How do market imperfections affect working capital management?

This paper examines whether Working Capital Management (WCM) is sensitive to market imperfections such as asymmetric information, agency conflicts or financial distress. We find that firms have a target investment in working capital and that they take decisions in order to achieve this. In addition, the results appear to support the hypothesis that the working capital competes with investment in fixed assets for the funds of the firms when they have financial constraints. Finally, we also find that WCM depends on bargaining power and other financial factors such as the availability of internal finance, cost of financing and access to capital markets. Este artículo analiza si la gestión del capital circulante está afectada por las imperfecciones de mercado tales como la asimetría informativa, los conflictos de agencia o las dificultades financieras. Los resultados muestran que las empresas tienen un nivel de inversión en capital circulante objetivo y toman decisiones con el fin de alcanzarlo. Además, los resultados parecen apoyar la hipótesis de que el capital circulante compite con los activos fijos por los fondos de las empresas cuando éstas tienen restricciones financieras. Finalmente, la gestión del capital circulante depende del poder de negociación y otros factores financieros tales como la disponibilidad de financiación interna, el coste de financiación y el acceso a los mercados de capitales.ciclo de efectivo, gestión del capital circulante, imperfecciones de mercado, datos de panel net trade cycle, working capital management, market imperfections, panel data

Una universidad adelante en el tiempo : Red Hospitalaria Méderi, ejemplo de una mirada hacia el futuro

El 2008 marcó un hito para la Universidad del Rosario como año de grandes acontecimientos, desde la reiteración certificada de su excelencia académica, hasta el establecimiento de nuevos puentes de comunicación de la institución con más comunidades, empresas y más colombianos, como evidencia de un incremento importante en el alcance de su impacto para contribuir en la transformación de nuestro país. Esto lo logró siendo coherente con el lema que identifica su esencia “adelante en el tiempo”, anticipandolas tendencias, teniendo como prioridad todo aquello que le permita mantenerse a la vanguardia para bien de la educación y de Colombia. Poner a disposición una calidad académica avalada tanto por los estamentos nacionales como internacionales, desarrollar y divulgar proyectos de investigación con impactos trascendentes para nuestra sociedad, estructurar un portafolio de extensión y proyección social acorde con las necesidades de sus grupos beneficiarios, avanzar en la búsqueda de currículos abiertos al mundo a través de la internacionalización, fueron en 2008 y serán en el futuro, prioridades de la Universidad del Rosario, como parte de su visión estratégica hacia el año 2019

Determinants of working capital management

This paper analyzes the determinants of working capital management (WCM) for a sample of Spanish firms during the period 1997-2004. We find that firms have a target investment in working capital and that they take decisions in order to achieve this. The results appear to support the hypothesis that the working capital competes with investment in fixed assets for the funds of the firms when they have financial constraints. Finally, we also find that WCM depends on bargaining power and other financial factors such as the availability of internal finance, cost of financing and financial constraints.Research Agency of the Spanish Government ECO2008-06179/ECO

Hybridization during altitudinal range shifts: nuclear introgression leads to extensive cyto-nuclear discordance in the fire salamander

Ecological models predict that, in the face of climate change, taxa occupying steep altitudinal gradients will shift their distributions, leading to the contraction or extinction of the high-elevation (cold-adapted) taxa. However, hybridization between ecomorphologically divergent taxa commonly occurs in nature and may lead to alternative evolutionary outcomes, such as genetic merger or gene flow at specific genes. We evaluate this hypothesis by studying patterns of divergence and gene flow across three replicate contact zones between high- and low-elevation ecomorphs of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) that have experienced altitudinal range shifts over the current postglacial period. Strong population structure with high genetic divergence in mitochondrial DNA suggests that vicariant evolution has occurred over several glacial–interglacial cycles and that it has led to cryptic differentiation within ecomorphs. In current parapatric boundaries, we do not find evidence for local extinction and replacement upon postglacial expansion. Instead, parapatric taxa recurrently show discordance between mitochondrial and nuclear markers, suggesting nuclear-mediated gene flow across contact zones. Isolation with migration models support this hypothesis by showing significant gene flow across all five parapatric boundaries. Together, our results suggest that, while some genomic regions, such as the mitochondria, may follow morphologic species traits and retreat to isolated mountain tops, other genomic regions, such as nuclear markers, may flow across parapatric boundaries, sometimes leading to a complete genetic merger. We show that despite high ecologic and morphologic divergence over prolonged periods of time, hybridization allows for evolutionary outcomes alternative to extinction and replacement of taxa in response to climate change.This research was supported by the European Science Foundation (Frontiers of Speciation Research, Exchange grant 3318), and by the European Commission (Synthesys grant ES-TAF-1486), granted to RJP.During the preparation of this manuscript, RJP was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 658706.Peer reviewe

