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Although extant research has studied incumbent resistance to digital platforms, it provides little understanding about when grassroots collective action by other ecosystem stakeholders against the digital platform is likely. In this paper, we identify the scope conditions detailing when local stakeholders can initiate grassroots collective action against the digital platform, a unique context characterized by fast growth, distributed innovation, role flexibility, and direct local connectivity, and propose viable solutions. Our conceptual framework suggests that grassroots collective action against the digital platform is most likely when the digital platform operates with localized scarce assets or localized precarious labor and when actors express their grievances through formalized channels. We combine business model design and stakeholder management perspectives to develop design-based solutions that involve a multisided business model structure, an inclusive stakeholder value proposition, and an ecosystem-centered governance. We call the combination of such design efforts relational business model design. To the incipient theory of digital platforms, we contribute a stakeholder-centered view of platform business models operating within local ecosystems, bridging research on collective action and stakeholder management with strategic management of platforms.

Developed-country multinationals (DMNEs) have increasingly engaged in the practice of offshoring innovation to emerging countries. In this article, we leverage and extend the institution-based view to further our understanding of this phenomenon. Specifically, we examine the differential effects of formal and informal institutions on DMNEs’ strategic decision to offshore innovation activities aimed at augmenting (versus exploiting) home-base-knowledge to emerging countries. Concerning formal institutions, we argue that the stronger the emerging host country’s IP protection, the higher the likelihood that a DMNE offshores innovation activities aimed at augmenting home-base-knowledge. Regarding informal institutions, we argue that the greater the cultural differences between the developed home country and the emerging host country, the higher the likelihood that a DMNE offshores innovation activities aimed at augmenting home-base-knowledge. Additionally, we propose a key contingency that attenuates the relationship involving IP protection while strengthening the one involving cultural differences: the DMNE’s experience with offshoring innovation. Analysis of 128 offshoring innovation implementations by 78 DMNEs in ten emerging countries provides support for all our hypotheses except for the one focused on the moderation effect of experience on the relationship involving cultural differences.

The offshoring phenomenon has evolved in recent years, and can be understood from a threefold perspective: first, the evolution in the type of activity being offshored; second, the learning curve involving both the companies implementing offshoring and service providers; and third, the reasons for offshoring. This study proposes an empirical framework that will allow us to explore the interaction between the type of activity (specifically knowledge-intensive) and the drivers of the decision to select the most appropriate governance mode. Specifically, our results show that market-seeking drivers become the primary determinants prompting firms to offshore knowledge-intensive activities through a captive center. In contrast, the motivation to reduce costs moderates the decision to offshore knowledge-intensive activities by nurturing a preference for offshore outsourcing. The empirical evidence is supported by multi-country data from the Offshoring Research Network. The authors appreciate thefinancial support received from theSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through ECO2016-75379-R, the Regional Government of Madrid and European Social Fund through S2015/HUM-3353 (EARLYFIN-CM), the "Carl Schroeder Chair" and the Research Division of IESE Business School, Spain.

In a new world of rapid change fueled by artificial intelligence technologies, Joan Enric Ricart argues that there are plenty of opportunities for companies to create competitive advantage with business model innovation. The winners of today and tomorrow are creators and architects of novel business models. CEOs help design business models. They should be ready for this challenge and learn how to compete with artificial intelligence-based business models.

The article presents a framework for exploring the drivers, structure, and dynamics of open data initiatives in the city context. Drawing on a case study of the city of Barcelona complemented with other cases, it develops a stepwise framework that can serve as a practical guide for both urban and private leaders to implement open data strategies. Following this model can enable managers to minimize risk and effectively harness the power of open data.

Offshoring of services (OS), commonly defined as the international relocation of service activities that companies previously performed in their home country, has emerged as a relevant phenomenon in international business (IB). Over the past two decades, OS has grown rapidly in the global economy and it has increasingly attracted IB scholars’ attention. In this study, we systematically review the literature to map and assess the body of IB research focused on the OS phenomenon. To achieve our goal, we identify and analyze a total of 79 studies that appeared from 1990 to 2014 in a select group of 14 journals that are widely considered leading publishers of IB research. This review seeks to make a threefold contribution to the IB discipline. First, it provides an in-depth analysis of the OS literature through a synthesis of the theoretical perspectives adopted and an assessment of the empirical findings obtained. Second, it offers an organizing framework that contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the OS phenomenon. Third, it identifies emerging topics on the OS frontier and suggests potential avenues for future research.

