Predicting merchant future performance using privacy-safe network-based features

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises play a significant role in most economies by contributing to job creation and economic growth. A majority of such merchants rely on business financing, and thus, financial institutions and investors need to assess their performance before making decisions on business loans. However, current methods of predicting merchants' future performance involve their private internal information, such as revenue and customer base, which cannot be shared without potentially exposing critical information. To address this problem, we first propose a novel approach to predicting merchants' future performance using credit card transaction data. Specifically, we construct a merchant network, regarding customers as bridges between merchants, and extract features from the constructed network structure for prediction purposes. Our study results demonstrate that the performance of machine learning models with features extracted from our proposed network is comparable to those with conventional revenue- and customer-based features, while maintaining higher privacy levels when shared with third-party organizations. Our approach offers a practical solution to privacy concerns over data and information required for merchants' performance prediction, enabling safe data-sharing among financial institutions and investors, helping them make more informed decisions on allocating their financial resources while ensuring that merchants' sensitive information is kept confidential.

Are You Dominated by Your Affects? How and When Do Employees' Daily Affective States Impact Learning from Project Failure?

Given the enormous value that project failure brings to individuals and organizations, a large number of scholars have explored the antecedents that affect employees' learning from project failure. However, few scholars have paid attention to how individuals' affective states interact with cognition patterns to learn from failure. Based on cognitive behavioral theory, this paper explores the relationship between employees' different daily affective states and learning from project failure and incorporates the mediating role of error management strategy and the moderating role of project commitment. By using SPSS and Amos software, hierarchical regression analysis of questionnaire data collected from 774 employees in high-tech firms in China indicates that (1) positive/negative affective states positively/negatively affect learning from failure, respectively; (2) error management strategy mediates the relationship between daily affective states and learning from project failure; and (3) project commitment moderates the relationship between negative affective states and error management strategy; specifically, this relationship is weaker when project commitment is stronger. However, the moderating effect of project commitment on the relationship between positive affective states and error management strategy is not supported. The results further expand the research related to learning from failure and have practical implications for failure management in high-tech enterprises.

Facilitate or Diminish? Mechanisms of Perceived Organizational Support on Employee Experience of New Generation Employees

The new generation of employees has emerged as a major force in the labor market, and their employee experience has become a significant factor in transforming the employment relationship. The objective of this study is to see if perceived organizational support influences the employee experience of the new generation of employees. Also, considering that the underlying mechanisms between the two are unclear, this study explores the mediating role of proactive personality and the moderating role of emotional exhaustion. This study used the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Employee Experience Scale, Proactive Personality Scale, and Emotional Exhaustion Scale to survey 550 new-generation employees in China. The results showed that: perceived organizational support facilitated the level of employee experience of new generation employees; proactive personality partially mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee experience. In addition, emotional exhaustion moderated the relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive personality. This study reveals the mechanisms of organizational and individual factors on the employee experience of new generation employees, explores the growth path of employee experience of new generation employees, and provides insights into the management practice work of business leaders.

Unpacking the 'process of sustaining'-identifying threats to sustainability and the strategies used to address them: a longitudinal multiple case study

BACKGROUND

Although sustainability remains a recognised challenge for Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives, most available research continues to investigate sustainability at the end of implementation. As a result, the learning and continuous adjustments that shape sustainability outcomes are lost. With little understanding of the actions and processes that influence sustainability within QI initiatives, there is limited practical guidance and direction on how to enhance the sustainability of QI initiatives. This study aims to unpack the 'process of sustaining', by exploring threats to sustainability encountered throughout the implementation of QI Initiatives and identifying strategies used by QI teams to address these threats over time.

METHODS

A longitudinal multiple case study design was employed to follow 4 QI initiatives over a 3-year period. A standardised sustainability tool was used quarterly to collect perceptions of sustainability threats and actions throughout implementation. Interviews (n=38), observations (32.5 h), documentary analysis, and a focus group (n=10) were conducted to enable a greater understanding of how the process of sustaining is supported in practice. Data were analysed using the Consolidated Framework for Sustainability (CFS) to conduct thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Analysis identified five common threats to sustainability: workforce stability, improvement timelines, organisational priorities, capacity for improvement, and stakeholder support. Each of these threats impacted multiple sustainability constructs demonstrating the complexity of the issues encountered. In response to threats, 12 strategies to support the process of sustaining were identified under three themes: engagement (five strategies that promoted the development of relationships), integration (three strategies that supported initiatives to become embedded within local systems), and adaptation (four strategies that enhanced understanding of, and response to, emergent conditions and contextual needs).

CONCLUSIONS

Sustaining improvements from QI initiatives requires continuous investment in relationships, resilience to integrate improvements in local systems, and flexibility to understand emergent conditions. Findings provide practitioners, funders, and researchers with a better understanding of, and preparation for, the threats associated with sustaining improvements from QI initiatives and offer insight into specific actions that can be taken to mitigate these risks. This learning can be used to inform future initiative design and support, to optimise the sustainability of healthcare improvements.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Not applicable.

Temporal structures that determine consistency and quality of care: a case study in hyperacute stroke services

BACKGROUND

Temporal structuring is determined by practices and social norms and affects the quality and timing of care. In this case study of hyperacute stroke wards which provide initial stroke investigation, treatment and care, we explored temporal structuring patterns to explain how these may affect quality of care.

METHODS

This paper presents a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with hyperacute stroke staff (n=76), non-participant observations (n=41, ~102 hours) and documentary analysis of the relevant service standards guidance. We used an inductive coding process to generate thematic findings around the concept of temporal structuring, with graphically illustrated examples.

RESULTS

Five temporal structures influence what-happens-when: (1) clinical priorities and quality assurance metrics motivate rapid activity for the initial life-prolonging assessments and interventions; (2) static features of ward organisation such as rotas and ward rounds impact consistency of care, determining timing and quality of care for patients; (3) some services experimented with staff rotas to try to meet peaks in demand, sometimes unsuccessfully; (4) implicit social norms or heuristics about perceived necessity affected staff motivation to make changes or improvements to consistency of care, particularly around weekend work; and (5) after-effects such as bottlenecks or backlogs affect quality of care, which are hard to measure effectively to drive service improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients need temporally consistent high quality of care. Temporal consistency stems from the design of services, including staffing, targets and patient pathway design as well as cultural attitudes to working patterns. Improvements to consistency of care will be limited without changes to structures such as rotas and ward rounds, but also social norms around weekend work for certain professional groups.

