Strategic rigidity and foresight for technology adoption among electric utilities

The variation in the adoption of a technology as a major source of competitive advantage has been attributed to the wide-ranging strategic foresight and the integrative capability of a firm. These possible areas of competitive advantage can exist in the periphery of the firm's strategic vision and can get easily blurred as a result of rigidness and can permeate in the decision-making process of the firm. This article explores how electric utility firms with a renewable energy portfolio can become strategically rigid in terms of adoption of newer technologies. The reluctance or delay in the adoption of new technology can be characterized as strategic rigidness, brought upon as a result of a firm's core competence or core capability in the other, more conventional technology arrangement. This paper explores the implications of such rigidness on the performance of a firm and consequently on the energy eco-system. The paper substantiates the results by emphasizing the case of Iberdrola S.A., an incumbent firm as a wind energy developer and its adoption decision behavior. We illustrate that the very routines that create competitive advantage for firms in the electric utility industry are vulnerable as they might also develop as sources of competitive disadvantage, when firms confront environmental change and uncertainty.

Exploring strategic farming choices to respond to mitigation and adaptation to climate change

Las alteraciones del sistema climático debido al aumento de concentraciones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) en la atmósfera, tendrán implicaciones importantes para la agricultura, el medio ambiente y la sociedad. La agricultura es una fuente importante de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (globalmente contribuye al 12% del total de GEI), y al mismo tiempo puede ser parte de la solución para mitigar las emisiones y adaptarse al cambio climático. Las acciones frente al desafío del cambio climático deben priorizar estrategias de adaptación y mitigación en la agricultura dentro de la agenda para el desarrollo de políticas. La agricultura es por tanto crucial para la conservación y el uso sostenible de los recursos naturales, que ya están sometidos a impactos del cambio climático, al mismo tiempo que debe suministrar alimentos para una población creciente. Por tanto, es necesaria una coordinación entre las actuales estrategias de política climática y agrícola. El concepto de agricultura climáticamente inteligente ha surgido para integrar todos estos servicios de la producción agraria. Al evaluar opciones para reducir las amenazas del cambio climático para la agricultura y el medio ambiente, surgen dos preguntas de investigación: • ¿Qué información es necesaria para definir prácticas agrarias inteligentes? • ¿Qué factores influyen en la implementación de las prácticas agrarias inteligentes? Esta Tesis trata de proporcionar información relevante sobre estas cuestiones generales con el fin de apoyar el desarrollo de la política climática. Se centra en sistemas agrícolas Mediterráneos. Esta Tesis integra diferentes métodos y herramientas para evaluar las alternativas de gestión agrícola y políticas con potencial para responder a las necesidades de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. La investigación incluye enfoques cuantitativos y cualitativos e integra variables agronómicas, de clima y socioeconómicas a escala local y regional. La investigación aporta una recopilación de datos sobre evidencia experimental existente, y un estudio integrado sobre el comportamiento de los agricultores y las posibles alternativas de cambio (por ejemplo, la tecnología, la gestión agrícola y la política climática). Los casos de estudio de esta Tesis - el humedal de Doñana (S España) y la región de Aragón (NE España) - permiten ilustrar dos sistemas Mediterráneos representativos, donde el uso intensivo de la agricultura y las condiciones semiáridas son ya una preocupación. Por este motivo, la adopción de estrategias de mitigación y adaptación puede desempeñar un papel muy importante a la hora de encontrar un equilibrio entre la equidad, la seguridad económica y el medio ambiente en los escenarios de cambio climático. La metodología multidisciplinar de esta tesis incluye una amplia gama de enfoques y métodos para la recopilación y el análisis de datos. La toma de datos se apoya en la revisión bibliográfica de evidencia experimental, bases de datos públicas nacionales e internacionales y datos primarios recopilados mediante entrevistas semi-estructuradas con los grupos de interés (administraciones públicas, responsables políticos, asesores agrícolas, científicos y agricultores) y encuestas con agricultores. Los métodos de análisis incluyen: meta-análisis, modelos de gestión de recursos hídricos (modelo WAAPA), análisis multicriterio para la toma de decisiones, métodos estadísticos (modelos de regresión logística y de Poisson) y herramientas para el desarrollo de políticas basadas en la ciencia. El meta-análisis identifica los umbrales críticos de temperatura que repercuten en el crecimiento y el desarrollo de los tres cultivos principales para la seguridad alimentaria (arroz, maíz y trigo). El modelo WAAPA evalúa el efecto del cambio climático en la gestión del agua para la agricultura de acuerdo a diferentes alternativas políticas y escenarios climáticos. El análisis multicriterio evalúa la viabilidad de las prácticas agrícolas de mitigación en dos escenarios climáticos de acuerdo a la percepción de diferentes expertos. Los métodos estadísticos analizan los determinantes y las barreras para la adopción de prácticas