Abstract

     One of the main challenges in the design of wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks is to reduce energy consumption and radio interference and collision, which are strictly and strongly correlated to the transmission range of the nodes. In this article, the transmission ranges of sensors in sparse Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is theoretically analyzed and is shown that the transmission ranges of sensors can be significantly reduced in this type of WSNs without losing any connection. Next, a method is presented to calculate reduced transmission ranges. In this method, an iterative transmission range adjustment mechanism is used to select an almost transmission range while no information is needed on the location of nodes or the distance between nodes. This method is very efficient and its communication overhead is low. It can be used as a pre-step of any routing algorithm in order to decrease energy consumption and radio interference in targeted scenarios. The simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed method. We got at least 50% improvement in energy consumption in comparison with full power network, in sparse WSNs.

Introduction

     Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become increasingly popular in recent years, as they offer a powerful and cost-effective solution for monitoring and collecting data from a variety of environments. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) consists of a large number of distributed sensor nodes that cooperatively monitor the physical world [1]. Each node in these networks is typically equipped with a wireless communication device, a small microcontroller, a memory unit and a power source. The nodes in a WSN are typically battery-powered and have limited processing power, memory, and communication bandwidth. Therefore, the design of a WSN requires careful consideration of these constraints, such as the choice of communication protocol, data routing algorithms, and energy management strategies [2].

     The complexity of the WSN domain as well as the presence of many sensor nodes unavoidably introduces a large amount of data in these networks that must be processed, transmitted and received. The sheer amount of data generated by WSNs can pose a significant challenge for the network design and operation. The sensors in a WSN can generate data continuously or periodically, depending on the application requirements. This data must be processed, stored, and transmitted to the base station in a timely and efficient manner. So the complexity of the WSN domain and the presence of many sensor nodes can introduce a large amount of data that must be processed, transmitted, and received [3]. Despite their profound advantages, the utilization of WSNs is often battery-powered and strictly limited due to energy constraints. In fact, most of the energy expenditure of a sensor node occurs during wireless communication, and the remaining energy is consumed during sensing and data processing. The radio transceiver of a node consumes a significant amount of energy during data transmission and reception. Therefore, the energy consumption of a node must be carefully managed to ensure the longevity of the network [4]. Transmission power adjustment for a special transmitter-receiver pair depends on several environmental conditions. The transmission power required to reach the receiver is affected by two main factors including distance and wireless connection quality. Distance affects transmission power. As the distance between the transmitter and receiver increases, the signal strength decreases, resulting in a weaker connection.

Conclusions and future works

     We studied the transmission range of sensors in wireless sensor networks in this study, and proposed a simple yet effective distributed transmission power control algorithm for sparse wireless sensor networks. We showed that this algorithm has advantages in many cases. The main idea of algorithm is simple, but performance of algorithm in targeted scenarios is excellent. We analyzed the performance of this method theoretically and show that using this method is worthwhile in some scenarios, especially in sparse wireless sensor networks with high amount of communication traffic. In these scenarios, our method can be used as a pre-step of any routing algorithm and decrease energy consumption and radio interference. As a future work, we intend to design methods to overcome the collisions problem. Designing methods for resisting the algorithm against the sensor failures is another future work. Furthermore we intend to work on using learning methods like Reinforcement learning for power control. Designing a good energy efficient reward mechanism is one of the main challenges of these methods.

Abstract
This paper examines the relation between bank profit performance and business models, using a machine learning–based approach. The analysis contributes to the literature on this relation by considering the bank portfolio’s ability to yield profits as the identification criterion of strategic profiles and by including all the components of the business model simultaneously in the identification process. Our research strategy is applied to the European Union banking system from 1997 to 2021. The paper’s primary finding indicates that specialization seems to be a strategy that results in banks adopting business profiles with better profit performance, particularly if the banks specialize in the standard retail-oriented model.

Introduction

      What characteristics of bank business models enhance profitability? The search for answers has been among supervisory authorities’ priorities since the end of the Great Recession and is likely to maintain its relevance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons for such interest lie in the fact that the relation between business models and profitability can reveal the viability of banks’ strategic plans and, hence, the viability of banks themselves. In this regard, the Anon (2016) links poorly adapted business models to low bank profitability in advanced economies, identifying the former as an eroding agent of bank resilience over time. However, concern about the profitability of banks’ business profiles has been especially strong in the European Union (EU), as reflected by the fact that the European Central Bank launched a thematic review in 2016 to assess the relation between profitability and business models (European Central Bank, 2018).

      Banking research has examined this relation in two broad and different ways, using regression analysis to explore the effects of the characteristics of the bank business profile on profitability or grouping banks into business models by means of clustering techniques.

Conclusion

     The ability of business models to generate profits is an ongoing concern for banking authorities, especially in the EU. Closely related to this concern, we propose a new methodological strategy to identify business models and to assess their relation to profit performance. Previous works on business models have assumed the business models as a given or have identified them using similarities in balance sheet components. In either of these cases, profit performance is a byproduct of the business model. By contrast, in our identification strategy, profitability is at the core of the definitions of banks’ strategic choices. In particular, business models are obtained using the contributions of the bank portfolio components to profitability as the instruments of clustering analysis.

      The empirical exercise focuses on the EU banking system in 1997–2021. According to the classification of business profiles based on their overall contributions to profit performance, the best profile is a standard retail-oriented model, the second-best one is a standard wholesale model, and the worst profile, which has only equity as a characteristic component, does not match any standard model. Therefore, specialization seems to be a strategy that results in banks adopting business profiles that perform better in terms of their contributions to profitability, particularly if the banks specialize in the standard retail-oriented model.

Abstract

     Green innovation is an essential and burning topic for environmental and organizational performance. Therefore, this research aims to examine the effect of green innovation on environmental performance, which leads to organizational performance. Another objective is to measure the impact of two dimensions of green innovation, such as green process & green product measures, on green innovation. The second prime aim of this research is to evaluate the moderation of management commitment & human resource practices in an association between green innovation and organizational & environmental performance. A total of 320 employees provided their perspectives on a self-administrated questionnaire from the textile industry of Pakistan. We have employed SEM-based multivariate modeling to examine the data. This research has measured the reflective indicators measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis, an obvious choice of structural equation modeling to examine observed and unobserved variables and indicators using PLS-SEM (partial least square-structural equation modeling). The research findings reveal a positive & significant effect of product & process innovation on green innovation. Further, green innovation significantly impacts environmental and organizational performance. A two-way interaction (moderation) of human resource practices & green innovation does not have a cogent moderating effect on organizational & environmental performance. However, management commitment has a significant moderation between green innovation & organizational performance. A three-way interaction (moderated moderation) model finds a substantial effect on organizational attainment but an insignificant impact on environmental performance. The research outcomes significantly contribute and suggest that practitioners and policymakers must institutionalize green innovation practices in their organizations to enhance their organizational and environmental performance. HR practitioners play a vibrant role in creating green norms and organizational culture. The study findings also suggest that management commitment to green innovation advocates organization-level transformations toward adopting green practices.

Introduction

     With the advent of technology and scientific advancements, the world has provided immense exposure to artificial resources, making life leisurely. However, artificial resource opulence has come at the cost of sustainability and the environment. The world has thus been facing issues with balance acquisition between sustainable usage of resources and economic development [1,2]. Managing both have been a great concern for the economies as one comes at an expense and tradeoff. Researchers have observed that economic growth and sustainability cannot go together [3,4]. Green growth and general innovation are well recognized for their interrelationship [5]. It is essential to observe that national economic development is established through soaring industrial activities [6]. In this essence, Segerstrom [7] validated through his proposed model that firm-level innovations immensely support economic growth. Green innovation is beneficial to prevent the environment from pollution, help in recycling waste, and could also save non-biodegradable energy [8,9]. Moreover, green technologies could achieve sustainable development [10,11]. In order to implement and achieve the target of green innovativeness, firms need to adopt teamwork within their organizational ecosystems (Muisyo et al., 2022). The said process can be run by key parameters such as the organizations’ access to large-scale data, the commitment of the management, and proper usage of human reserves [12,13], among other considerations. The outcomes demonstrated that firms are enticed to accept green innovation practices when internally and externally motivated organizations. Internal motives combine management’s commitment and supplier’s partnership, whereas external motives are regulations and demand pressures from customers. Thus, there is a direct relationship between the two [14]; (Parmar et al., 2022). Organizations can enhance their performance through green innovation as green practices guide them to devise strategies that can help them use fewer resources, reduce the chances of harm, and create a carbon footprint in the organization [15]. The green revolution is a unique strategy that permits organizations to create new techniques and systems that help organizations enhance their performance [16,17].

Conclusion 

     This study evaluated the connotation between green product & process innovations and green innovation. Moreover, the study examined the impact of green innovation in affiliation with organizational & environmental attainment. The study’s findings explored all the hypotheses devised to meet study objectives. Moderation effects of management commitment towards greening and green human resource practices were also examined between the primary relationship. Primary responses were obtained from the mid-career and upper management of the textile sector of Pakistan. This research revealed that product & process innovations have a cogent and affirmative effect on green innovation. The findings further demonstrated that green innovation exerted an affirmative and cogent effect on organizational & environmental performance. Thus, the senior management should seriously consider green innovation projects to increase the firm’s environmental performance and the long run, sustainable competitive growth. While evaluating the moderating effect of HR practices on environmental attainment, the findings are not supported.

Abstract

     Cancer screening is a source of much debate. At the interface between public health, specialist care, economics and public health policy, it creates tensions between professional groups, politicians, the media and the public. A screening test may be cheap but applying it to a population (with rigorous quality control and effective downstream processing of patients with abnormal results) creates a huge workload and cost. Screening can also have profound psychological effects. People with false-positive results require investigation yet are usually eventually found not to have cancer. Unless screening can be shown to reduce mortality from specific cancers, the resources used are better spent on improving care, and this has led to disparities in screening recommendations between countries. Advances in understanding the genetic basis of cancer are likely to provide new approaches to cancer risk assessment and new challenges for developing screening strategies, by risk-banding populations based on polymorphisms in low-penetrance cancer risk genes. The American Cancer Society guidelines for cancer screening, reviewed annually, represent a global gold standard that is difficult to emulate in most healthcare economies because of cost and under-capacity for downstream processing of abnormal findings. Tailoring cancer screening recommendations to a country’s health economy is an essential public health intervention.

Introduction

     Cancer screening seems so logical to all healthcare workers and patients alike. We all know that early cancer is curable in the majority of cases and later stage disease is not. So, picking up cancer before a patient has symptoms would seem ideal. The problem is that none of the tests available are perfect. And the resources spent on screening programmes may well be better spent on speeding up appropriate referral of symptomatic patients. Here, we will consider the advantages of screening along with the downside for the common cancers.

     The long-awaited publication of the independent review on national cancer screening programmes in England makes grim reading.1 Two disastrous information technology failures e one in breast cancer and the other in cervical cancer e were revealed in 2018. Thousands of patients were simply deleted from the computer database by accident. New technologies such as the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) and once-only colonoscopy programmes are still not fully rolled out even though plans were unveiled 8 years ago. And although much talked about, artificial intelligence currently plays little part in data interpretation except in research settings. Crucially, the consumer uptake of each of the three major programmes e breast, colon and cervix e is in decline, especially in deprived areas. The impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been severe and services are only just beginning to clear the huge backlog generated.2

The future

     New technology such as the microanalysis of circulating DNA e so-called liquid biopsy e could radically change the situation. Future changes in cancer screening will lead to profound ethical, educational, commercial and medical challenges. Completion of the Human Genome Project, the ability to handle large volumes of sequence data, and rapid and inexpensive assays for mutations using gene-chip technology will transform the assessment of cancer risk. Commercial pressures have caused the major pharmaceutical companies to invest heavily in genomics, and their interest will lead to the discovery of new drugs and more specific tailoring of therapies to individual patients. It is likely that groups of individuals with no family history of cancer will be identified as being at significantly increased risk of developing cancer. Devising optimal screening schedules for such groups will be a major challenge.

     The biggest problem of all is motivating the customers. The compliance rate varies enormously across the world, driven by education, socioeconomic factors and deprivation.5 The educated worried well are likely to go for every free test offered by the health system. The socially excluded residents of the neighbouring poorer districts on the wrong side of the tracks will not visit the doctor until they have advanced stage 4 cancer. And yet private clinics offer top of the range health screening for >£3000 of scans and tests to the gullible wealthy with no evidence of benefit. To save lives most effectively, we must target the poor.

Abstract

     This paper develops an ordonomic approach to the governance of sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). We clarify the distinctive roles of optimization and governance for the management of sustainable value networks and develop a sustainability cube as a new management tool for the governance of SBMI. Our cube helps management to identify and overcome social dilemmas within value networks, i.e. to form and reform relevant business relationships, thus creating and tapping second-order win-win-win potentials. Furthermore, our cube encourages management to interpret negative externality problems as “missing markets”, i.e. as an entrepreneurial challenge and as a business opportunity to serve as yet unmet needs. Finally, our cube offers an avenue to develop and strengthen the specific management competencies that foster a successful governance of SBMI.

Introduction

     After having promoted the sustainability concept of a “triple bottom line” (TBL) for 25 years, Elkington (2018) is rather disillusioned and (self-)critical of what, in effect, has become an accounting concept. Looking back, he clarifies his initial goal—and identifies what went wrong (para. 8, emphasis in original): “[T]he original idea was wider still, encouraging businesses to track and manage economic (not just financial), social, and environmental value added—or destroyed. … [T]he TBL wasn’t designed to be just an accounting tool. It was supposed to provoke deeper thinking about capitalism and its future, but many early adopters understood the concept as a balancing act, adopting a trade-off mentality.” He further elaborates (para. 13, emphasis in original): “TBL’s stated goal from the outset was system change—pushing toward the transformation of capitalism. … It was originally intended as a genetic code, a triple helix of change for tomorrow’s capitalism, with a focus … on breakthrough change, disruption, asymmetric growth (with unsustainable sectors actively sidelined), and the scaling of next-generation market solutions.” Looking ahead, he states (para. 16 f.): “[W]e need a new wave of TBL innovation and deployment. … Hence the need for a ‘recall.’ I hope that in another 25 years we can look back and point to this as the moment [we] started working toward a triple helix for value creation, a genetic code for tomorrow’s capitalism, spurring the regeneration of our economies, societies, and biosphere.”

Conclusion and outlook

     This paper develops an ordonomic approach to the governance of SBMI. We clarify the distinctive roles of optimization and governance for the management of sustainable value networks and develop a sustainability cube as a new management tool for the governance of SBMI. Our cube helps management to identify and overcome social dilemmas within value networks, i.e. to form and reform relevant business relationships, thus creating and tapping second-order win-win-win potentials. Furthermore, our cube encourages management to interpret negative externality problems as “missing markets”, i.e. as an entrepreneurial challenge and as a business opportunity to serve as yet unmet needs. Finally, our cube helps management to develop and strengthen the specific competencies that foster a successful governance of SBMI.

     As an outlook, we would like to emphasize several limitations of our contribution in this paper, which may stimulate further research.

     First, we deliberately skipped an important aspect. Since we wanted to concentrate on sustainability opportunities beyond the organizational boundaries of the firm, we edited out the ordonomic strategy of individual self-commitments. We therefore concentrate on perceiving the organization and its interior structures as a monolithic block. On the one hand, this assumption needs to be highlighted as a serious limitation of our tool, but on the other hand it provides a vital starting point for complementary further research on intra-organizational challenges such as culture, mind-set, etc. (see e.g., Evans et al., 2017; Geissdoerfer et al., 2018) and tensions’ management in SBMI (see e.g., Schultz, 2022a). Hence, managers using the cube must be constantly aware of this blind spot. Further research could explore the possible interplay between the three commitment strategies (external relations management) embodied in the cube and the one we left out (internal relations management). For the latter, we would like to hint to an initial ordonomic contribution along those lines cf. Will and Pies (2018).

Abstract

Purpose
In a rapidly shifting market, organizations seek more diverse and innovative employee development interventions. Yet, these initiatives may have limited impact without employees’ engagement. This conceptual paper aims to propose self-leadership as a value-added strategy for promoting both individual and organizational development.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a conceptual analysis with three case examples. The cases were purposefully selected, aiming to comprehend how the concept of self-leadership has been applied within organizations and to identify real-life examples where self-leadership has been adopted as an organizational strategy.

Findings
This study demonstrates that self-leadership plays a significant role in facilitating human resource development (HRD) initiatives. Specifically, the authors illustrate how self-leadership interventions in companies empower individuals to take charge of their development, aligning personal and organizational goals. When effectively applied, self-leadership strategies positively impact HRD practices in the areas of training and development, organization development and career development, yielding benefits for both employees and employers.

Originality/value
This study addresses knowledge gaps in the emerging field of self-leadership in HRD by providing three companies’ examples of how self-leadership can add value to HRD. The findings offer unique insights into the synergy between self-leadership and HRD, benefiting academics interested in this line of inquiry and HRD practitioners seeking innovative approaches to employee and organizational development.

Purpose and driving questions

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore how self-leadership is applied in the organizational context and how it addresses HRD issues, specifically within the three major domains of HRD practices: training and development (T&D), organization development (OD) and CD. The findings of this research will assist HRD professionals, in both academia and the world of practice, in their efforts to promote personal and organizational growth and development. Three overarching questions guided this inquiry:

Q1. What is self-leadership?

Q2. How has self-leadership been used as an organizational strategy?

Q3. How can self-leadership strategies help address HRD issues within organizations?

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the relationship between self-leadership and HRD and the potential of using self-leadership to address HRD issues within organizations. By studying three selected cases in the real world, we demonstrated the positive contributions of self-leadership interventions to T&D, OD and CD, all core domains of HRD practice. Therefore, we propose self-leadership as a value-added strategy for HRD. In addition, we call for more interdisciplinary research collaborations and interest from the HRD scholarly community in initiating self-leadership studies in response to the list of questions we posed. Efforts in this direction will not only enhance our understanding of self-leadership, but also advance HRD scholarship and broaden the HRD impact in the world of practice.

Abstract

Membrane chromatography is mainly used for the separation and purification of proteins and biological macromolecules in the downstream processing process, also applications in sewage disposal. Membrane chromatography is recognized as an effective alternative to column chromatography because it significantly improves chromatography from affinity, hydrophobicity, and ion exchange; the development status of membrane chromatography in membrane matrix and membrane equipment is thoroughly discussed, and the applications of protein capture and intermediate purification, virus, monoclonal antibody purification, water treatment, and others are summarized. This review will provide value for the exploration and potential application of membrane chromatography.

Introduction

Traditional column chromatography has high adsorption capacity and separation accuracy for protein [1, 2]; so far, the downstream processing of biological agents has been highly dependent on the use of packed bed resin columns [3, 4]. However, traditional column chromatography generally suffers from a high-pressure drop; the intraparticle diffusion leads to the accumulation of solute molecules, which made the processing time increases, low ligand utilization, and long treatment time, which limits its productivity [5, 6]; meanwhile, column chromatography is expensive; more than 60% of the cost of the biopharmaceutical production process is concentrated in the downstream process of purification and recovery, in which the downstream purification of virus accounts for 70% of the total production cost [7, 8].

Compared with traditional column chromatography, membrane chromatography is more suitable for large proteins of separation and purification (MR > 250,000); such proteins rarely enter the pores of chromatographic particle matrix [9]. For viruses and macromolecules with obvious diffusion restrictions in conventional chromatographic media, it is particularly important [10]. Although the equilibrium binding capacity is generally low in the membrane, solutes in the membrane pores are mainly transported to the binding sites by convection, reducing the mass transfer resistance of the chromatography process (Fig. 1). Due to the advantage in mass transfer, membrane chromatography is an effective method for extracting trace proteins from large capacity feed, which can maintain their natural conformation by reducing the time in contact with adsorbents, maintaining the biological activity of the required biomolecules while removing impurities [11, 12]. Moenster et al. [13] used the SartobindQ exchange membrane adsorber method to separate and purify penicillin G amidase from cell lysate in one step, compared with previous multiple purification steps, which reduced the operating units and significantly improved the downstream processing efficiency.©

Summary and outlook

As an effective alternative to chromatographic column packing, membrane chromatography has been widely studied in the past to explore the use of virus purification; purified viruses have been used for gene treatment and production of vaccines. Ion-exchange membrane chromatography is currently used for the polishing of monoclonal antibody production processes in the biopharmaceutical industry; hydrophobic interaction chromatography membrane adsorbers are usually in flow mode and are rarely used. At present, the chromatographic process of membrane chromatography combined with column packing or monolithic column has been applied in the field of biological production processes, and has shown good application potential in the treatment of trace harmful matters such as heavy metal ions or dyes in water.

Given the relatively high raw material manufacturing cost of membrane materials, the purification capacity of membrane chromatography must reach a relatively high value, or have a high cycle of reuse to ensure a low commercial cost, to have a relatively high economic value. Predictable and high-precision theoretical models are developing to better clarify the potential mass transfer phenomena and thus improve the separation performance of membranes. Disposable membrane sorbent methods are a small market branch for chromatographic packing at present, from an adoption and evaluation perspective, in the downstream processing technology, which development is more advanced.

Abstract

     Recent literature suggests entrepreneurs struggle to pivot—or fundamentally change aspects of their venture—due to identity-based resistance to change. Yet, when entrepreneurs receive negative feedback, overcoming this resistance may be important to pivoting their business model. We adopt a convergent, mixed methods research design to explore when and why some entrepreneurs overcome resistance to change in response to negative feedback during early-stage business model experimentation. Building upon qualitative data that we gathered and analyzed, we theorize entrepreneurs may resist pivoting their value proposition relative to other business model components despite receiving negative feedback on this aspect of their business model. However, we find three factors – entrepreneurial experience, startup mentoring, and team size – may enable entrepreneurs to pivot in response to negative feedback. We theorize that these factors broaden a startup team’s perspective, enabling value proposition pivoting during early-stage business model experimentation. We test these relationships with quantitative data from 80 startups engaged in business model experimentation and find support across hypotheses. We contribute to understanding when and why entrepreneurs pivot aspects of their business models in response to negative feedback during early-stage business model experimentation.

Introduction

     The entrepreneurship literature suggests startups may benefit from experimentation and pivoting business model components in response to negative feedback from stakeholders (Andries et al., 2021; Blank and Eckhardt, 2023; Camuffo et al., 2020; Ries, 2011). In early stages of a new venture, a business model refers to a cognitive schema of a potential activity system designed to create and capture value (Massa et al., 2017; Shepherd and Gruber, 2021; Snihur & Eisenhardt, 2022). Business model experimentation is the process of testing assumptions underlying a potential business model schema and pivoting aspects of the business model in response to negative feedback (Andries et al., 2013; McDonald and Eisenhardt, 2020; Leatherbee and Katila, 2020). Building upon prior literature, we define business model pivoting as a fundamental change to a business model component (Berends et al., 2021; Shepherd et al., 2023; Shepherd et al., 2023). Yet, startup founders often struggle to change business model assumptions in response to negative feedback. Identity-based motives to preserve beliefs and assumptions related to founders’ self-concept may conflict with the capacity to change aspects of an emerging business model in response to negative feedback (Grimes, 2018; Kirtley and O’Mahony, 2023; Zuzul and Tripsas, 2020). Despite the general understanding that founders struggle to change their ideas, however, the entrepreneurship literature currently lacks precise insight into when and why some founders can overcome resistance to pivoting distinct business model components during early-stage business model experimentation.

     In this research, we use a convergent, mixed-methods research design to explore when and why startups pivot different aspects of their business model. We do so within the context of early-stage business model experimentation, wherein startup founders explicitly state business model assumptions, test those assumptions against stakeholder feedback, and are encouraged to pivot business model components in response to negative feedback. Through an exploratory qualitative analysis in Study One, we observe that founders are more willing to pivot when negative feedback relates to peripheral aspects of their business model—the activity system designed to deliver value. By contrast, founders resist pivoting the value proposition of their business model despite receiving negative feedback from stakeholders. This finding is important because the value proposition may be critical to pivot in response to negative feedback during early-stage business model experimentation to realize value creation (Camuffo et al., 2020; Danneels, 2007; Marvel et al., 2020; Zellweger and Zenger, 2021; Zott and Amit, 2007, 2008).

Conclusion

     Our research explored how startups experiment with and pivot their business models in response to negative feedback. Using a mixed-methods research design, we highlight founders are more likely to pivot certain aspects of their business model as opposed to other aspects of their business model. To overcome this resistance to change, startups can gain entrepreneurial experience, engage frequently with startup mentors, and expand the size of their team. We suggest these factors enable pivoting because they increase breadth of perspective, which in turn allows founders to consider more alternative solutions when facing negative feedback. Overall, we contribute to understanding the social psychological mechanisms that enable startups to pivot different aspects of their emerging business model schemas during early-stage experimentation.

Abstract

     A growing body of scholarship has examined circular business models as a pathway towards sustainability. However, employee skills to support such business models have been largely overlooked. Addressing this research gap, this article proposes a comprehensive skill taxonomy for start-ups embracing circular economy transition. As the first large-N effort to develop a comprehensive skill taxonomy for circular business model implementation, this study uses a clustering analysis of self-reported skill profiles for 2407 staff working in circular start-ups. The taxonomy outlines 40 skills across six categories: business innovation, operations, social dimensions, systems, digitization, and technical issues. Findings suggest that circular business model implementation requires a set of general, sustainable, and circular skills, but some of these skills have been neglected in scholarship. Promoting circular narratives as a framing device for skill development can help advance CE towards mainstream uptake, and this study’s taxonomy offers a practical framework for using talent to accelerate CE transition.

Introduction

      Businesses and policy-makers often view the circular economy1 (CE) as a promising way to reconcile economic growth and sustainable development (Corvellec et al., 2021; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017; Kirchherr, 2022). Years into conceptual development and refinement, CE has been seen in a variety of ways ranging from holistic and comprehensive to only partially beneficial (Corvellec et al., 2021; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017) and even detrimental (Harris et al., 2021; Zink and Geyer, 2017). While the conceptual foundations of CE remain contested (Blomsma and Brennan, 2017; Korhonen et al., 2018a, 2018b; Skene, 2018), the topic is receiving growing scholarly interest (Ehrenfeld, 2004; Kirchherr and van Santen, 2019; Lüdeke-Freund and Dembek, 2017).