Bright sides and dark sides: Unveiling the double-edged sword effects of social networks

Social networks have both positive and negative effects as a double-edged sword. However, previous studies have mostly focused on the positive effects of social networks, whereas the negative effects have received less scrutiny and need to be tapped empirically. In this quantitative study, we investigate the multiple effects of social networks, including positive instrumental, positive sentimental, negative instrumental, and negative sentimental effects, using data from the 2020 Urban and Rural Community Survey in China (N = 19,585). The results showed that the four types of effects were manifested during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and were dominated by positive effects. More importantly, social networks can significantly shape individual subjective well-being and social trust. As positive effects, transmitting epidemic information and providing psychological comfort significantly protect subjective well-being and enhance social trust. However, as negative effects, spreading rumors and conveying negative emotions can significantly detriment subjective well-being and undermine social trust. In this regard, future research needs to pay special attention to the double-edged sword effect of social networks to more comprehensively understand the effect of multiple pathways of interpersonal social networks on individuals' subjective well-being and life opportunities.

Who is open to change after the COVID-19 pandemic? Some insights from Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic as a disruptive event was initially considered an opportunity for a transformation towards more sustainable lifestyles. In two telephone surveys with more than 1000 participants each, this study explored in October 2020 and May 2021 how people in Germany experienced the COVID-19 related lockdown restrictions. Specifically, the study investigated how the respondents felt their lives had been impaired during the pandemic, which changes they had experienced as particularly bothersome and which ones they perceived to be beneficial. A second objective was to analyze how these perceptions related to either the respondents' urge to return to "normal" or, in contrast, to their openness towards lifestyle changes. A third objective was to identify structural characteristics that would explain differences in perception and assessment of lifestyle changes. Overall, the study found that by 2021, the pandemic had impacted people more negatively than in 2020. Most respondents missed social contacts, traveling and cultural events. Among the positive changes, working from home and spending less money for useless things were particularly prominent. A third of the participants agreed that they would like to question their behavior before the pandemic and live more consciously. Apart from slight differences in gender, age and, most importantly, academic background, socio-economic characteristics hardly help explain why some people were more open to change than others. Therefore, a cluster analysis was conducted with the result that respondents with stronger pro-environmental attitudes were more open to change, no matter how much they felt affected by the pandemic. These findings indicate that when routines are disrupted, pro-environmental personal values and education contribute to the openness for alternative lifestyle choices.

Spotting anomalous trades in NFT markets: The case of NBA Topshot

Non-Fungible Token (NFT) markets are one of the fastest growing digital markets today, with the sales during the third quarter of 2021 exceeding $10 billions! Nevertheless, these emerging markets-similar to traditional emerging marketplaces-can be seen as a great opportunity for illegal activities (e.g., money laundering, sale of illegal goods etc.). In this study we focus on a specific marketplace, namely NBA TopShot, that facilitates the purchase and (peer-to-peer) trading of sports collectibles. Our objective is to build a framework that is able to label peer-to-peer transactions on the platform as anomalous or not. To achieve our objective we begin by building a model for the profit to be made by selling a specific collectible on the platform. We then use RFCDE-a random forest model for the conditional density of the dependent variable-to model the errors from the profit models. This step allows us to estimate the probability of a transaction being anomalous. We finally label as anomalous any transaction whose aforementioned probability is less than 1%. Given the absence of ground truth for evaluating the model in terms of its classification of transactions, we analyze the trade networks formed from these anomalous transactions and compare it with the full trade network of the platform. Our results indicate that these two networks are statistically different when it comes to network metrics such as, edge density, closure, node centrality and node degree distribution. This network analysis provides additional evidence that these transactions do not follow the same patterns that the rest of the trades on the platform follow. However, we would like to emphasize here that this does not mean that these transactions are also illegal. These transactions will need to be further audited from the appropriate entities to verify whether or not they are illicit.

Family climate influences next-generation family business leader effectiveness and work engagement

Effective next-generation leadership is central to the multi-generational survival of family businesses. This study of 100 next-generation family business leaders found that business-owning families that openly express their opinions, take time to listen to each other, and squarely address difficult issues positively influence the development of the emotional and social intelligence competencies in next-generation family leaders that drive their leadership effectiveness. That kind of open and transparent communication in the family also makes it more likely next-generation leaders will be held accountable for their leadership performance by others, which increases the degree to which they are positively engaged with their work in the family firm. On the other hand, the results suggest that senior-generation family leaders who lead autocratically, a leadership style often observed in entrepreneurs who found family firms, make it less likely that next-generation family leaders will learn the emotional and social intelligence competencies that predict their leadership effectiveness. The study also found that autocratic senior-generation leaders negatively affect next-generation leader self-efficacy and make it less likely that others will hold them accountable, which limits their engagement with work in the family business. One of the study's most important findings is that next-generation leader acceptance of personal responsibility for their leadership behaviors and results serves as a mediator through which the nature of the family climate influences their leadership effectiveness and work engagement. This suggests that while the nature of family relationships may make it easier or more difficult, next-generation family leaders have ultimate control over the development of their leadership talent and the inspiration, enthusiasm, energy, and pride they feel when working in the family business.

Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label's Legitimacy through Consumers' Perception

The proliferation of quality labels for the same food product questions the relevance of labeling schemes. Based on the theory of legitimacy and research on food-related consumer behavior, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived legitimacy of a label (PDO) on consumers' perceptions of the quality and purchase intentions of the labeled product. A conceptual model was, therefore, developed to estimate the influence of four dimensions of legitimacy on the perceived quality and purchase intention of PDO-labeled cheese, French cheeses being products whose quality is traditionally linked to their regional origin. Our model was tested on a sample of 600 consumers representative of the French population. Using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling, results show that for surveyed consumers, the pragmatic, regulative, and moral legitimacy of the PDO label positively influences the perceived quality of PDO-labeled cheese. Furthermore, pragmatic legitimacy has a substantial and direct influence on purchase intention, whereas both regulative and moral legitimacy influence purchase intention only indirectly through perceived quality. Unexpectedly, our findings do not show a significant influence of cognitive legitimacy either on perceived quality or purchase intention. The output of this research contributes to a better understanding of the link between a label's legitimacy, perceived quality, and purchase intention.

Corporate Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is among society's most pernicious and impactful social issues, causing substantial harm to health and wellbeing, and impacting women's employability, work performance, and career opportunity. Organizations play a vital role in addressing IPV, yet, in contrast to other employee- and gender-related social issues, very little is known regarding corporate responses to IPV. IPV responsiveness is a specific demonstration of corporate social responsibility and is central to advancing gender equity in organizations. In this paper, we draw upon unique data on the IPV policies and practices of 191 Australian listed corporations between 2016 and 2019, that collectively employ around 1.5 M employees. Providing the first large-scale empirical analysis of corporate IPV policies and practices, we theorise that listed corporations' IPV responsiveness reflects institutional and stakeholder pressures which are multifaceted and central to corporate social responsibility. Our findings identify greater IPV responsiveness among larger corporations, as well as those corporations with higher proportions of women middle managers, greater financial resources, and more advanced employee consultation on gender issues. This paper concludes that there is a need for further research on corporate IPV responsiveness, to further illuminate corporate motivations, organizational support processes, and employee experiences.

The effects of factors on the motivations for knowledge sharing in online health communities: A benefit-cost perspective

Online health communities (OHCs) provide knowledge for users, enabling conversations across a broad range of health topics. The development of OHCs depends on users' motivations to share health knowledge. Yet little literature has explored how perceived benefits and costs affect users' motivations for sharing both general and specific knowledge. Based on social exchange theory, we propose a research model that comprises intrinsic benefits (sense of self-worth, satisfaction), extrinsic benefits (social support, reputation, and online attention), cognitive cost, and executional cost to investigate the effects of these factors on users' motivations for general and specific knowledge sharing. We compare the different effects of these factors on users' motivations for knowledge sharing. Results demonstrate positive effects of intrinsic and extrinsic benefits on users' motivations for general and specific knowledge sharing. Differences exist in the negative effects of cognitive and executional costs on users' motivations for general and specific knowledge sharing. This study contributes to promoting the enrichment of online health knowledge and provides implications for the development of OHCs.

Organizational culture and the individuals' discretionary behaviors at work: a cross-cultural analysis

Stating "how things are done here," organizations are defining their culture. Organizational Culture (OC) is the set of values, norms, goals, and expectations shared by all members of an organization that aids in improving their commitment and performance. On the organizational level, it impacts behavior, productivity, and long-term survival by influencing organizational capability. Due to employee behavior being a competitive differential, this study examines how specific OCs influence individual behavior. In particular, how the different cultures in the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) affect employees' main dimensions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). A descriptive-confirmative ex post facto research was conducted by surveying 513 employees from over 150 organizations worldwide. The Kruskal-Wallis H-test was used to validate our model. The general hypothesis was confirmed, showing that the predominant organizational culture type affects the level and the kind of OCBs individuals demonstrate. It is possible to provide organizations with a breakdown of their employees' OCBs based on their OC type and which changes they can make to their organization's culture to increase the employees' OCB and, consequently, the efficiency of their organization.

Implementing a Digital Depression Prevention Program in Australian Secondary Schools: Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Depression is common during adolescence and is associated with adverse educational, employment, and health outcomes in later life. Digital programs are increasingly being implemented in schools to improve and protect adolescent mental health. Although digital depression prevention programs can be effective, there is limited knowledge about how contextual factors influence real-world delivery at scale in schools.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the contextual factors that influence the implementation of the Future Proofing Program (FPP) from the perspectives of school staff. The FPP is a 2-arm hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial evaluating whether depression can be prevented at scale in schools, using an evidence-based smartphone app delivered universally to year 8 students (13-14 years of age).

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 staff from 20 schools in New South Wales, Australia, who assisted with the implementation of the FPP. The interviews were guided by our theory-driven logic model. Reflexive thematic analysis, using both deductive and inductive coding, was used to analyze responses.

RESULTS

Staff perceived the FPP as a novel ("innovative approach") and appropriate way to address an unmet need within schools ("right place at the right time"). Active leadership and counselor involvement were critical for planning and engaging; teamwork, communication, and staff capacity were critical for execution ("ways of working within schools"). Low student engagement and staffing availability were identified as barriers for future adoption and implementation by schools ("reflecting on past experiences").

CONCLUSIONS

Four superordinate themes pertaining to the program, implementation processes, and implementation barriers were identified from qualitative responses by school staff. On the basis of our findings, we proposed a select set of recommendations for future implementation of digital prevention programs delivered at scale in schools. These recommendations were designed to facilitate an organizational change and help staff to implement digital mental health programs within their schools.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042133.

Job Autonomy and Work Meaning: Drivers of Employee Job-Crafting Behaviors in the VUCA Times

In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment (VUCA), employees can better match the organization and jobs by crafting their job perceptions, work tasks, and relationships, which is valuable to maintain organizational sustainable competitiveness and promote employees' personal growth. This study explores the influence mechanisms of job autonomy and work meaning on employees' job-crafting behaviors and the moderating effect of perceived organizational change through a survey of 318 employees in Chinese companies. The results show that job autonomy and work meaning can promote employees' job-crafting behaviors by increasing individuals' harmonious work passion. The indirect effects of job autonomy and work meaning on employee job-crafting behaviors through harmonious work passion are stronger for individuals with high perceived organizational change relative to those with low perceived organizational change. Organizations should concentrate on job redesign to improve employees' job autonomy and work meaning. A climate of change should also be created within the organization to keep employees aware of the crisis. Meanwhile, employees should actively use work resources to meet the changing needs of organizational development and promote individual career development through job-crafting behaviors.

Impact of the three waves of COVID-19 pandemic on the HR practices of Hungarian organizations-Experience from an empirical study

Over recent decades, the practice of human resource management in the transitional countries of Eastern Europe and in Hungary has changed significantly. Especially in local subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies and in the leading domestic large organizations, HRM has become a strategic function, while in the practice of small and medium-sized enterprises it is less common. COVID-19 hit companies, institutions and individuals unexpectedly, not only in Hungary but also in the more developed regions of the world. This crisis has also highlighted the fact that larger and better prepared organizations and public institutions have found it easier to weather this global human catastrophe. We analyze how the key tasks of HRM have changed during the successive waves, along four hypotheses. Initially, health protection, communication and home-office organization were the focus of the work of human resource professionals. In the second and third waves, securing and retaining staff became more important.

