The impact of industrial context and institutional factors on innovation and internationalization of Russian companies

Innovation and internationalization nowadays play significant role in formation of the competitive advantage for the companies and it is important to explore these processes deeply and use their potential. Such parameters, as industrial context and institutional factors, are essential parts of the business life and their influence may be crucial for the company’s performance. The Master’s Thesis explores impact of industrial context and institutional factors on innovation and internationalization of Russian companies. This research is quantitative and based on the analysis of the relevant scientific literature and results of the survey, conducted among Russian manufacturing companies. Findings show positive influence of industrial context factor “international threat” and institutional environment factor “lack of resources and the market imperfections” on internationalization of innovative Russian companies.

Learning about brain physiology and complexity from the study of the epilepsies

The brain is a complex system, which produces emergent properties such as those associated with activity-dependent plasticity in processes of learning and memory. Therefore, understanding the integrated structures and functions of the brain is well beyond the scope of either superficial or extremely reductionistic approaches. Although a combination of zoom-in and zoom-out strategies is desirable when the brain is studied, constructing the appropriate interfaces to connect all levels of analysis is one of the most difficult challenges of contemporary neuroscience. Is it possible to build appropriate models of brain function and dysfunctions with computational tools? Among the best-known brain dysfunctions, epilepsies are neurological syndromes that reach a variety of networks, from widespread anatomical brain circuits to local molecular environments. One logical question would be: are those complex brain networks always producing maladaptive emergent properties compatible with epileptogenic substrates? The present review will deal with this question and will try to answer it by illustrating several points from the literature and from our laboratory data, with examples at the behavioral, electrophysiological, cellular and molecular levels. We conclude that, because the brain is a complex system compatible with the production of emergent properties, including plasticity, its functions should be approached using an integrated view. Concepts such as brain networks, graphics theory, neuroinformatics, and e-neuroscience are discussed as new transdisciplinary approaches dealing with the continuous growth of information about brain physiology and its dysfunctions. The epilepsies are discussed as neurobiological models of complex systems displaying maladaptive plasticity.

Prevalence of the STK15 F31I polymorphism and its relationship with mammographic density

Several studies have identified the single nucleotide polymorphism STK15 F31I as a low-penetrance risk allele for breast cancer, but its prevalence and risk association in the Brazilian population have not been determined. The goal of this study was to identify the frequency of this polymorphism in the Brazilian setting. Considering the high degree of admixture of our population, it is of fundamental importance to validate the results already reported in the literature and also to verify the relationship between this variant and breast cancer risk. A total of 750 women without breast cancer were genotyped using the TaqMan PCR assay for STK15 F31I polymorphism. Clinical information was obtained from review of the medical records and mammographic density from the images obtained using the BI-RADS System. The estimated risk of developing cancer was calculated according to the Gail model. The genotypic frequencies observed in this study were 4.5, 38.7, and 56.6%, respectively, for the STK15 F31I AA, AT and TT genotypes. The AT and AA genotypes were encountered significantly more often in premenopausal women with moderately dense, dense and heterogeneously dense breast tissue (P = 0.023). In addition, the presence of the TT genotype was significantly associated with age at menarche ≥12 years (P = 0.023). High mammographic density, associated with increased breast cancer risk, was encountered more frequently in premenopausal women with the risk genotypes STK15 F31I AA and AT. The genotypic frequencies observed in our Brazilian sample were similar to those described in other predominantly European populations.

A Brazilian family with hereditary inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia

Inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease and frontotemporal dementia (IBMPFD) is a progressive and usually misdiagnosed autosomal dominant disorder. It is clinically characterized by a triad of features: proximal and distal myopathy, early onset Paget disease of bone (PDB), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). It is caused by missense mutations in the valosin-containing protein (VCP) gene. We describe here the clinical and molecular findings of the first Brazilian family identified with IBMPFD. Progressive myopathy affecting the limb girdles was detected by clinical examination followed by muscle biopsy and creatine kinase measurement. PDB was suggested after anatomopathological bone examination and FTD was diagnosed by clinical, neuropsychological and language evaluations. Brain magnetic resonance revealed severe atrophy of the anterior temporal lobes, including the hippocampi. A R93C mutation in VCP was detected by direct sequencing screening in subject W (age 62) and in his mother. Four more individuals diagnosed with "dementia" were reported in this family. We also present a comprehensive genotype-phenotype correlation analysis of mutations in VCP in 182 patients from 29 families described in the literature and show that while IBM is a conspicuously penetrant symptom, PDB has a lower penetrance when associated with mutations in the AAAD1 domain and FTD has a lower penetrance when associated with mutations in the Junction (L1-D1) domain. Furthermore, the R93C mutation is likely to be associated with the penetrance of all the clinical symptoms of the triad.