      Sustainability transitions research suggests that socio-technical transitions involve systemic changes in multiple dimensions beyond technology, including organizational and human decision-making. Such changes are expected to yield innovative products, services, and business models (Geels, 2004; Markard et al., 2012). CE transition is one type of socio-technical transition (Jurgilevich et al., 2016) and scholars have highlighted transition and innovation as conceptual elements of CE (Suchek et al., 2021) – both of which are seen as relevant to circular business models (CBM) (Antikainen and Valkokari, 2016; Bocken et al., 2016; Lewandowski, 2016; Santa-Maria et al., 2021). Relatedly, scholars have proposed various typologies of CBM (Henry et al., 2020; Urbinati et al., 2017) and have focused on CBM strategies, related experimentation (Bocken et al., 2016; Kane et al., 2018; Konietzko et al., 2020), and enablers and barriers around implementation (Hartley et al., 2021; Ünal et al., 2019; van Keulen and Kirchherr, 2021). While scholarship on CBM is growing (Ferasso et al., 2020; Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2019; Rosa et al., 2019), practical uptake remains limited (Centobelli et al., 2020; Kirchherr et al., 2018b; Urbinati et al., 2017).

Conclusion

     The CE concept has gained substantial momentum in the 21st century as a key facilitator of sustainability efforts. Given the influence of business decisions not only on environmental conditions but also on consumer preferences and habits, the private sector is recognized as a key catalyst for society-wide CE transition. Nevertheless, substantive progress towards CE transition remains limited. While refashioned strategies and supportive infrastructure provide businesses with some pathways, skills for CBM are an often-overlooked topic in the academic literature and in practice. A modestly sized literature offers some useful insights (e.g., Janssens et al., 2021; Sumter et al., 2021) but a systematic understanding about the relevance of employee skills to CBM implementation has yet to be fully researched or integrated into practice. This study has sought to fill this gap not only by outlining skills in circular start-ups but also by presenting a way to refine understandings about these skills and help businesses identify and cultivate them.

This study proposes the first comprehensive skill taxonomy for CBM implementation in start-ups in the literature, as far as the authors can determine. The taxonomy includes 40 skills for CBM implementation and finds that CBM implementation requires a set of general, sustainable, and circular skills. It also finds that some skills, such as digital skills, have been neglected. Skills declared as specifically circular are not as common in circular start-ups as the literature suggests. Given that CBM is not an entirely new concept, some skills identified in this study have existed in the workforce for decades. Thus, the novelty of skills for CBM implementation lies in the shifting context of their application and in their utilization as microfoundations of organizational capabilities. Circular start-ups might need to develop existing employee skills in novel or differentiated circular application contexts. Consequently, using circular narratives as a framing device for skill development can promote understanding and recognition of those skills in efforts to mainstream CE.

Abstract

     Regeneration has become a debated topic in organizational studies, yet its characteristics and distinctions from sustainability and circular business models remain unclear. This study aims to provide an initial framework for regenerative business models and differentiate them from sustainable or circular models. Employing literature reviews, six focus groups with international and indigenous participants, and comparisons with seminal articles on sustainable and circular models, this study finds that organizations with regenerative business models focus on planetary health and societal wellbeing. They create and deliver value at multiple stakeholder levels—including nature, societies, customers, suppliers and partners, shareholders and investors, and employees—through activities promoting regenerative leadership, co-creative partnerships with nature, and justice and fairness. Capturing value through multi-capital accounting, they aim for a net positive impact across all stakeholder levels. Regenerative business models share some design approaches with sustainable and circular models but differ in their main goals and systemic perspectives. Achieving regenerative business models requires strong and contested policy frameworks, including animal and nature rights and true pricing. Further research is needed to explore how organizations can incorporate intrinsic notions of value beyond capital and avoid new forms of greenwashing when adopting regeneration and net positive impact narratives.

Introduction

     The goal of sustainability has been to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987). But the prevalence of a linear and degenerative economy has weakened the planet’s regenerative capacity, making it harder and harder to achieve this ambition (Dasgupta, 2021). Sustainability has become a necessary but insufficient condition for long-term human welfare. Next to sustaining, there is a growing need to regenerate our and the planet’s ability to meet present and future needs. This has given rise to the field and idea of regeneration.

Regeneration is a key process of biological systems and refers to “the capacity to bring into existence again” (Munoz and Branzei, 2021 ˜ , p. 509). It lets cells, organisms and ecosystems recover from and build resilience against external shocks (Carlson, 2011). The term regeneration has increasingly been used in diverse fields such as agriculture, architecture, design, energy, nature conservation or tourism, to promote healthier natural ecosystems and thriving human societies (Munoz and Branzei, ˜ 2021; Robinson & Cole, 2015; Rhodes, 2012, 2017; Hahn and Tampe, 2021; Bellato et al., 2022).

Conclusion

     This study sought to answer two research questions. First, what are regenerative business models? Second, how do regenerative differ from sustainable or circular business models? The answer to the first question is that organizations with regenerative business models focus on planetary health and societal wellbeing. They create and deliver value at multiple stakeholder levels—including nature, societies, customers, suppliers and partners, shareholders and investors, and employees—through activities promoting regenerative leadership, co-creative partnerships with nature, and justice and fairness. Capturing value through multi-capital accounting, they aim for a net positive impact across all stakeholder levels.

     The answer to the second question is that regenerative business models add to the sustainable and circular business model literature with a focus on social-ecological systems (Berkes et al., 2000), based on an understanding of the planet as a living system, the so-called Gaia hypothesis (Lovelock, 1988). They also propose the new goal and framing of planetary health and societal wellbeing and advance a motivating narrative that aims not merely at the reduction of negative impacts (net zero) or the balance between economic, social and environmental value creation (triple bottom line), but at a redefinition of the relationship between humans and nature. Regenerative business models also add a focus on individual purpose and meaning, questions of leadership and spirituality, as well as nature and animal rights and the role of indigenous communities in helping to reconnect humans and nature. The three concepts of regenerative, sustainable and circular business models have overlaps in their design foci. Regenerative and circular concepts intersect where design efforts are aimed at the regenerative biosphere. Sustainable and circular connect on the circular technosphere; and sustainable and regenerative business models connect through the sustainable humansphere. This study intends to help advance organizational efforts to evolve humanity towards planetary health and societal wellbeing.

