This study aims to identify the scope and intensity of international collaboration in research conducted by multinational firms in the pharmaceutical sector, and to investigate the key factors that determine the impact of scientific publications before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on two large multinational enterprises (MNEs) that were inventors of vaccines against the COVID-19 virus, namely the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and the American company Pfizer. We analyze both their bilateral Research and Development (R D) collaboration and their R D connections with other entities, such as universities and other MNEs. Using bibliometric methods, a sample of 392 peer-reviewed scientific articles published jointly by authors affiliated with AstraZeneca and Pfizer was selected from the Scopus database and used as a proxy for their joint collaborative R D efforts. We show that research collaboration between competing multinationals in the pharmaceutical sector intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their relations with respect to R D evolved towards “coopetition,” balancing competitive and cooperative strategies. The citation analysis of these joint papers identifies the most influential papers. Based on regression models estimating the impact of joint research measured by the number of citations in the pre- and post-pandemic periods, we found that a stronger impact is associated with the affiliation type of the lead author (academic institution), the affiliation country of the lead author (primarily the United States), and the article type (review article). Following the pandemic, having an American first author was linked to increased citations, while a greater concentration of country-level affiliation had a negative effect, highlighting both the United States’ research dominance as new researchers entered the field and the growing importance of diverse networks. These findings contribute to understanding how extreme events reshape R D cooperation and knowledge flows, offering implications for innovation management and policy.
This paper addresses the degree to which straw man arguments are perceived as persuasive by their targets. A review of the literature shows that there is a consensus on the topic, stipulating that using a straw man argument is unlikely to change a person’s views. However, the experimental evidence we have so far on the straw man fallacy only covers third-person scenarios, i.e., when participants act as an audience observing an argumentative exchange between others. This study fills this gap by discussing the second-person straw man, i.e., when the audience for the argument is the target of the straw man representation. It shows that (1) the straw man is indeed not a persuasive tactic, and (2) the political orientation of the statements and the participants also plays a role.
Blockchain technology has heralded a new era in digital innovation, revolutionizing our approach to designing and building distributed applications in the digital sphere. Blockchain technology operates as an immutable digital ledger, where each entry representing a digital transaction is indelible and cannot be altered once established. Initially designed as the fundamental framework for cryptocurrencies, blockchain has outgrown its original purpose, demonstrating significant potential in various industries and offering a variety of security and privacy features. Our study provides a thorough and current survey of blockchain applications, security, privacy concepts, primitives, and threat models. It stands out by concentrating on how blockchain technology intersects with emerging fields like IoT, EVs, FinTech, and healthcare systems in a single framework. To provide security and privacy features, blockchain systems employ different foundational notions and primitives while tackling diverse adversarial scenarios with various capabilities and goals. This study presents a fresh examination of the current state of applications, security and privacy notions and primitives, and threat models in blockchain systems. Additionally, this work highlights existing gaps in knowledge and outlines open questions, aiming to stimulate interest in further advancements in the field.
This paper investigates how institutional characteristics influence the relationship between board interlocks and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Our findings indicate that the impact of board connectedness on CSR is significantly shaped by institutional ownership characteristics. Specifically, the positive effect of board connectedness on CSR, as documented in prior studies, is primarily driven by institutional investors with diversified portfolios, including transient and quasi-index institutions, as well as independent institutions such as mutual funds and investment companies. Conversely, firms with institutional holdings characterized by concentrated portfolios, such as dedicated or grey institutions, exhibit a weaker association between board connectedness and CSR. Moreover, we find that institutional ownership moderates the relationship between board connectedness and CSR only in manufacturing and high-competition industries through stronger oversight, but not in non-manufacturing or low-competition sectors. These results highlight the pivotal role institutional characteristics play in determining the effectiveness of board interlocks.
Phytochromes are red-light photoreceptors first identified in plants, with homologs found in bacteria and fungi that regulate a variety of critical physiological processes. They undergo a reversible photocycle between two distinct states: a red-light-absorbing phytochrome (Pr) form and a far-red light-absorbing phytochrome (Pfr) form. This Pr-to-Pfr photoconversion controls the activity of a C-terminal enzymatic domain, typically a histidine kinase (HK). The molecular mechanisms underlying light-induced regulation of HK activity in bacteria remain poorly understood, as structures of unmodified bacterial phytochromes with HK activity were unknown until recently. Here, we report details of using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structure of an intact (full-length) bacteriophytochrome.
