily diurnal species and species that are active during both day and night, have at least dichromatic colour vision, it seems reasonable to propose that dichromacy would be adaptive in A. a. azarae. With a disabled SWS opsin, the main avenue available for Azara’s owl monkeys to re-evolve colour vision is via a polymorphism in the intact X-linked opsin locus, which commonly occurs in other New World monkeys. To examine this possibility we assayed variation in the X-linked opsin of A. a. azarae, focusing on the three exons (3, 4 and 5) that control spectral sensitivity. Results: We found low opsin genetic variation on a population level, and no differences at the three main sites that lead to variation in spectral sensitivity in the opsins of other New World monkeys. Two rare alleles with single amino acid variants are segregating in the population, but previous functional studies indicate that these are unlikely to affect spectral sensitivity. Conclusions: Genetic constraint on the re-evolution of colour vision is likely operating in Azara’s owl monkey, which may affect the niche that this subspecies is able to occupy

Limits on WWgamma and WWZ Couplings from W Boson Pair Production

The results of a search for W boson pair production in pbar-p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV with subsequent decay to emu, ee, and mumu channels are presented. Five candidate events are observed with an expected background of 3.1+-0.4 events for an integrated luminosity of approximately 97 pb^{-1}. Limits on the anomalous couplings are obtained from a maximum likelihood fit of the E_T spectra of the leptons in the candidate events. Assuming identical WWgamma and WWZ couplings, the 95 % C.L. limits are -0.62<Delta_kappa<0.77 (lambda = 0) and -0.53<lambda<0.56 (Delta_kappa = 0) for a form factor scale Lambda = 1.5 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review

Određivanje aglikona flavonoida iz vrsta roda Sideritis (Lamiaceae) iz Makedonije pomoću HPLC UV DAD

Flavonoids obtained from Sideritis species (Lamiaceae), S. raeseri and S. scardica, grown in Macedonia were studied. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the flavonoid aglycones were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a UV diode array detector. Extracts were prepared by acid hydrolysis in acetone, reextraction in ethyl acetate and evaporation to dryness; the residue dissolved in methanol was subjected to HPLC analysis. Isoscutellarein, chryseriol and apigenin were identified in the extracts. Also, a 4’-methyl ether derivative of isoscutellarein was found, together with hypolaetin and its methyl ether derivative, which were identified according to previously isolated glycosides and literature data. Quantitation was performed using calibration with apigenin. According to this screening analysis, the samples of the genus Sideritis from Macedonia are rich in polyhydroxy flavones and analogous with the previously studied Mediterranean Sideritis species from the Ibero-North African and Greek Sideritis species with respect to the presence of 8-OH flavones and their derivatives.U radu su proučavani flavonoidi dobiveni iz Sideritis vrsta (Lamiaceae), S. raeseri i S. scardica, porijeklom iz Makedonije. Kvalitativna i kvantitativna analiza aglikona flavonoida provedena je pomoću tekućinske kromatografije visoke učinkovitosti (HPLC) s UV detektorom. Ekstrakti su pripravljeni kiselom hidrolizom u acetonu, te ponovnom ekstrakcijom etil-acetatom. Ostatak nakon uparavanja je otopljen u metanolu i analiziran pomoću HPLC. Usporedbom s ranije izoliranim glikozidima i s literaturnim podacima u ekstraktima su identifirani izoskutelarein, krizeriol, apigenin, 4\u27-metil eterski derivat izoskutelareina, hipolaetin te njegov metil eter. Kvantifikacija je provedena pomoću kalibracijske krivulje za apigenin. Rezultati ukazuju da su uzorci Sideritis roda iz Makedonije bogati polihidroksiflavonima kao i ranije proučavane mediteranske Sideritis vrste iz sjeverne Afrike i Grčke Sideri

Evaluation des Pilotprojektes Qualifizierungsverbünde (QV) zur Sicherung der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit. Abschlussbericht (Berichtszeitraum: 01.06.2020-31.08.2021)

Vor allem Kleinst-, Klein- und mittelständische Betriebe (KMU) haben Schwierigkeiten dabei, branchen- und betriebsspezifische Kompetenzbedarfe zu identifizieren und passende Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen für ihre Beschäftigten zu finden. Es mangelt dafür häufig an entsprechendem Fachpersonal und an den erforderlichen finanziellen Mitteln. Hilfe erhalten Firmen von Qualifizierungsverbünden (QV). In QV schließen sich verschiedene Firmen, Verbände und Institutionen zu regionalen Netzwerken zusammen, die gemeinsame Weiterbildungsangebote für Beschäftigte der Branchen, aber auch branchenübergreifend planen und durchführen. Die hauptamtlich in den QV eingesetzten Expert*innen haben im Blick, welche Skills zukünftig nachgefragt werden und wo es entsprechende Trainings gibt. Teilweise werden Kurse sogar selbst entwickelt. Außerdem können die Qualifizierungsverbünde dazu beitragen, dass sich betroffene Unternehmen in einer Region besser vernetzen und über die zukünftigen Herausforderungen austauschen. Der Vernetzungsansatz bildet in fast allen Verbünden das Herzstück der Zusammenarbeit. Entscheidend für den Erfolg der Netzwerkarbeit ist die Leistung der Verbundmanager*innen. Diese steuern operativ das Netzwerkmanagement. Sie halten persönliche Kontakte und sichern den Informationsfluss. Sie verantworten überdies in Rückkopplung mit den Verbundpartnern die strategische Weiterentwicklung. Das sind Ergebnisse der Evaluation des Pilotprojektes "Qualifizierungsverbünde zur Sicherung der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit", die das Forschungsinstitut Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb) im Auftrag des Bildungswerks der Baden-Württembergischen Wirtschaft durchgeführt hat. Ziel der Evaluation war es, Erfolgsfaktoren und Hindernisse eines nachhaltigen Projekterfolgs zu identifizieren und im Hinblick auf eine zweite Projektphase Erkenntnisse zur Weiterentwicklung, Verstetigung und Ausweitung von Qualifizierungsverbünden zu gewinnen. (DIPF/Orig.