Does market competition facilitate resident-centred care among nursing homes? A comparative analysis

This study examines the impact of market competition on resident-centred care in nursing homes, through a comparative analysis of non-profit and for-profit settings. The study was carried out in South Korea, where the nursing care market has recently expanded dramatically. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire, mailed to 1000 random participants nationwide. The findings are drawn from 239 nursing homes that completed the survey and indicate that perceived competition is positively associated with resident-centred care in non-profit settings, but not in for-profit settings. The study presents implications for practice and future research.     

Technological alliance portfolio configuration and firm performance

Firms pursuing technological alliances to gain competitive advantages have become a ubiquitous phenomenon in today’s business environment. This article examines which technological alliance portfolio configuration is better for focal firm performance using a portfolio rather than a dyadic perspective. To assess technological alliance portfolio effects on Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, we adopted three explanatory variables—number of alliances, number of partners, and spanning structural holes. The growth rate of revenue and the growth rate of profit are used as dependent variables. We identify two characteristics of technological alliance portfolios from the two-step generalized method of moments estimates. First, we find that between two firms with the same number of alliances, the firm with the larger number of partners would have a better performance. This result is unlike those in previous studies because it distinguishes between the number of alliances and number of partners based on the network theory. Second, we find that spanning structural holes affects firm performance rather like a double-edge sword—it positively affects the growth rate of profit but negatively affects the growth rate of revenue of firms. In short, spanning structural holes is simultaneously beneficial for firm profitability and unfavorable for firm growth. This result differs from those of earlier studies because it shows that a firm spanning structural holes among alliance partners produces either a positive or a negative effect, suggesting that a firm should vary its strategy depending on whether it prioritizes profitability or growth.     

COMMUNICATION,COORDINATION, AND NETWORKS

We study experimentally the role of the network structure of pre‐play communication in determination of outcome and behavior in a multiplayer coordination game with conflicting preferences. We explore the trade‐off between the efficiency and equity of coordination outcomes and its link to the network structure of communication. Our results show substantial variations in both efficiency and equity of coordination outcomes across networks. While, as expected, increasing the length of communication improves the chance of successful coordination, it also reduces the asymmetry in the distribution of coordinated outcomes. We identify behaviors that explain variations in the distribution of coordinated outcomes both within and across networks. In all treatments, coordination is mostly explained by convergence in communication.     

Dealing with Endogeneity to Understand the Societal Impact of the Third Sector: Why Should We Care and What Can We Do about It?

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Endogeneity is often regarded as a key barrier in establishing the causal relationship between the third sector and its...     

Risk analysis models and risk degree determination in new product development: A case study

This paper proposes a risk analysis model to determine the risk degrees of the risk factors occurring in product development processes. The model uses both fuzzy theory and Markov processes on a concurrent engineering (CE) basis. Fuzzy models determine the impact values of the risk factors, and Markov processes determine the probability of risk occurrences. The analysis model is used to compute the risk degrees by multiplying the probability of risk occurrences by the impact value. This study can be utilized for analyzing the influences of risk factors on product development projects and will contribute toward the development of a risk management framework (RMF) to defend against various risk factors. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Comparison of Temperament and Character Between Early- and Late-Onset Korean Male Pathological Gamblers

Purposes  

We investigated differences in temperament and character between early and late onset Korean pathological gamblers to identify whether the age of onset of pathological gambling (PG) could discriminate PG subtypes, like in alcoholism.     

Career Development and School Success in Adolescents: The Role of Career Interventions

Using longitudinal survey data, the present study examined the effect of participation on career development skills in 6 career education experiences and school success among South Korean adolescents (2,473 young men, 2,132 young women; mean age = 15.86 years). Regression analyses indicated that students who participated in career education programs in school once or twice over a 2‐year period had the highest scores in both career development skills and school success. In contrast, there was no relationship between career education, career development skills, and school success for students who participated in career education programs only once or not at all. Results support the influence of career education interventions on students' career development skills and school success. This study provides accountability information on the effectiveness of career education interventions at South Korean secondary schools. The authors offer suggestions about more effective career interventions that can be applied in South Korean high schools.     

Adolescent Depression and Future Smoking Behavior: A Prospective Study

The aim of the study was to examine the associations between depressive symptoms and smoking, concurrently and prospectively, in adolescents in America, the evaluation of depressive symptoms according to different group’s smoking status, and the assessed associations between concurrent depressive level and success in smoking cessation. The participants were 2,735 boys and 2,890 girls from the Add Health data set. The prospective analysis indicated that participants with higher depressive symptoms in Wave I were more likely to start smoking and become regular smokers in Wave II. Moreover, regression analysis found that depressive symptoms in both Waves I and II predicted current smoking status. Findings are discussed within the context of the empirical and theoretical review and implications for social work practice are considered.     

Intercultural relations in the European Union: Economic convergences verses social mobility

The purpose of this paper is to analyze intercultural relations within the European Union, with the 10 new members that have joined in 2004. We define intercultural relations in terms of the difference between the benefits of economic convergence versus the problems of social mobility issues implied by the economic convergence in the European Union, especially with regard to the labor market. This analysis has implications for any region that is experiencing rapid globalization.