Competitors: Old Woman Looking for Potatos in the Rubbish, so do Birds and Rats Artworks

Digital Image

Competitors: Old Woman Looking for Potatos in the Rubbish, so do Birds and Rats Artworks

postwar version of F 38348

Conflicts when Competitors Cooperate: Exploring Elements of Conflicts from a Business Network Perspective

Most of the existing research within the business network approach is based on companies that are operating on different levels within the same value chain, as a buyer and a supplier. Intercompetitor cooperation, i.e. cooperation between companies occupying the same level within different value chains, has not been studied to the same extent. Moreover scholars within the business network approach have usually described industrial relationships as long term, consisting of mutual commitment and trust. Industrial relationships are not static, but dynamic, and they contain situations of both harmony and conflict. There is consequently a need for more research both concerning intercompetitor cooperation and conflicts. The purpose of this study is to develop our theoretical and empirical understanding of the nature of conflicts in intercompetitor cooperation from a business network perspective. The focus of the study lies on issue and intensity of conflict. The issue of a conflict can be divided into cause and topic, while the intensity comprises the importance and outcome of a conflict. The empirical part of the study is based on two case studies of groups of cooperating competitors from two different industries. The applied research method is interviews. According to the findings of this study causes of conflicts in intercompetitor cooperation can be divided into three groups: focus, awareness and capacity. Topics of conflict can be related to domain, delivery, advertising or cooperation. Moreover the findings show that conflict situations may be grouped into not important, important or very important. Some conflicts may also be of varying importance, meaning that the importance varies from one point of time to another. Based on the findings of the study the outcome or status of a conflict can be analyzed both on a concrete and general level. The findings also indicate that several conflicts are partly hidden, which means that only one or some of the involved actors perceive the conflict. Furthermore several conflict situations can be related to external network actors.

How parasites affect interactions between competitors and predators

We present a synthesis of empirical and theoretical work investigating how parasites influence competitive and predatory interactions between other species. We examine the direct and indirect effects of parasitism and discuss examples of density and parasite-induced trait-mediated effects. Recent work reveals previously unrecognized complexity in parasite-mediated interactions. In addition to parasite-modified and apparent competition leading to species exclusion or enabling coexistence, parasites and predators interact in different ways to regulate or destablize the population dynamics of their joint prey. An emerging area is the impact of parasites on intraguild predation (IGP). Parasites can increase vulnerability of infected individuals to cannibalism or predation resulting in reversed species dominance in IGP hierarchies. We discuss the potential significance of parasites for community structure and biodiversity, in particular their role in promoting species exclusion or coexistence and the impact of emerging diseases. Ongoing invasions provide examples where parasites mediate native/invader interactions and play a key role in determining the outcome of invasions. We highlight the need for more quantitative data to assess the impact of parasites on communities, and the combination of theoretical and empirical studies to examine how the effects of parasitism scale up to community-level processes.

New competitors and their intra-industry effects: the case of the hotel industry

Dissertação de Mestrado, Finanças Empresariais, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Article - "Canadian Lass in 170 Beats Male Competitors in Cup Race", 1956

An article covering the win of Dorothy Rungeling in the Canadian Governor-General Cup race. She was the only female competitor against ten males. She has won two out of the last three years.

Alleviating Negative Spillover of a Brand-Harm Crisis: Sensegiving vs. Sensehiding in a Competitor’s Denial Response Strategy

A brand-harm crisis not only affects the scandalized brand, but may also influence competing brands. Thus, marketers of competing brands need to develop response strategies for reducing negative spillover effects. This research takes a competitor’s perspective and introduces two types of response strategies used to convey a sense of denial: sensegiving and sensehiding. It also investigates how the effects of response strategies are contingent upon brand relatedness and individual thinking styles. The results from three experimental studies show that using a sensegiving strategy reduces negative spillover effects more than using a sensehiding strategy. Additionally, the studies suggest that the observed difference in the effects of response strategy tends to be greater when the level of brand relatedness is high than when it is low. However, individual thinking styles (holistic vs. analytic) seem to have little impact on consumers’ responses to the two denial strategies. This research contributes to the brand-harm crisis literature and provides novel insights into a competitor’s response to potential negative spillover effects.