agrícolas de mitigación. Las herramientas para el desarrollo de políticas basadas en la ciencia muestran el potencial y el coste para reducir GEI mediante las prácticas agrícolas. En general, los resultados de esta Tesis proporcionan información sobre la adaptación y la mitigación del cambio climático a nivel de explotación para desarrollar una política climática más integrada y ayudar a los agricultores en la toma de decisiones. Los resultados muestran las temperaturas umbral y la respuesta del arroz, el maíz y el trigo a temperaturas extremas, siendo estos valores de gran utilidad para futuros estudios de impacto y adaptación. Los resultados obtenidos también aportan una serie de estrategias flexibles para la adaptación y la mitigación a escala local, proporcionando a su vez una mejor comprensión sobre las barreras y los incentivos para su adopción. La capacidad de mejorar la disponibilidad de agua y el potencial y el coste de reducción de GEI se han estimado para estas estrategias en los casos de estudio. Estos resultados podrían ayudar en el desarrollo de planes locales de adaptación y políticas regionales de mitigación, especialmente en las regiones Mediterráneas. ABSTRACT Alterations in the climatic system due to increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are expected to have important implications for agriculture, the environment and society. Agriculture is an important source of GHG emissions (12 % of global anthropogenic GHG), but it is also part of the solution to mitigate emissions and to adapt to climate change. Responses to face the challenge of climate change should place agricultural adaptation and mitigation strategies at the heart of the climate change agenda. Agriculture is crucial for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, which already stand under pressure due to climate change impacts, increased population, pollution and fragmented and uncoordinated climate policy strategies. The concept of climate smart agriculture has emerged to encompass all these issues as a whole. When assessing choices aimed at reducing threats to agriculture and the environment under climate change, two research questions arise: • What information defines smart farming choices? • What drives the implementation of smart farming choices? This Thesis aims to provide information on these broad questions in order to support climate policy development focusing in some Mediterranean agricultural systems. This Thesis integrates methods and tools to evaluate potential farming and policy choices to respond to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The assessment involves both quantitative and qualitative approaches and integrates agronomic, climate and socioeconomic variables at local and regional scale. The assessment includes the collection of data on previous experimental evidence, and the integration of farmer behaviour and policy choices (e.g., technology, agricultural management and climate policy). The case study areas -- the Doñana coastal wetland (S Spain) and the Aragón region (NE Spain) – illustrate two representative Mediterranean regions where the intensive use of agriculture and the semi-arid conditions are already a concern. Thus the adoption of mitigation and adaptation measures can play a significant role for reaching a balance among equity, economic security and the environment under climate change scenarios. The multidisciplinary methodology of this Thesis includes a wide range of approaches for collecting and analysing data. The data collection process include revision of existing experimental evidence, public databases and the contribution of primary data gathering by semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders (i.e., public administrations, policy makers, agricultural advisors, scientist and farmers among others) and surveys given to farmers. The analytical methods include meta-analysis, water availability models (WAAPA model), decision making analysis (MCA, multi-criteria analysis), statistical approaches (Logistic and Poisson regression models) and science-base policy tools (MACC, marginal abatement cost curves and SOC abatement wedges). The meta-analysis identifies the critical temperature thresholds which impact on the growth and development of three major crops (i.e., rice, maize and wheat). The WAAPA model assesses the effect of climate change for agricultural water management under different policy choices and climate scenarios. The multi-criteria analysis evaluates the feasibility of mitigation farming practices under two climate scenarios according to the expert views. The statistical approaches analyses the drivers and the barriers for the adoption of mitigation farming practices. The science-base policy tools illustrate the mitigation potential and cost effectiveness of the farming practices. Overall, the results of this Thesis provide information to adapt to, and mitigate of, climate change at farm level to support the development of a comprehensive climate policy and to assist farmers. The findings show the key temperature thresholds and response to extreme temperature effects for rice, maize and wheat, so such responses can be included into crop impact and adaptation models. A portfolio of flexible adaptation and mitigation choices at local scale are identified. The results also provide a better understanding of the stakeholders oppose or support to adopt the choices which could be used to incorporate in local adaptation plans and mitigation regional policy. The findings include estimations for the farming and policy choices on the capacity to improve water supply reliability, abatement potential and cost-effective in Mediterranean regions.

