Influence of family-centered goals on dividend policy in family firms: A socioemotional wealth approach

Socioemotional wealth (SEW) preservation is likely to be a key determinant for family firms to shape their dividend policy. This paper analyzes how family-centered goals captured by SEW influence on dividend policy in private family firms, exploring as well the moderating role on these relationships of family involvement in management, generational stage, and firm hazard. Results indicate a negative association between SEW preservation and both the likelihood of giving dividends and the amount of dividend paid. This negative relationship is stronger when the CEO is a family member, in early generational stages and when the firm faces greater performance hazard. The amount of dividend paid is also lower when there are family members in other top management positions beyond the CEO. Thus, the evidence provided suggests that the existing heterogeneity regarding dividend policy in the context of privately held family firms is strongly driven by differences in SEW priorities

Socioemotional wealth and financial decisions in private family SMEs

This study focuses on heterogeneity in family firms by analyzing whether the non-economic aspects that meet the family?s affective needs, or socioemotional wealth (SEW), influence debt financing. In the context of private family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), our results indicate that family firms which are more concerned about preserving their SEW have lower debt levels (total and financial debt) and that CEO gender plays an important moderating role, with female CEOs strengthening the negative effect of SEW preservation on debt financing. Moreover, when family firms are managed by the first generation, the SEW effect on financial debt is even more negative. The findings are consistent with SEW being the point of reference in family SMEs? financial decisions, and highlight the importance of the CEO and family generation in charge of the firm as moderators of the relationship between SEW preservation and debt financing

Variable selection for classification and forecasting of the family firm's socioemotional wealth

Socioemotional wealth (SEW) refers to those family-centered goals that are likely to have a major influence on the strategic decision-making process and performance of family firms. Many studies have used indirect indicators related to family involvement in ownership and management to measure SEW; meanwhile, others have developed scales to directly measure the level and importance of SEW in family firms. Limitations of both indirect and direct measures of SEW lead empirical research on SEW to be under threat. In the current study, we use random forests to identify the important indicators related to financial and economic decisions, as well as family-related measures, for explaining the family firms' SEW and to design a good prediction model using the smallest set of nonredundant indicators. Our results show that the model that exhibits the minimum out-of-bag sample (OOB) error rate includes variables that refer to the presence of family members in the firm's management positions, long-term nonfinancial debt, personnel expenditures, longterm financial investments, short-term financial debt, average storage period, and accounts receivables. For prediction, the model with a reasonably low estimated classification error includes only three variables, which refer to the presence of family members in the firm's management positions, long-term nonfinancial debt, and accounts receivables.Fundación Cajamurci

Unmet need in the hyperlipidaemia population with high risk of cardiovascular disease: a targeted literature review of observational studies

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine recommended target levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for hyperlipidaemia patients at high risk (i.e., with two or more risk factors or coronary heart disease or its risk equivalents) for cardiovascular disease (CVD); to determine LDL-C targets recommended by guidelines, and to examine the proportions of patients who do not achieve targeted LDL-C levels in real-world studies. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched: Medline, Medline In-Process, Embase, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Library (1 January 2005 to 31 December 2013). Guideline searches were limited to publications in the last 5 years. There were no geographical or language restrictions. RESULTS: Seventeen guidelines and 42 observational studies that reported on high-risk hyperlipidaemia patients were identified. The National Cholesterol Education Program–Adult Treatment Panel III’s LDL-C target levels were the most common guidelines used for patients with very high hyperlipidaemia. However, between 68 and 96 % of patients in the studies did not achieve an LDL-C goal <70 mg/dL, except in one study conducted in China (16.9 %). In high-risk patients, 61.8 to 93.8 % did not achieve a target of <100 mg/dL. Regarding common comorbidities, patients with concomitant CVD or diabetes were least likely to reach their target LDL-C goals. CONCLUSION: In patients with high risk for CVD, the majority of patients do not attain recommended LDL-C goals, highlighting worldwide suboptimal hyperlipidaemia management and missed opportunities for reduction of the patients CVD risk. Lipid-modifying management strategies need to be intensified. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12872-016-0241-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Ernesto García. Consejos para jóvenes microbiólogos

3 p. Reseña resumen de la entrevista realizada al Doctor Ernesto García, Profesor de Investigación emérito en el Centro de investigaciones Biológicas (CIB-CSIC). Grabación, sonido y postproducción: Álvaro Sanz Llopis.Peer reviewe

Developing a country's sustainability indicator: An analysis of the effect on trade openness

Several proposals have been put forward for measuring sustainability performance at the country-level, in addition to the considerable debate surrounding which pillars (or dimensions) should form part of this sustainability and which variables should make up these pillars. To date, no clear consensus has been reached regarding which sustainability measures are the most appropriate when seeking to reflect not only a country's economic development but also its environmental, social, and governance aspects. To provide an alternative to the existing indicators developed by private agencies, this study proposes an index to measure sustainability at the country-level, considering the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pillars. In addition, this indicator will serve as a counterpoint to the majority of current sustainability indicators, some of which involve a strong component in per capita income, or which are over-represented in economic terms. In a second stage –and in order to apply the indicator– this study analyses how sustainability at the country-level, and its ESG pillars, influence trade openness through a study of panel data from 47 countries. The results indicate that applying a disaggregated index in its dimensions (pillars) shows both the positive and negative effects that sustainability can have on the variable studied. A non-disaggregated index only reflects the joint effect, which might be insignificant in certain cases. This study contributes to the existing literature as well as to current understanding of how to measure national sustainability and its implications for macroeconomic variables, and it also provides a clear method for future research

Die Fallmethode im Geschichtsunterricht: Entwicklung und Anwendung

El presente proyecto de innovación docente se basa en la aplicación del el Método del Caso (MdC) a la enseñanza la Historia a nivel universitario como herramienta para trabajar las competencias básicas del historiador de manera esencialmente práctica y orientada a la toma de decisiones.This teaching innovation project is based on the application of the Case Method to the teaching of History at the university level as a tool to work on the basic competences of the historian in an essentially practical and decision-oriented way.Depto. de Historia Moderna y ContemporáneaFac. de Geografía e HistoriaFALSEUniversidad Complutense de Madridsubmitte