INNOVATION-AS-PRACTICE: EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERS’ ESPOUSED AND ENACTED INNOVATION, AND INNOVATION OUTCOMES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

Innovation is widely regarded as a critical source of competitive advantage in an increasingly changing environment and thus has attracted considerable attention from both academics and practitioners. Thousands of scholarly papers have been published on the subject of innovation, yet the field remains theoretically fragmented and largely disconnected from the indexes and rankings of the practitioner world. This thesis attempts to fill this gap through a qualitative research that examines the relationship between espoused and enacted innovation strategies, innovation outcomes and firm performance using a comprehensive practice-based framework o f organizational innovation. The specific research questions of this study are: How does the congruence between leaders\u27 espoused and enacted innovation strategies (EEIS) relate to innovation outcomes andfirm performance? How do innovation outcomes mediate the relationship between EEIS andfirm performance? Since a practice-based framework requires a qualitative methodology, a case based design is chosen for this study. Based on the criteria that have been tested by a large innovation survey, a theoretical sample of four firms has been identified for the purpose of this research. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through archival research, semi-structured interviews, meeting observations and interactive discussion groups (Yin, 1994). in The findings of this research have provided a rich basis for analysis and theorizing and have lent support for the proposed comprehensive model of innovation. The gap between espoused and enacted innovation strategies has resulted in different types of innovation realized at each firm. Although four firms pursued different innovation strategies and had outcomes o f different magnitude, most o f them delivered expected firm performance. This confirms the equifinality of paths to performance, which thus can be achieved though incremental or radical innovation. This dissertation contributes to academic research by developing a multi­ dimensional framework and a comprehensive model of organizational innovation which will lead to the sustainable innovation outcomes; by developing a taxometry of different combinations of espoused and enacted innovation strategies; exploring the impact of incongruence between them on the short and long term performance, and by demonstrating the equifinality of innovation paths to performance whereby it can be achieved through innovations of different degrees of magnitude (i.e. incremental and radical)

Considerations on the slip demand of shear connectors in composite steel-concrete beams with solid slabs

The objective of this study is to provide insight into the expected slip demand in composite steel-concrete beams through numerical simulations. A wide parametric analysis is carried out evaluating the partial interaction performance of simply-supported beams designed considering a variety of floors, i.e. span length, slab thickness, shear connection strength, dead load to live load ratio and slab concrete strength. For each of these beams, the slip demand required to achieve the expected design capacity is evaluated. In this process, key parameters influencing the slip requirements are identified. These also include the construction sequence (propped or unpropped) and the shear connection distribution (uniform or non-uniform with different layouts)

Seismic response of single-storey steel buildings: role of design criteria.

Italian and European codes allow constructions in seismic areas to be designed with either dissipative or elastic structural behaviour. In the first case, the concept of capacity design is the basis of structural dimensioning; both strength and ductility verifications are required. In the second case, structural elements are designed to remain in the elastic field under the assigned design seismic input; ductility verifications are not enforced. These two design approaches might lead to very different seismic performances depending on the role of the non-ductile elements and connections in the elastic design. In fact, the non-ductile elements and connections might represent a source of weakness and lead to premature failures. In the present work, critical issues related with the modelling of the post-elastic behaviour of a non-dissipative single-storey industrial steel structure are discussed and comparisons are made with the same structure designed with dissipative structural behaviour

Seismic Design and Preliminary Analyses of a Prefabricated Hybrid Steel-Concrete Wall

Steel frames with reinforced concrete infill walls (SRCWs) are an interesting structural solution for applications in seismic areas if designed to exploit the stiffness of reinforced concrete (RC) and the ductility and dissipative capacity of steel. Three horizontal resisting mechanisms can be identified in SRCW: 1) contribution of the steel frame; 2) direct interactions between the steel frame and the compression strut in the RC infill walls; 3) interactions between steel frame and the RC infill wall through friction and shear connectors. While Eurocode 8 considers SRCWs to behave essentially as RC walls, numerical analyses demonstrated that this assumption may be far from reality. Innovative solutions for SRCW and relevant design approaches were eventually proposed in order to achieve a structural system able to fully exploit the advantages of the steel and RC components. In this context, the present study investigates a type of innovative modular SRCW through numerical simulations allowing a better understanding of its structural behaviour

Preliminary results in the automated detection of operational modal properties of the Portico Varano in the Camerino Ducal Palace

Portico Varano in the Ducal Palace of Camerino (Italy) is a renaissance monumental quadriporticus that was damaged by the 2016 Central Italy seismic sequence. Within the field activities for saving cultural heritage foreseen within a recent European research project named ARCH, a long-term monitoring system, comprising different types of sensors, such as accelerometers, displacement transducers, environmental sensors, and a weather station, was set up to achieve comprehensive measures of its operational behaviour and the evolution of the damage. The monitoring system, installed in October 2020, is currently operating, providing valuable information on the experimentally observed dynamic behaviour, also considering changes in the environmental conditions. Starting from the results of the dynamic characterization of the structure and after the optimization of the position of the sensors, this paper shows and discusses the efforts made to track over time the modal characteristics of the Portico Varano in order to detect changes in its conditions. In addition, a procedure has been proposed and implemented combining information available from Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) to identify recorded data related to seismic events relevant to operational conditions

