Foreign Divestment in E-business: Analysis of foreign market exit of Groupon and Lyyti

E-business is expanding dramatically as more companies are using the Internet to conduct business online. The Internet enables companies to internationalize rapidly and to expand to new markets outside of their home country. However, in recent years a new trend has become evident in the e-business industry: an increasing number of e-business companies is divesting operations from their foreign markets. This research examines the factors that lead to foreign divestment in e-business. The research question is divided into four sub-questions, i.e. what is the role of (1) environmental stability, (2) attractiveness of current operations, (3) strategic fit, and (4) governance issues on foreign divestment in e-business. The chosen research method was a qualitative case study. Lyyti and Groupon were selected as case examples through criterion-based sampling. Both are e-business companies that have divested operations from a foreign market. The empirical data was collected through three semi-structured interviews with key participants in the cases. In addition, in Groupon’s case public data and statements were used to complement the information from the interview. The interview themes derived directly from the theoretical framework of Benito created in 1997. The findings of this research support the validity of Benito’s divestment model in both cases. The strongest factor contributing to the decision to divest foreign operations was found to be ‘Attractiveness of current operations’. In both cases the current operations were not perceived as viable enough to continue. In Lyyti’s case the foreign operations were not financially profitable, whereas in Groupon’s case it was the poor performance of the parent company that led to a reallocation of resources in more promising markets. In addition, strategic considerations and governance issues were found to have an impact on the decision to divest. Environmental stability, however, was only a minor factor explaining foreign divestment decisions. The findings of this research have proved that even within the same industry the factors contributing to foreign divestment are not always the same. Even though there was evidence found for all factors of Benito’s divestment model, the importance of the given factors was found to vary greatly. Based on the findings of this research, four managerial implications can be drawn: (1) the company’s overall performance can be improved by reallocating resources to markets with better potential; (2) if a strategy appears to be bad, it should be changed already at an early stage; (3) a careful pre-investment analysis can help to avoid foreign divestments later on; and (4) a good contact in a foreign country can be the key to successsiirretty Doriast

Cannabidivarin (CBDV) suppresses pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced increases in epilepsy-related gene expression

To date, anticonvulsant effects of the plant cannabinoid, cannabidivarin (CBDV), have been reported in several animal models of seizure. However, these behaviourally observed anticonvulsant effects have not been confirmed at the molecular level. To examine changes to epilepsy-related gene expression following chemical convulsant treatment and their subsequent control by phytocannabinoid administration, we behaviourally evaluated effects of CBDV (400 mg/kg, p.o.) on acute, pentylenetetra- zole (PTZ: 95 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced seizures, quantified expression levels of several epilepsy-related genes (Fos, Casp 3, Ccl3, Ccl4, Npy, Arc, Penk, Camk2a, Bdnf and Egr1) by qPCR using hippocampal, neocortical and prefrontal cortical tissue samples before examining correlations between expression changes and seizure severity. PTZ treatment alone produced generalised seizures (median: 5.00) and significantly increased expression of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf. Consistent with previous findings, CBDV significantly decreased PTZ-induced seizure severity (median: 3.25) and increased latency to the first sign of seizure. Furthermore, there were correlations between reductions of seizure severity and mRNA expression of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf in the majority of brain regions in the CBDV+PTZ treated group. When CBDV treated animals were grouped into CBDV responders (criterion: seizure severity ≤ 3.25) and non-responders (criterion: seizure severity >3.25), PTZ-induced increases of Fos, Egr1, Arc, Ccl4 and Bdnf expression were suppressed in CBDV re- sponders. These results provide the first molecular confirmation of behaviourally observed effects of the non-psychoactive, anticonvulsant cannabinoid, CBDV, upon chemically-induced seizures and serve to underscore its suitability for clinical development

Apigliano. Un villaggio bizantino e medievale in Terra d’Otranto. I Reperti

Vari articoli che trattano le ricerche sul sito del villaggio medievale abbandonato di Apigliano, Martano (LE

What role does corporate culture play in business partnerships ? A case study

This case study explores the role of corporate culture in business partnerships. Corporate culture has been named as one of the key reasons behind the success or failure of mergers and acquisitions, but there is far less research on the impact of corporate culture in partnerships, which makes it a relevant topic to research. The aim of this thesis is to create a better understanding of how corporate culture is seen by the case company and its partners as well as how it affects their business partnership. The research objective is to first and foremost examine the research question, i.e. determine the role of corporate culture in partnerships, but also to identify factors that facilitate a successful cross-cultural partnership between the case company and its partners. The research method consists mainly of an online survey, including a prominent tool used for culture mapping, i.e. the organizational culture assessment instrument (OCAI) and the competing values framework, which the case company and its partners responded to. Thematic networks analysis was used to discuss the findings. According to the empirical research conducted for this case study, corporate culture impacts partnerships in both good and bad ways: it can create synergies that help all parties reach their goals faster, but at times it slows down cooperation. Even though the partners employ a completely different culture than the case company, both according to the OCAI outcome as well as the partners themselves, they are still content with their collaboration, as are those who believe they have a similar organizational culture. Nevertheless, in this case study, partnership success factors seem to circle around the following factors: open and friendly communication, fast response times, focus on high quality, working towards common goals, acting professionally as well as valuing their partnership relationships. Many of these were also mentioned when asked about the impact of organizational culture on their partnership relationship.Master [120] en sciences de gestion, Université catholique de Louvain, 201

Making the best of licensing partnerships with diverse corporate cultures. A case study.