Values and practice of collaboration in a mental health care system in the Netherlands: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

To offer optimal care, the mental health system needs new routes for collaboration, involving both interprofessional and interorganizational aspects. The transition from intramural to extramural mental health care has given rise to new dynamics between public and mental health care, introducing a challenge for interprofessional and interorganizational collaboration. This study aims to determine values and expectations of collaboration and to understand how collaboration in mental health care organizations takes shape in daily practice.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and a focus group, in the setting of the Program for Mentally Vulnerable Persons (PMV). Data were analysed following thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We found three aspect that were considered important in collaboration: commonality, relationships, and psychological ownership. However, our findings indicate a discrepancy between what is considered essential in collaboration and how this materializes in day-to-day practice: collaboration appears to be less manageable than anticipated by interviewees. Our data suggest psychological ownership should be added as value to the interorganizational collaboration theory.

CONCLUSION

Our study offers a new definition of collaboration and adding "psychological ownership" to the existing literature on collaboration theory. Furthermore, we gained insight into how collaboration between different organizations works in practice. Our research points to a discrepancy between what all the partners find important in collaboration, and what they actually do in practice. Finally, we expressed ways to improve the collaboration, such as choosing between a chain or a network approach and acting on it and re-highlighting the goal of the Program Mentally Vulnerable persons.

Challenges in preserving the "good doctor" norm: physicians' discourses on changes to the medical logic during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic was a tremendous challenge to the practice of modern medicine. In this study, we use neo-institutional theory to gain an in-depth understanding of how physicians in Sweden narrate how they position themselves as physicians when practicing modern medicine during the first wave of the pandemic. At focus is medical logic, which integrates rules and routines based on medical evidence, practical experience, and patient perspectives in clinical decision-making.

Methods

To understand how physicians construct their versions of the pandemic and how it impacted the medical logic in which they practice, we analyzed the interviews from 28 physicians in Sweden by discursive psychology.

Results

The interpretative repertoires showed how COVID-19 created an experience of knowledge vacuum in medical logic and how physicians dealt with clinical patient dilemmas. They had to find unorthodox ways to rebuild a sense of medical evidence while still being responsible for clinical decision-making for patients with critical care needs.

Discussion

In the knowledge vacuum occurring during the first wave of COVID-19, physicians could not use their common medical knowledge nor rely on published evidence or their clinical judgment. They were thus challenged in their norm of being the "good doctor". One practical implication of this research is that it provides a rich empirical account where physicians are allowed to mirror, make sense, and normalize their own individual and sometimes painful struggle to uphold the professional role and related medical responsibility in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be important to follow how the tremendous challenge of COVID-19 to medical logic plays out over time in the community of physicians. There are many dimensions to study, with sick leave, burnout, and attrition being some interesting areas.

Government regulation strategy, leading firms' innovation strategy, and following firms imitation strategy: An analysis based on evolutionary game theory

In the innovation ecosystem, the knowledge-based game behavior of each subject not only pertains to its own survival and development but also affects evolution of the innovation ecosystem. The present study investigates the choice of government's regulation strategy, leading firms' innovation protection strategy and following firms' imitation strategy from the perspective of group evolutionary game. Based on the cost-benefit perspective, an asymmetric tripartite evolutionary game model and a simulation model are constructed to analyze the strategies and stability of the evolutionary equilibrium of each subject. We focus mainly on the protection intensity of innovation achievements by leading enterprises and the difficulty of imitation and substitution by following enterprises. The cost of patent operation and maintenance, government subsidies, and the relative difficulty of technology substitution and imitation were identified as the key factors affecting the evolutionary equilibrium of the system. Based on different scenarios resulting from the aforementioned factors, four equilibrium states are observed in the system, namely {no government regulation, technology secrecy, substitution}, {no government regulation, technology secrecy, imitation}, {no government regulation, patent application, imitation}, and {government regulation, patent application, imitation}. Finally, the study suggests corresponding recommendations for the three parties, which can help governments as well as the leading and following firms to choose appropriate behavioral strategies. At the same time, this study offers positive insights to participants in the global innovation ecosystem.

Creative Performance and Conflict through the Lens of Humble Leadership: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

This study developed and tested a moderated mediation model by examining the relationships between humble leadership (HL), emotional intelligence, employee conflict (EC), and creative performance (CP), using resource-based theory as the theoretical foundation. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 322 employees and their immediate supervisors (n = 53) from the telecom sector in Pakistan. The data was analyzed using AMOS 21 and SPSS 26. The results demonstrate that HL has a positive effect on creative performance and a negative relationship with employee conflict. Furthermore, employee conflict has a negative impact on CP and mediates the impact of HL on CP. Moreover, a leader's emotional intelligence moderates the negative relationship between HL and EC. Finally, this study reveals that EI moderates the indirect effects of HL on CP. The conclusions and implications are discussed at the end of this paper.

Do targets of ostracism truthfully communicate their emotional reactions to sources?

Ostracism triggers negative emotions such as sadness, anger, and hurt feelings. Do targets of ostracism truthfully share their emotions with the sources of ostracism? Drawing on past research on social-functional accounts of emotions and interpersonal emotion regulation, we investigated the possibility that targets may misrepresent their emotions (i.e., gaming emotions). We conducted three experiments (N = 1058; two pre-registered) using an online ball-tossing game, in which participants were randomly assigned to be included or ostracized. Consistent with the literature, we found that ostracized individuals were more hurt, sad, and angry than included individuals. However, we found little and inconsistent evidence that ostracized (vs included) individuals misrepresented their emotional reactions to the sources. Further, Bayesian analyses offered more support against misrepresentation of emotions. These findings suggest that targets of ostracism truthfully communicated their social pain to the sources.

Institutional Logics in the UK Construction Industry's Response to Modern Slavery Risk: Complementarity and Conflict

There is a growing understanding that modern slavery is a phenomenon 'hidden in plain sight' in the home countries of multinational firms. Yet, business scholarship on modern slavery has so far focussed on product supply chains. To address this, we direct attention to the various institutional pressures on the UK construction industry, and managers of firms within it, around modern slavery risk for on-site labour. Based on a unique data set of 30 in-depth interviews with construction firm managers and directors, we identify two institutional logics as being integral to explaining how these companies have responded to the Modern Slavery Act: a market logic and a state logic. While the institutional logics literature largely assumes that institutional complexity will lead to a conciliation of multiple logics, we find both complementarity and continued conflict in the logics in our study. Though we identify conciliation between aspects of the market logic and the state logic, conflict remains as engagement with actions which could potentially address modern slavery is limited by the trade-offs between the two logics.

The impact of AI suggestions on radiologists' decisions: a pilot study of explainability and attitudinal priming interventions in mammography examination

Various studies have shown that medical professionals are prone to follow the incorrect suggestions offered by algorithms, especially when they have limited inputs to interrogate and interpret such suggestions and when they have an attitude of relying on them. We examine the effect of correct and incorrect algorithmic suggestions on the diagnosis performance of radiologists when (1) they have no, partial, and extensive informational inputs for explaining the suggestions (study 1) and (2) they are primed to hold a positive, negative, ambivalent, or neutral attitude towards AI (study 2). Our analysis of 2760 decisions made by 92 radiologists conducting 15 mammography examinations shows that radiologists' diagnoses follow both incorrect and correct suggestions, despite variations in the explainability inputs and attitudinal priming interventions. We identify and explain various pathways through which radiologists navigate through the decision process and arrive at correct or incorrect decisions. Overall, the findings of both studies show the limited effect of using explainability inputs and attitudinal priming for overcoming the influence of (incorrect) algorithmic suggestions.

Defining re-implementation

BACKGROUND

The first attempt to implement a new tool or practice does not always lead to the desired outcome. Re-implementation, which we define as the systematic process of reintroducing an intervention in the same environment, often with some degree of modification, offers another chance at implementation with the opportunity to address failures, modify, and ultimately achieve the desired outcomes. This article proposes a definition and taxonomy for re-implementation informed by case examples in the literature.

MAIN BODY

We conducted a scoping review of the literature for cases that describe re-implementation in concept or practice. We used an iterative process to identify our search terms, pilot testing synonyms or phrases related to re-implementation. We searched PubMed and CINAHL, including articles that described implementing an intervention in the same environment where it had already been implemented. We excluded articles that were policy-focused or described incremental changes as part of a rapid learning cycle, efforts to spread, or a stalled implementation. We assessed for commonalities among cases and conducted a thematic analysis on the circumstance in which re-implementation occurred. A total of 15 articles representing 11 distinct cases met our inclusion criteria. We identified three types of circumstances where re-implementation occurs: (1) failed implementation, where the intervention is appropriate, but the implementation process is ineffective, failing to result in the intended changes; (2) flawed intervention, where modifications to the intervention itself are required either because the tool or process is ineffective or requires tailoring to the needs and/or context of the setting where it is used; and (3) unsustained intervention, where the initially successful implementation of an intervention fails to be sustained. These three circumstances often co-exist; however, there are unique considerations and strategies for each type that can be applied to re-implementation.

CONCLUSIONS

Re-implementation occurs in implementation practice but has not been consistently labeled or described in the literature. Defining and describing re-implementation offers a framework for implementation practitioners embarking on a re-implementation effort and a starting point for further research to bridge the gap between practice and science into this unexplored part of implementation.

The link between green innovations, corporate performance, ESG activities, and sharing economy

In current years (environment, social, and governance), ESG activities in various countries have been focus more attention their stakeholders by enterprises. The world largest developing country China. The Chinese registered Enterprises ESG performance helps to apprehend the deficiencies of their sustainable ability and development for boost the organizations value. Furthermore, enterprises must balance the allocation of resources between green innovation investment and ESG activities in the future as a result of the interaction effect between these two factors. This research examines the effects of environmental, social, and governance issues on financial and non-financial performance at registered Chinese manufacturing firms since 2009 to 2019. Green innovation is also tested as a moderating factor. Results show that environment, common, and governance performance has negative influence on the firm financial performance. On the other hand, its negative effects on financial performance will be enhanced. The environmental activities have negatively affected financial performance but green innovation has positively regulated them. Non-financial performance is positively impacted by the ESG performance. The ESG general performance and the environmental performance have positive influence on corporate reputation with the improvement of green innovation levels increase. Corporate financial performance is influenced by green innovation and social activities in a substitutional manner.

The impact of R&D effort on business model innovation: Evaluating chain mediation through collaboration breadth and depth

Drawing on a novel theoretical framework, we explored the impact of research and development (R&D) effort on business model innovation via external collaboration breadth and collaboration depth in sequence. We empirically analyzed a sample of 94 Chinese innovative enterprises by applying hierarchical regression analysis and chain mediation analysis. The results indicate that R&D effort positively influences business model innovation. The influencing mechanism is that R&D effort positively affects external collaboration breadth, which in turn positively stimulates external collaboration depth, and ultimately benefits the implementation of business model innovation. Therefore, the breadth and depth of external collaboration play a chain-mediating role. The study develops a new framework for understanding the relationship between R&D effort, external collaboration, and business model innovation. It combines enterprises' internal behavior (R&D) and external behavior (collaboration) to establish an inside-out mechanism for predicting business model innovation. It enriches the theory of business model innovation. It also provides insights for managers and governments to optimize policies in innovation-driven development.

Personal sustained cooperation based on networked evolutionary game theory

Evolutionary game theory on complex networks provides an effective theoretical tool to explain the emergence of sustained cooperative behavior. Human society has formed various organizational networks. The network structure and individual behavior take on a variety of forms. This diversity provides the basis for choice, so it is crucial for the emergence of cooperation. This article provides a dynamic algorithm for individual network evolution, and calculates the importance of different nodes in the network evolution process. In the dynamic evolution simulation, the probability of the cooperation strategy and betrayal strategy is described. In the individual interaction network, cooperative behavior will promote the continuous evolution of individual relationships and form a better aggregative interpersonal network. The interpersonal network of betrayal has been in a relatively loose state, and its continuity must rely on the participation of new nodes, but there will be certain "weak links" in the existing nodes of the network.

