What drives idiosyncratic volatility over time?

We document the patterns of market-wide and firm-specific volatility in the Portuguese stock market over the 1991–2005 period and test several explanations for the behavior of firm-level idiosyncratic volatility. Unlike previous studies we find no evidence of a statistically significant rise in firm-specific volatility. On the contrary, the ratio of firm-specific risk to total risk slightly decreases. We show that this result stems from new listings of large privatized companies that display lower firm-specific risk. Our findings are consistent with the idea that changes in idiosyncratic volatility are related to changes in the composition of the market.

Female Leadership and Organizational Climate in a University Institute

This paper addresses the case of the Professional Institute of the Southern Region （IPRES）, an institute of higher education in the State University of Morelos, with the aim of showing the measurement results of organizational climate before and after the change of the principal to know some internal features and describe the organizational climate of workers＇ perception in a transition stage; besides, the influence of the current director＇s leadership is analyzed in the achievement of organizational goals and how the perception of organizational climate or working environment can be affected by female leadership is also dealt with. In Mexico, there are more and more women running various organizations, including those belonging to the field of education, and universities are no exception. On the other hand, the type of leadership being exercised can promote or hinder the proper performance of the institute and may be a factor of distinction and influence the behavior of those who integrate it; therefore, knowing how it works provides feedback about the processes that determine organizational behavior and the working environment.     

The “frequency divide”: implications for internet-based surveys

Those who use the internet more frequently are more likely to notice a request to participate in a survey than less frequent users. The frequency of internet use is thus likely to affect the likelihood of participation in internet-based surveys. If frequent and infrequent users are different in relevant features, this could influence survey estimates. This study aims to identify which demographic characteristics most differentiate frequent and infrequent users of the internet and whether those distinctions have an influence on substantive responses. The effect of internet usage frequency when conducting internet-based surveys on specific subgroups of the population is also examined. Results suggest that frequent and infrequent users are different both in demographic characteristics and substantive estimates. Differences in substantive estimates are also found when comparing frequent and infrequent users in the 15–24 years subgroup. Weighting can reduce the discrepancies found for most of the substantive estimates, but the differences between frequent and infrequent users remain statistically significant for some specific items.     

Visibility in the workplace: still an essential ingredient for career success?

This article explores the extent to which a variety of different absences from the workplace affect perceptions of employee commitment and loyalty, and ultimately, how this ‘temporary invisibility’ might affect career success. Data were derived from 40 interviews (12 women and 28 men) in a public sector agency in Australia. Findings reveal that absences attract substantial career penalties for many employees, not only in relation to gendered flexible work options such as part-time employment and parental leave, but also traditionally uncontested entitlements such as annual and long service leave.     

Economic performance and international trade engagement: the case of Portuguese manufacturing firms

By combining economic and financial data for Portuguese manufacturing firms with data on their exports and imports, we uncover some aspects of the relationship between international trade engagement and firms’ performances. In line with recent theoretical and empirical developments in the international trade literature: (i) we testify that Portuguese international trade is highly concentrated, especially on the import side, and both in inter- and intra-sector terms; (ii) we corroborate previous studies and theses according to which two-way traders outperform only importers, only exporters and above all domestic firms; (iii) we find that the greater the diversification of markets and goods (especially with regard to imports), the better the performance achieved by internationalised firms; (iv) we notice that the higher the intensity of firms’ international trade (especially imports), the better their performance; (v) we also present evidence that destination markets for exports and origin markets for imports are also important in explaining firm’s performance.     

An IR perspective on collective bargaining

In examining collective bargaining, industrial relations (IR) emphasizes a number of things of interest to HR scholars. First, IR adopts a different level of analysis from HR — that of the economy and the broader society — in contrast to HR's primary focus on the employing organization. Second, IR has an understanding of workplace conflict that emphasizes its collective and inherent nature, complementing HR's focus on managing individual conflict for the good of the organization. Finally, IR addresses the value of collective bargaining in promoting democracy and correcting “labor problems” arising from competitive markets, even in situations in which there is excellent personnel management.     

Does Foreign Presence Induce Host Country Firms’ Exit? The Case of Portugal

International Advances in Economic Research - This paper analyzes the impact of foreign presence on the probability of exit of host country firms, based on a significant sample of Portuguese...     

How does a firm's life cycle influence the relationship between carbon performance and financial debt?

In a progressively more stringent regulatory context concerning greenhouse gas emissions derived from a growing awareness of how economic activity affects our environment, this study analyzes how the firm's life cycle affects the relationship between carbon performance and financial debt. Using panel data on a sample of European listed firms during the 2005–2018 period, we find evidence suggesting that firms with better carbon performance have greater access to external financing during their growth stages and lesser access during maturity, although it has no effect during the shake-out stage. Furthermore, carbon performance has a strong positive effect during growth, maturity, and shake-out when firms need to finance additional tangible investments. We also find that the negative relationship between liquidity and debt is reversed during innovative stages for firms with better carbon performance. Our results are robust to the use of alternative measures of life cycle stages and to the consideration of industrial, legal, and cultural contexts.     

Has the crisis affected Spanish investment strategy abroad? A spatial panel data approach

This paper investigates whether the Spanish investment strategy abroad has been affected by the Great Recession. Applying a panel spatial Durbin model for two sample periods, pre‐crisis (1996–2007) and crisis (2008–14), our findings indicate that Spanish foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy has been indeed markedly altered by the global economic crisis. Complex‐vertical FDI motives prevailed over the pre‐crisis period, whereas horizontal FDI did so over the crisis. These results are robust to the use of sectoral FDI data and alternative specifications of the spatial weight matrix.     

Implementing studio-based learning for design education: a study on the perception and challenges of Malaysian undergraduates

Studio-based learning (SBL) is a teaching and learning methodology that combines different learning pedagogies such as social constructivist, problem-based, and active learning to mimic real-world working experience. Traditionally, SBL is practised in architecture and art programmes, however there is a growing number of research in other areas such as computer science, engineering, entrepreneurship and design courses. Nevertheless, in Malaysia, studies have only focused on architecture programmes. Therefore, this study focuses on reporting the experience and challenges of implementing SBL for a design course in the area of Visual Communication. By employing a qualitative methodology, findings show positive perception towards SBL where respondents reported awareness in improved design and communication skills, and increased acceptance towards team work. They found the critique sessions, facilitated their learning progress. Nevertheless, students reported challenges with inept teaching and learning facilities for design work, collaboration and communication breakdown with stakeholders. The study also reports on improvement strategies to enhance students learning experience through SBL.