This study investigates the causal relationships among strategic orientation, innovation, and entrepreneurial support mechanisms. Strategic orientation is significant for innovation, and support ...mechanisms are organizational processes that mediate the innovation generating path. This study hypothesizes that the support mechanism consists of Culture, Structure, Reward, and Procedure and advances the existing theory, exemplifying an SMP (subject-mechanism-performance) framework based on empirical data collected through a national survey for 3,085 SMEs in South Korea. The findings suggest that strategic orientation affects innovation, and tangible interventions such as Procedure, Reward, and Structure might be differently applied from Culture to nurture innovative outcomes of SMEs.
The quality of sales processes is crucial in automotive and directly related to the firm’s competitive advantage and financial success. Sales training is the most prevalent intervention to guarantee ...quality and productivity. Extant literature has attempted to measure training effectiveness adequately, and the Context, Input, Process, and Product evaluation (CIPP) model has been a popular approach. This study endeavored to advance current literature and suggest a novel effectiveness framework, Content, Instructional design, Programmed learning, and Recommendation (CIP-R). The framework was applied to examine three different methodologies—traditional, pure digital, and hybrid training—collecting 583 instances from the automotive sales training conducted from 2019 to 2020 in South Korea. The findings advocate the importance of human elements, the role of efficacy, and self-determination in generating learning transferability, leading to performance in the digital age.
Accurate demand forecasting is important for automotive manufacturing and sales planning because it allows firms to minimize costs and improve their effectiveness. Based on the limitations of ...existing literature, this paper seeks to establish a novel machine learning-assisted hybrid-input automobile demand forecast model by focusing on the research gaps in input data, methodology, and the scope of demand forecast. To achieve the research aim, the firm-level forecasting performance of the machine learning algorithms based on the hybrid micro-/firm-level (endogenous) and macro-level (exogenous) factors were analyzed to present the optimal approach. The study collected and used monthly vehicle sales and related firm-level data from South Korea from 2011 to 2020. Linear regression, neural network, random forest, stochastic gradient descent, and ensemble learning were used to build the models and verify significant input features using the RReliefF algorithm. The paper presents significant theoretical and managerial contributions that advance the methodological frameworks in the auto demand forecasting literature based on the ML-assisted hybrid-input model, highlighting less well-known endogenous factors that affect company precision to enhance businesses' practical operations.
Strategic information system planning (SISP) is a central process that enables organizations to identify the strategic alignment of their IT portfolio to achieve their business needs and objectives. ...The extant SISP literature has focused on theoretical and processual aspects and has left methodological ambiguity about how SISP is practiced. This paper contributes to the current knowledge by providing a mixed-methods SISP framework labeled CSF-MCDM for company-wide strategic alignment. The paper conducts a methodological synthesis, embracing an expert-based qualitative approach based on a PEST-SWOT and causal layered analysis to draw the critical success factors of a next-generation business system for an automotive company in South Korea. The derived CSF dimensions and sub-criteria are evaluated by the multi-criteria decision-making model, engaging a strategy-as-practice lens to SISP to enable an integrative analysis of IS strategy formulation, planning, and implementation. The findings reveal the relative strategic priorities of dimensions, the following core activities, and the global priorities for resource distribution planning for IS strategy of the firm. This paper argues that bringing replicability with SISP and diversifying methodological approaches within the organization is substantial. This paper also suggests that future researchers validate the suggested framework for scientific replicability and expand the SISP research stream within the entire IS/IT ecosystem.
National Systems of Entrepreneurship is defined as a nation’s resource allocation structure leading to entrepreneurial behaviors. However, the existing indicators of national framework conditions may ...have limitations in comparing the entrepreneurial efficiency of countries. Based on institutional theory, this paper presents a model to examine the efficiency of entrepreneurial activities stemming from the given conditions of a country and find benchmarks based on data envelopment analysis by scrutinizing inputs and outputs with static efficiency, dynamic efficiency, and strategic quadrant analysis. For this purpose, the study utilizes the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset from 2015 to 2020 for 24 countries and presents the research questions regarding the differences in global entrepreneurial efficiencies, the countries for benchmarking, and the implications for entrepreneurial activities. The research implications suggest that diversifying the views on entrepreneurial efficiency may be valuable, and policymakers may focus on institutional conditions and entrepreneurial efficiency regarding the activity of early-stage businesses.
Molecular design concepts are described for the preparation of azobenzene polymers capable of showing a tunable response to the rat liver microsome-induced side-chain self-immolation process under ...hypoxic conditions. It is shown that azobenzene nuclei carrying a donor/acceptor substitution pattern are the most active system towards the enzymatically triggered azobenzene cleavage reaction (half-life = t1/2 = 6 min). Their activity is followed by azobenzene nuclei carrying donor/donor (t1/2 = 20 min), electronically non-substituted (t1/2 = 72 min), and acceptor (t1/2 = 78 min) systems. This trend is preserved when a chemical stimulus, sodium dithionite, replaces the biological reducing conditions and demonstrates generality of the findings, and their potential in proteomics procedures. Furthermore, the established design concepts also permit for variation in polymer structure and topology while still maintaining the electronic substitution pattern. The steric constraints or the inherent character (hydrophilic/hydrophobic) of the azobenzene, however, does not alter the fate of the scission reaction. In all cases, the self-immolation process allows the polymer chain to convert from a chemically neutral to a cationic state. This structural transformation can be used as an activation mechanism (in vitro) to gain entry into cells through electrostatic interactions with the oppositely charged cell membrane and to deliver an anticancer drug. Interestingly, polymer structure now plays a role and bottlebrush-like copolymer show higher selectivity and faster cellular uptake. Finally, the best performing polymer allows for structural modulation into a fluorescent imaging probe. In vivo application to mice suffering from colitis confirms accumulation of the imaging probe in the diseased colon and cecum parts of the body where the endogenous microbial flora is known to produce the activation enzyme. This work, therefore, establishes general principles for the molecular design of biologically activatable and cleavable azobenzene-based polymeric scaffolds applicable to delivery and imaging applications.
