Alexandra Bogren and Katarina Winter
A growing body of social research analyzes how the biomedical interest in detailed molecular aspects of people's bodies (genes, biomarkers, DNA) affect everyday notions of health…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing body of social research analyzes how the biomedical interest in detailed molecular aspects of people's bodies (genes, biomarkers, DNA) affect everyday notions of health, risk, and responsibility for health problems. However, this research focus has been largely neglected in social alcohol research. The purpose of this paper is to report on some early findings from a study of media portrayals of biomedical alcohol research and to present a rationale for studying biomedical alcohol research more broadly.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical discussion is based on textual analysis of 90 newspaper articles published in Swedish newspapers between 1995 and 2010 and one‐on‐one semi‐structured interviews with 24 newspaper readers about their interpretation of the newspaper portrayals. The motives for studying biomedical alcohol research more broadly are discussed in relation to existing research and theories of biomedicalization.
Findings
It is found that a large majority of the newspapers cite biomedical researchers to explain the mechanisms of addiction, and that biomedical research is often presented as revolutionary in scope. However, journalists also act as storytellers who explain the biomedical research results to readers. The reward system proved to be a central notion among the interviewees, who had their own, different and varying definitions of the concept. The authors suggest a framework for analyzing how biomedical knowledge is produced, communicated and utilized by three types of key actors.
Originality/value
The study presents a novel framework for studying biomedical alcohol research.
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Johan Jakobsson, Katarina Lagerström and Roger Schweizer
While the evolution of subsidiaries has received considerable research attention, the framework for understanding it has not evolved much since the late 1990s. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
While the evolution of subsidiaries has received considerable research attention, the framework for understanding it has not evolved much since the late 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to add both clarity and depth to the work on the foundations for – as well as the processes of – capability creation and development as a subsidiary evolves.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper takes as its point of departure the micro-foundation literature, with a specific emphasis on the capability development literature. To describe capability creation and development, both the resource-based view and the resource management perspective are used here.
Findings
The paper adds a conceptual layer to the drivers of subsidiary evolution. To add further clarity regarding how capabilities are actually formed, the resources for capability creation and development are specified herein as entities, abilities and capacity. Arguments are also presented for why capabilities ought to be viewed as patterned behavior to decrease the terminological ambiguity surrounding the concept of capabilities. The process of capability creation and development with an emphasis on learning is brought forward. Further, capability typologies, in terms of substantive, managerial and dynamic capabilities, are presented to add specificity to the kinds of capabilities that are created and developed within a subsidiary.
Originality/value
Clarifying the concept of capability and how capabilities are formed by using advancements in the literature is important to add precision to the literature on the evolution of subsidiaries.
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Purpose: This chapter examines the resurgence of femininity among Euro-American women who do so under the guidance of a dating coach for success in heteronormative relationships…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter examines the resurgence of femininity among Euro-American women who do so under the guidance of a dating coach for success in heteronormative relationships. I set this analysis against Sheryl Sandberg’s concept of “leaning in” at the workplace and older strains of feminist theory in order to analyze, contextualize, and situate the dating group’s engagement with and resistance to feminist theory.
Methodology/Approach: My argument comes from a narrative and content analysis of the dating coach’s blog, public access forum, and data from following the group’s Facebook members-only group from January 2016 to January 2017.
Findings: Katarina Phang’s dating group both rejects and engages with feminist theory. It is very similar to the neoliberal vision of female embodiment in three key ways. The group’s techniques also reference older variants of feminist theory, specifically Virginia Woolf’s and second wave feminist proponents of “consciousness-raising.”
Research Implications: In a “postfeminist” period, researchers have reported a contradiction of a conception of feminism co-existing with a desire for a traditional heteronormative relationship. Phang’s dating philosophy fills and outlines this space neatly.
Social Implications: The cultural resurgence of femininity re-inscribes the gender binary and re-invokes polarized conceptions of gender within heteronormative relationships as well as re-invokes older variants of feminist theory.
Originality/Value: No such study of this dating group has been conducted, nor attention to the resurgence of femininity among Euro-American women with desire as the prime motivator.
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Katarina Lagerström, Roger Schweizer and Johan Jakobsson
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a process description to capture the development of local R&D capabilities in subsidiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build the conceptualization not only on the prevailing literature on resource management, subsidiary evolution and subsidiary initiatives, but also on empirical observations.
Findings
A process in four phases is distinguished to describe the evolution of R&D capabilities in subsidiaries: the identification of an opportunity in the host country that triggers the establishment of local R&D capabilities; the gathering of support – from the host country and from MNC internally – and resources; the bundling of the resources to build capabilities; and finally the leveraging of the capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
By offering a conceptualization of the process through which subsidiaries build R&D capabilities, the authors contribute to the literature on R&D internationalization that hitherto has neglected the central role played by subsidiaries and the fact that a subsidiary needs to develop and manage resources and capabilities to change its R&D related role and/or mandate within the MNC.
Originality/value
By providing a process perspective on MNCs internationalization of R&D focussing on the development and management of R&D capabilities at subsidiaries, the paper adds a more dynamic dimension to the previously rather static view on R&D internationalization.
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Despite the privatization of its various components, the bidding process and the preparations for the Olympics are still initiated and tightly managed by central governments…
Abstract
Despite the privatization of its various components, the bidding process and the preparations for the Olympics are still initiated and tightly managed by central governments. Moreover, intentionally and unintentionally, governments use mega sports events such as the Olympics as a soft power medium in which to pursue their goals such as economic development and social integration and a lot of literature has already reviewed the economic and sociocultural impact of hosting the event. This chapter argues that the Olympics have been used as the medium to assist in the formation of legitimacy for a weakened authoritarian leader in the early phase of democratization in Korea. In addition, the chapter tries to explain how the bureaucracy contributed to the success of the national event and how it eventually impacted political modernization and the attitude of bureaucrats. To these ends, first, this chapter explores the influence of soft power on international competition by providing an empirical statistical analysis. Specifically, the chapter analyzes the process by which countries compete with one another for the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games as an important field of global interaction between political actors Further, the chapter discusses which components of soft power can affect international competition. To investigate the explanatory power and concrete applicability of soft power theory, the chapter looks at the influence of democratic and government dimensions of soft power on the selection of Olympic host cities and the role of bureaucracy during that process.
Ulrika Winblad, Karsten Vrangbæk and Katarina Östergren
This paper aims to analyse waiting‐time guarantees in the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) and to assess whether their current policy designs have…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse waiting‐time guarantees in the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) and to assess whether their current policy designs have strengthened the role of patients in their healthcare systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper compares official documents and legislation in the three countries. The main findings are that waiting‐time guarantees have generally empowered patients in the Scandinavian health systems. This empowerment is stronger in Denmark and Norway, where formal waiting‐time guarantee rules are applied, than in Sweden, where the guarantee is based on the “softer” regulatory instrument of agreements. While patients are formally empowered in all three countries, and care providers are gradually adjusting to this situation, it is also clear that the practical conditions for empowering patients are not fully in place. The issue of information dissemination is particularly important.
Research limitations/implications
Assessments are based on current regulatory configurations in the three countries, where the process of adapting and implementing the policies is ongoing. These assessments are based on a comparative analysis of the institutional designs. There is no detailed information on how patients use the waiting‐time guarantee.
Practical implications
It is important to consider carefully the information that patients have available in exercising their right to choose healthcare as well as the incentives for providing such information to them.
Originality/value
This is the first systematic comparison of waiting‐time guarantees in the three countries. It is a starting‐point for further research on the introduction of waiting‐time guarantees in public health systems.