The study of business models involves exploring how firms do business at the system level. It lies at the intersection of strategy and entrepreneurship research and is, therefore, a topic of interest for scholars of strategic entrepreneurship. The purpose of this special issue is to publish work that develops theory on business models, or empirically investigates the phenomenon, and to inspire future research on the topic. In our introduction, we briefly review the main conceptual developments of the past two decades. We highlight three contributions that business model research is poised to make to the domain of strategic entrepreneurship, and, by extension, to its constituent disciplines of strategy and entrepreneurship: (1) reconnecting strategy with entrepreneurship; (2) suggesting a more central place for customers in our frameworks and analyses; and (3) emphasizing the importance of implementation. We subsequently present the articles in this special issue and explain how they relate to these themes. We conclude with suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2015 Strategic Management Society.

Business model innovation is receiving increased attention in corporate practice and research alike. We propose in this article a role-based approach to categorize the literature and argue that the respective roles of explaining the business, running the business, and developing the business can serve as three interrelated perspectives to present an overview of the current business model innovation field and to accommodate the selected contributions of this special issue. We refer to contributions from entrepreneurship, innovation and technology management, and corporate strategy to explicate the three elaborated perspectives and to summarize the main contents of the special issue articles. We conclude by reflecting on main theoretical challenges for studies on business model innovation which stem from the uncertain boundaries of the phenomenon, and we propose some theoretical stances and analytic levels to develop future avenues for research.

Ethics has recently gained importance in the debate over social capital creation. The goal of this study is to empirically examine the ethical work context of the firm as an antecedent of the firm’s internal social capital. We build on person–situation interactionist theory to argue that individuals can learn standards of appropriate behavior induced by the ethical work context in which they are embedded. By creating an ethical work context, managers can facilitate the process through which employees learn to feel empathy toward others and establish profound affective relationships with them. Data were collected from 1,817 individuals in 36 business units of 7 Spanish, French, and Portuguese corporations. Using structural equation and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, our results reveal three phenomena. First, we show that a business unit’s ethical work context exerts significant influence on the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of internal social capital. Second, the managerial practices that constitute the ethical work context are not equally important across the seven corporations; in particular, managerial practices are more influential in those corporations that belong to knowledge-intensive industries. Third, a business unit’s internal social capital is influenced not only by the business unit’s ethical work context, but also by the ethical work context of the corporation to which it belongs.

There is a need for further research to understand how social capital in the workplace can be promoted. This article studies the generation of social capital from a comprehensive perspective that integrates ethics and general management. We propose the concept of “ethical work context” as an influential antecedent of the social capital in the firm. The ethical work context, which is aligned with the “humanizing culture” approach proposed by Mele (Journal of Business Ethics 45(1), 3–14, 2003a), allows a broader comprehension of the concrete management practices and organizational dynamics that generate organizational social capital. It is argued that social capital, understood as a by-product of the ethical work context, results both from organizational design and ongoing managerial activity. Creating an ethical work context brings ethics and social capital into the realm of the general manager; a figure that has remained absent from the social capital literature.

There is a need of further research to understand how social capital in the organization can be fostered. Existing literature focuses on the design of reciprocity norms, procedures and stability employment practices as the main levers of social capital in the workplace. Complementary to these mechanisms, this paper explores the impact of ethical managerial behaviour on the development of social capital. We argue that a managerial behaviour based on the true concern for the well-being of employees, as well as their motivational and ethical development, can be particularly important for the generation of social capital in the organization. It is suggested that manager’s behaviour should be based on three principles: following exemplary behaviour, helping the employees to value the consequences of their actions in other persons, and not betraying employee’s trust. When the manager conforms to those principles, he can ease the process through which employees develop associability and identification-based trust with the firm, the two main components of ‹Organizational Social Capital’. Bringing ethics into the debate of social capital creation seems to us fundamental, as social capital in the firm is likely to be influenced by the ethical and motivational development of its members.

In a densely filled space of professional associations EURAM emerged as a new European Challenger. Professors Marafioti and Perretti claim in their article that EURAM is at a crossroads and must decide to be either a generalist or a specialist association. They also claim that in both cases EURAM will face powerful competitors. However, in this brief article I would like to claim that EURAM has successfully chosen a third way, a more difficult but challenging way that emerged from European diversity. The current strategy of EURAM has been developed by many different contributions without centralized planning, giving EURAM a very distinctive and unique position.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to attempt to gain a deeper understanding on the firm's ability to integrate stakeholder insights into the process of organizational innovation from a sustainable development viewpoint.Design/methodology/approachGiven the early stage of empirical research on the topic, an exploratory case study was used of two Spanish companies that have successfully learned from stakeholder dialogue and have generated innovations that are beneficial both for the company and for sustainable development in general.FindingsThe evidence from the two case studies suggests the existence of two simple capabilities – stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder knowledge integration – for generating innovations in accordance with stakeholder needs. Whereas stakeholder dialogue leverages organizational resources that promote two‐way communication, transparency and appropriate feedback to stakeholders, stakeholder knowledge integration relies on non‐hierarchical structures, flexibility and openness to change.Research limitations/implicationsThe fact that the two companies studied are rather special cases of companies without shareholders might limit the results of the present research. Thus, future research could explore sustainable innovation as a response to the demands of other kinds of stakeholders and refine, validate and test the concept of dynamic capability identified in this paper.Originality/valueThe paper sheds some light on the under‐researched issue of linking stakeholder dialogue and sustainable innovation, and thus contributes to open the “black box” of dynamic capabilities and advance in the understanding of this fundamental organizational concept.

Fatty liver disease is now recognized as a major health burden, due to the greater number of cases that are being diagnosed. This trend could partly be explained by the increased use of liver ultrasonography in asymptomatic patients for various reasons, mainly persistent transaminase elevation. The most commonly reported risk factors associated with fatty liver disease are chronic alcohol intake, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and some drugs. When these factors have been ruled out in a patient with a fatty liver, less frequent causes such as certain inherited metabolic disorders should be considered. Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia is characterized by an alteration of apolipoprotein B (apo B) synthesis, leading to the secretion of truncated forms of the protein, which in turn leads to a marked reduction in excretion of very low-density lipoproteins from the liver and consequently to lipid deposits, especially triglycerides, in the hepatocytes. We report the case of a 23-year-old man who met the diagnostic criteria for heterozygous familial hypobetalipoproteinemia. He presented with mild transaminase elevation and fatty liver. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apo B were below normal limits, while levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were normal. Lipid profile determination and liver ultrasonography of first and second-degree relatives were also performed. Molecular studies of the index case revealed an unaffected apo B gene.

Most recent work on Boards of Directors has been focused on what can be considered best practices for effective governance in terms of roles, composition, process and style. Furthermore, this literature can be divided among very practically oriented managerial work, and more rigorous, theoretically based work. Most of the empirical research in this area has been centered on Anglo-Saxon countries. Some European countries, like Spain, have a very different governance tradition. Given this context, our present work pursues with three complementary objectives: 1. To ascertain the current status of governance practices in Spain. 2. To obtain evidence about which of these practices may be associated with effective governance. 3. To find out what factors account for the composition of General Managers’ compensation.

Centering change programs around the concept of ‘business process’ helps to focus on the client and emphasizes cross-functionality. BPR, in addition, seeks radical improvements. Although powerful, these ideas are insufficient. Important dimensions are often omitted in both the design and the implementation of process-based improvement projects. One of them is the learning that individuals and organizations need to undertake in order to make new designs really effective. Based on field research, this paper proposes conceptual frameworks that: (1) suggest the relevant dimensions in the design and implementation of process improvement projects, (2) make the learning considerations explicit, and (3) explain why a more holistic approach to BPR is necessary. This helps to explain why the cases in a series of 13 studied in depth are individually so different and yet they fit a common underlying pattern. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and Cornwallis Emmanuel Ltd.

Often information systems (IS) are classified in three groups: (a) transactional, used mainly for co-ordination and resource allocation purposes at the operational level of a company; (b) tactical, often employed to support the resource procurement activities typical of middle management; and (c) information systems for strategic decision making, designed to help in the planning and strategy design processes which are the direct responsibility of top management. In general, the amount of care and management attention that companies give to these different types of systems is proportional to their position in this hierarchy: little attention is devoted to the mundane transaction-pushing systems and exquisite care is put into developing the sophisticated decision making aid for the CEO and his/her staff. The IS/IT literature has been reporting quite commonly cases in which companies have attained or lost great competitive advantages by way of their transactional information systems [for example, Emery Worldwide, Baxter Healthcare ASAP system, and Frontier Airlines]. The aim of this paper is to identify actions that companies can take to realize potential benefits of their IS, in particular from their low-level, transactional IS. Among other actions, we will conclude that companies would be better off if they: (a) have the IS department at the right place in the organization, staffed with people knowledgeable about the basic nature of the business in which the company is engaged; (b) are sensible to what can be called ‘strategic maintenance’ of systems, (c) set up a formal procedure for IS planning to ensure coherence between IS plans and business plans, derived, in turn, from business strategy, and (d) keep abreast of the relevant technology. Several examples taken from European companies are used to illustrate these conclusions.