Abstract

     What is the compliance effect of experiencing a tax audit? Empirical studies typically report a positive effect, while laboratory experiments frequently report a negative effect. We show experimentally that whether a tax audit increases or decreases subsequent compliance hinges on the balance of learning opportunities, misperception of audit risk, and the confounding effect of censoring. After an audit, taxpayers lower their perceived risk of audit – consistent with a bomb-crater effect – when audit selection is exogenous. However, for an endogenous audit rule under which taxpayers can learn to reduce their audit risk by reporting higher income, learning effects outweigh probability misperception, resulting in an increase in post-audit tax compliance. Finally, we show that accounting for censoring effects can eliminate on its own the negative post-audit compliance effect frequently observed in laboratory experiments.

Introduction

     Tax audits are an essential instrument in achieving compliance. While the threat of audit may itself alter compliance behavior, what effect, if any, does carrying out an audit have upon the future compliance of its target (the post-audit effect)?

Under conventional assumptions on risk aversion, the seminal Allingham-Sandmo (AS) analysis of tax compliance, Allingham and Sandmo (1972), predicts a zero post-audit effect for audited taxpayers who do not receive a fine, and a positive post-audit effect for fined taxpayers. Thus, empirically, the average post-audit effect is predicted to be positive, but potentially difficult to distinguish statistically from zero in samples where a high proportion of audits do not lead to fines. This prediction of a positive average post-audit effect is broadly in line with a growing empirical literature on post-audit effects, but discordant with experimental findings, which are instead consistent with a (weakly) negative average post-audit effect. Such seemingly contradictory findings in the existing evidence base on the post-audit effect are consequential for tax enforcement policy: audits are costly, so determining how many to do and how best to allocate them are key policy questions. If, as the experimental evidence suggests, auditing taxpayers reduces their subsequent compliance, this weakens the case for auditing, and strengthens the case for alternative compliance measures, e.g., enhanced taxpayer support. Also, tax administrations should seek to maximize the perceived risk of audit while at the same time minimizing the number of audits they actually perform. If, however, auditing increases compliance, as suggested in the empirical literature, tax administrations should seek to maximize the number of audits they actually perform.

Conclusion

     The sign and size of the post-audit effect is an important ingredient in determining optimal enforcement of the tax system. Prior literature has struggled to agree on the sign of the effect, however, with field studies generally pointing to a positive effect, but experimental findings often pointing to a negative effect.

As discussed in the Introduction, much of the existing field literature has the characteristic that findings indicating a positive post-audit effect are interpreted as signifying both (i) the presence of a rational deterrence effect, operating via learning; and (ii) the absence of a bomb-crater effect. Proceeding from this perspective, the apparent presence of the bomb-crater effect in laboratory outcomes must then be interpreted as evidence of a failure of external validity with respect to laboratory experiments. The perspective suggested by our findings is rather different. It is that evidence – both from the field and the laboratory – will simultaneously comprise effects due to learning, probability misperception (driving a bomb-crater effect), and censoring. It is only the sizes of these competing effects that may differ systematically between the field and the laboratory. This view is supported by the observation that, as we harmonize conditions in the laboratory towards those in the field (a process which would be expected to converge the sizes of the effects discussed with those observed in the field), our findings in the laboratory indeed converge towards those in the field. Moreover, from this alternative vantage, one might go as far as to argue that, in light of the systematic differences between laboratory and field settings in the existing literature, it would be more surprising were the outcomes from the experimental literature convergent with those from field studies, than were they divergent.

Abstract

     This study examines the determinants of audit fees for companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the United Kingdom (UK), which is the secondary market of the London Stock Exchange for small and medium sized companies. AIM companies are expected to present different audit pricing challenges compared to fully listed firms. From an audit demand perspective, AIM companies exhibit different risk and governance characteristics while, from a supply perspective, the AIM is characterized by greater auditor choice than typically found in main markets. We find that audit fees in the AIM are negatively influenced by client liquidity and the length of listing. We also find that higher levels of audit committee disclosures are associated with higher fees, although there is no evidence that individual audit committee characteristics influence audit fees. After controlling for self-selection bias, we find that Big 4 auditors charge higher fees and this premium is especially pronounced for smaller firms. Our findings contribute to the audit pricing literature by illustrating that the determinants of audit fees depends on the institutional setting in which companies operate as well as highlighting the importance of specific risk measures and auditor size in the determination of audit fees for AIM companies.

Introduction

     Understanding the determinants of audit fees has been a significant research focus ever since Simunic’s (1980) seminal paper just over 40 years ago. Subsequent research highlighted several factors as having a reasonably consistent impact on fees, notably audit client size, complexity, and risk as well as certain aspects of the audit client’s governance, auditor–client engagement characteristics, and auditor size (Hay et al., 2006, Causholli et al., 2011, Hay, 2013, Hay, 2017). The objective of this article is to extend our understanding of the determinants of audit pricing by studying companies listed on the United Kingdom’s (UK) Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The AIM was established in 1995 by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a market for small and medium-sized companies to raise new capital. The approximately 800 companies listed on the AIM have a total market value of around £1,190 billion (bn) (London Stock Exchange, 2020). Therefore, the AIM represents a significant part of the UK quoted company sector.

     Despite AIM’s importance, little academic attention has focused on AIM companies with hardly any prior research looking at auditing issues. This article seeks to remedy this by investigating the determinants of audit fees in the AIM. Examining the determinants of audit fees in the AIM can improve our understanding of audit pricing in several respects. First, AIM companies are often relatively young companies without a significant financial track record and frequently list on the AIM to access finance in order to pursue relatively high-risk ventures. Therefore, they often lack a sustained record of performance, and this is expected to pose a particular challenge to auditors in terms of setting an appropriate audit fee. Furthermore, as noted by Gerakos et al. (2013), AIM companies underperform firms on other exchanges and experience a higher failure rate, suggesting that AIM companies may present a more significant and identifiable audit risk than more mature listed firms. Examining the impact of various measures of audit client risk in a market such as the AIM allows us to improve our understanding of how risk more generally impacts the determinants of audit fees.

Conclusions

     This study fills a gap in the audit pricing literature by undertaking an empirical analysis of the determinants of audit fees in the AIM. Studying audit pricing in the AIM is interesting for several reasons. First, companies on the AIM are generally perceived as being higher risk than their fully listed counterparts. We focus on both traditional measures of audit risk as well as some AIM-specific measures to try and ascertain how audit client risk impacts audit pricing in the AIM. Second, companies on the AIM are not subject to the comply or explain approach to corporate governance regulation. Therefore, they enjoy much greater freedom in choosing their own governance arrangements. Thus, we are interested to ascertain the impact of both board independence and audit committee characteristics on audit fees in such a lightly regulated listed environment. Third, unlike the fully listed markets in the UK and elsewhere, there is significant diversity of auditors in the AIM with the Big 4 auditors not enjoying a dominant market share. Consequently, we are interested to ascertain whether the Big 4 audit firms charge an audit fee premium in the AIM.

     Our analysis reveals that audit fees in the AIM are influenced by various measures of audit risk, specifically client liquidity and listing history. We find consistent evidence that auditors charge more to client firms with lower liquidity and with a shorter history on the AIM. In further sub-sample analysis, we find that for AIM companies with shorter listing history as compared with more established firms, audit fees are especially sensitive to a range of risk measures. We find evidence that greater audit committee disclosure is associated with more expensive audits, but find no evidence that audit fees are sensitive to individual audit committee characteristics. After controlling for auditor self-selection bias, we find that Big 4 auditors charge a premium for audits in the AIM. When we investigate this further, we find that Big 4 and non-Big 4 auditors emphasize slightly different variables in their audit pricing decisions.

Abstract

     Parental control is widely considered to have a detrimental effect on children’s psychological development. However, it is commonplace and generally accepted in China and is intended to regulate children’s behavior. It is unclear whether Chinese parental control promotes or hinders children’s inhibitory control (IC) development. This study investigated the influence of maternal control on Chinese children’s development of IC using a longitudinal design (N = 163), with attention to the influence of children’s temperamental exuberance and different parenting contexts. Children’s exuberance (at 2 years of age) was assessed via laboratory observations. Maternal control (at 3 years of age) was coded during parent–child interaction in play-based and cleanup contexts. Children’s IC (at 3 years of age) was assessed by day–night and snow–grass tasks. Results suggested that maternal control in the play-based context was negatively related to IC development. The association between maternal control in the cleanup context and IC varied in children with different levels of temperamental exuberance. Specifically, maternal control in the cleanup context impeded low-exuberant children’s IC development but promoted it for highly exuberant children. These findings support the self-determination theory and the goodness-of-fit model and have implications for educational practice in China.

Introduction

     Parental control, which refers to parents’ efforts to intrude and redirect children’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, has received great attention for its effect on children’s social adjustment (Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009). Parental control has invoked a variety of conceptualizations and operationalizations such as behavioral versus psychological control (e.g., Barber, 1996, Steinberg et al., 1989) and firm versus lax control (e.g., Fauber et al., 1990, Rowe, 1981). In the context of self-determination theory, Grolnick and Pomerantz (2009) refined multiple forms of parental control approaches and identified intrusiveness, which may violate children’s autonomy, as a core characteristic of parental control. The current study followed this conceptualization that parental control is parenting characterized by pressure, intrusion, and dominance regardless of whether it is used to regulate children’s thoughts or behaviors. Parents may be well-intended, but their controlling behaviors often do not contribute to children’s ability to regulate their own behaviors they originally intended (Grolnick, 2002). This may be because of the disrupting feelings of autonomy—children who are exposed to great parental control either are used to following their parents’ instructions and thereby lose their intrinsic motivation and regulatory ability or are resistant to their parents’ instructions and become rebellious (Grolnick, 2002).

Results

     In our sample, a child’s age was significantly correlated with exuberance (r = .25, p = .001) and was marginally significantly correlated with IC (r = .16, p = .056) and maternal control in the play-based context (r =
.15, p = .083). A sex (0 = boy, 1 = girl) difference was found in exuberance that girls were less exuberant than boys, t(161) = 2.35, p = .020, Cohen’s d = 0.37). Family income (1 = less than ¥5,000 to 4 = more than ¥30,000) was correlated with IC (r = .25, p = .003). No significant effect of age, sex, and family income was found on the other variables (ps > .26). Maternal education showed no significant effect on key variables (ps > .17). To avoid interference from the child’s age, sex, and family income, we conducted further analyses controlling for these variables.

     Correlations between primary variables are reported in Table 1. Maternal control in two contexts was significantly correlated. Temperamental exuberance did not show any significant correlation with maternal control in either context or IC.