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International Accountability Standards have proliferated in the last 20 years, with the UN Global Compact (GC) as the most widely accepted principle-based standard catalyzing voluntary participation by firms. This study aims to improve understanding about the factors that determine companies' progress in adopting principle-based standards. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we examine the direct and combined influences of different organizational resources (firm-specific resources, innovative capability, length of participation, and internationalization of the firm) on standard implementation as perceived by 213 Spanish GC signatories. Our results reveal that the level of firm-specific resources has a positive effect on the extent of GC principles implementation and that innovative capability and length of GC participation strengthen this effect. Contrary to our expectations, we find that the internationalization of firms does not have an effect on GC principles implementation. We discuss the implications of these findings for scholars and practicing managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gut microbiota has been suggested as a key component of gut homeostasis, affecting immune responses within the gut. We determined changes in intestinal commensal bacteria and expression of toll-like receptors (TLR) 2 and 4 in rats bred under microbiologically controlled conditions (barrier), under standard conditions (conventional), and in barrier animals adapted to standard conditions (barrier/conventional). Cecal microbiota was analyzed by plate culture, and fluorescence in situ hybridization and microbial profiles were assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. Cecal expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Total number of cecal bacteria was similar in the three groups. However, the barrier group showed a higher number of strict anaerobic bacteria ( Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp.) while Bifidobacterium spp. were scarce. Re-housing the barrier-bred rats into conventional conditions led to a microbiota with intermediate characteristics between the barrier and conventional groups. Richness of the cecal microbial ecosystem was similar in the three groups, although a relative time-dependent variation, with highest homogeneity in the barrier group, was observed. Expression levels of TLR-2 and TLR-4 had no clear correlation with the microbiota. These results show that the relative composition of the cecal microbiota in rats varies spontaneously with changes in the environmental conditions, with minor impact in the expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4. These observations might be important in the understanding of variability in animal responses, particularly to immune-related stimuli, when assessed in the context of the environmental/microbiological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several factors affect attitudes toward ambiguity. What happens, however, when people are asked to exchange an ambiguous alternative in their possession for an unambiguous one? We present three experiments in which individuals preferred to retain the former. This status quo bias emerged both within- and between-subjects, with and without incentives, with different outcome distributions, and with endowments determined by both the experimenter and the participants themselves. Findings emphasize the need to account for the frames of reference under which evaluations of probabilistic information take place as well as modifications that should be incorporated into descriptive models of decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]