Fractal Characteristics of Discontinuous Growth of Digital Company: An Entrepreneurial Bricolage Perspective

Digital companies exhibit discontinuous growth in the process of shifting from their existing core business to a newer and less familiar business. This pattern of growth often ends in failure mainly because companies invest most of their resources in maintaining the value network of their existing core business, which ultimately results in a “lock-in” effect. The fractal theory assumes that there are similarities among fractals within companies. These similarities may reduce the threats posed by the value network lock-in effect and increase the chances of successful discontinuous growth. In this study, we applied fractal theory to consider the following questions: (1) in what aspects does the successful discontinuous growth of digital companies exhibit fractal characteristics? (2) What strategy does digital companies use to ensure these fractal characteristics? We adopted an exploratory single-case study method and chose ByteDance as the case company to analyze its successful shift from Toutiao (a media platform) to Douyin (a short-video sharing platform). Our results show that (1) a necessary condition for the successful discontinuous growth of digital companies is that similarities exist (e.g., in technology or customer base) between the existing core business and the new business and (2) entrepreneurial bricolage is a strategy used by digital companies to ensure the existence of fractal characteristics of similarities. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this finding.

The Joint Effects of Leadership Style and Magnitude of the Disruption on Team Adaptation: A Longitudinal Experiment

Here, we report a longitudinal experiment testing the combined effects of leadership style and the magnitude of the disruption on team adaptive performance over time. We hypothesized that teams led by a directive leader would outperform teams led by an empowering leader when task conditions do not change (pre-change), while teams with an empowering leader would outperform teams with a directive leader under changing task conditions (post-change), especially when task changes are high in magnitude. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a 2 (leadership: directive/empowering) x 2 (magnitude of the disruption: low/high) experiment with repeated measures of team performance before and after the change occurred. Sixty-seven three-member teams participated in a computer-based firefighting simulation. Evidence from discontinuous growth modeling partially supported our hypotheses by showing that before the task change, directively led teams outperformed teams led by an empowering leader. After the task change, however, directively led teams still outperformed teams with empowering leaders. The magnitude of the disruption had a significant main effect on team adaptive performance but did not significantly moderate the effect of leadership style. Implications for the team adaptation literature and the management of teams under complex, changing conditions are discussed.

Multistage Metamorphic Evolution of Retrograded Eclogites from the Songshugou Complex, Qinling Orogenic Belt, China

The Qinling Orogenic Belt is one of the major collisional orogens in eastern Asia and marks the boundary between the North China Craton and South China Craton. The Songshugou complex is the largest basic to ultrabasic body to be found in the North Qinling Belt, and was emplaced as a lens-shaped body at the southern margin of the Qinling Group. A detailed petrological investigation of garnet amphibolite, augen amphibolite and well-foliated amphibolite together with garnet zoning patterns of major and trace elements, inclusions in garnet, and thermodynamic modelling indicate a multistage metamorphic history. Garnets clearly show characteristics of discontinuous growth, as they display optically light-colored snowball-textured cores surrounded by a darker mantle with few inclusions as well as chemically a sudden increase in grossular and decrease in almandine components. A partly resorbed rim is not recognized optically but mineral inclusions and a discontinuous chemical composition of garnet are proof of this third garnet growth stage. Rare earth element distribution patterns of garnet also show clear evidence for discontinuous growth and allow us to identify the reactions responsible for garnet growth. Garnet core compositions as well as amphibole inclusions allow us to constrain a P–T window where this rock equilibrated in a first stage. Calculated pseudosections and the application of the garnet–amphibole thermometer indicate an upper amphibolite- to lower granulite-facies metamorphic episode at 630–740 °C and 0·7–0·9 GPa. The presence of relict omphacite as well as a discontinuously grown garnet mantle with rutile inclusions clearly places the peak metamorphic stage in the eclogite facies. Garnet (XGrs, XAlm, XPrp) and omphacite isopleths (XMg, XNa) constrain this event at 1·7–2·1 GPa and 570–650 °C. Consistent temperatures of 500–650 °C were also determined by clinopyroxene–garnet geothermobarometry for this event. Growth of an outermost rim as well as different stages of garnet breakdown to plagioclase + amphibole coronae and the nearly complete replacement of former omphacite by a variety of symplectites point to an intricate retrograde P–T path. In more strongly retrograded samples plagioclase + amphibole ± quartz pseudomorphs entirely replace former garnet grains. Certain coronae around garnets and symplectites also contain prehnite and pumpellyite, which formed during a late retrograde stage or during a different event at very low P–T conditions (250–350 °C). Based on the detailed petrological study, we favour a multistage metamorphic history of the Songshugou metabasic rocks. The age of the eclogite-facies metamorphic event must be related to the deep subduction of the Songshugou complex during the early Paleozoic, although the age of garnet core growth remains enigmatic. The development of garnet cores indicates an upper amphibolite-facies regional metamorphic overprint succeeded by an eclogite-facies event around 500 Ma and subsequent retrogression seen in replacement of garnet and formation of symplectite. The latest imprint evidenced by prehnite and pumpellyite may be the result of fluid infiltration during the fading orogenic phase or represents a low-temperature overprint by a later process, probably related to the uplift of the North Qinling terrane at around 420 Ma.