The influence of leader humor on employee creativity: from the perspective of employee voice

Creativity is a primary factor in driving transformational change. This study explored the impact of leader humor on employee creativity (incremental and radical creativity) from the perspective of employee voice. Data were collected from 812 Chinese employees through multipoint surveys. Through the surveys, we found that (1) leader humor has a significant positive effect on employee incremental and radical creativity; (2) promotive/prohibitive voice mediates the relationship between leader humor and employee incremental/radical creativity separately; (3) contradictory thinking moderates the effect of leader humor on prohibitive voice and further moderates the indirect effect of leader humor on radical creativity; and (4) the moderated mediation model mainly applies to state-owned enterprises rather than private-owned enterprises. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Transcultural Comparison of Mental Health and Work-Life Integration Blurring in the Brazilian and Spanish Populations during COVID-19

The study aimed to compare the impact of Role Blurring on mental health and Work-Life Integration in the Brazilian and Spanish populations during COVID-19. Role Blurring, which is related to resources and demands in the work context, affects coping with stressors arising from role overlapping and impacts individuals' perception of work overload and mental health. The sample consisted of 877 adults from Spain (n = 498) and Brazil (n = 372), and various statistical analyses were conducted to compare the groups. Results showed that Role Blurring is linked to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as suicidal ideation. Therefore, it is essential to promote working conditions that limit expectations on availability and favor disconnection from work during leisure time. Public policies that intervene, promote, and prevent psychosocial risk factors in emergent contexts are crucial to prevent suicidal ideation and attempts. Considering the high expected influence of Blurring as a focus of interventions can be reflected in the medium term in the indicators of well-being and satisfaction of companies, institutions and organizations. This can result in the reduction of health costs aimed at cushioning post-COVID-19 impacts on mental health. The study is relevant to understand the impact of the pandemic and technology on mental health and suggests the need for interventions to promote work-life balance and prevent psychosocial risks.

The predictive effect of relative intuition on social entrepreneurship orientation: How do exploratory and exploitative learning and personal identity interact?

This study complements the stream of psychology studies on the effects of an individual's intuition on strategic decisions and how it shapes behavioral tendencies by extending how these effects evolve social entrepreneurship orientation in social entrepreneurship. Theoretically, we establish the nexus between relative intuition and social entrepreneurship orientation as well as the moderating roles of exploratory and exploitative learning and personal identity. Empirical validation of these nexuses was based on a cross-section of 276 certified social enterprises in China. The findings indicate that social entrepreneurs' relative intuition has a positive association with social entrepreneurship orientation. Exploratory and exploitative learning positively mediate the nexus between relative intuition and social entrepreneurship orientation. In addition, personal identity positively moderates the effects of exploratory and exploitative learning on social entrepreneurship orientation. Subsequently, we found that the link between relative intuition and social entrepreneurship orientation strengthens as the social entrepreneurs' personal identity increases. In this light, we identify relative intuition as the foundation of exploratory and exploratory learning for the development of social entrepreneurship orientation. Similarly, we shed light on how personal identity positively facilitates the roles of these factors by arousing dedication to the processes/stages of the pursuit of social entrepreneurship orientation goal attainment.

Why did Trump call prayers politically correct? The coevolution of the PC notion, the authenticity ethic, and the role of the sacred in public life

Trump's crusade against PC played a key role in his political rhetoric and resonated well among his supporters, yet his notion of PC differed greatly in meaning from earlier uses of the term and was used to denounce a much wider range of socio-political behaviors. Based on a systematic analysis of Trump's use of this notion, I identified five main normative propositions organizing Trump's anti-PC rhetoric. Viewed together, these propositions add up to a rehabilitation of White working-class culture but also outline an emerging late-modern version of the authenticity ethic, whose power extends far beyond the working class. This ethic (as manifested in Trump's anti-PC rhetoric) transforms the role of morality and the sacred in political drama and in symbolic struggles over social worth. Rather than presenting his commitment to moral values, ideals, and allegedly-universal rules, Trump used anti-PC rhetoric to expose and criticize the symbolic self-interests of others who speak on behalf of these values, rules, and ideals to claim superiority (and thus ironically mimicked the sociological critique of symbolic violence to legitimize bigotry). Yet, the sacred is not completely banished from political drama: authenticity as a principle of worth guiding moral evaluation and argumentation is revealed as a sacred in denial. The case of Trump's anti-PC rhetoric thus allows theorizing the implications of the authenticity ethic for the dynamics of social struggles over recognized worth and for the role of ideals in the presentation of self in politics and beyond.

It's a Family Affair: A Case for Consistency in Family Foundation Giving and Family Firm Community CSR Activity

Although most business-owning families (BOFs) that operate large family firms practice community social engagement both in private via family foundations and in the business domain via community corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, the relationship between their activities in the two domains remains unclear. Prior literature speculates that BOFs will deprioritize firms' community CSR when they have family foundations as more efficient vehicles to achieve socioemotional wealth (SEW), which would imply that such BOFs are less ethical in operating their firms. We contrast these speculations by enriching the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach with instrumental stakeholder theory and cue consistency arguments and theorize that BOFs seek to ensure consistency between their activities in the two domains. Using data from 2008 to 2018 on the 95 largest US public family firms whose BOFs also operate private foundations, we show a positive relationship between family foundation giving and firm community CSR activity. Furthermore, we provide evidence for the boundary conditions of this relationship, showing that it is weaker for firms that do not share the family's name and stronger for those firms with family leaders who also lead their families' foundations.

Beat People but Not Face: The Role of Perceived Face Threat in the Influence of Abusive Supervision on Employee Feedback Seeking

One of the purposes for superiors to abuse subordinates is to obtain a positive response from subordinates by conveying a negative attitude. However, abusive behavior cannot guarantee positive behaviors due to the differences in subordinates' characteristics, such as feedback seeking. Based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study explores the relationship between abusive supervision by superiors and feedback seeking by subordinates in East Asian cultures. Questionnaires were collected from multiple time points and multiple sources. Datum analysis was performed on 318 paired questionnaires between employees and direct supervisors. The results showed that: (1) Employees' perceived face threat has a mediating effect on the relationship between abusive supervision and feedback seeking. (2) Self-affirmation of subordinates positively moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and perceived face threat. (3) Self-handicapping of subordinates positively moderates the relationship between perceived face threat and feedback seeking. This not only explains the mechanism of perceived face threat in the influence of abusive supervision on employees' feedback-seeking behavior, but also reveals the boundary effect of employees' self-affirmation and self-handicapping characteristics in it, which expands the theoretical explanation framework of the influence of abusive supervision on employees' feedback-seeking behavior and also provides new ideas for managers to better implement management in the organization.