Most approaches to innovation bear the implicit assumption that increased innovativeness leads to improved organizational performance. Thus, more attention has been focused on innovativeness than on innovation performance; on novelty than on value. However, recent empirical evidence calls into question the unqualified optimism surrounding innovation, and leads us to ask what we really know about when technological innovation improves performance. In this paper, we seek to make a contribution by presenting the results of an exhaustive review of extant knowledge on the outcomes of technological innovation. Our synthesis of the literature allows us to relate in one parsimonious model the drivers and moderators of the antecedents, technical outcomes, and performance outcomes of technological innovation and technological change. We also make sense of the proliferation of terms, and consequent terminological ambiguity, which characterizes a lot of work on technological innovation. Finally, in the light of the model presented and recent developments in work on firm capabilities, we indicate possible avenues for further development of this critical area of research.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of consultants, professional service firms and knowledge intermediaries in articulating the collective action of shareholders. The regulatory background is the current proposals for the reform of General Meetings of Shareholders in Spain. General Meetings are particularly revealing of shareholder activism, as they are the forum in which shareholders’ actions can be most effective. We believe that our arguments are, to a very large extent, equally applicable to other European countries, as these proposals have been put forward in Spain within the context of the wider governance reforms promoted by the Winter Report in Europe and other national and supranational regulatory efforts.

The notion of parenting styles, introduced by Goold, Campbell and Alexander, has been widely acknowledged by the Corporate Strategy literature as a good broad description of the different ways in which corporate managers choose to manage and organize multibusiness firms. The purpose of this paper is to present a formal test of the relationship between parenting style and performance. For this test, we developed a set of agent-based simulations using the Performance Landscapes framework, which captures and describes the evolution of firms led by different parenting styles in business environments with different levels of complexity and dynamism. We found that the relative performance of each style is contingent upon the characteristics of the environment in which the firm operates. In less complex business environments, the Strategic Planning style outperforms the Strategic Control and Financial Control styles. In highly complex and highly dynamic environments, by contrast, the Strategic Control style performs best. Our results also demonstrate the importance of planning and flexibility at the corporate level and so contribute to the wider debate on Strategic Planning vs. Emergent Strategies.

Strategy in low-income markets is a new but emerging field of international strategy research. Because low-income markets remain largely unexplored and unknown to most companies, it has been argued that developing embedded ties and alliances with traditional and non-traditional partners is critical in order to better understand customer needs and market characteristics. Following this logic, the purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of developing a capability in social embeddedness in low-income markets. Using a multiple-case inductive analysis of business ventures and their embedded ties and partnerships in this context, we propose an emergent theoretical framework to explain the factors that influence the development of such a capability and its positive outcomes. Our findings suggest that a firm has a greater incentive to build embedded ties and partnerships under three conditions: when the market-oriented ecosystem is underdeveloped; when the firm's psychic distance with respect to low-income markets is high; and when the firm offers a large number of product complementarities. A capability in social embeddedness can be beneficial for obtaining fine-grained information, increasing operational efficiency, gaining trust and legitimacy, and having prior access to new markets. At the same time, the social network in which a firm is embedded gives access to network resources that can provide competitive advantage.

In recent years, there has been a virtual explosion of interest in corporate governance. Corporate scandals and the need to protect minority shareholders' interests, for example, are some of the reasons behind the development of corporate governance codes in numerous countries and corporations. At the same time, the concepts of "sustainable development", "corporate responsibility", and "corporate citizenship" have taken root in the business world. Although an extensive body of research treats the fields of corporate governance and sustainable development separately, less attention has been paid to the interaction between both fields. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by examining how corporate governance systems are evolving in order to integrate sustainable development thinking into them. We do so by analyzing the governance systems of the 18 corporations that are leading the market sectors considered by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSWI). We present the results of our in depth analysis of the 18 cases and propose the Sustainable Corporate Governance Model that emerges from that analysis.

So far, we have concentrated on a linear information value-chain scenario mainly centred on the Internet and on media content. In this chapter we would like to give a broader perspective of what sources of information are available that may be subject to an information value-chain analysis. We also would like to show some of the limitations of the value chain by illustrating a particular type of electronic market, transaction stream markets, that require generalizing the concepts provided above to include situations in which multiple transactions occur simultaneously and in a non-linear form (i.e. in a network).

