The differentiated impact of role models and social fear of failure over the entrepreneurial activities of rural youths

The main objective of this study is to determine the differential impact of certain socio-cultural variables (such as entrepreneurial self-confidence, role models and fear of failure) on the entrepreneurial process of Spanish rural youths. In consonance with the new rural policy paradigm, the European Commission and the OECD are proposing entrepreneurship as a tool for economic diversification and endogenous rural development. Entrepreneurship is associated in rural areas with economic vitality and prosperity. Entrepreneurship in rural areas becomes a means for capturing and optimizing the true natural, social and human capital of a territory as well as a source of opportunity and welfare for the local population. However, in a context where many rural areas are suffering from an aging and retiring population, the emphasis on developing an entrepreneurially active community becomes especially important within the segment of rural youths. Environmental and social-cultural factors have been used to explain differences in entrepreneurship across territories, including the rural urban divide. This line of research has found that certain variables, such as the local presence of role models and the social stigma of failure, have a differential impact over entrepreneurial activity across certain segments of the population (gender, immigrant status). Therefore, this study has the objective to verify whether age affects the impact that certain socio-cultural variables have on the entrepreneurial process of rural and urban youths. The methodology used in this study is the logistic regression model for rare events, with a database of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in Spain for 2009, which has a sample of 26,990 adults. The study shows that young adults in Spain have a higher propensity for entrepreneurial activity than the rest of the population, but discriminating between urban and rural youth, the latter are less likely to be entrepreneurs. Amongst younger-aged individuals, social-cultural factors are found to have a differential impact on entrepreneurship across the rural-urban divide.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Gender diversity in the board, women’s leadership and business performance

Purpose: This paper investigates how gender diversity in top management—i.e., boardroom and top management positions—impacts business performance among Colombian public businesses. Design/methodology/approach: Building on the Upper Echelon theory which emphasizes that gender in an important characteristic that influences top management’s decision making, we employ panel data models on a sample of 54 Colombian public businesses for the period 2008-2015 to test the proposed hypotheses relating gender diversity and subsequent business performance. Findings: The results support that gender diversity is positively associated with subsequent business performance. More concretely, we find that the relationship between gender diversity at the top of the corporate hierarchy—in our case, as CEO and in the top management team—and subsequent performance becomes more evident when performance is linked to business operations (ROA), while the positive effect of women’s representation in the boardroom and subsequent performance is significant when performance is measured via shareholder-oriented metrics (ROE). Originality/value: Few studies have addressed the role of gender diversity on performance in developing economies. This study contributes to better understand how gender diversity impacts performance in contexts where women are underrepresented in the top management, and where the appointment of women directors or managers is not driven by regulatory pressures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The territorial economic impact of entrepreneurial youthfulness

Entrepreneurship and youth population interact to enhance economic performance, and actions oriented to bring down social barriers linked to the fear to entrepreneurial failure are as important as policies focused on access to finance or human capital formation. Entrepreneurship generates opportunities for professional development, social and economic integration, the maintenance of the rural population and the attraction of new residents to these territories. Young entrepreneurs face more than financial constraints, as local economic conditions and their risk aversion are important barriers to engage in entrepreneurial activities. To achieve greater rates of entrepreneurship amongst rural youths, policy should mould the value system of the community in general, and not exclusively that of young adults.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Transition in-and-out of exporting and its impact on employment growth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how different strategic choices related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting (export entry, export persistence, export exit) impact employment growth in Romanian small- and medium-sized businesses. Design/methodology/approach Using linear regression models on a sample of 566 Romanian SMEs, The authors model employment growth as a function of three different dimensions of foreign market participation: export entry, persistence and exit. Findings Results indicate that exporting is positively associated with employment growth. The findings reveal that the different strategic choices linked to exporting have a differentiating impact on employment growth: while employment growth is more pronounced among new exporters which points to the presence of an impulse effect of exporting, businesses that interrupt their exporting activities report employment losses. Research limitations/implications This study underlines the relevance of distinguishing the specific impact of the different export behaviours related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting. Practical implications The results of the study fuel the debate on the relevance of promoting policies that encourage exporting among small businesses operating in emerging economies. Originality/value This study presents an original analysis of the distinctive effect that different forms of export behaviour related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting have on employment growth. The relevance of this study not only flows from the particular empirical design that simultaneously evaluates different export choices and their specific impact on employment growth.Peer ReviewedPostprint (updated version

