Linking network coherence to service performance: modelling airline strategic alliances

While strategic alliances have been widely recognised as an appropriate governance mode for the co-development of capabilities, the importance of leveraging these capabilities to assemble a network of inter-linked services has been a neglected area of research. We propose network coherence as a construct to capture the degree of service consistency across the networks of the three largest global airline alliances. Employing a multi-dimensional service performance evaluation model, with a data set of over 500 customers, flying on more than 700 routes, the paper examines the impact of network coherence on customer satisfaction and market-based performance variables. The results indicate that network coherence plays a key role in improving service performance and is a useful construct in capturing a number of important service variables for airlines. The paper highlights the importance of knowledgebased capabilities in achieving competitive positioning for alliance members, exposing a number of critical challenges for global alliance networks

Severe congenital neutropenia resulting from G6PC3 deficiency with increased neutrophil CXCR4 expression and myelokathexis

Mutations in more than 15 genes are now known to cause severe congenital neutropenia (SCN); however, the pathologic mechanisms of most genetic defects are not fully defined. Deficiency of G6PC3, a glucose-6-phosphatase, causes a rare multisystem syndrome with SCN first described in 2009. We identified a family with 2 children with homozygous G6PC3 G260R mutations, a loss of enzymatic function, and typical syndrome features with the exception that their bone marrow biopsy pathology revealed abundant neutrophils consistent with myelokathexis. This pathologic finding is a hallmark of another type of SCN, WHIM syndrome, which is caused by gain-of-function mutations in CXCR4, a chemokine receptor and known neutrophil bone marrow retention factor. We found markedly increased CXCR4 expression on neutrophils from both our G6PC3-deficient patients and G6pc3−/− mice. In both patients, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment normalized CXCR4 expression and neutrophil counts. In G6pc3−/− mice, the specific CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 rapidly reversed neutropenia. Thus, myelokathexis associated with abnormally high neutrophil CXCR4 expression may contribute to neutropenia in G6PC3 deficiency and responds well to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor