ICT investment in Spanish SMEs of service and retail sectors. Is it determined by managers gender?

This study investigates the role of the entrepreneur’s gender on digitalization strategies undertaken by SMEs in the service and retail sectors. Specifically, we aim at testing how the gender of the entrepreneur may affect investment in software and equipment related to information and communication technologies (ICT). We use a sample of 1,041 Spanish businesses and estimate a bivariate probit model for these two decisions, controlling for other entrepreneurial and business characteristics. Results indicate a higher probability of male entrepreneurs to invest in software and ICT equipment, as compared to women. Furthermore, we find that entrepreneurial risk-taking and business’ innovation capabilities are important drivers for engaging in these two digitalisation strategies, regardless of the gender of the entrepreneur, and that entrepreneurial proactiveness is especially important for women entrepreneurs, since the positive impact of entrepreneurial proactiveness on the probability to engage in digitalisation strategies is stronger in women-led businesses.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Do process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth?

In this paper we explore in depth the effect of process innovations on total factor productivity growth for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), taking into account the potential endogeneity problem that may be caused by self selection into these activities. First, we analyse whether the ex-ante most productive SMEs are those that start introducing process innovations; then, we test whether process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth using matching techniques to control for the possibility that selection into introducing process innovations may not be a random process. We use a sample of Spanish manufacturing SMEs for the period 1991-2002, drawn from the Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales. Our results show that the introduction of process innovations by a first-time process innovator yields an extra productivity growth as compared to a non-process innovator, and that the life span of this extra productivity growth has an inverted U-shaped form. En este artículo se exploran los posibles efectos de la introducción de innovaciones de proceso en el crecimiento de la productividad de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES). Para ello se presta especial atención a la existencia de un problema de selección no aleatorio en la implementación de tales innovaciones. En primer lugar, se analiza si son aquellas empresas ex-ante más productivas las que introducen innovaciones de proceso. A continuación, se utilizan técnicas de matching para contrastar si la implementación de innovaciones de proceso acelera el crecimiento de la productividad de las PYMES. La utilización de técnicas de matching permite controlar la posible existencia de un proceso de selección no aleatorio en la implementación de innovaciones de proceso. El análisis empírico se lleva cabo usando una muestra de PYMES manufactureras españolas extraída de la Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales. Nuestros resultados muestran que la implementación de innovaciones de proceso por parte de PYMES sin experiencia previa en la introducción de tales innovaciones, produce un crecimiento extra de la productividad de estas PYMES en comparación con el de aquellas PYMES que no implementan innovaciones de proceso. Adicionalmente, nuestros resultados sugieren la existencia de una relación en forma de U invertida entre el crecimiento extra de la productividad y el tiempo transcurrido desde la introducción de la innovación de proceso.innovaciones de proceso, PTF, dominancia estocástica, técnicas de matching. process innovations, TFP, stochastic dominance, matching techniques.

The role of learning in innovation: in-house versus externally contracted R&D experience

En este trabajo se analiza el papel del aprendizaje en el éxito innovador de las empresas, tomando en consideración la naturaleza heterogénea de las actividades innovadoras, y en particular, distinguiendo entre el aprendizaje que proviene de la realización interna de actividades de I+D y el aprendizaje que proviene de la contratación externa de estas actividades. Para este trabajo se utiliza una muestra representativa de empresas manufactureras en España durante el período 1990-2006, y dentro del marco de una función de producción de innovaciones, se estiman modelos ¿count¿ con el fin de investigar la influencia que tiene en la obtención de resultados innovadores la experiencia que proviene de la I+D realizada dentro de la empresa y de la contratada externamente. Nuestros resultados muestran que el aprendizaje tiene un papel importante en la obtención de innovaciones de producto cuando las empresas organizan sus actividades de I+D internamente, y que la experiencia que proviene de la contratación externa de actividades de I+D no influye sobre el número de innovaciones de producto. This paper analyses the role of learning in firms¿ innovation success, taking into account the heterogeneous nature of innovation activities, and in particular, distinguishing between learning arising from the internal organization of R&D activities and learning from externally contracting these activities. We use a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990-2006, and within an innovation production function approach, we estimate count data models to investigate the influence of firms¿ in-house and externally contracted R&D experience in the achievement of innovative results. Our results show that learning is important in the achievement of product innovations when the firms organize R&D activities internally, and that experience from externally contracted R&D activities does not influence the number of product innovations.innovation, accumulation of knowledge, in-house R&D experience, externally contracted R&D experience, count data models. innovación, acumulación de conocimiento, experiencia en I+D interna, experiencia en I+D contratada externamente, modelos para datos ¿count¿.