New business dynamics and agressiveness between competitors

Pesquisas recentes tem se concentrado em analisar se as vantagens competitivas podem ser sustentáveis em um contexto hipercompetitivo. Literatura existente que tem analisado economias emergentes descobriu que o desenvolvimento do contexto institucional contribui para a criação de condições hipercompetitivas. Reconhecendo a importância dessas pesquisas no campo da gestão estratégica, mas ao invés de concentrar a atenção em países emergentes, este trabalho considera crucial ter um espectro mais amplo como objeto de estudo com países que diferem em suas características. Nesta pesquisa foi usada uma metodologia diferente dos estudos que foram tomados como referência para o trabalho, como a feita por Hermelo e Vassolo (2010) que centraram a sua atenção nos países em desenvolvimento analisando o efeito das instituições e os ambientes hipercompetitivos na sustentabilidade das vantagens competitivas. As pesquisas anteriores foram complementadas incluindo dados de empresas em países em desenvolvimento e desenvolvidos, isto para determinar a diferença de desempenho econômico superior persistente ao longo do tempo entre eles com a ideia de mostrar como o meio ambiente não é apenas um fator-chave, mas também um componente principal no desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas. Usando o test Kolmogorov Smirnov e o Propensity Score Matching para reduzir viés, as questões de vantagem competitiva sustentável e os efeitos do contexto institucional foram analisados, tomando cuidado com a comparação uma vez que as suas diferenças podem trazer resultados incorretos. Os resultados empíricos sustentam a tese de que há uma diferença significativa no desempenho econômico superior e sua sustentabilidade entre as empresas em países com essas diferenças. Considerando-se que o foco de estudo está nas instituições e reconhecendo a importância que elas têm na sociedade e crescimento econômico, estudá-las pode nos ajudar a determinar como o desempenho economico superior e o desempenho economico superior persistente poderiam ser alcançados com a estabilidade das instituições e fatores macroeconômicos favoráveis. Uma contribuição importante deste trabalho é que ele usa outras teorias relacionadas com as vantagens competitivas e as relaciona com o entorno macroeconomico e institucional com o proposito de comparar países com realidades muito diferentes através de testes estatísticos que dão uma resposta à hipótese formulada.

Anthropometric profile and upper-limbs strength of bull rider s competitors

A força de preensão manual tem sido relatada como determinante no desempenho de empunhadura em modalidades como lutas e escalada. Este estudo teve por propósito avaliar a aptidão de força isotônica máxima e de preensão manual em praticantes e não praticantes de montaria em touros, a fim de obter parâmetros de referência desta população. Foram avaliados 20 sujeitos em dois grupos, sendo 10 classificados como atletas de montaria e 10 não-atletas. A avaliação da força de preensão manual foi realizada em dinamômetro em posição convencional (DP) e específica (DE), com ambas as mãos (D e E). A força isotônica máxima foi determinada pelo teste de uma repetição máxima (1RM) e também foram obtidas medidas de circunferência dos segmentos, bem como a composição corporal por protocolo de dobras cutâneas. Os valores das variáveis foram comparados pelo teste-t (ρ ≤ 0,05) para dados independentes. As relações entre os valores de força e características antropométricas foram traçadas pelo coeficiente de Pearson. Os resultados para AMT em DPD (43.8±6.8 kgf), DPE (39.4±7.7 kgf), DED (44.9±5.6 kgf) e DEE (39.8±8.3 kgf) comparados aos apresentados por n-AMT em DPD (47.0±3.0 kgf), DPE (42.2±6.1 kgf), DED (49.2±1.5 kgf) e DEE (46.2±4.1 kgf) apresentaram diferenças apenas para DED e DEE. A força nos testes de 1RM (supino reto: 73.2±12.0 kg e 82.0±12.0 kg; rosca direta: 45.2±8.9 kg e 43.8±8.9 kg; tríceps pulley: 67.0±6.3 kg e 72.0±6.3 kg; e puxada posterior: 73.5±8.5 kg e 73.7±7.5 kg) não mostram diferenças entre os grupos. A influência sobre a dinamometria apresenta-se diferente entre os grupos, sendo relevante a força de flexão do cotovelo em AMT e a antropometria e força isotônica para n-AMT. Conclui-se que as características morfo-funcionais de membros superiores não demandam especificidade à montaria em touros.

