Search

The traditional American model of multinational enterprise (MNE), characterized by foreign direct investment (FDI) aimed at exploiting firm-specific capabilities developed at home and a gradual country-by-country approach of internationalization, dominated the global economy during much of the post-World War II period. In the last two decades, however, new MNEs from emerging, upper-middle-income, or oil-rich countries have followed completely different patterns of international expansion. In this paper we analyze the processes through which these firms became MNEs and to what extent we need a new theory to explain their international growth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We ask why people play the lottery in syndicates. Sharing lottery tickets with co-workers, friends or relatives may create agency problems related to opportunism in addition to the fact that playing the lottery in general is tantamount to buying an asset with negative expected value. Although it might be argued that people share lottery tickets in order to maximize their chances of winning a prize, it is also plausible that they engage in this practice to enact, cement or reproduce social ties and interpersonal trust. Using survey data on representative samples of the adult population in Spain and the United States, we adjudicate between these two hypotheses, and show that people play the lottery in syndicates primarily for social reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Validation of predictive models in remote sensing requires a good coregistration of field and sensor data sets. However, previous research has demonstrated that Global Navigation Satellite System survey techniques often produce large positioning errors when applied to areas under forest canopies. In this article, we present a repeatable methodology for analyzing the effect of such errors when validating models that predict tree-height distributions from LiDAR data sets. The method is based on conditional probability theory applied to error positioning and includes an error assessment of the surveying technique. A technical criterion for selecting the plot radius that avoids significant effects of positioning errors was proposed. We demonstrated that for a plot radius greater than 10 m, the effects of positioning errors introduced by a phase-differential device were insignificant when studying forest tree-height distributions. La validation des modèles de prédiction en matière de télédétection nécessite une bonne correspondance entre les données terrain et les données des capteurs. Toutefois, des recherches antérieures ont démontré que les techniques d'inventaire par la système mondial de navigation par satellite produisent souvent d'importantes erreurs de positionnement lorsqu'elles sont appliquées à des zones situées sous le couvert forestier. Dans cet article, nous présentons une méthode reproductible pour analyser l'effet de telles erreurs lors de la validation des modèles de prédiction de la distribution de la hauteur des arbres à partir de données lidar. La méthode est basée sur la théorie des probabilités conditionnelles appliquée à l'erreur de positionnement et comprend une évaluation de l'erreur de la technique d'inventaire. Nous proposons un critère technique pour choisir le rayon des placettes de manière à éviter que l'erreur de positionnement ait des effets significatifs. Nous avons démontré que, pour une placette dont le rayon est supérieur à 10 m, les effets des erreurs de positionnement produites par un appareil à phase différentielle ne sont pas significatifs lorsqu'on étudie la distribution de la hauteur des arbres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-national distance is a key concept in the field of management. Previous research has conceptualized and measured cross-national differences mostly in terms of dyadic cultural distance, and has used the Euclidean approach to measuring it. In contrast, our goal is to disaggregate the construct of distance by proposing a set of multidimensional measures, including economic, financial, political, administrative, cultural, demographic, knowledge, and global connectedness as well as geographic distance. We ground our analysis and choice of empirical dimensions on institutional theories of national business, governance, and innovation systems. In order to overcome the methodological limitations of the Euclidean approach, we calculate dyadic distances using the Mahalanobis method, which is scale-invariant and takes into consideration the variance-covariance matrix. We empirically analyze four different foreign expansion choices of US companies to illustrate the importance of disaggregating the distance construct and the usefulness of our distance calculations, which we make freely available to managers and scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, venture capital firms have increasingly turned to foreign countries in search of investment opportunities. The cross-border expansion of venture capital firms presents an interesting case of internationalization, because they are at variance with both conventional portfolio and direct investment models. Given the specific nature of venture capital investing, a new theoretical perspective is needed to understand foreign venture capital investments. This paper contributes to international business research by examining the features of the institutional environment that influence venture capital firms' foreign market entry decisions, and how their effect changes as firms acquire experience. We report results on 216 American venture capital firms potentially investing in 95 countries during the 1990-2002 period. We find that venture capital firms invest in host countries characterized by technological, legal, financial, and political institutions that create innovative opportunities, protect investors' rights, facilitate exit, and guarantee regulatory stability, respectively. We also find that as firms gain more international experience, they are more likely to overcome constraints related to these institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High to moderate levels of physical activity (PA) are associated with low risk of incident cardiovascular disease. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of PA in midlife extend to cardiovascular health following myocardial infarction (MI) in later life., Methods: Among 1,111 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study participants with incident MI during Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities follow-up (mean age 73 [SD 9] years at MI, 54% men, 21% Black), PA on average 11.9 (SD 6.9) years prior to incident MI (premorbid PA) was evaluated as the average score of PA between visit 1 (1987-1989) and visit 3 (1993-1995) using a modified Baecke questionnaire. Total and domain-specific PA (sport, nonsport leisure, and work PA) was analyzed for associations with composite and individual outcomes of mortality, recurrent MI, and stroke after index MI using multivariable Cox models., Results: During a median follow-up of 4.6 (IQI 1.0-10.5) years after incident MI, 823 participants (74%) developed a composite outcome. The 10-year cumulative incidence of the composite outcome was lower in the highest, as compared to the lowest tertile of premorbid total PA (56% vs. 70%, respectively). This association remained statistically significant even after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.80 [0.67-0.96] for the highest vs. lowest tertile). For individual outcomes, high premorbid total PA was associated with a low risk of recurrent MI (corresponding aHR 0.64 [0.44, 0.93]). When domain-specific PA was analyzed, similar results were seen for sport and work PA. The association was strongest in the first year following MI (e.g., aHR of composite outcome 0.66 [95% CI 0.47, 0.91] for the highest vs. lowest tertile of total PA)., Conclusions: Premorbid PA was associated positively with post-MI cardiovascular health. Our results demonstrate the additional prognostic advantages of PA beyond reducing the risk of incident MI., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)