CEO gender and SMEs innovativeness: evidence for Spanish businesses

This paper analyses the role of gender of the chief executive officer (CEO) on the propensity to introduce innovations using a sample of 1405 Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We examine whether there are significant differences between female- and male-led businesses in terms of their propensity to innovate, and whether these differences may be explained by factors related to the attributes of the CEO concerning risk tolerance, self-confidence, education level and cooperative behaviour. In particular, this study tests if the linkages between these managerial attributes and the propensity to innovate are influenced by the gender of the CEO. Using a multivariate probit model (triprobit), we further investigate the role of gender on the CEO decision to simultaneously introduce product, process and organisational innovations. Our main results indicate that there are not significant differences in the propensity to introduce innovations between male- and female-run businesses when considering innovation at an aggregated level, that is, innovating in any of the three types of innovations considered. However, we obtain a higher propensity of male CEOs to introduce process innovations, as compared to their female counterparts. No significant differences by gender are found for product and organisational innovations. Additionally, results of the multivariate probit model indicate that the three innovation decisions are interdependent and should be jointly analysed. This study contributes to the scant literature regarding gender impact on firm’s innovativeness with novel empirical evidence for SMEs

Manager gender, entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs export and import propensities: evidence for Spanish businesses

This paper investigates the role of manager gender in SMEs’ decisions to get involved in exporting and importing activities, using a sample of 1,405 Spanish SMEs. We borrow insights from international entrepreneurship theories and feminist theories to set testable hypotheses regarding how managerial gender and entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) may influence SMEs export and import propensities. Using a bivariate probit model and controlling for other managerial and business characteristics, results reveal that there are not significant disparities in exporting propensities between men- and women-run businesses. However, female-led SMEs show a lower importing propensity, in comparison to male-led counterparts. In addition, the three entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) are important drivers for participating in overseas markets, and do not depend upon the manager gender. This work provides new empirical evidence on the comparison between men- and women-run SMEs as regards export/import behavior and thus, it contributes to improve our knowledge on the role of gender in SMEs internationalization. The role of manager’s gender in SMEs import propensity has not been investigated so far, and this is the main novelty of our research.We acknowledge fnancial support from Grant ECO2017-86793-R funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; from Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEU/2019/095); from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ECO2014-55745-R) and from Instituto de Estudios Fiscales del Ministerio de Hacienda (Spanish Treasury Ministry). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA

Does persistence in using R&D tax credits help to achieve product innovations?

Despite the generosity of its tax system, Spain is far from EU countries in terms of R&D spending and innovation outcomes. A policy instrument commonly used to foster firms’ R&D investment are tax incentives. The use of this instrument is not generalized in firms spending on R&D, and only a fraction of firms are regular claimants. This paper investigates whether persistence in using tax credits is positively related to product innovations, beyond R&D investments. We consider that firms investing in qualified R&D and using tax credits regularly are likely to be firms aiming at innovating. By contrast, occasional tax credit users may be firms investing in R&D for different reasons, such as exploiting a business opportunity, or reducing their corporate tax burden, so that they may not prioritize innovating. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms spanning 2001–2014, we first estimate persistence using a duration model accounting for firm observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our results are consistent with negative duration dependence, indicating that the probability of ceasing in claiming tax credits decreases with the passage of time. Second, we estimate a count-data model and find that the number of product innovations positively depends on tax credit persistence only for SMEs

Firms’ distance to the European productivity frontier

In this article we explore the factors contributing to reduce the distance of laggard frms to the European frontier, focusing on institutional factors. To characterize Total Factor Productivity frontier frms within industries for the European Union we use frm level data from AMADEUS for the period 2003–2014. Our fndings provide evidence on the importance of governance quality and easiness in getting credit in explaining the distance of laggard frms to the European productivity frontier. We also fnd that other factors at the country level -tertiary education, R&D stock, and trade openness- and at the frm level -size, age, and capital-intensity- infuence the distance of laggards to the frontier. In addition, we examine the role of the Great Recession in moderating the contribution of all these factors to reduce firms’ distance to the European productivity frontier

La reestructuracion empresarial en el sector de la alimentacion: analisis de las empresas en bolsa

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la reestructuración que, mediante fusiones y adquisiciones, está teniendo lugar en el sector de la alimentación. El estudio se centra en el colectivo de empresas que cotizan en la Bolsa de Madrid. Tras señalar brevemente las principales motivaciones que pueden encontrarse detrás de los procesos de fusión y adquisición de empresas, se describen las principales tendencias registradas en el mercado de adquisiciones, dando paso posteriormente a la clasificación de las empresas de acuerdo con su implicación en dichas operaciones, al objeto de caracterizar por un lado a las empresas compradoras y, por otro, a las adquiridas. Finalmente se intentan extraer algunas conclusiones sobre las causas que han determinado la intensa ola de fusiones que se ha registrado en España en la industria de la alimentación