A Stewardship Cost Perspective on the Governance of Delegation Relationships:The Case of Social Franchising

We explore how nonprofits can effectively govern delegation relationships. We extend stewardship theory by conceptualizing stewardship costs—costs in delegation relationships based on stewardship behavior. As stewards are theorized as other-regarding, self-actualizing, and intrinsically motivated, so far, literature almost exclusively points to the positive performance potential of stewardship behavior. Addressing this shortcoming, we develop propositions showing how stewardship selection costs rooted in the psychological characteristics of stewardship behavior and stewardship management costs rooted in situational factors of stewardship behavior occur during relationship formation and maintenance, and how they counteract the potential to increase performance. We identify and systematize opportunity costs of delayed growth, limited growth potential, and lost standardization gains, as well as increased selection and management costs. To demonstrate the theoretical potential and empirical relevance of our framework, we illustrate our arguments by referring to social franchising, a scaling strategy considered relevant for nonprofits as well as social enterprises

Growing with the market : how changing conditions during market growth affect formation and evolution of interfirm ties

Research Summary: Market conditions are known to matter for firm performance and growth. This study explores how changing levels of uncertainty and competition affect interfirm ties of entrepreneurial firms as markets transition from nascent to growth stage. Tracing 6 entrepreneurial game publishers during the growth stage of the US wireless gaming market, the findings reveal that in a growth stage market, as uncertainty decreases, certain ties of entrepreneurial firms are terminated. First, existing partners may cut ties and become competitors after entering the market directly. This is a “winner's curse” as more successful firms are more likely to entice their partners to enter the market directly. Second, ties may be terminated as prominent firms that are “overwhelmed” with too many partners cut ties with low to mediocre performance while their remaining partners enter a positive spiral of tie strength and performance. Finally, as uncertainty decreases, new firms may enter the market as competitors to prominent firms. While entrepreneurial firms with high and low performing ties to prominent partners may find ties with these new entrants attractive, those with mediocre ties to few prominent partners find this move too risky and wait for a first mover to legitimate it. Overall, the findings show that changing levels of uncertainty and competition in growth stage markets can have different consequences for firms due to heterogeneity in their ties and power relative to partners. The findings provide several contributions to literature regarding the relationship between interfirm ties, firm performance, and market evolution. Managerial Summary: Based on interviews at 6 entrepreneurial game publishers in the US and their partners, this study shows how changing levels of uncertainty and competition in growing markets can have different consequences for firms based on the different types of alliances in their portfolio and their power relative to partners. The findings highlight the importance of managing partners differently based on alliance type and goal of the partner. They advocate remaining flexible in alliance management as information asymmetries, intentions and bargaining power of partners can change and lead to abrupt alliance dissolution. They show that alliance portfolio management goes beyond a firm's capability of managing individual alliances, and provide a tool for managers to evaluate their alliance portfolios and take the necessary precautions

How managers can build trust in strategic alliances: a meta-analysis on the central trust-building mechanisms

Trust is an important driver of superior alliance performance. Alliance managers are influential in this regard because trust requires active involvement, commitment and the dedicated support of the key actors involved in the strategic alliance. Despite the importance of trust for explaining alliance performance, little effort has been made to systematically investigate the mechanisms that managers can use to purposefully create trust in strategic alliances. We use Parkhe’s (1998b) theoretical framework to derive nine hypotheses that distinguish between process-based, characteristic-based and institutional-based trust-building mechanisms. Our meta-analysis of 64 empirical studies shows that trust is strongly related to alliance performance. Process-based mechanisms are more important for building trust than characteristic- and institutional-based mechanisms. The effects of prior ties and asset specificity are not as strong as expected and the impact of safeguards on trust is not well understood. Overall, theoretical trust research has outpaced empirical research by far and promising opportunities for future empirical research exist

Temporal Dissociation between Myeloperoxidase (MPO)-Modified LDL and MPO Elevations during Chronic Sleep Restriction and Recovery in Healthy Young Men

OBJECTIVES: Many studies have evaluated the ways in which sleep disturbances may influence inflammation and the possible links of this effect to cardiovascular risk. Our objective was to investigate the effects of chronic sleep restriction and recovery on several blood cardiovascular biomarkers. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine healthy male non-smokers, aged 22-29 years, were admitted to the Sleep Laboratory for 11 days and nights under continuous electroencephalogram polysomnography. The study consisted of three baseline nights of 8 hours sleep (from 11 pm to 7 am), five sleep-restricted nights, during which sleep was allowed only between 1 am and 6 am, and three recovery nights of 8 hours sleep (11 pm to 7 am). Myeloperoxidase-modified low-density lipoprotein levels increased during the sleep-restricted period indicating an oxidative stress. A significant increase in the quantity of slow-wave sleep was measured during the first recovery night. After this first recovery night, insulin-like growth factor-1 levels increased and myeloperoxidase concentration peaked. CONCLUSIONS: We observed for the first time that sleep restriction and the recovery process are associated with differential changes in blood biomarkers of cardiovascular disease

NADPH oxidases in cardiovascular disease: insights from in vivo models and clinical studies

NADPH oxidase family enzymes (or NOXs) are the major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are implicated in the pathophysiology of many cardiovascular diseases. These enzymes appear to be especially important in the modulation of redox-sensitive signalling pathways that underlie key cellular functions such as growth, differentiation, migration and proliferation. Seven distinct members of the family have been identified of which four (namely NOX1, 2, 4 and 5) may have cardiovascular functions. In this article, we review our current understanding of the roles of NOX enzymes in several common cardiovascular disease states, with a focus on data from genetic studies and clinical data where available