Women on the Board and Managers’ Pay: Evidence from Spain

The current literature shows great interest in the issue of gender diversity on boards of directors. Some studies have hypothesized a direct relationship between diversity and the value of the firm, but not many examine the intermediate mechanisms that may exert an influence on such relationships. We employ two stages of GMM estimation methodology to exhibit evidences of the relationship between gender diversity and compensation of top managers in the Spanish context. Results show that gender diversity positively affects the effectiveness of boards—in terms of composition, structure, size and functioning—influencing a proper design of top managers compensation linked to company performance. Evidences suggest that legislative actions aimed at increasing the presence of women on boards of directors are justified not only for ethical reasons, but also for reasons of economic efficiency.     

The Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Organizational Success: A Spanish Perspective

Ethics has assumed a dominant position in the current economic debate, and this study focuses on ethics as a legitimate underpinning to good business decision making. Using a self-response survey of marketing managers in Spain, the current theory on ethical decision making is extended. Results support the mediating influence of the PRESOR construct (an individual’s perception of the importance of ethics and social responsibility for the effectiveness of the organization) on relativistic and idealistic moral thinking when one is considering the moral intensity of a situation. In addition, the study found support for the relationship between relativism (negative), idealism (positive), corporate ethical values, and job satisfaction, thereby providing additional support for the prior theory. Finally, a thorough review of the extant literature and suggestions for future ethics research in the marketing field are included.     

Spirituality,Moral Identity,and Consumer Ethics: A Multi-cultural Study

Competitor pressure is one of the major reasons that a SME engages in environmentally friendly or damaging activities. Extant research has argued that environmental strengths and concerns have mirror opposite relationships with stakeholder antecedents as well as with performance outcomes. We suggest this argument does not reflect the reality. Building on stakeholder management and Red Queen theories, we hypothesize that environmental strengths and concerns have differential relationships with competitors–firm power exchange and financial performance for Chinese SMEs. Results of ten interviews, a pretest, and a large-scale field study indicate that competitors–firm power divergence has a positive relationship with environmental strengths, yet the link between this divergence and environmental concerns does not exist. Further, environmental strengths mediate the relationship between competitors–firm power divergence and financial performance of Chinese SMEs.     

Internationalisation speed and technological patterns: A panel data study on Spanish SMEs

The last ten years has seen a proliferation of works attempting to explain why some firms internationalise rapidly, rather than following a sequential process. Many of these works have focused on the role of technology as the driving force behind the phenomenon. Following this argument, this work studies the effect that different technological patterns have on firms' internationalisation speed. In order to observe this effect, a sample of 945 SMEs was used over a 17-year period (1990–2006). By undertaking a micro-level analysis, we explain the possible effect of sectoral technological intensity on internationalisation speed, observing significant differences between technology-intensive and non-intensive sectors, and identify which technological parameters have a greater effect on the acceleration of internationalisation in each of these sectors.     

The effect of innovation efficiency management on performance: Differences according to organizational size

The efficiency associated with innovation has been a frequently considered element in the literature. However, the conceptualization of this efficiency and its management is an underexplored factor. We study the way in which the different elements that conform to this efficiency are managed over time. From a dynamic efficiency analysis using data envelope analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index, we evaluate changes in efficiency and if there are differences according to firm size. Our results confirm the relevance of size in the way that firms manage their innovation efficiency and how small firms differ from larger ones in terms of efficiency management.     

When much is not better? Top management compensation,board structure,and performance in Spanish firms

Previous empirical results reveal several contradictions when relating top management compensation, board structure and levels of performance. While fewer directors and more external directors are associated with better supervision, there is no agreement on the effect on top management compensation level. This lack of consensus is even more noticeable when analyzing the effect performance. This paper offers a theoretical framework and a panel data methodology based empirical study to account for how earlier analyses have differed. Given the large board dimension in the Spanish market, information processing perspectives are confirmed which positively link board size with higher top management compensation. Similarly, a higher proportion of external directors reduces top management compensation levels since it improves supervision and reduces insiders' power. Finally, a quadratic relation is obtained between performance and top management compensation. This relation explains a positive effect, supported by agency theory on performance at low levels of management compensation, and a negative effect which is consequence of higher managers' discretion at high levels.     

Encouraging organizational performance through the influence of technological distinctive competencies on components of corporate entrepreneurship

Firms’ technological distinctive competencies (TDCs) help CEOs to confront their reality based on technological knowledge to achieve and exploit competitive advantage by encouraging the different dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship (innovation, new business venturing, proactiveness and self-renewal). The main purpose of this paper is thus to highlight how companies that strive to improve technological competencies within the firm achieve higher organizational performance through different components of corporate entrepreneurship and their interrelationships. This study seeks to fill this research gap by analyzing theoretically and empirically how TDCs enhance innovation, new business venturing and proactiveness and their interrelationships to achieve self-renewal and thus improve firms’ organizational performance. The methodology used is LISREL analysis. We test the model with data from 201 Spanish organizations. Our research contributes theoretical and empirical arguments on the value of TDCs to the organization, arguments that are especially important because organizations sometimes fail to achieve sustainable competitive advantage due to their limited understanding of the relationships between these strategic variables.     

‘The Impact of Corporate Ethical Values and Enforcement of Ethical Codes on the Perceived Importance of Ethics in Business: A Comparison of U.S. and Spanish Managers’

This two country study examines the effect of corporate ethical values and enforcement of a code of ethics on perceptions of the role of ethics in the overall success of the firm. Additionally, the impact of organizational commitment and of individual variables such as ethical idealism and relativism was examined. The rationale for examining the perceived importance of the role of ethics in this manner is to determine the extent to which the organization itself can influence employee perceptions regarding ethics and social responsibility. Results indicate that all of the variables tested, except relativism, impacted upon one’s perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility also varied depending upon country of residence with the U.S. sample having somewhat higher perceptions concerning the importance of ethics and social responsibility than their counterparts in Spain. Furthermore, when comparing the two samples, the U.S. sample had significantly higher corporate ethical values, greater enforcement of ethical codes, less organizational commitment and both lower idealism and relativism.