Hypertriglyceridemic waist identifies HIV+ men and women at increased cardiometabolic risk

Screening for increased waist circumference and hypertriglyceridemia (the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype) is an inexpensive approach to identify patients at risk of coronary artery disease in apparently healthy individuals who may be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease because of an excess of intra-abdominal (visceral) fat. We examined the ralationship between the hypertriglyceridemic-waist and selected cardiometabolic risk factors in HIV individuals

Regulation of PERK expression by FOXO3: a vulnerability of drug-resistant cancer cells

The major impediment to effective cancer therapy has been the development of drug resistance. The tumour suppressive transcription factor FOXO3 promotes cell cycle arrest, senescence and cell death, and mediates the cytotoxic and cytostatic functions of cancer therapeutics. In consequence, FOXO3 is often downregulated as an adaptive response in cancer and particularly in chemotherapeutic drug-resistant cells. Consistently, we find that FOXO3 expression is attenuated in the drug-resistant MCF-7-EpiR and MCF-7-TaxR compared to the parental MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Using ChIP, short-interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown, and overexpression assays as well as Foxo1/3/4−/− MEFs, we establish the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress defence modulator PERK (eIF2AK3) as a direct downstream transcriptional target of FOXO3. In agreement, there is also a positive correlation between FOXO3 and PERK expression at the protein and RNA levels in breast cancer patient samples. We uncover that PERK expression is downregulated but its activity constitutively elevated in the drug-resistant cells. With this in mind, we exploit this adaptive response of low FOXO3 and PERK expression, and high PERK activity in drug-resistant breast cancer cells and show that these drug-resistant cells are specifically sensitive to PERK inhibition. In support of this finding, we show that ectopic overexpression of FOXO3 can reduce the sensitivity of the resistant cells to the PERK inhibitor GSK2606414, while the Foxo1/3/4−/− MEFs expressing lower levels of PERK are more sensitive to PERK inhibition compared to wild-type MEFs. PERK inhibitor-titration and -time course experiments showed that the drug-resistant cells, which express lower expression and higher activity levels of PERK, are more sensitive to the increasing concentrations of PERK inhibitor compared to parental MCF-7 cells. Our present work thus reveals a chemotherapeutic drug-resistant cancer cell vulnerability in PERK and suggests PERK as a potential target for cancer therapy, specifically in the context of drug-resistant cancers

Preliminary analyses of an innovative solution for reducing seismic damage in steel-concrete hybrid-coupled walls

Hybrid steel-concrete structures used as earthquake-resistant systems are an interesting solution for buildings in seismic prone areas, combining in effective ways the benefits of concrete and steel. In this context, an innovative single-pier hybrid coupled wall (SP-HCW), made of a single reinforced concrete wall coupled to two steel side columns by means of steel link, was recently proposed. The system is conceived to reduce the damage in the reinforced concrete wall while concentrating dissipation to the replaceable links. Although the numerical analyses for this innovative solution showed encouraging seismic performances and the desired ductile global behaviour, bottom zones of the concrete wall might experience undesired damages. Starting from the first proposed SP-HCW, in this study a new solution for its base is presented and preliminary investigated, i.e., the wall is designed as pinned at the base and equipped with additional vertical dissipative devices. In this way, this new configuration is expected to achieve lower damage of the wall without reducing its dissipative capacity. In this article the results of preliminary pushover analyses are discussed to evaluate the expected performances of the proposed structural solution

Group Psychological Treatment Preferences of Individuals Living With Chronic Disease: Brief Report of a Saskatchewan-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Given that individuals with chronic diseases comorbid with psychological distress experience worse clinical outcomes than those without psychological distress, treatment of the psychological sequalae that accompanies chronic diseases is of utmost importance. Thus, the present study aimed to examine group treatment preferences among adults living with chronic disease in Saskatchewan, Canada. An online survey regarding group treatment preferences was administered to 207 participants living with chronic disease comorbid with psychological distress. The most often reported treatment scenario was virtual sessions (45%) lasting 1 h (51%) and occurring every other week (45%) in the evening (63%) for 3 to4 months (40%). Preferences included a medium group (48%), a relatively closed group nature (ie, only occasional new members; 44%), and group leadership including at least 1 professional living with chronic disease (54%). Future-oriented (81%), supportive (83%), skill-based (95%), and group discussions (78%) were desired treatment characteristics among participants. Survey results showed clear preferences on treatment content and session logistics. Slight variations exist by gender and age, but a consensus can be identified and act as a preliminary treatment plan. This study contributes to the body of literature on psychological treatment preferences for individuals living with chronic disease by outlining the preferred format and composition of groups according to those with lived experience. Group-based psychological treatment for chronic disease patients should account for these preferences to improve its acceptability and usefulness among patients