Building resilient hospital information technology services through organizational learning: Lessons in CIO leadership during an international systemic crisis in the United States and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic was an international systemic crisis which required an unprecedented response to quickly drive the digital transformation of hospitals and health care systems to support high quality health care while adhering to contagion management protocols.

OBJECTIVE

To identify and assess the best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic by Chief Information Officers (CIOs) about how to build resilient healthcare IT (HIT) to improve pandemic preparedness and response across global settings and to develop recommendations for future pandemics.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative, interview-based study to sample CIOs in hospitals. We interviewed 16 CIOs from hospitals and health systems in the United States and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We used in-depth interviews to capture their perspectives of the preparedness of hospitals' information technology departments for the pandemic and how they lead their IT department out of the pandemic.

RESULTS

Results showed that healthcare CIOs were ambidextrous IT leaders who built resilient HIT by rapidly improving existing digital business practices and creating innovative IT solutions. Ambidextrous IT leadership involved exploiting existing IT resources as well as exploring and innovating for continuous growth. IT resiliency focused on four inter-related capabilities: ambidextrous leadership, governance, innovation and learning, and HIT infrastructure.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose conceptual frameworks to guide the development of healthcare IT resilience and highlight the importance of organizational learning as an integral component of HIT resiliency.

Chilly climate perceived by female engineering undergraduates: an exploratory study using concept mapping

Introduction

Women still being a minority in engineering majors, they are reported to face discriminatory treatment in a collegiate environment. "Chilly climate," referring to such a sexist environment, may have a negative impact on women's mental health, academics, and careers. But, what exactly is it that female students in engineering perceive as chilly, and how chilly is it? This study aimed to explore the chilly campus climate perceived by female undergraduate engineering students in South Korea using the concept mapping method.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 participants enrolled for more than four semesters at four-year coeducational universities. After extracting 52 representative statements, the participants were asked to classify them according to content similarity and rate the influence of each statement on their perception of the chilly climate. For concept mapping analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis (ALSCAL), hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward's method), and non-hierarchical cluster analysis (K-means method) were performed.

Results

Fifty-two statements were extracted under the following four clusters: (i) "Exclusion and alienation inherent in the culture (Cluster 1)," (ii) "Sexual objectification and lack of gender sensitivity (Cluster 2)," (iii) "Male-centered academic situations (Cluster 3)," and (iv) "Prejudice and generalization (Cluster 4)." A concept map was two-dimensional: an X-axis named "context dimension," with "task: academic" and "non-task: social" at both ends, and a Y-axis named "sexism dimension", having "explicit" and "implicit" at both ends. The order of higher scores in the influence rating is as follows: Cluster 2, Cluster 3, Cluster 1, and Cluster 4.

Discussion

This study is significant because it conceptualizes the subjective experience of minorities in a collegiate environment and provides influence rating results for prioritized measures. The findings will be helpful in formulating educational policies, psychological counseling, and social advocacy activities. Future research should target larger populations, and cover more diverse cultures, majors, and age groups.

Evolutionary game study of crowdsourcing open innovation synergy mechanism

Open innovation crowdsourcing can help enterprises meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment and improve their innovation performance. This study introduces network externalities as influencing factors of the crowdsourcing open innovation synergy mechanism. This study constructed the game payment matrix of the crowdsourcing open innovation synergy mechanism, and the evolutionary game method obtained the equilibrium solution of the crowdsourcing open innovation synergy mechanism. The impact of changes in the main influencing factors on the issuers' and receivers' willingness to collaborate and innovate was explored through numerical and case studies. The study shows that the higher the synergy benefit and its allocation coefficient need to be within a reasonable range for the willingness to collaborate and innovate to increase; the lower the original cost of both parties, and the higher the cost reduction coefficient under the policy support of the crowdsourcing platform, the higher the willingness to collaborate and innovate; the higher the network externality and the lower the penalty for breach of contract, the higher the desire to collaborate and innovate. The study recommends strengthening non-school education to guide innovation for all, and refining relevant policies to tailor innovation to local conditions. This study provides a new perspective and theoretical guidance for enterprises to build a crowdsourcing open innovation synergy mechanism and is a valuable reference for open innovation management.

Railway accident causation analysis: Current approaches, challenges and potential solutions

Railway accident causation analysis is fundamental to understanding the nature of railway safety. Although a considerable number of prior studies have investigated this context, many of them suffer from the need to deal with a large amount of textual data given that most railway safety-related information is recorded and stored in the form of text. To gain a better understanding of the limitations imposed by overreliance on textual analysis, a scoping review of the academic literature on how railway accident causation analysis is addressed has been conducted. The results confirm the high frequency of using textual data, a single case study, and in-depth analysis frameworks. While the value of exploring causational factors is clear, the high level of human intervention and the labour-intensive analysis processes based on a large volume of textual data hinder researchers from understanding the complex nature of the rail safety system. Recently, growing attention has been given to the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to aid the practice of analysing a large corpus of textual data, but only limited studies to date in railway safety use such techniques and none address railway accident causation analysis. To fill this gap, a supplementary review is conducted to identify opportunities, challenges, boundaries and limitations in the application of NLP approaches to railway accident causation analysis. Findings indicate that novel techniques using off-the-shelf tools have strong potential to overcome the limitations of overreliance on manual analysis in practice and theory, but the absence of shared railway safety-related benchmark corpora restricts implementation. This study sheds light on a new approach to railway accident causation analysis and clarifies future applicable utilisations for further research.

Meta theories of technological innovation based on the analysis of classic texts

This study aims to investigate the classification of technological innovation meta-theories based on classical texts, as well as the relationships between various classifications. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. From the perspective of technological innovation, using scientometric methods, 105 pieces of classic texts from the 1930s-2010s are extracted from the references of 3862 pieces of high-quality literature from the 1900s-2020s. As a result, based on a combination of qualitative data analysis and topic model analysis, we developed a typology with eight meta-theories of technological innovation, including performance-based, resource-based, knowledge-based, capability-based, network-based, technological-innovation-system, dual-innovation, and dynamic-sustainability views. Then we analyzed 1) the evolution, reification, and confusion relationships between different meta-theories; 2) the causes of technological innovation's concept jungle; and 3) an integrated framework of technological innovation meta-theories. This study analyzed the benefits of the meta-theoretical analysis on the future study of technological innovation. Additionally, the results of this study can help to measure technological innovation, construct new theories, and improve the efficiency of the connection between the practical problems of innovation and potentially useful theoretical frameworks.