The interconnections between customer loyalty, employee engagement and business performance

The interconnections of customer loyalty, employee engagement and business performance have been separately examined in several previous studies but actually a coherent study combining all of these components together has been lacking. This thesis aims to study all of these components and their interrelations at the same time in order to understand the organization as a one whole. The thesis includes an encompassing review of the previous studies related to customer loyalty and employee engagement. The theory presents both the theoretical approaches and the empirical findings from the earlier literature and builds therefore a strong fundament for the empirical part of this thesis. The empirical data in this thesis was provided by three case companies of a Nordic group operating in a business-to-business professional services branch and it used the Net Promoter Score method for measuring both customer loyalty and employee engagement. The thesis left interesting research questions open and provides therefore an intriguing study field for the future researches.

Natural radiation levels in powdered milk samples

The control and monitoring of radioactive elements in foodstuffs is fundamental for human health maintenance. This work presents procedures to measure radioactivity levels in powdered milk samples and also a brief discussion of radionuclide transference from the environment to mankind. The measurements were performed utilizing a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer using an HPGe detector. The results allowed the quantification of 40K, 137Cs and 208Tl radionuclides. For 40K the average activity was 482 ± 37 Bq/kg and for 137Cs and 208Tl the lower level of detection was, respectively, 3.7 ± 1.1 and 0.5 ± 0.2 (Bq/kg). The results obtained for the milk samples were compared to data found in the literature and to the limits established by the Brazilian National Commission of Nuclear Energy (CNEN) to assure its safety to human consuption.

Digital content and making it viral in social media

Tutkimuksen tavoite on selvittää digitaalisen sisällön ominaisuuksia, jotka vaikuttavat ryhtyvätkö kuluttajat jakamaan, tykkäämään ja kommentoimaan sitä sosiaalisessa mediassa. Tällä pyritään auttamaan yrityksiä ymmärtämään paremmin viraalisuutta, jotta he pystyisivät tuottamaan ja julkaisemaan nettisivuillaan ja sosiaalisessa mediassa parempaa sisältöä, jota kuluttajat jakaisivat enemmän. Tutkimus toteutetaan muodostamalla hypoteeseja mahdollisista ominaisuuksista kirjallisuuden perusteella ja testaamalla niitä regressioanalyyseillä empiirisessä osiossa. Tulokset paljastavat yhdeksän piirrettä, jotka lisäävät viraalisuutta: kiinnostavuus, neutraalisuus, yllättävyys, viihdyttävyys, epäkäytännöllisyys, artikkelin ja Facebook julkaisun pituus, eri sisältö taktiikoiden käyttö (erityisesti blogit ja kuvat lisäävät viraalisuutta) sekä kun mielipidevaikuttaja tai kuuluisuus jakaa sisällön.

Why to invest more in women's football for your brand and your business?

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study the role of sponsorship in the business value of companies and clubs. In order to achieve this goal, the French women’s football context is studied. The main research question is formulated as follows: What is the business value in sport sponsorship? The literature and theory part consists of three chapters that clearly follow the theoretical framework: from the sport sponsorship to the sponsor brand, from the sponsor brand to the brand equity, from the brand equity to the business value. The empirical part of the master’s thesis is based on qualitative research method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 4 participants who are Sponsorship Manager or General Manager of French women’s football clubs or sponsors and thus considered as specialists of the study context. The results of the study show that the planning process, the objectives, the sponsor brand, the brand equity components such as the customer behaviour, the economic, financial and immaterial values have positive impacts on the business value in sport sponsorship in the French women’s football context.