Evolution of the Internal Structure of Short-Period Cr/V Multilayers with Different Vanadium Layers Thicknesses

Cr/V multilayer mirrors are suitable for applications in the “water window” spectral ranges. To study factors influencing the internal microstructure of Cr/V multilayers, multilayers with different vanadium layers thicknesses varying from 0.6 nm to 4.0 nm, and a fixed thickness (1.3 nm) of chromium layers, were fabricated and characterized with a set of experimental techniques. The average interface width characterizing a cumulative effect of different structure irregularities was demonstrated to exhibit non-monotonous dependence on the V layer thickness and achieve a minimal value of 0.31 nm when the thickness of the V layers was 1.2 nm. The discontinuous growth of very thin V films increased in roughness as the thickness of V layers decreased. The columnar growth of the polycrystalline grains in both materials became more pronounced with increasing thickness, resulting in a continuous increase in the interface width to a maximum of 0.9 nm for a 4 nm thickness of the V layer.

Defects Behavior in Disordered Iron Oxide Synthesized from Grain-Oriented Iron Foils

ABSTRACTDisordered iron oxide thin-films synthesized from grain-oriented iron foils were grown on both glass and Si (100) n-type substrates by vacuum evaporation followed by thermal oxidation at low temperatures. Defects such as vacancies formation has been studied using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Raman Spectroscopy. The kinetic of oxidation as a function of surface parameters was investigated by AFM studies. The vibrational modes (bands) connected with the vacancies formation and magnetic ordering into the iron oxide structure were validated by Raman spectroscopy. Space-charge effects can be influenced by discontinuous growth of iron oxide and correlated with their structure parameters. Finally, the disordered iron oxide will be useful for the next generation of adaptive oxide devices.

Discontinuous growth of DNA plectonemes due to atomic scale friction

We develop a model to explain discontinuities in the increase of the length of a DNA plectoneme when the DNA filament is continuously twisted under tension.

Using an Accountability Program to Improve Psychiatry Resident Scores on In-Service Examinations

ABSTRACT Background The Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE) is a standardized examination that measures residents' educational progress during residency training. It also serves as a moderate-to-strong predictor of later performance on the board certification examination. Objective This study evaluated the effectiveness of an accountability program used by a public psychiatric hospital to increase its residents' PRITE scores. Methods A series of consequences and incentives were developed based on levels of PRITE performance. Poor performance resulted in consequences, including additional academic assignments. Higher performance led to residents earning external moonlighting privileges. Standardized PRITE scores for all residents (N = 67) over a 10-year period were collected and analyzed. The PRITE examination consists of 2 subscales—psychiatry and neurology. Change in the overall level of PRITE scores following the implementation of the accountability program was estimated using a discontinuous growth curve model for each subscale. Results Standardized scores on the psychiatry subscale were 51.09 points, approximately 0.50 SD change, which was higher after the accountability program was implemented. Standardized scores on the neurology subscale did not change. Conclusions An accountability program that assigns consequences based on examination performance may be moderately successful in improving scores on the psychiatry subscale scores of the PRITE. This likely has longer-term benefits for residents due to the relationship between PRITE and board certification examination performance.