Analysis of competitiveness in Colombian family businesses

Purpose: Building on the resource-based view and the configuration theory, the purpose of this study uses a systemic and multidimensional competitiveness index (CI) i.e. that incorporates system constraints among the 10 competitive pillars that form the index to assess the competitiveness level and the connection between competitiveness and economic performance [return on assets (ROA)] in family businesses (FBs). Design/methodology/approach: For the empirical application, the use a unique primary data set drawn from the global competitiveness project (www.gcp.org) that includes information for 77 Colombian FBs for 2017. Cluster analysis is used to evaluate the potential relationship between competitiveness, the configuration of competitive pillars and economic performance (ROA). Findings: The results for the CI show that the main competitive strengths of the analysed firms are related to the introduction of product innovations and networks (suppliers and customers), while the limited use of technologies in their operations and the low online presence are the main competitive weaknesses of these firms. Additionally, the findings of the cluster analysis reveal that different configurations of competitiveness pillars are associated with different performance levels. Therefore, the results contribute to identifying how specific strategies aimed at improving different resources or capabilities contribute to enhance business competitiveness, and ultimately, performance. Originality/value: By using an index number that takes into account the multiple interactions between resources and capabilities, the proposed analysis not only sheds light on the drivers of competitiveness i.e. resources and capabilities, and its connection to performance but also contributes to understanding the boundaries of the businesses’ competitiveness system, as well as the strategies that can potentially enhance competitiveness, and subsequently, business performance.Peer ReviewedPreprin

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

Performance and ownership in the governance of urban water

In this paper the differences in terms of performance between public and the private governance in urban water management are investigated. A statistical ranking is implemented to determine programmatic efficiency differences in DEA, using an incomplete panel data that gathers information on 20 water utilities in Andalusia, in Southern Spain. In the model, labour and operational costs are considered as inputs. The volume of revenue water, the number of connections and the network length are used as outputs. The analysis indicates that private management is more efficient. The efficiency indicators adjusted by a variable related to quality are estimated and demonstrate that privatization of the service does not mean any loss in terms of quality. However, there are no significant differences between both types of management including as a desirable input hydraulic yield as a proxy of the degree of network renovation. A lower hydraulic efficiency in private management would suggest that the need to make significant investments could be an important factor when making the decision to privatize the management of the urban water service: Water supply; Management; Local government;

The importance of time in referee home bias due to social pressure. Evidence from Spanish football

This paper analyses referee home bias due to social pressure with data from the matches played in the First Division of the Spanish football league between the 2002/03 and 2009/10 seasons. Finally, our main conclusion is that the time the referee has to make a decision does affect the final outcome; while there is no referee home bias when a free kick is awarded, in the case of booking players, when the referee has more time to make a decision, social pressure can influence the final outcome in favour of the home team.Social pressure; crowd effect; referee home bias; sports economics.

Gender differences in e-learning satisfaction

In line with recent research, the question this paper raises is whether or not gender differences also exist in e-learning. This study is based on a sample of 1,185 students who are doing on-line courses at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. The main conclusion is that female students are more satisfied than male students with the e-learning subjects that make up the sample. Furthermore, we find that female students assign more importance to the planning of learning, as well as to being able to contact the teacher in various ways.: Gender Studies; Evaluation Methodologies

Implementation study of LED technology in the outdoor public lighting of La Robleda, Puente San Miguel (Cantabria)

Grado en Ingeniería de los Recursos Energético

Políticas urbanas de intervención en el Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México bajo el modelo de Estado Neoliberal, 1989-2010

La transición de un modelo de Estado a otro ha significado para la política urbana la modificación de sus formas de ocupar e intervenir los núcleos históricos en temas relacionados con la vivienda, la rehabilitación del patrimonio y el espacio público, lo cual ha motivado la construcción de nuevos valores para interpretar la significación cultural del lugar. La cuestión que se plantea desarrollar en este trabajo tiene como marco a los planes y programas de la política urbana neoliberal para determinar: cómo la lógica de actuación del Estado ha contribuido al proceso de revalorización y transformación espacial del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México, durante el periodo de 1989-2010. Las conclusiones obtenidas expresan la visión elitista con que la política urbana neoliberal ha reformado ciertas áreas del centro histórico en favor del desarrollo económico e inmobiliario, pero ajena a las demandas de infraestructura y seguridad de los barrios populares. Dicha disparidad ha sido causa de conflictos que han alimentado la percepción de un centro histórico fragmentado por la inequidad de resultados de una política urbana que no ha comprendido que la valorización de un territorio pasa por la construcción de una visión unitaria que dicte una intervención equilibrada sobre el patrimonio, sus funciones sociales, prácticas culturales y rescate de su tradición

Global effects of US uncertainty: real and financial shocks on real and financial markets

We estimate the effects of financial, macroeconomic and policy uncertainty from the United States on the dynamics of credit growth, stock prices, economic activity, bond yields and inflation in five of the main receptors of US foreign direct investment from 1950 to 2019: The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and Switzerland. Our multicounty approach allows us to clearly identify the effects of the different sources of uncertainty by imposing natural contemporaneous exogenity restrictions which cannot be used in a single-country perspective, frequently undertaken by the literature. It also considers international common cycle factors that have been previously identified and which are key to adequately measure the dynamics of the effects of uncertainty shocks on financial and real markets, on a global basis (...

Interdependent Capital Structure Choices and the Macroeconomy

This study shows that capital structure choices of US corporations are interdependent across time. We follow a two-step estimation approach. First, using a large cross-section of firms we estimate year-by-year average capital structure choices, i.e., the average firm’s percentage of new funding that is secured through debt, its term composition, and the percentage of new equity represented by retained earnings. Second, these time series are included in a Factor Augmented Vector Autoregressive model in which three factors representing real economic activity, expected future funding conditions, and prices, are included. We test for the interdependence between optimal capital structure decisions and for the influence exerted by macroeconomic conditions on these decisions. Results show there is a hierarchical order in which firms make capital structure decisions. They first decide on the share of debt out of total new funding they will hire. Conditional on this they decide on the term of their debt and on their earnings retention policy. Of outmost importance, macroeconomic factors are key for making capital structure decisions

The link between water access and subjective well-being: some methods and proposals

The study of happiness or subjective well-being has traditionally been studied within the disciplines of psychology or sociology. Although economics has contemplated happiness in research terms, it has only recently been studied in any depth. In this paper we offer several proposals in order to investigate the relationship between water access and happiness, suggesting some situations that would merit further research. Moreover, we have included some methodological notes in order to achieve this objective. This relationship can be useful in two ways. Firstly, it can favour the contemplation of water access as a human right. Secondly, it can serve as a framework for the decision-making process carried out by Governments and NGOs in developing countries