Collectiveness within startup teams – Leading the way to initiating and managing collective pursuit of opportunities in organizational contexts

While traditional entrepreneurship literature addresses the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities to a solo entrepreneur, scholars increasingly agree that new ventures are often founded and operated by entrepreneurial teams as collective efforts especially in hightechnology industries. Researchers also suggest that team ventures are more likely to survive and succeed than ventures founded by the individual entrepreneur although specific challenges might relate to multiple individuals being involved in joint entrepreneurial action. In addition to new ventures, entrepreneurial teams are seen central for organizing work in established organizations since the teams are able to create major product and service innovations that drive organizational success. Acknowledgement of the entrepreneurial teams in various organizational contexts has challenged the notion on the individual entrepreneur. However, considering that entrepreneurial teams represent a collective-level phenomenon that bases on interactions between organizational members, entrepreneurial teams may not have been studied as indepth as could be expected from the point of view of the team-level, rather than the individual or the individuals in the team. Many entrepreneurial team studies adopt the individualized view of entrepreneurship and examine the team members’ aggregate characteristics or the role of a lead entrepreneur. The previous understandings might not offer a comprehensive and indepth enough understanding of collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams and team venture performance that often relates to the team-level issues in particular. In addition, as the collective-level of entrepreneurial teams has been approached in various ways in the existing literatures, the phenomenon has been difficult to understand in research and practice. Hence, there is a need to understand entrepreneurial teams at the collective-level through a systematic and comprehensive perspective. This study takes part in the discussions on entrepreneurial teams. The overall objective of this study is to offer a description and understanding of collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams beyond individual(s). The research questions of the study are: 1) what collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams stands for, what constitutes the basic elements of it, and who are included in it, 2) why, how, and when collectiveness emerges or reinforces within entrepreneurial teams, and 3) why collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams matters and how it could be developed or supported. In order to answer the above questions, this study bases on three approaches, two set of empirical data, two analysis techniques, and conceptual study. The first data set consists of 12 qualitative semi-structured interviews with business school students who are seen as prospective entrepreneurs. The data is approached through a social constructionist perspective and analyzed through discourse analysis. The second data set bases on a qualitative multiplecase study approach that aims at theory elaboration. The main data consists of 14 individual and four group semi-structured thematic interviews with members of core entrepreneurial teams of four team startups in high-technology industries. The secondary data includes publicly available documents. This data set is approached through a critical realist perspective and analyzed through systematic thematic analysis. The study is completed through a conceptual study that aims at building a theoretical model of collective-level entrepreneurship drawing from existing literatures on organizational theory and social-psychology. The theoretical work applies a positivist perspective. This study consists of two parts. The first part includes an overview that introduces the research background, knowledge gaps and objectives, research strategy, and key concepts. It also outlines the existing knowledge of entrepreneurial team literature, presents and justifies the choices of paradigms and methods, summarizes the publications, and synthesizes the findings through answering the above mentioned research questions. The second part consists of five publications that address independent research questions but all enable to answer the research questions set for this study as a whole. The findings of this study suggest a map of relevant concepts and their relationships that help grasp collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams. The analyses conducted in the publications suggest that collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams stands for cognitive and affective structures in-between team members including elements of collective entity, collective idea of business, collective effort, collective attitudes and motivations, and collective feelings. Collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams also stands for specific joint entrepreneurial action components in which the structures are constructed. The action components reflect equality and democracy, and open and direct communication in particular. Collectiveness emerges because it is a powerful tool for overcoming individualized barriers to entrepreneurship and due to collectively oriented desire for, collective value orientation to, demand for, and encouragement to team entrepreneurship. Collectiveness emerges and reinforces in processes of joint creation and realization of entrepreneurial opportunities including joint analysis and planning of the opportunities and strategies, decision-making and realization of the opportunities, and evaluation, feedback, and sanctions of entrepreneurial action. Collectiveness matters because it is relevant for potential future entrepreneurs and because it affects the ways collective ventures are initiated and managed. Collectiveness also matters because it is a versatile, dynamic, and malleable phenomenon and the ideas of it can be applied across organizational contexts that require team work in discovering or creating and realizing new opportunities. This study further discusses how the findings add to the existing knowledge of entrepreneurial team literature and how the ideas can be applied in educational, managerial, and policy contexts.