ENDEUDAMIENTO A CORTO PLAZO EN LAS PYMES ESPAÑOLAS

This paper analyses the debt maturity structure of the small and middle sizedfirms using the trade-off reward risk associated to the use of short-term loans.Therefore, a sample of 11.533 small and middle Spanish manufacturing firms from year1997 through 2001 was used. The results of our study show that short-term loans aremore frequent in firms with greater financial strength and greater financial flexibility,major growth options and when the interest cost differential between short-long terms ismore pronounced. Also, the firm size seems to have an influence on the level of shorttermloans, it being higher in the smaller firms. Este trabajo analiza la estructura de vencimiento de la deuda en las PYMEs a partir del trade-off rentabilidad riesgo asociado al uso de recursos ajenos a corto plazo. Para ello, se ha utilizado una muestra de 11.533 pequeñas y medianas empresas manufactureras españolas durante el periodo 1997-2001. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el endeudamiento a corto plazo es mayor en aquellas empresas que presentan una mayor solvencia y flexibilidad financiera, mayores oportunidades de crecimiento y cuando el diferencial de tipos de interés corto-largo es más acentuado. Así mismo, el tamaño de las sociedades también parece influir en los niveles de endeudamiento a corto plazo, siendo mayor en las empresas más pequeñas.Pymes, vencimiento de la deuda, solvencia financiera, flexibilidad financiera. SMEs, debt maturity, financial solvency, financial flexibility.

LA TESORERIA EN LA EMPRESA Y SUS DETERMINANTES

This paper analyzes the determinants of the corporate cash holding for a sampleof companies listed in the Spanish stock market. The results show that the firms have acorporate cash holding target level, and that this level is greater in companies withgreater cash flows. On the other hand, cash holding is negatively related to size, growthoptions, leverage, bank debt and liquid assets. Finally, the ownership structure alsoseems to affect the cash holdings. Este trabajo analiza los factores explicativos de la tesorería para una muestra de empresas cotizadas en el mercado continuo español. Los resultados obtenidos revelan que las empresas poseen un nivel de tesorería objetivo al que pretenden converger, y que dicho nivel es mayor en las sociedades con mayores flujos de caja. Por el contrario, el nivel de efectivo se ve reducido con el tamaño, con las oportunidades de crecimiento, con el nivel de endeudamiento, con el uso de deuda bancaria y con la liquidez de la empresa. Además, la estructura de propiedad también parece influir sobre los niveles de efectivo.Tesorería, liquidez, datos de panel. cash, liquidity, panel data

Sectores productivos y espacios de conflicto: pesca y petróleo en la sonda de Campeche

Objetivo y planteamiento del problema: La Sonda de Campeche es una zona marítima del Golfo de México en donde por más de 60 años se ha realizado la explotación de dos importantes recursos naturales para la economía nacional y regional de esta región: las pesquerías del camarón y la extracción de petróleo. Ambas actividades, aunque comparten el mismo espacio, son completamente diferentes en cuanto a la extracción de sus respectivos productos. Esencialmente, la actividad pesquera del camarón está sujeta a varios condicionamientos para su desarrollo: primero, de carácter físico-biológico y territorial; segundo, a las relaciones comerciales de carácter internacional, nacional y local; tercero, a las normatividades y reglamentaciones de carácter gubernamental y de observancia pública por parte del sector involucrado en la actividad. En tanto que la actividad petrolera está sujeta a otros condicionamientos: primero, existe una demanda del mercado nacional e internacional; segundo, es un energético de la cual depende la industria y la economía de los países industrializados y no industrializados. El objetivo del trabajo es presentar un panorama de ambas actividades productivas en un mismo espacio marítimo territorial, hoy día en conflicto por la intervención de diversos actores sociales y agentes económicos que dan pie a la reconfiguración del territorio. Esto se hace mediante la identificación de diversas escalas de análisis espacial por etapas. Conclusiones: Se señalan los intereses de los actores en espacios de conflictos, lo cual impide el desarrollo articulador de ambos sectores productivos importantes para la región y para los intereses geoestratégicos nacionales e internacionales

Financing of working capital requirement, financial flexibility and SME performance

