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This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework and presents a number of propositions relating to why and how multinational companies (MNCs) engage in social innovations. The central focus is on the role of MNC knowledge, networks and power for their involvement in social innovations.

The authors combine literature on social innovations, business innovations and MNC literature, and present a number of propositions dealing with the link between MNC knowledge, networks and power-relations and their potential involvement in social innovations.

The authors emphasize that when social innovations are embraced by MNCs, the way that these corporations use their knowledge, networks and existing power-relations needs to be adapted to the new conditions present in the social innovation arena.

The main limitation of this work is that the propositions are based on anecdotal evidence and that they are restricted to literature revolving around a few theoretical concepts (knowledge, networks, power). Against this, the authors suggest that to address the call for more empirical work on MNCs engagement in social innovation, these concepts could be used as a starting point in future empirical investigations.

The paper brings together and outlines a theoretical framework based on three theoretical approaches to the MNC as suggested by the literature: the knowledge-based MNC, differentiated MNC and political MNC. Based on these three perspectives, the key contribution of this paper is to develop a broader understanding of why and how MNCs engage in social innovation and the potential underlying liabilities for this involvement.

The purpose of this paper is to numerically model convective drying of a two‐dimensional iron ore pellet subjected to turbulent flow.

Simulations of the iron ore pellet drying process are carried out with commercial computational fluid dynamics software. The moisture distribution inside the pellet is calculated from a diffusion equation and drying due to evaporation at the surface is taken into account.

The results show an initial warm up phase with a succeeding constant rate drying period. Constant drying rate will only be achieved if the surface temperature is constant. The falling rate period will subsequently start at the forward stagnation point when the minimum moisture content is reached, while other parts of the surface still provide enough moisture to allow surface evaporation. The phases will thus coexist for a period of time.

Owing to the complex physical processes involved in iron ore pellet drying, some parameters in the model are based on estimations. The effective diffusivity should, for example, in the future be investigated more thoroughly. It is also important to extend the model so that the falling rate drying period is also included. The model is at present undergoing further validation.

The simulations can provide detailed information on some key fluid dynamics and physical processes that an iron ore pellet undergoes during drying.

The simulations enhance the understanding of iron ore pellet drying and the model provides a complement to experimental investigations when optimizing the drying process.

Adding to the theoretical view of relationship development, this paper holds the view that relationship change encompasses not only smooth incremental change but also includes crises which can trigger relationship weakening, dissolution and/or recovery. The aim is to develop a theoretical view that allows understanding of both smooth incremental and critical changes in the process of relationship development.

Based on a business network perspective, the paper's relationship view holds uncertainty, commitment and trust as central explanatory elements. The process view is composed of three episodes: incremental relationship development; relationship crisis; and ending or survival. The paper employs a longitudinal case study method and discusses how the relationship between the Swedish firm, Ericsson, and its counterpart, Telefónica, develops in the emerging market of Argentina during the period of 1998-2004.

Conclusions demonstrate the vulnerability of relationships due to counterparts' behaviour and network embeddedness. This is a risk of commitment deterioration, and remedial actions like investment in new commitments will reduce distrust and uncertainty. Re-energizing relationships incrementally requires behaviour like waiting strategies, when otherwise the choice is to exit.

Few researchers have combined the findings from stable relationship development studies with the findings from research on crisis into one model handling both stability and instability in business relationships. This is despite the fact that episodes of turbulence and instability are becoming more common in business relationships, due to entrance into more unstable markets, and markets crises of various types.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how network relationships, with business as well as with non-business actors, affect each other and have an impact on strategy processes in subsidiaries in Latin America.

A qualitative approach is used in which a new strategy in a European multinational company (MNC) is studied at the subsidiary level in Brazil and Argentina. The authors discuss why the strategic processes are so different within the same MNC. During 2009-2011, 50 interviews were conducted with respondents in Latin America and at headquarters.

The results point to the importance of including relationships with both business and non-business actors to understand the subsidiary strategy processes. The authors suggest that such processes can be explained by interdependent relationships in a wider network context characterised by commitment and trust, leading to increased legitimacy among the actors involved.

Managers need to invest in relationships not only with business counterparts but also with non-business actors, as they are interdependent and vital for the strategy development.

Relationships between firms and actors such as governments and civil society are still under-researched, although they are essential, especially in emerging economies. The paper puts focus on network relationships in strategy research and contributes to the development of business network theory by extending the network to also include relationships with such non-business actors and relate it to strategy processes. There is also a contribution to research on corporate social responsibility activities with a specific focus on Latin America.

The paper aims to investigate European equity market integration by analyzing volatility spillover effects between selected indices of high liquidity from the major regulated European equity markets.

In undertaking the empirical analysis, data for major European stock market indices were utilised. The conditional variance of the VAR‐GARCH model for each pair of indices is examined.