Rethinking "energy nationalism": a study of the relationship between nation states and companies in the oil industry

ABSTRACTThe term "energy nationalism" is frequently used by academic literature and media, but usually without adequate conceptual accuracy. Despite this, a set of papers deepens the discussion on the relationship between nation states and the energy industry, especially the oil sector. These papers allow identifying fundamental elements to understand the energy nationalism, either complementary or divergent between each other. Thus, this study aims at presenting an interpretation of the concept that fills the gaps left by the above mentioned literature based on a global analysis of the oil industry structure and its historical evolution since the mid-19thcentury.

Globalization of pharmaceutical R&D. Pharmaceutical R&D governance forms in People's Republic of China

Yrityksen selviytyminen ja menestyminen ovat riippuvaisia sen kyvystä innovoida, luoda tietoa ja hyödyntää tietämystä ja keksintöjä (Dunk ja Kilgore 2001). Yrityksen menestyminen erityisesti korkean teknologian alalla on siten suoraan riippuvainen sen T&T:stä, johon tehdyt investoinnit tuovat merkittäviä taloudellisia etuja yritykselle uusien tuotteiden, palveluiden ja prosessien muodossa (McEvily ja Chakravarthy 1999). Teknologinen etumatka ja sen tuotteistaminen innovatiivisiksi tarjoamiksi mahdollistaa monopolististen etujen saavuttamisen yrityksen kansainvälisessä kilpailussa (Lall 1977). Tämä kaltainen kilpailuetu voidaan saavuttaa yrityksen kyvyllä yhdistää maantieteellisesti hajautettu T&T:nsä tehokkaaksi verkostoksi (Porter 1986). Boehen (2008) mukaan T&T:n globalisoitumista voidaan johtaa eri hallintömuodoilla: T&T:n kansainvälistymisellä, T&T:n ulkomaille sijoittamisella ja T&T ulkomaille ulkoistamisella. T&T:n globalisoituminen on osa 2000-luvun taloudellista muutosta, ja sille on esitetty useita vaikuttavia tekijöitä, kuten kustannuserot, työvoimaresurssit, erityisosaamiskeskukset, paikallinen teknologia osaaminen ja kohdemarkkinoiden potentiaali (bardhan 2006; Norwood, ym. 2006; von Zedtwitz ja Gassmann 2002). Tutkimuksen on osoitettu eroavan tuotekehityksestä ja eri tekijöiden on osoitettu vaikuttavan niihin (von Zedtwitz ja Gassmann 2002; Leifer ja Triscari 1987). Samoin T&T on osoitettu olevan jatkumo perustavanlaatuisesta soveltavaan ja lääkekehityksen muodostavan vastaavan T&T jatkumon (Lall 1980; Iansiti 1993), jonka yksittäiset osat vaikuttavat sen hallintomuotoon. Tutkimus esittää eri tekijöitä voivan hyödyntää hallintomuodosta riippuen. Tätä tutkimusta varten tutkija haastatteli lääketeollisuuden johtajia Kiinassa vahvistaakseen tai hylätäkseen eri tekijöitä ja niiden suhdetta lääketeollisen T&T:n hallintomuotoihin. Markkinoiden todettiin olevan ensisijainen tekijä mutta myös kustannuserojen, insentiivien, työvoimaresurssien ja erityisosaamiskeskusten merkitys T&T:n globalisoitumiseen vaikuttavina tekijöinä vahvistettiin yhdessä perusvaatimusten ja riskitekijöiden kanssa. Tutkimuksessa vahvistetaan myös lääketeollisen T&T-jatkumon vaikutus ja esitetään viitekehys hallintomuodoille.

