Boards of directors in SMEs : an empirical evidence of board task performance

This paper seeks to provide a better understanding of what makes boards effective. We analyse the relationships between board demography and company performance and between working structures and board tasks in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We test our hypotheses on a sample of 307 Spanish SMEs. The main empirical result is the negative impact that the proportion of outside directors and the board size have on firm performance. We also find a negative impact of outsiders? presence and a positive impact of director tenure on the board?s service rol

A generational perspective of family firms' social capital: Interplay between ethical leadership and firm performance

This study proposes and tests a model that integrates ethical leadership, internal social capital, and firm performance in small- and medium-sized family firms at different generational stages. Using the upper echelons theory and the social capital perspective of familiness, this study shows that ethical leadership can explain the effectiveness of certain behaviors in relation to family firm performance. Moreover, social capital helps spread a leader's business ethics to firm members, thus improving the family firm's performance. Our results show that founders' personalities and identities determine high internal social capital, which decreases over generations. The study also shows that internal social capital is a communicative element crucial to ethical leadership, facilitating the absorption of the culture and values of the family in the firm. This powerful resource should be promoted and supported by coherent behavior over time by senior leaders.The authors received financial support from the Basque Government under the grant number IT1641-22 and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICIN/AEI/ERDF a way of making Europe/10.13039/501100011033) for the research and authorship of this article. We also highly appreciate the institutional support received from the Family Business Centre at the UPV/EHU in collaboration with the DFB/BFA

Information and Communication Technologies in cash management: explanatory model

In this research it has been analysed the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in the responsibilities of cash management and the references of this survey are the corporations of Basque Country. The results indicate that the ICT more utilized by firms to financial practices are financial software, Internet and electronic banking. Furthermore, this results have permitted us to develop an explanatory model of the use of ICT for the treasurer’s functions; management of receivables and payments, liquidity monitoring, short term treasury forecasts, management of bank balances in value data, management of relations with financial institutions, management of short-term needs, management of treasury surpluses and management of interest and exchange rate risks.Cash management, ICT, Factorial analysis, Explanatory model

Building bridges between gender and family business literature to advance women's empowerment

This study underlines the importance of addressing gender issues in family firms. It reinvigorates research in this field by revealing its current state, identifying research gaps, and suggesting future agendas. A bibliometric approach using a co-word analysis of 376 papers from the Web of Science database and their 885 keywords was performed to reveal the thematic structure of gender and family firm research, research topics, associations among them, and their evolution over the last 30 years (1991–2021). This review provides an extensive literature base and suggests research topics that facilitate the adoption of a gendered lens in family firm literature and business practice. This review demonstrates how gender issues are intertwined with management, leadership, and family business approaches. Our observations inform scholars, policymakers, and practitioners on the need to integrate gender issues into organizational culture and to connect empowerment strategies with the sociocultural environment. This study shows the need to address women’s empowerment in business, considering different sociocultural contexts in addition to a Western focus. It also calls for embracing gender and feminist perspectives in research.This research was partially supported by the Consolidated Research Group funding by the Basque Government under the grant number IT1641-22. It also receive financial support from the Spanish MICIU/AEI/FEDER-UE under the grant number RTI2018-097579-B-100. Amaia Maseda also received a Salvador de Madariaga Grant (PRX19/00636) from the Spanish MECD for a research stay at the University of Edinburgh Business School (UK)

A bibliometric review of the technology transfer literature

This study explores academic research on technology transfer (TT) and the related themes. The TT field has attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent years and has grown rapidly, resulting in a large body of knowledge. Using a bibliometric approach, this study reviews related research issues as well as their influence and connections and provides directions for future research. It uses Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science database that includes 3,218 bibliographic references. Several bibliometric analysis techniques and a subsequent review of the content of the most relevant documents are adopted. The performance analysis provided an updated overview of the evolution of the TT literature from 1969 to 2018 and quantitatively identified the most active and influential journals, articles, authors, and organizations. The co-authorship network analysis allowed us to identify and visualize the structure of relations between authors as well as determine the collaboration patterns among them. On the basis of the information supplied by the co-authorship network, the main literature was reviewed to identify the current status and research trends related to TT, identifying five main research streams and related topics. The implications of the study’s findings and directions for future TT research are finally discussed to enhance our understanding of TT agents and issues and support further research in this field.Funding for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities (MCIU/AEI/FEDER-UE) under the Grant Number RTI2018-097579-B-100, by UPV/EHU under the Grant Number GIU16/46, and by FESIDE