The results provide evidence on strong EU equity market integration. The findings in general suggest a high degree of European equity market interconnection. This situation is depicted through strong effects from one European equity market to the other, as well as through significant feedback effects between them.

The high level of interconnection found among the EU stock markets exerts significant influence on the efficient operation of each market and on asset and index pricing, which has therefore to be taken into account by investors and traders as market prices are set in common.

The paper aims to present a new approach for safe operation, and maintenance cost reduction, regarding electrical and electromechanical systems of power production, power conversion and power transmission, primarily in industrial units.

The paper adapts a theoretical approach to real‐time monitoring of pulse energy conversion systems (PECSs), and prediction of abnormal dynamics incipient and developing failure. The approach utilizes the preliminary bifurcation analysis results and the geometrical interpretation of the fractal regularities in PECS dynamics, to reveal degradation development.

It turns out that this new approach enables one to fill the joint requirements of real‐time failure prediction of the high frequency power control devices, and of the relating failure symptoms to cause parameters. Discussions are led on the fundamental outcomes of numerical and experimental investigations of a DC‐DC buck voltage converter with pulse‐width‐modulation (PWM) control.

The real‐time monitoring of incipient abnormal dynamics in key nonlinear devices of electrical and electromechanical systems constitutes a mean to predict and prevent failures. It provides invaluable information for deciding and planning predictive maintenance actions, from the insurance of optimal operating conditions to abnormal operating prevention, either by means of modification of controlled parameters and control laws or, in the worst case, by change of the power components' structure.

About “failure prediction”, this paper proposed to pay attention, not to identification of the dynamics evolution specific reason, but real‐time monitoring of this reason consequence – incipient abnormal dynamics in the electrical and electromechanical systems – that can lead to failure. The advantage of this approach consists in the possibility of taking into account PECS operating conditions of models ambiguity of both disturbing parameter changes and PECS behavior.

Expectations of future market conditions are acknowledged to be crucial for the development decision and hence for shaping the built environment. The purpose of this paper is to study the central London office market from 1987 to 2009 and test for evidence of rational, adaptive and naive expectations.

Two parallel approaches are applied to test for either rational or adaptive/naive expectations: vector auto‐regressive (VAR) approach with Granger causality tests and recursive OLS regression with one‐step forecasts.

Applying VAR models and a recursive OLS regression with one‐step forecasts, the authors do not find evidence of adaptive and naïve expectations of developers. Although the magnitude of the errors and the length of time lags between market signal and construction starts vary over time and development cycles, the results confirm that developer decisions are explained, to a large extent, by contemporaneous and historic conditions in both the City and the West End, but this is more likely to stem from the lengthy design, financing and planning permission processes rather than adaptive or naive expectations.

More generally, the results of this study suggest that real estate cycles are largely generated endogenously rather than being the result of large demand shocks and/or irrational behaviour.

Developers may be able to generate excess profits by exploiting market inefficiencies but this may be hindered in practice by the long periods necessary for planning and construction of the asset.

This paper focuses the scholarly debate of real estate cycles on the role of expectations. It is also one of very few spatially disaggregate studies of the subject matter.

The purpose of this paper is to explore managers' boundary setting in order to better understand their handling of time commitment to work activities, stress, and recovery during everyday work and at home.

The paper has qualitatively‐driven, mixed method design including observational data, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed according to Charmaz' view on constructivist grounded theory.

A first step in boundary setting was to recognize areas with conflicting expectations and inexhaustible needs. Second, strategies were formed through negotiating the handling of managerial time commitment, resulting in boundary‐setting, but also boundary‐dissolving, approaches. The continuous process of individual recognition and negotiation could work as a form of proactive coping, provided that it was acknowledged and questioned.

These findings suggest that recognition of perceived boundary challenges can affect stress and coping. It would therefore be interesting to more accurately assess stress, coping, and health status among managers by means of other methodologies (e.g. physiological assessments).

In regulating managers' work assignments, work‐related stress and recovery, it seems important to: acknowledge boundary work as an ever‐present dilemma requiring continuous negotiation; and encourage individuals and organizations to recognize conflicting perspectives inherent in the leadership assignment, in order to decrease harmful negotiations between them. Such awareness would benefit more sustainable management of healthcare practice.

This paper highlights how managers can handle ever‐present boundary dilemmas in the healthcare sector by regulating their time commitments in various ways.

To investigate whether monetary volatility in the US exerts any asymmetric impact on output volatility over the period 1974‐2002.

For the empirical purposes, the analysis makes use of the multi‐variable GARCH (MVGARCH), which allows not only the presence of volatility clustering but also the presence of asymmetries in that volatility clustering.

The empirical findings suggest that money supply volatility exerts a significant asymmetric influence on output volatility, i.e. the variance of output changes more due to positive changes than negative changes of money supply volatility.

The paper investigates, for the first time, the presence of any asymmetric impact of the volatility of money on the volatility of output in the case of the US.