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Integrative View (integrative + view)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting50%

Selected Abstracts

Shifting Imperatives: An Integrative View of Resource Scarcity and Agency Reasons for Franchising

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2006
Gary J. Castrogiovanni
Alternative explanations of franchising offer contrasting predictions as to how the proportion of franchised outlets changes as franchisors age. We propose that two dominant views,resource-scarcity and agency theory,can be integrated by delineating when each is most relevant. Data from 102 franchisors over a 21-year period suggest that resource-scarcity considerations take precedence when franchisors are young, but that agency considerations prevail as franchisors age. Thus, the proportion franchised exhibits a cubic pattern as franchisors age,increasing rapidly at first, decreasing, and then increasing again. Future researchers and practitioners alike can benefit from understanding how the relative influences of resource and agency considerations shift over time. [source]

Instructive cytokine signals in dendritic cell lineage commitment

IMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2010
Michael A. Schmid
Summary:, Clarifying the signals that lead to dendritic cell (DC) development and identifying cellular intermediates on their way to DC differentiation are essential steps to understand the dynamic regulation of number, localization, and functionality of these cells. In the past decade, much knowledge on cytokines, transcription factors, and successive progenitors involved in steady-state and demand-adapted DC development was gained. From the stage of multipotent progenitors, DCs are generated from Flt3+ intermediates, irrespective of lymphoid or myeloid commitment, making fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand one of the major regulators for DC development. Additional key cytokines involved are granulocyte,macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and M-CSF, with each being essential for particular DC subsets and leading to specific activation of downstream transcription factors. In this review, we seek to draw an integrative view on how instructive cytokine signals acting on intermediate progenitors might lead to the generation of specific DC subsets in steady-state and during inflammation. We hypothesize that the lineage potential of a progenitor might be determined by the set of cytokine receptors expressed that make it responsive to further receive lineage instructive signals. Commitment to a certain lineage might consequently occur when lineage-relevant cytokine receptors are further upregulated and others for alternative lineages are lost. Along this line, we emphasize the role that diverse microenvironments have in influencing the generation of DC subsets with specific functions throughout the body. [source]

Opening up the innovation process: the role of technology aggressiveness

R & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009
Ulrich Lichtenthaler
Besides acquiring external knowledge, many firms have begun to actively commercialize technology, for example, by means of out-licensing. This increase in inward and outward technology transactions reflects the new paradigm of open innovation. Most prior research into open innovation is limited to theoretical considerations and case studies, whereas other lines of research have focused either on external technology acquisition or exploitation. In an integrative view, we consider inward and outward technology transactions as the main directions of open innovation. Moreover, technology aggressiveness, which constitutes an important dimension of technology strategy, is identified as a major determinant of open innovation. Data from a survey of 154 industrial firms are used to test three hypotheses relating technology aggressiveness, external technology acquisition, and external technology exploitation. In addition, clusters of firms with homogeneous strategies regarding technology aggressiveness and open innovation are identified. [source]

An Introduction to Simulation and Visualization of Biological Systems at Multiple Scales: A Summer Training Program for Interdisciplinary Research

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2006
Rajan Munshi
Advances in biomedical research require a new generation of researchers having a strong background in both the life and physical sciences and a knowledge of computational, mathematical, and engineering tools for tackling biological problems. The NIH-NSF Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute at the University of Pittsburgh (BBSI @ Pitt;www.ccbb.pitt.edu/bbsi) is a multi-institutional 10-week summer program hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and Carnegie Mellon University, and is one of nine Institutes throughout the nation currently participating in the NIH-NSF program. Each BBSI focuses on a different area; the BBSI @ Pitt, entitled "Simulation and Computer Visualization of Biological Systems at Multiple Scales", focuses on computational and mathematical approaches to understanding the complex machinery of molecular-to-cellular systems at three levels, namely, molecular, subcellular (microphysiological), and cellular. We present here an overview of the BBSI@Pitt, the objectives and focus of the program, and a description of the didactic training activities that distinguish it from other traditional summer research programs. Furthermore, we also report several challenges that have been identified in implementing such an interdisciplinary program that brings together students from diverse academic programs for a limited period of time. These challenges notwithstanding, presenting an integrative view of molecular-to-system analytical models has introduced these students to the field of computational biology and has allowed them to make an informed decision regarding their future career prospects. [source]