Profiling of microbial communities in environmental samples often utilizes phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. This method has been used for more than 35 years and is still popular as a means to ...characterize microbial communities in a diverse range of environmental matrices. This review examines the various recent applications of PLFA analysis in environmental studies with specific reference to the interpretation of the PLFA results. It is evident that interpretations of PLFA results do not always correlate between different investigations. These discrepancies in interpretation and their subsequent applications to environmental studies are discussed. However, in spite of limitations to the manner in which PLFA data are applied, the approach remains one with great potential for improving our understanding of the relationship between microbial populations and the environment. This review highlights the caveats and provides suggestions towards the practicable application of PLFA data interpretation.
Prior studies have emphasized that structural attributes are crucial to simultaneously pursuing exploration and exploitation, yet our understanding of antecedents of ambidexterity is still limited. ...Structural differentiation can help ambidextrous organizations to maintain multiple inconsistent and conflicting demands; however, differentiated exploratory and exploitative activities need to be mobilized, coordinated, integrated, and applied. Based on this idea, we delineate formal and informal senior team integration mechanisms (e.g., contingency rewards and social integration) and formal and informal organizational integration mechanisms (e.g., cross-functional interfaces and connectedness) and examine how they mediate the relationship between structural differentiation and ambidexterity. Overall, our findings suggest that the previously asserted direct effect of structural differentiation on ambidexterity operates through informal senior team (i.e., senior team social integration) and formal organizational (i.e., cross-functional interfaces) integration mechanisms. Through this richer explanation and empirical assessment, we contribute to a greater clarity and better understanding of how organizations may effectively pursue exploration and exploitation simultaneously to achieve ambidexterity.
Research suggests that unit-level ambidexterity positively impacts subsequent unit performance but theory and testing on this impact remain impoverished. We develop a cross-level model suggesting ...that structural and resource attributes of the organizational context significantly shape the relationship between unit ambidexterity and performance. Using multisource and lagged data from 285 organizational units located within 88 autonomous branches, results from hierarchical linear modeling show that this relationship is boosted when the organization is decentralized, more resource munificent, or less resource interdependent. We also find that structural differentiation of the organization does not condition the unit ambidexterity-performance relationship. Through this cross-level theory and testing, we develop a richer explanation of the effectiveness of ambidextrous units operating in multiunit contexts.
The idea that excitonic (electronic) coherences are of fundamental importance to natural photosynthesis gained popularity when slowly dephasing quantum beats (QBs) were observed in the ...two-dimensional electronic spectra of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex at 77 K. These were assigned to superpositions of excitonic states, a controversial interpretation, as the strong chromophore-environment interactions in the complex suggest fast dephasing. Although it has been pointed out that vibrational motion produces similar spectral signatures, a concrete assignment of these oscillatory signals to distinct physical processes is still lacking. Here we revisit the coherence dynamics of the FMO complex using polarization-controlled two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, supported by theoretical modelling. We show that the long-lived QBs are exclusively vibrational in origin, whereas the dephasing of the electronic coherences is completed within 240 fs even at 77 K. We further find that specific vibrational coherences are produced via vibronically coupled excited states. The presence of such states suggests that vibronic coupling is relevant for photosynthetic energy transfer.
This study explores heterogeneity in the efficacy of stretch goals for engaging employees in innovation, as stretch goals may both boost norm-breaking creativity and hamper fruitful ideation by ...overwhelming employees. Through a multilevel perspective, we demonstrate that stretch goals motivate more capable employees (successful, experienced, senior) to submit useful innovative ideas by combining the motivation of stretch goals with these employees' ability to discern fruitful from futile ideas. Other employees, meanwhile, may “spin their wheels” and submit lower-quality ideas based on their inability to apply useful knowledge. Empirically, we leverage idea generation data from a Fortune 500 firm. We contribute to stretch goals research by demonstrating both the intended and the unintended consequences that shape employee behavior and to the innovation literature by articulating when stretch goals can and cannot motivate valuable innovation from employees.
Research on exploration and exploitation is burgeoning, yet our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of both activities remains rather unclear. We advance the growing body of literature ...by focusing on the apparent differences of exploration and exploitation and examining implications for using formal (i.e., centralization and formalization) and informal (i.e., connectedness) coordination mechanisms. This study further examines how environmental aspects (i.e., dynamism and competitiveness) moderate the effectiveness of exploratory and exploitative innovation. Results indicate that centralization negatively affects exploratory innovation, whereas formalization positively influences exploitative innovation. Interestingly, connectedness within units appears to be an important antecedent of both exploratory and exploitative innovation. Furthermore, our findings reveal that pursuing exploratory innovation is more effective in dynamic environments, whereas pursuing exploitative innovation is more beneficial to a unit's financial performance in more competitive environments. Through this richer explanation and empirical assessment, we contribute to a greater clarity and better understanding of how ambidextrous organizations coordinate the development of exploratory and exploitative innovation in organizational units and successfully respond to multiple environmental conditions.
We develop a psychological perspective on managers’ exploration orientation. Our study suggests that the regulatory focus of managers may in different ways, impact their orientation toward search, ...risk‐taking, and experimentation. Moreover, we argue that these relationships are contingent not only on the extent to which the organizational context fits with the motivational disposition of managers, but also on the complexity of decision‐making. Using an experimental setting, we find that managers’ regulatory focus affects their willingness to experiment with a wide range of alternatives and to deviate from existing best practices. Moreover, the promotion focus of managers heightens their exploration orientation in an organizational context with promotion‐focused cues in highly complex decision‐making. This study has important implications for our understanding of managers’ exploration orientation under conditions of complexity.
Research on organizational knowledge transfer is burgeoning, and yet our understanding of its antecedents and consequences remains rather unclear. Although conceptual and qualitative reviews of the ...organizational knowledge transfer literature have emerged, no study has attempted to summarize previous quantitative empirical findings. As a first step towards that goal, we use meta‐analytic techniques to examine how knowledge, organization and network level antecedents differentially impact organizational knowledge transfer. Additionally, we consolidate research on the relationship between knowledge transfer and its consequences. We also demonstrate how the intra‐ and inter‐organizational context, the directionality of knowledge transfers, and measurement characteristics moderate the relationships studied. By aggregating and consolidating existing research, our study not only reveals new insights into the levers and outcomes of organizational knowledge transfer, but also provides meaningful directions for future research.
Recent research on management innovation, i.e. new managerial processes, practices, or structures that change the nature of managerial work, suggests it can be an important source of competitive ...advantage. In this study, we focus on management innovation at the organization level and investigate the role of leadership behaviour as a key antecedent. Due to its prominent role within organizations, top management has the ability to greatly influence management innovation. In particular, we focus on leadership behaviour and examine transformational and transactional leadership. Additionally, as contextual variables like organizational size may influence the impact of leadership, we investigate its moderating role. Findings show that both leadership behaviours contribute to management innovation. Interestingly, our study indicates that smaller, less complex, organizations benefit more from transactional leadership in realizing management innovation. On the other hand, larger organizations need to draw on transformational leaders to compensate for their complexity and allow management innovation to flourish.
Prior studies demonstrate the role of various facets of CEOs’ individual characteristics in shaping a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO). We complement this line of research by theorizing and ...testing the impact of CEOs’ social capital on EO. From an original, multisource survey data set of 122 Chinese technology firms, we find that a CEO’s bonding social capital with organizational members from various functional units has an inverted U-shaped relationship with firm EO, while the CEO’s bridging social capital with the firm’s diverse set of external stakeholders has a positive association with EO. In addition, we find that the relationship between CEO bridging social capital and EO becomes stronger as the firm’s environmental instability increases.
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