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PurposeDesign/methodology/approachFindingsResearch limitations/implicationsPractical implicationsOriginality/valueThis study postulates that a firm’s level of value appropriation capability (viz. selling capability) plays a pivotal role in influencing a firm’s top management team’s (TMT) sentiment and its perception of future risk and uncertainty. Further, the current study posits that the nexus between firm-level selling capability and the TMT’s sentiment and future risk perception is contingent upon the firm’s industry growth.This research employs a textual analysis-based measure of TMT’s sentiment and perception of future risk and uncertainty and data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based measure of firm-level selling capability, using a sample of 243 USA-based firms during the period 2014 to 2020 and employing an endogeneity-robust econometric modeling technique.The current study demonstrates that selling capability positively affects a firm’s TMT’s sentiment and negatively impacts the TMT’s perception of future risk and uncertainty. Furthermore, the association between selling capability and TMT’s sentiment and future risk perception are accentuated by industry growth.Future studies are warranted to unearth how the association between the focal variables changes depending on the effect of other firm-specific internal boundary conditions.The results demonstrate sales and marketing managers should develop efficient sales organization and management techniques to bolster the overall firm-level selling capability. Managers should focus on enhancing their firm-level selling capability to maximize the positive impact on the TMT’s sentiment.Although studies have shown the effect of managerial sentiment on firm behavior, there is no empirical evidence, to our knowledge, as to what drives TMT’s sentiment and perception of risk and uncertainty. The present treatise shows that a firm’s selling capability and industry growth affect the TMT’s sentiment and the perception of future risk and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian salt lakes contain a diverse range of endemic invertebrates. The brine shrimp Parartemia is among the most speciose and salt-tolerant of these invertebrates. The morphotaxonomy of Parartemia is well established but there has only been limited molecular assessment of the phylogenetic relationships and boundaries of the morphospecies. We used multiple genetic markers (nuclear 28S and mitochondrial 16S and COI) and tree-building methods (Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood) to investigate the phylogeny of Parartemia. We also used species delimitation methods to test the validity of morphological species designations. The data set included all but 2 of the 18 described Parartemia morphospecies, collected from a total of 93 sites from across southern Australia plus some sequences from GenBank. The results identified large amounts of molecular divergence (e.g. COI P- values of up to 25.23%), some groups of closely related species (which also usually shared some morphological similarities) and some distinctive species, although the relationships among divergent lineages were generally not well resolved. The most conservative set of results from the species delimitation analyses suggests that the morphotaxonomy is largely accurate, although many morphospecies comprised divergent genetic lineages separated by COI P- values of up to 17.02%. Two putative new morphospecies, three cryptic species and one synonymy were identified. Our findings improve the knowledge of Parartemia taxonomy and will facilitate the development of future studies and conservation of this taxon. The brine shrimp Parartemia is a diverse, salt-tolerant genus found in Australian salt lakes. Its current taxonomy is mainly based on morphological data. We used molecular data to investigate the number and relationships of Parartemia species and found two new morphospecies and three cryptic species. Although most species were valid, molecular divergence among and within some species was substantial. Our results confirm the species richness of the genus and our updated species list will aid in targeted conservation efforts. (Image credit: Md Aminul Islam.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND:Increasing the level of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) is one of the key interventions to promote optimal utilization of skilled maternal health services. It is therefore essential to determine the women's ability to recognize the danger signs and the level of BP/CR. This information can be used to design more effective health interventions. OBJECTIVES:This study was conducted to determine the knowledge in recognition of maternal complications, and the level and factors associated with BP/CR in rural Matlab, Bangladesh. METHODS:A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from June- October 2015 on a randomly selected 2262 women who delivered live or stillbirth during the year 2014. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used. RESULTS:The proportion of study participants with "good knowledge", measured by the ability to recognise three or more danger signs, in pregnancy and delivery were 26% and 23%, respectively. Out of four BP/CR components, about 15% women saved money, 12% women identified facility for delivery, 9.6% women planned to deliver by skilled birth attendant and 5.3% of women arranged transport. About 12% of women were "well prepared", measured by planning of at least two components, for skilled childbirth and emergency obstetric complications. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, asset index, antenatal care (ANC) visits and knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy and delivery were associated with BP/CR. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of "well prepared" was 4.09 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.45-6.82) among women with an asset index of five (richest), compared with women in the asset index of one (poorest). The odds of "well prepared" was six times (OR 5.98, 95% CI: 3.85-9.28) higher for women with four or more ANC visits, compared to women with none or one ANC visit. In comparison to women with "poor knowledge" on maternal danger signs during pregnancy and delivery, the odds ratio of "well prepared" among women with good knowledge during pregnancy and in delivery were 1.95 (95% CI: 1.44-2.63) and 1.74 (95% CI: 1.28-2.36), respectively. CONCLUSION:The study revealed a low level of maternal knowledge of danger signs and BP/CR among pregnant women. Further, low socioeconomic status, fewer ANC visits and poor knowledge in recognition of dangers signs on maternal health were associated with low BP/CR. More emphasis should be placed on the quality of information offered to the pregnant women during the prenatal contact and women from low socio-economic gradient should be prioritized to optimize the impact of future BP/CR interventions.

Firms are increasingly adopting pro-lesbian, -gay, -bisexual, -transgender, inclusivity and diversity (LGBT-ID) policies for workforce management. This study develops a parsimonious, albeit complex, moderated-mediated framework by employing a panel dataset combining data from archival sources and involving a sample of predominantly large and publicly held firms from the USA between 2002 and 2018. The number of observations varied across variables with a minimum of 414 observations (corporate brand equity) and a maximum of 3,566 observations (self-reported LGBT-ID policy). This treatise demonstrates that adopting LGBT-ID policies positively impacts firms' profitability. Moreover, pro-LGBT-ID policies during this specific period have a positive effect on corporate brand equity, which in turn affects firm profitability, indicating that brand equity plays a mediating role in the nexus between pro-LGBT-ID policies and firms' financial performance. Furthermore, innovation intensity strengthens the relationship between pro-LGBT-ID policies and brand equity during the sample period of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms develop and deploy selling capability to create and sustain a competitive advantage. Previous studies have focused predominantly on static, input‐based selling capability, paying little attention to dynamic, efficiency‐focused selling capability. This treatise reconceptualizes selling capability from a dynamic and efficiency (input–output) perspective and investigates the effect of selling capability on firm value with the contingent role of internal [i.e. relative strategic emphasis (SE)] and external (i.e. market volatility and technological volatility) factors. Using data from 341 US‐based manufacturing and service firms over the period 2014–2020 and an endogeneity‐robust dynamic estimation technique, the authors find that selling capability positively affects firm value, and firms with a relative SE on value appropriation (i.e. advertising) as opposed to value creation (i.e. R&D) reap more rewards from selling capability. That is, relative SE positively moderates the nexus between selling capability and firm value. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the interactive effect of selling capability and relative SE is weaker when an industry experiences higher market volatility but stronger when technological volatility is higher. Overall, this study demonstrates that a firm's selling capability should be managed dynamically in light of its (internal) relative SE and (external) environmental conditions. The results are robust to several additional sensitivity analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]