This thesis explores what makes licensing partnerships with diverse corporate cultures successful and wherein lie the challenges of having different corporate cultures. Corporate cultures have been named  as  one  of the key reasons behind the success or failure of mergers and acquisitions, but there is far less research on the impact of corporate cultures in partnerships, which makes it a relevant topic to research. The research objective is to create a better understanding of what factors facilitate a successful cross-corporate cultural partnership between the case company team and its licensing partners, but to also identify specific challenges  that  corporate culture clashes create. Despite the many descriptions found in the literature review, this thesis uses "how things are done at the workplace" as the definition for corporate culture, since it is how the respondents themselves describe it. The research method consists of an online survey, including a prominent  tool used for culture mapping, i.e. the organizational culture assessment  instrument (OCAI) and the competing values framework, which the case company team and its partners responded to, as well as personal interviews conducted with the case company team. Thematic networks analysis  was  used to discuss the findings. As it turns out, the OCAI results were not as valuable for this research as the open?ended questions and interviews, which revealed a lot of insightful information about the role of corporate cultures in partnerships as well as the cornerstones of a working partnership with the case company team. According to the empirical research conducted for this case study, corporate cultures impact partnerships in both good and bad ways: they can create synergies that help all parties reach their  goals  faster, but at times they slow down cooperation. Many partner respondents claimed that even though they employ a completely different culture than the case company team, both according to the OCAI outcome as well as the partners themselves, they are still content with their collaboration, as are those who believe they have similar organizational cultures, questioning the notion of only similar cultures working well together. In this case study, partnership success factors seem to circle around the following elements: open and friendly communication about the mutual projects at hand and their progress, fast response times, focus on high quality, working towards common goals, acting professionally as well as valuing  their  partnership  relationships. Many of these were also mentioned when asked about the impact of organizational cultures on their partnership relationship

Foreign Divestment in E-business: Analysis of foreign market exit of Groupon and Lyyti

E-business is expanding dramatically as more companies are using the Internet to conduct business online. The Internet enables companies to internationalize rapidly and to expand to new markets outside of their home country. However, in recent years a new trend has become evident in the e-business industry: an increasing number of e-business companies is divesting operations from their foreign markets. This research examines the factors that lead to foreign divestment in e-business. The research question is divided into four sub-questions, i.e. what is the role of (1) environmental stability, (2) attractiveness of current operations, (3) strategic fit, and (4) governance issues on foreign divestment in e-business. The chosen research method was a qualitative case study. Lyyti and Groupon were selected as case examples through criterion-based sampling. Both are e-business companies that have divested operations from a foreign market. The empirical data was collected through three semi-structured interviews with key participants in the cases. In addition, in Groupon’s case public data and statements were used to complement the information from the interview. The interview themes derived directly from the theoretical framework of Benito created in 1997. The findings of this research support the validity of Benito’s divestment model in both cases. The strongest factor contributing to the decision to divest foreign operations was found to be ‘Attractiveness of current operations’. In both cases the current operations were not perceived as viable enough to continue. In Lyyti’s case the foreign operations were not financially profitable, whereas in Groupon’s case it was the poor performance of the parent company that led to a reallocation of resources in more promising markets. In addition, strategic considerations and governance issues were found to have an impact on the decision to divest. Environmental stability, however, was only a minor factor explaining foreign divestment decisions. The findings of this research have proved that even within the same industry the factors contributing to foreign divestment are not always the same. Even though there was evidence found for all factors of Benito’s divestment model, the importance of the given factors was found to vary greatly. Based on the findings of this research, four managerial implications can be drawn: (1) the company’s overall performance can be improved by reallocating resources to markets with better potential; (2) if a strategy appears to be bad, it should be changed already at an early stage; (3) a careful pre-investment analysis can help to avoid foreign divestments later on; and (4) a good contact in a foreign country can be the key to success.siirretty Doriast

Review of analytical methods for identification and quantification of Cannabis products.

About 100 recently published original papers, reviews, books and other communications concerning cannabis (hashish, marijuana) constituents have been reviewed with the aim of summarizing the status of analytical detection and quantitation. Detailed protocols of standard analytical methods are compared in order to recommend uniform methods for field and forensic samples and also to provide guidance to less experienced analysts in countries where cannabis sativa occurs (T. Maylon. In Big Deal: The Politics of the Illicit Drug Business, the Cannabis Commodity Market, pp. 63-107. Guernsey, London.). Because of its importance, there has been an increasing number of investigations of the chemical, botanical, pharmacological, clinical and sociological aspects of the marijuana (hashish) problem. Since analytical techniques have improved substantially during the last 10 years, many papers have been published containing a variety of methods for detection and quantification of cannabis constituents. Since the analytical situation is becoming increasingly confused and because many of the journals are unavailable in less developed countries, the aim of this paper is to give an overview of existing analytical techniques and to attempt to distinguish practical and effective methods from those which are complex or which provide questionable results