Neighborhood effects of civil conflict (1990-2012)

RESUMEN: Existe una cantidad considerable de trabajos que analizan de las causas del conflicto. Entre estas causas encontramos los recursos naturales, las diferencias étnicas y los problemas políticos, etc. Este artículo toma como punto de partida la ley universal de la gravedad propuesta por Newton (1687), con el fin de identificar la existencia de un efecto país vecino y un efecto distancia, en la probabilidad de que un país pueda entrar en guerra civil o tener un conflicto armado. Se demuestra que la distancia entre los países juega un papel en la probabilidad de entrar en guerra. Concluimos que un país en paz debe ser muy cuidadoso en sus relaciones diplomáticas con los países vecinos que tienen conflictos armados.ABSTRACT: There have been many papers which have studied the causes of conflict, taking into account causes like natural resources, ethnicity, political problems, and commitment problems, among others. This paper focus on the Law of Universal Gravity of Newton (1687) for trying to see if there could be a neighboring country effect on the probability of a conflict or civil war onset and continuity in a given country, and the effect of the size of the border, and find significant evidence about the distance between countries in the probability of onset a conflict. This may suggest that peaceful countries must be very careful with the relationships with neighbors that are having an armed conflict

Prym varieties, curves with automorphisms and the Sato Grassmannian

Este trabajo trata las variedades de Prym, curvas con automorfismos y Grassmannian de Sato.The aim of the paper is twofold. First, some results of Shiota and Plaza-Martín on Prym varieties of curves with an involution are generalized to the general case of an arbitrary automorphism of prime order. Second, the equations defining the moduli space of curves with an automorphism of prime order as a subscheme of the Sato Grassmannian are given

Contribución al modelo de evolución de ambientes sedimentarios y distribución espacio-temporal de las facies sedimentarias en la zona norte del Valle Medio del Magdalena a partir de la interpretación de registros de pozo y muestras de zanja

La Cuenca del Valle del Magdalena (VMM) es una cuenca intramontana que separa la Cordillera Central al oeste y la Cordillera Oriental al este. Su evolución está ligada al origen de los Andes colombianos, que son producto de la interacción entre las placas Sudamericana, Farallón y del Caribe. Con el fin de determinar la distribución espacial-temporal de las facies y la evolución de ambientes sedimentarios en el Norte del VMM, se interpretaron los registros eléctricos y muestras de zanja de los pozos Acordionero-10 y Monoaraña-1. A partir de los registros de los pozos estudiados se clasificó un conjunto de electrofacies; que relacionadas con las muestras de zanja fueron descritas como una asociación de litofacies y electrofacies continuas y homogéneas con características físicas similares denominados intervalos estratigráficos. Con base en los 10 intervalos estratigráficos descritos para cada uno de los pozos se logró correlacionar la continuidad lateral de los mismos, dentro de las Formaciones; La Luna, Umir, Lisama, Mugrosa, Colorado, y el Grupo Real; todas presentes en el norte del VMM. Evidenciando la ausencia de las Formaciones La Paz y Esmeralda en el registro litológico estudiado. Mediante relaciones estratigráficas e información bibliográfica disponible para el VMM, se identificó que en Acordionero-10 todos los intervalos estratigráficos pertenecen al Cenozoico formados en ambientes fluviales. Mientras en Monoaraña-1 se encontraron intervalos estratigráficos del Cretácico tardío formados en ambientes marinos e intervalos estratigráficos del Cenozoico formados en ambientes fluviales

The renaissance of a local wine industry: the relevance of social capital for business innovation in DOQ El Priorat, Catalonia

The paper presents the results of a case study that aims to investigate whether the presence of both bridging and bonding social capital, acting together, can stimulate entrepreneurial innovation within the wine industry at a regional level. The study also investigates the manner in which both types of social capital interact to motivate such innovation. This is done through the analysis of the Catalan region of Priorat, and more specifically the entrepreneurial innovations that the region’s wine sector experienced over a twenty year period at the turn of the current millenium. The results indicate that both forms of social capital do not act in isolation, but on the contrary are jointly responsible for stimulating innovation within the wine-producing network.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft