Board control and corporate innovation: an empirical study of small technology-based firms

This paper follows a behavioural perspective on boards and governance in exploring the influence of board control on corporate innovation in small technology-based firms. An analysis of 135 Swedish technology-based firms suggests that board involvement in decision control may influence corporate innovation. The empirical results show that board involvement in strategic decision control is positively associated with process innovation, while board involvement in financial decision control is positively associated with organizational innovation. No association is found between board involvement in decision control and product innovation. Overall, the findings suggest that board involvement in decision control may promote corporate innovation but that different kinds of decision control influence different forms of innovation.boards of directors; corporate innovation; decision control; technology-based firms; small firms

Managerial learning and development in small firms: implications based on observations of managerial

In this study we set out to examine the conditions for managerial learning in small firms and the implications it gives for how to facilitate and support work-based management development in this context. Empirically, we conduct structured observations of the daily work activities performed by small business managers. A framework based on experiential learning theory is developed and used as an analytical tool to assess the extent to which these work activities provide them with opportunities for work-based learning and development. In short, the results show that small business managers experience a fragmented working day with frequent and different forms of interruptions and unexpected problems during the course of their working day. These interruptions and unexpected problems are something that leaves little time for engaging in reflective observation to effectively learn from their daily work practices. We discuss the implications of our results for theory and research on managerial learning in small firms as well as for the design of university-led management development programs aimed at supporting the experiential learning process of small business managers.academic Experiential learning; managerial learning; managerial work; management development; small firms; structured observations

University professors and research commercialization: An empirical test of the “knowledge corridor” thesis

There has been an increasing interest in the determinants and outcomes of successful technology transfer and commercialization of research results. In this study we test the validity of the “knowledge corridor” thesis for explaining the involvement of university professors’ in the early stages of research commercialization. Statistical analysis on a sample of 86 respondents from engineering, natural science and medical faculties in a large Swedish university shows that both entrepreneurial and private industry experience significantly influence their ability to spot and generate business ideas in their research. Moreover, we find that research based business idea generation increase at a faster rate for professors with private sector work experience who have more time for research in their positions. The article ends with a discussion of our empirical findings together with its implications for support activities related to technology transfer and commercialization of research results.academic entrepreneurship; knowledge corridor; research commercialization

Uncertain Futures : Adaptive capacities to climate variability and change in the Lake Victoria Basin

The Lake Victoria basin (LVB) in East Africa can be considered a climate change hotspot because of its large rural population dependent on rain-fed farming. Drawing on extensive fieldwork (2007-2011) in rural communities along the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania, I explore adaptive capacities to climate variability and change and discuss how they interrelate in situ. Using multiple methods, tools and techniques, including survey and rainfall data, individual and group interviews, interactive mapping of seasonal calendars and a multi-stakeholder workshop, I locate the place-based effects and responses to a number of converging climate induced stressors on smallholder farmers’ wellbeing and natural resources. Research findings show that adaptive capacities to climate variability and change in the LVB are complex, dynamic and characterized by high location-specificity, thereby signifying the value of using an integrative and place-based approach to understand climate vulnerability. Specifically, the study demonstrates how increased unpredictability in rainfall causes chronic livelihood stress illustrated by recurring and worsening periods of food insecurity, growing cash dependency and heavy disease burdens. The study also reveals that food and income buffers increase when and where farmers, particularly women farmers, collectively respond to climate induced stressors through deliberate strategies rooted in a culture of saving and planning. Nevertheless, the study concludes that smallholders in the LVB are facing a highly uncertain future with discernible, yet differentiated adaptation deficits, due to chronic livelihood stress driven by unequal access to fundamental adaptive capacities such as land, health, cash and collective networks

The role of marketing in new ventures: How marketing activities should be organized in firms’ infancy

Although marketing activities are vital for new ventures (NVs) to ensure growth and survival, previous research is silent on how to organize them in firms’ infancy. The entrepreneurship literature focuses on which marketing activities to perform in NVs but not on how to organize these activities, whereas the marketing literature concentrates on how to organize marketing activities in established firms but not in NVs, which face specific opportunities and challenges in their early stage of development. This article aims to tackle this research gap by examining marketing’s role within NVs’ organization. Drawing on in-depth interviews with managers, we identify two key organizational dimensions: marketing’s dispersion (related to the proliferation and, thus, wide anchoring of marketing responsibilities) and marketing’s structuration (related to the manifestation and, thus, deep anchoring of marketing responsibilities). Through a field survey and archival data, we show that marketing’s dispersion enhances NV profitability, while marketing’s structuration decreases it, and that with increasing marketing influence (i.e., power of marketing actors) in NVs and NV maturity (i.e., age and size), this diametrical pattern of effects becomes less pronounced. Overall, the findings provide novel theoretical and practical insights into the organizational design of marketing in firms’ infancy.© The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Impact of mathematical pharmacology on practice and theory: four case studies

Drug-discovery has become a complex disci- pline in which the amount of knowledge about human biology, physiology, and biochemistry have increased. In order to harness this complex body of knowledge mathe- matics can play a critical role, and has actually already been doing so. We demonstrate through four case studies, taken from previously published data and analyses, what we can gain from mathematical/analytical techniques when nonlinear concentration-time courses have to be trans- formed into their equilibrium concentration-response (tar- get or complex) relationships and new structures of drug potency have to be deciphered; when pattern recognition needs to be carried out for an unconventional response- time dataset; when what-if? predictions beyond the obser- vational concentration-time range need to be made; or when the behaviour of a semi-mechanistic model needs to be elucidated or challenged. These four examples are typical situations when standard approaches known to the general community of pharmacokineticists prove to be inadequate

Rådgivning och behandling av innekissande katter inklusive användandet av psykofarmaka

När katter inte är nöjda med något i sin omgivning kan de börja kissa utanför lådan. Detta problembeteende är en vanlig anledning till att djurägare tar sina katter till veterinären. För att bli av med detta problembeteende är det viktigt att börja med en klinisk undersökning av katten för att se att den inte har någon fysiologisk anledning till att den kissar inne. I detta arbete kallas dessa katter för innekissande katter. Om ingen fysiologisk anledning hittas ska man gå vidare med att finna grundorsaken till innekissandet. När man har hittat grundproblemet ska en skräddarsydd plan med miljöförändringar skapas tillsammans med ägaren. I vissa fall räcker inte miljöförändringar för att få bukt med problemet och då kan det vara indikerat att kombinera med psykofarmakabehandling. Psykofarmaka är ett samlingsnamn för flera olika läkemedel som används för att behandla beteendeproblem på djur. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka hur vanligt det är att använda psykofarmaka till innekissande katter och vilken evidens det finns kring dess effekt. Studien undersöker även djurhälsopersonalens inställning till psykofarmaka och vilken rådgivning och behandling de ger idag. En litteratursammanställning, enkätstudie och intervju har genomförts. Det är ovanligt att använda psykofarmaka som behandling av innekissande katter i Sverige. Inställningen hos djurhälsopersonalen som besvarat denna studies enkät är att miljöåtgärder ska vara den huvudsakliga behandlingen. De anser att psykofarmaka ska ges när det finns tydliga indikationer på att psykofarmaka kan vara en lämplig behandling eller i extrema undantagsfall. En stor del av djurhälsopersonalen anser sig ha för lite kunskap och erfarenhet för att ha en åsikt, 34% av respondenterna har aldrig hört talas om psykofarmaka som behandling för innekissande katter. Den rådgivning och behandling som ges idag är framförallt miljöförändringar för ett tryggare och mer kattanpassat hem. Det är viktigt att djurhälsopersonalen är medveten om att psykofarmaka är ett behandlingsalternativ för innekissande katter. Med en ökad medvetenhet kan katternas välfärd förbättras och onödiga avlivningar undvikas. Det finns få studier på psykofarmaka som behandling till innekissande katter, men den evidens som finns visar att det har effekt. Resultaten i denna studie indikerar att det behövs mer utbildning av djurhälsopersonalen inom ämnet och fler studier behöver göras för att få en tydligare bild av psykofarmakas effekt på innekissande katter. Nyckelord: beteendeproblem, djurhälsopersonal, djuromvårdnad, katt, miljöåtgärder, psykofarmaka, urinering, urineringsmönsterA common reason for cat owners to bring their cats to the vet clinic is that their cat is urinating outside the litter box. It is important to start the journey to get rid of this behaviour with a clinical examination of the cat to exclude any physiological reason for the house soiling. If such a reason cannot be found, it is recommended to proceed with finding the root cause to the behavioural problem. A tailored plan with environmental modifications adjusted to the root cause should be made together with the owner. In some cases, environmental modifications are not enough to get rid of the house soiling and an additional treatment with psychoactive medication can be suggested. Psychoactive medication is a group of drugs used to treat behavioural problems in animals. The aim of this study was to examine how common the use of psychoactive medication is and what evidence there is for the effect. The study also investigates the animal health staff’s attitude to psychoactive medication and what advice and treatments they give today. The study is built on a literature review, a survey study and an interview. It is unusual to use psychoactive medication as a part of the treatment plan to house soiling cats in Sweden. The attitude of the animal health staff who answered this study is that environmental changes should be the main focus of the treatment plan. They think psychoactive medication should be used only if obvious indications of the cat being a candidate for the medication are present or when nothing else worked. A big part of the animal health staff considers itself to have inadequate knowledge to have an opinion, as 34% of the respondents has never heard about psychoactive medication as a treatment for house soiling cats. The most common counselling and treatment is environmental changes for a safer and more cat friendly home. It is important that the animal health staff know that psychoactive medication is a treatment alternative for house soiling cats. An increased awareness of psychoactive medication can improve the welfare of cats and help to avoid unnecessary euthanizations. There are not many studies on the use of psychoactive medication for house soiling cats, but the evidence presented by these studies show that it has effect. The results in this study indicate that animal health staff needs more education on the subject and more studies on the effect of psychoactive medication on house soiling cats needs to be conducted. Key words: behavioural problems, animal health staff, animal care, cat, environmental changes, psychoactive medication, urination, urination habit