This chapter analyses two steps of the value chain that have traditionally been considered in isolation; in terms of Figure 1.3 (p. 11), these are: (6) local loop operators (usually local telecommunication companies, ‘Baby Bells’ in the USA), and (5) Internet Access Providers (IAPs). As we will see in the chapter, these two steps are intimately related, not only because IAPs must use a local loop to reach their customers, but also because technological advances in the latter will completely restructure the IAP industry in the next few years

Bandwidth is an expression of the speed at which digitized data can travel over a conductor such as a telephone wire (relatively slow) or a fibre optic cable (relatively fast). We shall define ‘bandwidth’ simply as the maximum amount of data in megabits per second (mbps) that can be sent from computer A to computer B, thereby expressing the capacity of a networked connection. In essence, the more bandwidth there is, the more data that can travel along that connection within a certain period of time. As Table 4.1 shows, some applications require very little bandwidth, others quite a lot.

Despite its long tradition and well-known contributions, corporate strategy research is yet far from being mature. This paper proposes an innovative framework that approaches the field from the theoretical perspective provided by complexity theory. We propose to see the corporate level of the organization as the driver, pacer and framer of the overall firm's evolution process. Drive is provided by the cognitive representation of the corporate fitness landscape that is implicit in the firm's corporate plan. Pacing is a consequence of the kind of strategic initiatives (‘search strategy’) developed by the company. Framing is achieved through the architectural design that the corporate level implements for the firm.

therefore aimed to find genetic and clinical factors predictive of thiopurine induced AE in patients with CD. Methods: Four hundred and sixty eight CD patients were screened and one hundred and eighty one patients treated with thiopurines were included in our study. Thiopurine AE included were myelosuppression, hepatotoxicity and pancreatitis. Clinical data collected included age, ethnicity, gender and smoking status. Patients’ DNAwas tested for specific polymorphisms in the TPMT, GSTM1and GSTT1 genes. Results: Twenty-seven patients (15%) developed AE requiring thiopurine discontinuation. The most common AE was myelosuppression (12 patients), followed by pancreatitis (9 patients) and hepatotoxicity (6 patients). Univariate analysis showed that patients developing AE were significantly older when receiving thiopurines (mean 34.19±14.0 vs. 27.95±11.7 years old, P= 0.016) and more likely to be current or past smokers (51.9% vs 30.0%, P= 0.044). Specifically, patients who developed thiopurine induced pancreatitis were more likely to be past or present smokers (p = 0.001), and patients who developed hepatotoxicity were older than patients who did not develop AE (p = 0.014). Only four patients (2.2%) were heterozygous for TPMT polymorphisms, and none developed thiopurine induced AE. No association was found between GSTM1 or GSTT1 polymorphisms and the development of AE (p = 0.08 for GSTM1 wild-type). On multi-variant analysis past or current smokers were at increased risk for developing thiopurine related AE (OR 2.84, CI 95%: 1.104 7.296). Conclusions: TPMT, GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotype did not predict development of thiopurine induced AE in our patients. Past or current smokers were at increased risk for thiopurine induced AE, specifically pancreatitis. These findings may have implications for decision making in treating CD patients with thiopurines.