Dynamics of social influence on consumption choices: A social network representation

In this work, through employing Friedkin Johnsen's model, we provide a valuable tool for understanding the complex dynamics of social influence and informational inducements in shaping consumption behaviour and highlight the need for governments, businesses, and individuals to address environmental concerns proactively. People mostly derive anticipation utility from consuming commodities through online shopping. Results suggest that in an information-loving society, people tend to follow the opinion of their groups, which can lead to inefficient choices. On the other hand, in a completely information-averse society, people tend to make inconsistent choices, leading to a lack of consensus. However, in a responsible society, individuals prioritise their own opinions and preferences while still taking into account the information and opinions of others. This results in a slow convergence of opinions, which can lead to responsible consumption and decision-making. People should be encouraged to form their own opinions based on their own experiences and preferences while still considering the information and opinions of others. It can lead to a more efficient and responsible society. Individuals with high self-confidence and self-control are more likely to resist peer pressure and make decisions that align with their values and goals. So, it is essential to consider the context and nature of the social influence when evaluating its impact on people's decision-making. Consumers are not the only players who can shape the world's future. Consumers, governments, corporations, and the media all have important roles to play, and their efforts must be coordinated and complementary to create a more sustainable future.

How does subjective invulnerability impact young workers' safety voice?

INTRODUCTION

Young workers are at risk of workplace injuries for numerous reasons. One contentious yet untested theory is that subjective invulnerability to danger-a sense of indestructability in the face of physical hazards-can affect some young workers' reactions to workplace hazards. This study contends that subjective invulnerability can affect these reactions in two ways: (a) perceptions of physical hazards at work generate less fear of injury among those who perceive themselves as more invulnerable and/or; (b) fear of injury does not motivate speaking up about safety concerns (safety voice) among those who perceive themselves as more invulnerable.

METHOD

This paper tests a moderated mediation model in which higher perceptions of physical hazards at work are related to higher safety voice intentions via higher fear of injury, but that subjective invulnerability reduces the extent to which: (a) perceptions of physical hazards at work are associated with fear of injury and/or; (b) fear of injury is associated with safety voice. This model is tested in two studies of young workers (Study 1 on-line experiment: N = 114, M age = 20.67, SD = 1.79; range = 18-24 years; Study 2 field study using three waves of data collected at monthly intervals: N = 80, M age = 17.13, SD = 1.08, range = 15-20 years).

RESULTS

Contrary to expectations, the results showed that young workers who feel more invulnerable to danger are more likely to speak up about safety when experiencing higher fear of injury, and that perceptions of physical hazards-safety voice relationship is mediated by fear of injury for those who perceive themselves to be more invulnerable to danger. Conclusions/Practical Applications: Rather than subjective invulnerability silencing safety voice as predicted, the current data suggest that subjective invulnerability may serve to accelerate how fear of injury motivates safety voice.

Who moved my boundary? Strategies adopted by families working from home

With the increase of remote work after the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be expected that soon a great number of households will consist of more than one teleworker. This raises the question of how to manage work and nonwork boundaries for the collective of household members who work from home. To better understand the adjustment to collective work from home, we examined the experiences of 28 dual-income households with school-age children residing in five countries. In doing so, we found specific strategies that families used to manage boundaries between two or more household members' work, learning, and home domains. We identified four strategies to define boundaries in the collective (i.e., repurposing the home space, revisiting family members' responsibilities, aligning family members' schedules, and distributing technology access and use) and five strategies to apply boundaries to accommodate the collective (i.e., designating an informal boundary governor, maintaining live boundary agreements, increasing family communication, incentivizing/punishing boundary respect/violation, and outsourcing). Our findings have theoretical and practical implications for remote work and boundary management.

Analyzing U.S. State Governments' COVID-19 Homepages during the Initial Lockdown in March and April 2020: Information Content and Interactivity

During times of a pandemic, government emergency response webpages are an important communication channel and if properly managed, will mitigate pandemic impacts. Guided by the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework and web interactivity literature, this study examined the information content and interactivity of U.S. state governments' COVID-19 homepages when many states declared stay-at-home orders in March or April of 2020. Using a web archive service, we retrieved 48 state governments' COVID-19 homepages. Three coders coded these pages for the presence or absence of information content on five dimensions (timely updates, sensemaking information, efficacy information, targeted guidance, and anti-stigma communication) and interactivity on four dimensions (accessibility, navigability, media richness, and engagement). Results revealed that a large proportion of state governments' COVID-19 homepages provided timely information facilitating people's understanding of the pandemic. Yet, there were some information gaps regarding how to cope with the pandemic or its related problems, such as mental stress and social discrimination. While many COVID-19 homepages allowed easy navigation, page engagement and accessibility seemed inadequate. U.S. state governments' COVID-19 homepages could be a good source for sensemaking. Practitioners and researchers should explore how to better harness interactive Internet technologies and present information that fosters people's efficacy to manage through the pandemic.

The diffusion of health care fraud: A bipartite network analysis

Many studies have examined the diffusion of health care innovation but less is known about the diffusion of health care fraud. In this paper, we consider the diffusion of potentially fraudulent Medicare home health care billing in the United States during 2002-16, with a focus on the 21 hospital referral regions (HRRs) covered by local Department of Justice (DOJ) anti-fraud "strike force" offices. We hypothesize that patient-sharing across home health care agencies (HHAs) provides a mechanism for the rapid diffusion of fraudulent strategies. We measure such activity using a novel bipartite mixture (or BMIX) network index, which captures patient sharing across multiple agencies and thus conveys more information about the diffusion process than conventional unipartite network measures. Using a complete population of fee-for-service Medicare claims data, we first find a remarkable increase in home health care activity between 2002 and 2009 in many regions targeted by the DOJ; average billing per Medicare enrollee in McAllen TX and Miami increased by $2127 and $2422 compared to just an average $289 increase in other HRRs not targeted by the DOJ. Second, we establish that the HRR-level BMIX (but not other network measures) was a strong predictor of above-average home health care expenditures across HRRs. Third, within HRRs, agencies sharing more patients with other agencies were predicted to increase billing. Finally, the initial 2002 BMIX index was a strong predictor of subsequent changes in HRR-level home health billing during 2002-9. These results highlight the importance of bipartite network structure in diffusion and in infection and contagion models more generally.