Human resources policies for strategic csr. The experience of ree (Red Eléctrica de España)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies have a strong link with human resources policies. Not only because employees are one of the main stakeholders and because leaders’ style is directly related to the deployment of the strategy, but also, and with a growing importance, because a company culture aligned with CSR values could be a key competitive factor. The relationships among CSR values, employees’ commitment and productivity is one of the research lines of the GIOS (Grupo de Investigación de Organizaciones Sostenibles, Sustainable Organizations Research Group). Employees’ commitment management is one of the main challenges managers face, particularly in companies with a high proportion of knowledge workers. Many pieces of research indicate the direct relationship between employees’ commitment and company success. In this paper the results of a case study in REE (Red Eléctrica de España) identify some key variables to demonstrate that relationship. Based on commitment construct with the duality of emotional and rational commitment, and on the REE employee satisfaction survey, a direct relationship with organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) variables appears. These OCB variables are an intermediate step with CSR values.From the results analysis of this survey a direct linear relationship can be seen between commitment and organizational citizenship behaviours. The relationships among emotional and rational commitment and OCB are examined separately with the conclusion being reached that there is a strong correlation in both cases. Moreover, the correlation between emotional commitment and OCB is somewhat stronger than that existing between rational commitment and OCB. it can also be seen how emotional commitment increases more strongly than rational commitment as organizational citizenship behaviours are gradually incorporated.

Parsing executive processes: Strategic vs. evaluative functions of the anterior cingulate cortex

Event-related functional MRI and a version of the Stroop color naming task were used to test two conflicting theories of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function during executive processes of cognition. A response-related increase in ACC activity was present when strategic processes were less engaged, and conflict high, but not when strategic processes were engaged and conflict reduced. This is inconsistent with the widely held view that the ACC implements strategic processes to reduce cognitive conflicts, such as response competition. Instead, it suggests that the ACC serves an evaluative function, detecting cognitive states such as response competition, which may lead to poor performance, and representing the knowledge that strategic processes need to be engaged.

Elections, information aggregation, and strategic voting

A central role of elections is the aggregation of information dispersed within a population. This article surveys recent work on elections as mechanisms for aggregating information and on the incentives for voters to vote strategically in such elections.

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): cantharidin as precopulatory "enticing" agent.

Male Neopyrochroa flabellata have a natural affinity for cantharidin (Spanish fly). They are attracted to cantharidin baits in the field and feed on the compound if it is offered to them in the laboratory. Males that ingest cantharidin secrete cantharidin from a cephalic gland. Females sample secretion from this gland during courtship and mate preferentially with males that had fed on cantharidin. Cantharidin-unfed males can be rendered acceptable to females if cantharidin is added to their cephalic gland.

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): Cantharidin as "nuptial gift".

The amount of cantharidin (Spanish fly) that the Neopyrochroa flabellata male presents to the female as a glandular offering during courtship represents only a small fraction of the total cantharidin the male accumulates systemically following ingestion of the compound. A major fraction of the acquired cantharidin is stored by the male in the large accessory glands of the reproductive system. At mating, the male transfers this supply, presumably as part of the sperm package, to the spermatheca of the female. The female in turn allocates the gift to the eggs. Eggs endowed with cantharidin proved relatively invulnerable to attack by a predaceous beetle larva (Coleomegilla maculata).

Misexpression of the white (w) gene triggers male-male courtship in Drosophila.

We report here that the general ectopic expression of a tryptophan/guanine transmembrane transporter gene, white (w), induces male-male courtship in Drosophila. Activation of a hsp-70/miniwhite (mini-w) transgene in mature males results in a marked change in their sexual behavior such that they begin to vigorously court other mature males. In transformant populations containing equal numbers of both sexes, most males participate, thus forming male-male courtship chains, circles, and lariats. Mutations that ablate the w transgene function also abolish this inducible behavior. Female sexual behavior does not appear to be altered by ectopic w expression. By contrast, when exposed to an active homosexual courtship environment, non-transformant males alter their behavior and actively participate in the male-male chaining. These findings demonstrate that, in Drosophila, both genetic and environmental factors play a role in male sexual behavior.

Representational Subversions and the Limits of Postcoloniality: Shahzia Sikander's Strategic Contemporaneity

Transnational artist Shahzia Sikander challenges the limitations of Edward Said's postcolonial emphasis on secular humanism by deploying the heterogeneous traditions of South Asian miniature painting while strategically drawing on tradition to critique contemporaneity. Through a palimpsest process of composition, Sikander reincorporates the unknown and silenced histories implicit in the tradition of miniature painting to create social imaginaries with motifs that draw on the diverse traditions of South Asian religions and aesthetics to create a subversive politics of remembering wherein alternative images of cosmopolitanism emerge. Through a sustained analysis, this dissertation demonstrates how these alternative traditions interrogate and critique the limitations of postcolonial theory. Particularly important to this critique are some recent approaches of Third World feminists that highlight the limitations of secular humanism implicit in much of postcolonial critique. Sikander's compositions mirror these approaches as her motifs of the feminine become an intervention into the spiritual emptiness and ethical confusions of contemporaneity. In effect, Sikander's work is an intervention, a warning, and a plea for the re-invention of positive alternatives as her images embody and facilitate a critical and daring consciousness that is necessary to both our social and spiritual well-being.

