Entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations serve as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities and, thus, foster change in organizations. Design/methodology/approach - This paper revises and applies conceptual as well as empirical research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship. In addition, it develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives, operative routines and capabilities interact. Findings - The paper develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations represent a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities. First, the model shows that environmental dynamism reduces fit of operative routines and capabilities. Second, the model states that entrepreneurial initiatives are triggered by operative routines and capabilities in respect of environmental dynamism. Third, the model suggests that entrepreneurial initiatives disrupt operative routines and capabilities and, thus, restore their fit in dynamic environments. The paper contributes to current research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship. Originality/value - This paper addresses the tension between routinization and the entrepreneurial nature of dynamic capabilities. Considering entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation shows that dynamic capabilities might be entrepreneurial, but still preserve their patterned nature enabling repeated execution. This approach provides a way to reconcile the two sub-streams in dynamic capability research and preserve their ontological assumptions. Moreover, this paper extends the literature on dynamic capabilities by ascertaining how individual and group level entrepreneurial initiatives operate within a broader context

Internationale Personalentsendungen als strategischer Erfolgsfaktor

Personalentsendungen haben eine strategische Bedeutung für Unternehmen. Der Buchbeitrag zeigt zunächst auf, worin diese strategische Relevanz begründet liegt. Hierbei wird insbesondere auf Aspekte des Wissensmanagements und des Talent Managements eingegangen. Im Anschluss werden Kriterien eines erfolgreichen Entsendungsmanagements beschrieben. Diese umfassen die Gestaltung des Entsendungsangebots, die Auswahl geeigneter Expatriates, die Vorbereitung, Begleitung und Repatriierung, die Modularisierung der Instrumente sowie Compliance-Themen. Das Buchkapitel schließt mit einer Zusammenfassung und einem Ausblick ab

Process multiplicity and process dynamics : weaving the space of possible paths

In research on process organization studies, the concept of multiplicity is widely used, but a fundamental confusion about what process multiplicity means persists. As a result, we miss some of the potential of this concept for understanding process dynamics and process change. In this paper, we define process multiplicity as a duality of ‘one’ and ‘many’, and we conceptualize ‘the many’ as a space of possible paths encompassed by a process. We use the notion of paths to operationalize process multiplicity and make it accessible for empirical research. When we see process as a multiplicity, process change can be understood as expanding, shifting or contracting the space of possible paths. We suggest that this concept of process multiplicity also has implications for a range of other theoretical and practical topics, including standards, standardization and flexibility as well as process replication, management and resilience

Agilität in wissensintensiven Organisationen : von der Produkt- zur Dienstleistungsorientierung

Agilität gilt heutzutage als Schlüsselfähigkeit, mit der Organisationen erfolgreich in dynamischen Umwelten überleben können. Es ist jedoch bislang unbekannt, wie komplexe, wissensintensive Organisationen Agilität fördern können. Eckpfeiler agiler Organisationen sind die Etablierung ambidextrer Strukturen und deren Vernetzung sowie eine ausgeprägte Dienstleistungsorientierung

Medicus Adaptabilis – Wenn Fachwissen alleine nicht mehr ausreichend ist

Dieser Beitrag weist auf die zunehmende Bedeutung der Veränderungsfähigkeit in Organisationen allgemein und im Gesundheitswesen im Besonderen hin. Die zu beobachtenden demographischen Entwicklungen, das steigende Gesundheitsbewusstsein sowie die fortschreitende Digitalisierung erfordern eine rasche Anpassungsfähigkeit auf allen Ebenen des Gesundheitswesens. Es wird aufgezeigt, über welche Kompetenzen die Beschäftigten zukünftig verfügen müssen, um den Trends in der Gesundheitsbranche erfolgreich zu begegnen. Darüber hinaus wird diskutiert, welchen Beitrag das Kompetenzmanagement zum Aufbau dieser Kompetenzen leisten kann

Hypoxia-enhanced Blood-Brain Barrier Chip recapitulates human barrier function and shuttling of drugs and antibodies

The high selectivity of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts delivery of many pharmaceuticals and therapeutic antibodies to the central nervous system. Here, we describe an in vitro microfluidic organ-on-a-chip BBB model lined by induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain microvascular endothelium interfaced with primary human brain astrocytes and pericytes that recapitulates the high level of barrier function of the in vivo human BBB for at least one week in culture. The endothelium expresses high levels of tight junction proteins and functional efflux pumps, and it displays selective transcytosis of peptides and antibodies previously observed in vivo. Increased barrier functionality was accomplished using a developmentally-inspired induction protocol that includes a period of differentiation under hypoxic conditions. This enhanced BBB Chip may therefore represent a new in vitro tool for development and validation of delivery systems that transport drugs and therapeutic antibodies across the human BBB

The restorative role of annexin A1 at the blood–brain barrier

Annexin A1 is a potent anti-inflammatory molecule that has been extensively studied in the peripheral immune system, but has not as yet been exploited as a therapeutic target/agent. In the last decade, we have undertaken the study of this molecule in the central nervous system (CNS), focusing particularly on the primary interface between the peripheral body and CNS: the blood–brain barrier. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of this molecule in the brain, with a particular emphasis on its functions in the endothelium of the blood–brain barrier, and the protective actions the molecule may exert in neuroinflammatory, neurovascular and metabolic disease. We focus on the possible new therapeutic avenues opened up by an increased understanding of the role of annexin A1 in the CNS vasculature, and its potential for repairing blood–brain barrier damage in disease and aging