Genotype and maternal environment affect belowground interactions between Arabidopsis thaliana and its competitors

Ecological interactions between different species are not fixed, but they may depend, at least to some extent, on the particular genotypes involved as well as on the environmental conditions experienced by previous generations. We used a set of natural genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana, that previously experienced contrasting nutrient and herbivory conditions, to test for the influences of genetic variation and maternal effects on competitive interactions between Arabidopsis and the weedy annuals Anagallis arvensis and Senecio vulgaris. We used activated carbon to discriminate between resource competition and allelopathy components of plant-plant interactions. There was a clear competitive hierarchy: Senecio > Arabidopsis > Anagallis. Although we found no evidence for allelopathic potential of Arabidopsis, our results indicate that both Anagallis and Senecio exerted negative (direct or indirect) allelopathic effects on Arabidopsis. There were significant differences among Arabidopsis genotypes in their competitive effects on both neighbor species, as well as in their response to competition. Maternal environments significantly influenced not only the growth and fitness of Arabidopsis itself, but also its competitive effect on Anagallis. We found, however, no evidence that maternal environments affected the competitive effect on Senecio or overall competitive response of Arabidopsis. Generally, resource competition played a greater role than allelopathy, and genotype effects were more important than maternal effects. Our study demonstrates that ecological interactions, such as plant competition, are complex and multi-layered, and that, in particular, the influence of genetic variation on interactions with other species should not be overlooked.

A Differential Role of Volatiles from Conspecific and Heterospecific Competitors in the Selection of Oviposition Sites by the Aphidophagous Hoverfly Sphaerophoria rueppellii

The selection of oviposition sites by syrphids and other aphidophagous insects is influenced by the presence of con- and heterospecific competitors. Chemical cues play a role in this selection process, some of them being volatile semiochemicals. Yet, little is known about the identity and specificity of chemical signals that are involved in the searching behavior of these predators. In this study, we used olfactometer bioassays to explore the olfactory responses of gravid females and larvae of the syrphid Sphaerophoria rueppellii, focussing on volatiles from conspecific immature stages, as well as odors from immature stages of the competing coccinellid Adalia bipunctata. In addition, a multiple-choice oviposition experiment was conducted to study if females respond differently when they can also sense their competitors through visual or tactile cues. Results showed that volatiles from plants and aphids did not affect the behavior of second-instars, whereas adult females strongly preferred odors from aphid colonies without competitors. Odors from conspecific immature stages had a repellent effect on S. rueppellii adult females, whereas their choices were not affected by volatiles coming from immature heterospecific A. bipunctata. The results imply that the syrphid uses odors to avoid sites that are already occupied by conspecifics. They did not avoid the odor of the heterospecific competitor, although in close vicinity they were found to avoid laying eggs on leaves that had traces of the coccinellid. Apparently adult syrphids do not rely greatly on volatile semiochemicals to detect the coccinellid, but rather use other stimuli at close range (e. g., visual or non-volatile compounds) to avoid this competitor.

Scenes from the rejected comedies : By some of the competitors for the prize of £500, offered by Mr. B. Webster, lessee of the Haymarket theatre, for the best original comedy, illustrative of English manners /

Cf. Clark, W.A. Modern Eng. lit. 1920-28. v. 3, p. 1-2.