Longevity of strategic alliances between competitors: A dynamic value creation approach

Strategic alliances (SAs) present both a high value creation potential as well as entailing high management costs. Research on SA duration has generally focused on factors that affect management costs. The underlying logic in these papers is that factors that increase management costs reduce the likelihood of SA survival and, therefore, SA longevity. The basic assumption is that these factors do not affect the rent-generating potential of the SA. However, we argue that certain factors that increase management costs also increase the rent-generating potential. In particular, this is the case in SAs between competitors. This view complements that of SAs between competitors as learning races. The purpose of the present paper is to shed light on the question of how the fact that the partners in a SA are competitors affects the SA's chances of survival and its longevity.Strategic alliances; value creation;

Cooperation, competition and the longevity of stakes in joint ventures: A value creation approach

This research used a transaction value perspective (Zajac and Olsen, 1993; Madhok and Tallman, 1998) to examine the impact of competitive and cooperative forces on joint venture (JV) duration. We argue that some factors increasing the management cost of the JV may also increase its value potential. Such factors include whether the partners are direct competitors, and whether their nationality is the same. Findings from a survey study provided support for all of our hypothesesCooperation; joint ventures; competition;

More than two are a crowd. Different paths to effectiveness in dyadic and multi-party joint ventures

Using data from 87 joint venture (JV) experiences, we compared the effectiveness of dyadic and multi-party JVs. We show that dyadic JVs are more effective than multi-party ones, and that the conditions resulting in an enhanced effectiveness differ for the two groups: while relational embeddedness significantly influences the effectiveness of dyadic JVs, monitoring mechanisms are pivotal in the case of multi-party JVs.joint venture;

A Mexican Fairytale: The Fall of a Villain and its Perfect Dictatorship

The unexpected and unforeseen fall of the Mexican one-party regime left an important question in the air: What could have possibly caused the collapse of the PRI after seventy years of enforcing a perfect dictatorship? And what does the Mexican experience contribute to our understanding of the breakdown of authoritarian regimes? These are the questions that animate this study. It is organized as follows: Part I reviews the literature on authoritarian breakdowns, with emphasis on O\u27Donnell\u27s argument of soft liners vs. hard liners, Linz and Lipset’s premise of regime legitimacy, and Huntington’s explanation based on economic development and modernization. Part II reviews these political science models of authoritarian breakdown and offers a critique in the light of the Mexican experience. Part III provides an alternative explanation to the fall of the PRI based on the idea of a political culture shift against the PRI at the national level. Finally, part IV offers a conclusion reflecting on what the Mexican experience and the fall of the PRI contribute to our understanding of authoritarian breakdowns

Effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on frailty related phenotypes in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Introduction: The beneficial effect of dietary omega-3 supplementation in younger adults or older people with acute or chronic disease is established. Knowledge is now needed about the effect in medically stable older people. The objective of this study is to examine and assess the evidence for a role of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation in older adults on (1) muscle mass and muscle strength, (2) inflammatory biomarkers and (3) physical activity. Methods and analysis: A systematic review and data synthesis will be conducted of randomised controlled trials in older people not recruited for any given disease diagnosis. Placebo-controlled studies reporting interventions involving dietary supplementation of omega-3 PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid will be included. Outcomes must include changes from baseline to last available follow up for one or more of the following: muscle mass, inflammatory biomarkers, physical activity, walking speed, weight change, hand grip strength or muscle strength. Once the search strategy has been carried out, two independent researchers will assess relevant papers for eligibility. Articles up until 31 December 2017 in any language will be included. We will provide a narrative synthesis of the findings from the included studies. Studies will be grouped for meta-analysis according to the outcome(s) provided. Where studies have used the same type of intervention, with the same outcome measure, we will pool the results using a random effects meta-analysis, with standardised mean differences for continuous outcomes and risk ratios for binary outcomes, and calculate 95% CI and two-sided p values for each outcome. Ethics and dissemination: No research ethics approval is required for this systematic review as no confidential patient data will be used. The results of this systematic review will be disseminated through publication in an open-access peer-reviewed journal and through conference presentations

Conditional genotype analysis: detecting secondary disease loci in linkage disequilibrium with a primary disease locus

A number of autoimmune and other diseases have well established HLA associations; in many cases there is strong evidence for the direct involvement of the HLA class II peptide-presenting antigens, e.g., HLA DR-DQ for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and HLA-DR for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The involvement of additional HLA region genes in the disease process is implicated in these diseases. We have developed a model-free approach to detect these additional disease genes using genotype data; the conditional genotype method (CGM) and overall conditional genotype method (OCGM) use all patient and control data and do not require haplotype estimation. Genotypes at marker genes in the HLA region are stratified and their expected values are determined in a way that removes the effects of linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the peptide-presenting HLA genes directly involved in the disease. A statistic has been developed under the null hypothesis of no additional disease genes in the HLA region for the OCGM method and was applied to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 15 simulated data set of Problem 3, which mimics RA (answers were known). In addition to the primary effect of the HLA DR locus, the effects of the other two HLA region simulated genes involved in disease were detected (gene C, 0 cM from DR, increases RA risk only in women; and gene D, 5.12 cM from DR, rare allele increases RA risk five-fold). No false negatives were found. Power calculations were performed

Determinación de autoanticuerpos antitransglutaminasa IgG/IgA y anticuerpos anti Helicobacter pylori IgG/IgM en pacientes que han sido diagnosticados con el síndrome de colon irritable.

La infección por Helicobacter pylori es más frecuente en países en vías de desarrollo, presenta 60-90% de prevalencia y produce una sintomatología similar con la enfermedad celíaca y el síndrome de colon irritable, por lo que muchas veces no son incluidas en el diagnóstico presuntivo y los pacientes son diagnosticados con síndrome de colon irritable. La investigación tuvo como objeto de estudio, pacientes que habían sido diagnosticados con el síndrome de colon irritable, a quienes se les realizó mediante el método ELISA los análisis para detección de anticuerpos IgG e IgM en suero contra la bacteria Helicobacter pylori y autoanticuerpos IgA e IgG específicos contra transglutaminasa para el diagnóstico de enfermedad celíaca. Se realizó con el objetivo de establecer la identidad que ocasiona la sintomatología en los pacientes o si se puede relacionar al síndrome de colon irritable, el cual se diagnosticó por exclusión