This paper investigates the relation between the financing strategies of working capital requirement and firm performance for the period 1997 to 2012. Using the two-step generalized method of moments estimator, we find that a suitable financing strategy can help firms improve their performance. Moreover, the results indicate that the working capital requirement financing-performance relation changes during a financial crisis. Finally, we also find that this relation depends on a firm’s financial flexibility. The findings are of interest for managers and researchers and show that managers should not only be concerned about investing in working capital requirement but also consider how this investment is to be financed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to analyse how the financing strategy selected by firms to finance their working capital requirement affects their performance

Acquisition of financial management skills in the new framework for adaptation to the EHEA. Póster

One of the main consequences of adapting to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the replacement of traditional teaching methods, based almost entirely on the lecture, with new methodologies where active participation on the part of the students is a key part of the teaching-learning process. It is, therefore, of interest to offer empirical evidence showing that the new teaching methods employed really do serve to improve the results of the students in the acquisition of skills. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to assess the results obtained from bringing in the new EHEA, compared to those obtained under the traditional teaching system. With the above aim in mind, we analysed the results from the two existing groups of students studying Financial Management I of the Degree in Business Administration and Management (academic year 2009-10) at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Murcia. The first group comprised students who had followed the course under the traditional lecture-based teaching system. The second group was made up of students taking part in the innovation project being run by the Faculty of Economics and Business. EHEA teaching methodologies and materials have been employed in the second group. Besides the lecture and the practical class, the following teaching methodologies have been employed: problem-based learning, workshops on problems, group tutorials, group work and participative models. The first group was assessed purely on the basis of an end of semester examination, while in the case of the second group, the final examination counted for 60% of the mark, 30% corresponded to individual work and group practical work and 10% to participation in class and responses to questions posed by the teacher. It should be highlighted that the final examination was the same for both groups, so the comparison o results is free of bias in that aspect. The results show that higher percentage of passes in the group with innovative teaching – 93.75% versus 48.19% in the lecture-based class group. The average grade was also higher – 7.08 over 10 versus 4.52 over 10. These differences are significant (t statistic 6.382 for the means difference test). In order to rule out the possibility of these better results being due to the assessment awarded for the non similar parts of the examination, a comparison was also made of the marks obtained exclusively in the examination common to both groups. While the number of passes (75%) and the average mark of the group in the innovative method (6 over 10) fall, the results remain significantly better than those of the lecture-based classes group (t statistic for the difference in mean marks was 2.485).Campus Mare Nostrum, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Universidad de Murcia, Región de Murci

Importance of the reach of the social networks of CIGEFI-UCR: A study of the data according to the publications made between 1979-2015

Desde 1979, el Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI) de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) ha evolucionado constantemente hasta convertirse en un referente regional de la Geofísica. Esto ha sido facilitado por diversos actores, investigadores, y colaboradores, tanto propios como de otras afiliaciones. El objetivo de este trabajo fue utilizar las publicaciones elaboradas por el CIGEFI para describir y visualizar las redes sociales de este proceso para el período 1979-2015, mostrando los actores involucrados, las ego-redes más influyentes, la evolución de las redes en tres períodos (1979-1990, 1991-2002 y 2003-2015) para mayor facilidad de procesamiento de la información y las afiliaciones. Se calcularon las medidas de centralidad de grado, cercanía, lejanía y mediación, y se realizaron cinco depuraciones de cada red; para ello, se suprimieron de una a cinco relaciones y actores en cada una. Se concluyó que el trabajo en red fue fundamental para el CIGEFI, pues permitió la integración de un equipo y un abordaje entre distintas disciplinas, clave en los procesos de investigación y toma de decisiones.Since 1979, the Center for Geophysical Research (CIGEFI) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) has constantly evolved to become a regional reference in geophysics. This has been facilitated by different actors, researchers, and collaborators, both their own and those of other affiliations. The objective of this work was to use the publications elaborated by CIGEFI to describe and visualize the social networks of this process between 1979-2015, showing the actors involved, the most influential ego-networks, the evolution of the networks in three periods (1979-1990, 1991-2002 and 2003-2015), for easier processing of information, and affiliations. The centrality measures of degree, proximity, distance and mediation were calculated, and five network debuggings of each network were carried out; in each one, one to five relationships and actors in each were eliminated. It was concluded that networking was fundamental for CIGEFI, since it allowed the integration of a team and an approach between different disciplines, key in the research and decision making processes.Universidad de Costa Rica/[805-A4-906]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B7-286]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B6-143]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B7-507]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-A1-715]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B0-810]/UCR/Costa RicaConsejo Nacional para Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas/[]/CONICIT/Costa RicaMinisterio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones/[]/MICITT/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Físic