Globalization of pharmaceutical R&D Pharmaceutical R&D governance forms in People's Republic of China

Firm's survival and success, which are dependent on its ability to innovate, to create knowledge and to capitalize on inventions and know-how, is in essence directly linked to its R&D process (Dunk and Kilgore 2001). Especially in technology driven industries, such as the pharmaceuticals, there are significant positive returns to R&D investments through introduction of new or improved products and services (McEvily and Chakravarthy 1999). Technological lead and its transformation to innovative products as fruits of corporate R&D can be seen as monopolistic advantage that helps enterprises to compete in today’s market (Lall 1977). This competitive advantage can be derived from corporation's ability to integrate its activities across geographic locations (Porter 1986). According to Boehe (2008) globalization of R&D can executed with different governance forms: R&D internationalization, R&D offshoring or R&D offshore outsourcing. Globalization of R&D is intervened with the changes in global economy of the 21st century. Some studies argue for its influencing factors to be access to vast skilled labor pools and centers of excellence (Bardhan 2006). Other studies indicate the R&D cost differentials between countries to be the major expected benefit (Norwood et al. 2006). Von Zedtwitz and Gassmann (2002) presented benefits as divided to accessing markets and customers or to accessing local science and technology. This study proposes that based on governance form distinct factor derived benefits can be capitalized. To corroborate or refute factors and their relations on R&D globalization governance forms, an empirical study based on expert interviews of pharmaceutical directors was conducted in the People's Republic of China. The market was found to be the major influencing factor. Local requirements and adaptation were corroborated as factors connected with markets. Furthermore, influencing factors, such as labour, centers of excellence, cost, financial incentives were corroborated together with conditional and risk factors. Furthermore this research argues that the globalization of pharmaceutical R&D is dependent on the financial, scientific and operational requirements of the drug discovery stage. And thus establishes the influence of drug discovery's stages continuum on pharmaceutical R&D globalization. Finally, a R&D globalization governance form decision framework is proposed based on the frameworks presented in literature and author's corroborated empirical findings.

Tower and Pedestrian Mall

The original Master Plan of 1964 called for the campus to stretch out 1 1/4 miles across the escarpment with arts buildings west of the tower and science buildings to the east. This plan laid out the development of Brock for the next 10 or 11 years by which time enrollment was expected to be near 8000 students. Pictured here is the tower and university centre. The view is looking east towards a cluster of science buildings and residences in the background.

Amphitheatre and Tower

The original Master Plan of 1964 called for the campus to stretch out 1 1/4 miles across the escarpment with arts buildings west of the tower and science buildings to the east. This plan laid out the development of Brock for the next 10 or 11 years by which time enrollment was expected to be near 8000 students. Pictured here is the tower and behind it, in the lower left portion of the picture, the planned outdoor amphitheatre. This view is from the edge of the escarpment facing southward or southeast.

Explorations and comparisons of actual, ideal, and ought forgiveness definitions : a Q-methodological study /

Numerous definitions of forgiveness have been proposed in the literature (e.g.. North, 1987; Enright, Freedman & Rique, 1998), most ofwhich are based on religious or philosophical notions, rather than on empirical evidence. Definitions employed by researchers have typically set very high standards for forgiveness. This research was designed to investigate the possibility that these definitions describe an ideal of forgiveness and may not reflect laypersons' beliefe and experiences. Using Higgins' Self-Discrepancy Theory as a fiamework, three types of forgiveness beliefs were investigated: actual, ideal, and ought Q-methodology (which permits intensive study ofphenomena in small samples) was employed to examine and compare participants' beliefs about forgiveness across these domains. Thirty participants (20 women), 25 to 78 years of age, were recruited firom the community. They were asked to sort a set of66 statements about forgiveness according to their level of agreement with each statement This process was repeated three times, with the goal of modelling participants' actual experiences, their ideals, and how they believed forgiveness ought to be. Three perspectives on forgiveness emerged across the domains: forgiveness as motivated by religious beliefs, reconciliation-focussed forgiveness, and conflicted forgiveness. These perspectives indicated that, for many participants, the definitions presented in the literature may coincide with their beliefs about how forgiveness would ideally be and should be, as well as with their experiences of forgiveness; however, a large number of participants' experiences of, and beliefs about, forgiveness do not conform to the standards set out in the literature, and to exclude these participants' experiences and beliefs would mean overlooking what forgiveness means to a large portion of people. Results of this study indicate that researchers need to keep an open mind about what forgiveness may mean to their participants.