Dual-emissive systems showing color-specific photoswitching are promising in bioimaging and super-resolution microscopy. However, their switching efficiency has been limited because a delicate ...manipulation of all the energy transfer crosstalks in the systems is unfeasible. Here, we report a perfect color-specific photoswitching, which is rationally designed by combining the complete off-to-on fluorescence switching capability of a fluorescent photochromic diarylethene and the frustrated energy transfer to the other fluorescent dye based on the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. Upon alternation of UV and visible light irradiations, the system achieves 100% switching on/off of blue emission from the diarylethene while orange emission from the ESIPT dye is unchanged in the polymer film. By fabricating this system into biocompatible polymer nanoparticles, we demonstrate microscopic imaging of RAW264.7 macrophage cells with reversible blue-color specific fluorescence switching that enables super-resolution imaging with a resolution of 70 nm.
Fluorescent molecular rotors (FMRs) can act as viscosity sensors in various media including subcellular organelles and microfluidic channels. In FMRs, the rotation of rotators connected to a ...fluorescent π‐conjugated bridge is suppressed by increasing environmental viscosity, resulting in increasing fluorescence (FL) intensity. In this minireview, we describe recently developed FMRs including push–pull type π‐conjugated chromophores, meso‐phenyl (borondipyrromethene) (BODIPY) derivatives, dioxaborine derivatives, cyanine derivatives, and porphyrin derivatives whose FL mechanism is viscosity‐responsive. In addition, FMR design strategies for addressing various issues (e.g., obtaining high FL contrast, internal FL references, and FL intensity‐contrast trade‐off) and their biological and microfluidic applications are also discussed.
Spinning around: This minireview discusses recently developed fluorescent molecular rotors (FMRs), which act as viscosity sensors in various media including subcellular organelles and microfluidic channels. In addition, the mechanism of viscosity‐responsive fluorescence, design strategy of FMRs for addressing remarkable issues, and their various biological and microfluidic applications, are also discussed.
Nanoparticle delivery systems have been extensively investigated for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs over the past decades. However, it is still a great challenge to overcome the drawbacks of ...conventional nanoparticle systems such as liposomes and micelles. Various novel nanomaterials consist of natural polymers are proposed to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs. Among them, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has received much attention as an emerging material for preparation of self-assembled nanostructures with precise control of size and shape for tailored uses. In this study, self-assembled mirror DNA tetrahedron nanostructures is developed for tumor-specific delivery of anticancer drugs. l-DNA, a mirror form of natural d-DNA, is utilized for resolving a poor serum stability of natural d-DNA. The mirror DNA nanostructures show identical thermodynamic properties to that of natural d-DNA, while possessing far enhanced serum stability. This unique characteristic results in a significant effect on the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of DNA nanostructures. It is demonstrated that the mirror DNA nanostructures can deliver anticancer drugs selectively to tumors with enhanced cellular and tissue penetration. Furthermore, the mirror DNA nanostructures show greater anticancer effects as compared to that of conventional PEGylated liposomes. Our new approach provides an alternative strategy for tumor-specific delivery of anticancer drugs and highlights the promising potential of the mirror DNA nanostructures as a novel drug delivery platform.
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Corn stover was pretreated with excess calcium hydroxide (0.5
g Ca(OH)
2/g raw biomass) in non-oxidative and oxidative conditions at 25, 35, 45, and 55
°C. The enzymatic digestibility of lime-treated ...corn stover was affected by the change of structural features (acetylation, lignification, and crystallization) resulting from the treatment.
Extensive delignification required oxidative treatment and additional consumption of lime (up to 0.17
g Ca(OH)
2/g biomass). Deacetylation reached a plateau within 1
week and there were no significant differences between non-oxidative and oxidative conditions at 55
°C; both conditions removed approximately 90% of the acetyl groups in 1
week at all temperatures studied.
Delignification highly depended on temperature and the presence of oxygen. Lignin and hemicellulose were selectively removed (or solubilized), but cellulose was not affected by lime pretreatment in mild temperatures (25–55
°C), even though corn stover was contacted with alkali for a long time, 16
weeks.
The degree of crystallinity slightly increased from 43% to 60% with delignification because amorphous components (lignin, hemicellulose) were removed. However, the increased crystallinity did not negatively affect the 3-d sugar yield of enzymatic hydrolysis. Oxidative lime pretreatment lowered the acetyl and lignin contents to obtain high digestibility, regardless of crystallinity.
The non-linear models for 3-d hydrolysis yields of glucan (
Y
g), xylan (
Y
x), and holocellulose (
Y
gx) were empirically established as a function of the residual lignin (
L) for the corn stover pretreated with lime and air.
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