Introduccion La elevacion de los niveles sericos de los nucleotidos de la 6-tioguanina (6TGN) en los pacientes tratados con tiopurinas se ha relacionado con una mayor probabilidad de alcanzar la remision, pero la traduccion clinica de este hallazgo es dudosa. Objetivos y metodos Estudio prospectivo y multicentrico para establecer la utilidad de la determinacion sistematica de 6TGN como predictor o marcador de la eficacia de la azatioprina (AZA) o mercaptopurina (MP) en los pacientes con EII. Se determinaron los niveles sericos de 6TGN y 6-metilmercaptopurina-ribonucleotidos (6MMPR) en pacientes que comenzaban tratamiento con AZA/MP por corticoresistencia o corticodependencia. Esta determinacion se realizo periodicamente durante el descenso de los esteroides y, una vez suspendidos estos, hasta la aparicion de un nuevo brote (persistencia de la corticoresistencia o dependencia) o durante 6 meses en los casos en los que se mantenia la respuesta clinica. Solo se incluyeron pacientes cuya actividad de la tiopurina-metil-transferasa (TPMT) era mayor de 5 U/ml. Resultados Se incluyeron inicialmente 153 pacientes y 140 finalizaron el estudio (edad media 36 anos, 50% varones, 72% con enfermedad de Crohn. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los niveles medios de 6TGN (o en las razones 6TGN/6MMPR o 6TGN/TPMT) a las 2, 4, 6 semanas y 2, 4 o 6 meses tras abandonar los esteroides, entre aquellos pacientes que en cada momento estaban o no en remision clinica. El area bajo la curva ROC que evalua la fiabilidad de los niveles de 6TGN en el diagnostico de respuesta clinica en cada punto fue menor de 0,7 en todos los casos. Entre los niveles de 6TGN, no se encontro ningun punto de corte con una sensibilidad y especificidad util, incluidos los valores de 230 o 250 pmol/8×108 (que son los habitualmente propuestos en la literatura). El area bajo la curva ROC que evalua la fiabilidad de la determinacion de 6TGN a las 2 semanas, 1, 2 o 4 meses tras iniciar AZA/MP para predecir la respuesta al final del seguimiento fue tambien menor de 0,7 en todos los casos. Una vez mas, no se encontro ningun punto de corte util. Se describio toxicidad relacionada con AZA/MP en 9 casos (6,4%), incluyendo solo 3 casos de mielotoxicidad y ninguno de hepatotoxicidad. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los niveles de 6TGN de aquellos pacientes que sufrieron toxicidad relacionada con tiopurinicos. Especificamente, los niveles de 6TGN no se correlacionaron con el riesgo de sufrir mielotoxicidad. Conclusion La determinacion sistematica de los metabolitos de la AZA en los pacientes con EII que reciben tratamiento con tiopurinas, con el objetivo de predecir o valorar la respuesta al tratamiento o su seguridad, no puede ser recomendada.

increase in the bank's borrowing cost, similarly leads to reduced commitment sales and expected bank lending. A stochastic increase in customer takedowns is found to have an ambiguous effect on the bank's commitment decision. The force of these results is limited because all bank lending is assumed to be done via loan commitments. Although most bank lending, particularly to businesses, is indeed done via commitments (see Hanweck [4]), the possibility of spot-market lending can be expected to influence the bank's commitment decision. For example, if the bank initially chooses its commitment volume, and the customer subsequently determines the fraction of commitments to exercise, the bank commonly retains the option of purchasing and/or selling additional loans in the spot market after the customer's takedown is realized. Moreover, the bank's opportunity to transact in the spot market after realizing the customer's takedown can be expected to influence its initial choice of commitments. The purpose of this note is to examine whether the DGK results continue to hold in a setting where banks have spot-market lending opportunities. The model used here incorporates two significant modifications. Whereas both deposits, D, and the takedown fraction, 0, were random variables in DGK, we now have only one random variable, the spot interest rate s, realized after the bank chooses its commitment volume. The takedown fraction is consequently expressed as a deterministic function of the spot interest rate. Second, a more general bank borrowing cost function, MC(L, s), depending on the bank's level of lending, L, and the spot interest rate obviates the need for a deposits variable. With our slightly altered formulation, we examine three cases

Background The quality of colon cleansing and the tolerability of anterograde preparation are essential to the success of colorectal cancer screening. Aim To compare the tolerability and efficacy of low-volume preparations vs the standard regimen in individuals scheduled for an early morning colonoscopy. Study Participants in a population-based colorectal cancer screening program using the fecal immunochemical test who were scheduled for a colonoscopy from 09:00 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. were prospectively included and assigned to: (1) control group (PEG-ELS 4L): PEG 4 L and electrolytes; (2) group AscPEG-2L: a combination of PEG and ascorbic acid 2 L; and (3) group PiMg: sodium picosulfate and magnesium citrate 500 mL plus 2 L of clear fluids. Tolerability was evaluated with a questionnaire and the quality of bowel preparation with the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale. Results A total of 292 participants were included: 98 in the PEG-ELS 4L control group, 96 in the AscPEG-2L study group and 98 in the PiMg study group. Low-volume treatments were better tolerated than the standard solution (AscPEG-2L 94.8% and PiMg 93.9% vs PEG-ELS 4L 75.5%; p p = 0.011 and p = 0.032, respectively). Patient acceptance was higher for single-dose than for split-dose administration but efficacy was higher with the split dose than with other doses. Conclusions In early morning colonoscopies, ascPEG-2L appears to be the best option, especially when administered in a split-dose.