China's Strategic Choices towards North Korea and Iran

This study tests two hypotheses. First, China cooperates with the United States only when it is able to obtain material rewards. Second, without material incentives from the United States, China straddles between the United States on one hand and Iran and North Korea on the other. My findings show that neither Structural Realism, which holds anti-hegemonism alliance, nor Constructivism, which holds positive assimilation of the nuclear nonproliferation norm explains Chinese international behavior comprehensively. My balance of interest model explains Chinese foreign policy on the noncompliant states better. The cases cover the Sino-North Korean and Sino-Iranian diplomatic histories from 1990 to 2013 vis-à-vis the United States. The study is both a within-case comparison—that is, changes of China’s stance across time—and a cross-case comparison in China’s position regarding Iran and North Korea. My comparisons contribute to theoretical and empirical analyses in international relations literature. Theoretically, the research creates different options for the third party between the two antagonistic actors. China will have seven different types of reaction: balancing, bandwagoning, mediating, and abetting that foster strategic clarity versus hiding, delaying, and straddling which are symptomatic of strategic ambiguity. I argue that there is a gradation between pure balancing and pure supporting. Empirically, the test results show that Chinese leaders have tried to find a balance between its material interests and international reputation by engaging in straddling and delaying inconsistently. There are two major findings. First, China’s foreign policy has been reactive. Whereas prior to 2006, balancing against the U.S. had been a dominant strategy, since 2006, China has shown strategic ambiguity. Second, Chinese leaders believe that the preservation of stability in the region outweighs denuclearization of the noncompliant states, because it is in China’s interest to maintain a manageable tension between the U.S. and the noncompliant states. The balance of interest model suggests that the best way to understand China’s preferences is to consider them as products of rough calculation of risks and rewards on both the U.S. and the noncompliant states.

Manager Training and Development Strategy: A Methodology to Link Strategic Initiatives at Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University has developed and implemented a strategic plan and performance development initiative for 2007-2017. In concert with the strategic plan and performance development initiative, supportive manager core competencies have been identified. The deliverable for this capstone project is a documented methodology that supports the strategy for the design and implementation of a manager training and development program that ensures needed competencies are available. The author uses survey data to determine training needs and priorities and, through a review of literature, investigates effective strategies to arrive at a successful implementation methodology. The author presents findings and conclusions regarding design implementation methodology for manager training and development.

The New Strategic Onboarding Process

Onboarding is an important aspect of the employment process that has been often ignored. Overlooked onboarding results in high turnover costs, totaling up to 30 to 50 percent of an employee's first-year pay. To decrease this turnover and its associated high costs, this paper proposes the implementation of a highly strategic onboarding process. This process has a strategic focus, SMART goals, integrates multiple offices and people, and addresses all new employee needs with two considerations, generational and technological advances. An employee stays continuously and actively engaged, with vested interest in success, maximizing engagement and retention. The process focuses on constant and continuous feedback from all stakeholders. The project is a practical guide for implementing a new strategically focused onboarding process.

Asymmetric rivalry within and between strategic groups

Our study examines asymmetric rivalry within and between strategic groups defined according to the size of their members. We hypothesize that, owing to several forms of group-level effects, including switching costs and efficiency, strategic groups comprising large firms expect to experience a large amount of retaliation from firms within their group and accommodation from the group comprising smaller firms. Small firms, on the other hand, expect to experience a small amount of retaliation from the group comprising large firms and no reaction from the other firms in their group. We estimate the effect of group-level strategic interactions on firm performance. Our analysis reveals that the rivalry behavior within and between groups is asymmetric, which supports the dominant-fringe relation between firms, as described in our hypothesis.

Microfoundations of strategic management: Toward micro–macro research in the resource-based theory

Over the last few years, a new stream of research has emerged in the field of strategic management which focuses on the analysis of its microfoundations. This line of research analyzes strategic topics examining their foundations rooted in individual actions and interactions. The main purpose of this paper is to examine this emerging literature of microfoundations, indicating its usefulness and main characteristics. Through a systematic literature review, this paper contributes to the field by identifying the main areas studied, the benefits and potential of this approach, and some limitations and criticisms. Moreover, the paper studies how the integration of micro and macro aspects in strategy research may be carried out, examining several works that use a multilevel approach. Some methodological approaches that may help to effect this integration are indicated. These aspects will be analyzed in relation to the resource-based theory.

Father Abbey's Will, To which is now added, a letter of courtship to his virtuous..., undated

Goodspeed 9, Ford 609.