The importance of social capital in family firms

[EU]Kapital sozialaren ikuspegian oinarriturik eta kotizatu gabeko 172 familiaenpresa espainiarren lagin bat erabiliz, barne hartuz enpresan kudeaketa-funtzioak betetzen dituzten pertsona elkarrizketatu bi eta guztira 344 galdetegi izanik, uste dugu kapital sozial familiarrak bitartekari gisa balio duela kapital sozial ez-familiarraren eta enpresaren jardueraren artean. Gainera, gure emaitzek kapital sozialaren ulermena familia-enpresatik haratago hedatzen dute, erakundeek talde sozial nagusi baten presentzia ezaugarritzat duten testuinguru batean.[EN]Based on a social capital approach and using a sample of 172 Spanish non-listed family firms, including two respondents with managerial functions per firm and amounting to 344 questionnaires in total, we test the effects of family and non-family social capital on firm performance. We also contend that family social capital serves as a mediator between non-family social capital and firm performance. Results from a structural equation model indicate that both forms of social capital are key tools in family firm performance. In addition, our results e xtend the understanding of social capital beyond family firms in a context where orga nisations are characterised by the presence of a dominant social group

The family business brand

The authors would like to express appreciation to Professor Randolph-Seng and the two anonymous referees for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this article, although any errors are entirely the authors’ own responsibility. The authors also highly appreciate the institutional support received from the Family Business Centre at the UPV/EHU in collaboration with the DFB/BFA and from the Consolidated Research Group (Code OE7) at the University of Vigo (Spain).Following a bibliometric approach, this study examines research on brand and branding in family businesses to identify influential sources and main areas of knowledge, proposes an integrative framework that provides a holistic perspective of this field with an interdisciplinary cross-fertilization view, and explores new avenues for future research and practice. Based on 449 bibliographic references retrieved from the Web of Science database through a systematic process, we employed bibliographic coupling analysis to visualize the relationships among key works in the field, and subsequently performed a literature review to deepen the analysis. The bibliographic coupling analysis structured the existing research into six thematic clusters. Four of them follow an internal perspective and focus on family business identity and its influence on the construction of corporate brand identity, whereas the other two follow an external perspective that explores how family business brands are communicated and perceived by stakeholders and the influence of corporate brands and branding on family business image and reputation. Drawing from an in-depth review of the literature, this study offers a novel integrative framework, together with a set of proposals with managerial and theoretical implications. The proposed framework aims to clarify the relationship between internal identity and management to build and communicate a family business brand. The study also shows the symbiosis that exists among family values, corporate reputation, brand equity, and awareness in family businesses. The existing interconnection between the family and business generates unique associations that are difficult to imitate. This study is the first documented attempt at a bibliometric analysis of brands and branding in family businesses, which serves to clarify the linkages between different research streams and connecting marketing, organization, and family business literature to guide future research. Moreover, our integrative framework provides researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of its scope, highlighting the importance of corporate brand strategies beyond the boundaries of marketing departments.This research was partially supported by the Consolidated Research Group funding by the Basque Government under the grant number IT1641-22. It is also received financial support by the Spanish MCIU/AEI/FEDER-UE under the grant number RTI2018-097579-B-I00

Situación de la empresa familiar en el Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia

El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer en qué medida los problemas específicos ligados a la empresa familiar que académicos y consultores destacan en los trabajos publicados al respecto, tienen su reflejo en las empresas familiares del Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia. Este estudio, además de permitir cuantificar la presencia de este tipo de empresas en nuestro entorno y de conocer cuáles son sus características básicas, el análisis de su estructura de propiedad y de sus órganos de gobierno y de gestión, va a permitir realizar un diagnóstico de su situación

Information and Communication Technologies in cash management: explanatory model

[ES] En el presente trabajo se analiza el uso de las TIC (Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación) en las responsabilidades de la gestión de la tesorería, tomando como referencia para su estudio las empresas de la CAPV (Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco). Los resultados indican que las TIC más utilizadas por las empresas en operaciones financieras son el software financiero, Internet y la banca electrónica. Además, estos resultados han permitido desarrollar un modelo explicativo del uso de las TIC en las principales funciones del tesorero, como son la gestión de cobros y pagos, gestión de la liquidez, previsiones de tesorería a corto plazo, gestión de saldos bancarios en fecha valor, negociación con entidades financieras, gestión de la financiación del déficit de tesorería, gestión de la colocación de puntas de tesorería y gestión de riesgos de tipo de interés y tipo de cambio.[EN] In this research it has been analysed the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in the responsibilities of cash management and the references of this survey are the corporations of Basque Country. The results indicate that the ICT more utilized by firms to financial practices are financial software, Internet and electronic banking. Furthermore, this results have permitted us to develop an explanatory model of the use of ICT for the treasurer’s functions; management of receivables and payments, liquidity monitoring, shortterm treasury forecasts, management of bank balances in value data, management of relations with financial institutions, management of short-term needs, management of treasury surpluses and management of interest and exchange rate risks

TOUS, S.A. Una empresa familiar centenaria preparada para el futuro digital y sostenible

TOUS es uno de los diez mayores grupos españoles del sector de la moda y uno de los principales en el sector de la joyería. Con sede en Manresa (Barcelona), TOUS tiene sus orígenes en un taller de reparación de relojes fundado en 1920. A lo largo de sus cien años de trayectoria, la compañía ha sabido adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos, modas y técnicas aún sin dejar de lado la artesanía, la tradición y su esencia. Tres generaciones, justo en proceso de incorporación de la cuarta, de oficio, perseverancia y conocimiento de negocio avalan la trayectoria de la marca joyer