Cuadernos de Economía y Dirección de la Empresa最新文献

The main objective of this paper is to answer the question of if Spanish savings banks have used criteria of homogeneity in its restructuration. Since this process is recent - and still unconcluded - a retrospective approach has been chosen to measure the economic and social performance of these entities before the sector's concentration, in order to reach a classification of entities that allows to compare them, attending to economic and social criteria. For that purpose, the researchers have worked with the total of 45 savings banks registered in Spain in 2009, applying a multicriteria methodology to the period 1999-2009. The obtained results support the hypothesis that the concentration in this sector has not followed homogeneity criteria in its business model.

The present work analyzes the background and effects on the satisfaction in the retail distribution field. As background, the role of the strategies developed by the manufacturer is reviewed: (i) image and product sold, and (ii) servuction process (before, during and after the sale). As effects, loyalty is approached using two indicators: (i) intention to buy, and (ii) the recommendation. The study, which was conducted on a sample of 159 retailers (94 domestic and 59 international) of a furniture manufacturer, was completed by analyzing the moderating role of the internationalization variable. The results, using structural modeling and multi-sample analysis using EQS software, demonstrated the relevance of the strategy as regards the servuction process on the strategy associated to the interchanged product in the manufacturer-retailer relationship. Furthermore, it shows that international distributors who value the servuction process more are significantly more satisfied than the domestic distributors.

This study is aimed at exploring the effect of research and managerial capabilities of technology-based firms on the capital guaranteed from their initial public offerings. Based on the dynamic capabilities perspective, we formulate a set of hypotheses that suggest that patent value, technological diversity and functional diversity of top management teams are information signals to potential investors and positively influence the valuation of firms going public. A longitudinal empirical research of a sample of dedicated biotechnology firms that went public in the United States provides support for such arguments.

This paper studies the nature of the relationship between high involvement work practices (HIWPs), innovation and performance in the context of geographical clusters. We propose and test the mediating role of firm's innovation in the relationship between HIWPs and firm's financial performance in clusters. This paper also studies the influence of a number of geographical cluster features on the development of competitive capabilities related to HIWPs and innovation. Results support that non-redundancy in the manager's contacts network and local rivalry foster innovative capabilities in clusters but not HIWPs.

Current competitive environments have generated a growing interest in employee flexibility. Recent studies have differentiated between two types of flexibility: employee skill flexibility and behavior flexibility. Our study proposes a research model which analyzes the relationships between the two types of flexibility and the extent to which various human resource practices act as antecedents of employee flexibility. Different structural equation models were tested in a study of 226 commercial departments of Spanish companies. The results confirmed that employee skill flexibility positively influences behavior flexibility. Furthermore, it was shown that job enrichment affects employee flexibility.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the return and risk of different categories of funds managed using non-conventional management criteria, in order to test which achieve a better performance. Three periods, two bullish phases and one bearish phase, were analyzed. Three categories of non-conventional investment funds were examined: socially responsible investment funds, funds based on the principles of Behavioral Finance, and finally the Vice Fund, applying a medium-difference analysis and a multivariate analysis along with the Sharpe ratio and information ratio. No significant differences were found between the returns of the three categories, except as regards their volatility. Using the estimated multivariate model it was not possible to get significant differences between the three categories of funds or the market index in most cases. Ratio analysis enabled us to establish a fund ranking, but was unable to show which management was the most appropriate throughout the different periods.

This paper analyzes, from the perspective of incomplete contracts and resource-based view theory, the determinants of the observed ownership and management structures in the hotel industry. For a representative sample of hotels in the Balearic Islands, the results show as higher management complexity increases the probability of management by a hotel chain, despite the contractual relationship. For cases when investments are important to the hotel operations and for the success of its strategy, we do not find evidence that the management by the owner of hotel assets is the dominant solution. Finally, the potential agency problem under management contract is outweighed by the advantages of a specialized channel of distribution and by the reputation effect, specifically through hotel chains.

In the current tourism environment, the destination image has become one of the main strategic instruments to achieve a different positioning in relation to competitors. In this context, the aim of this research is to analyze how the cognitive image of the interior destinations is formed from the perspective of two groups: residents and visitors. For this, a study was developed, based on a survey consisting of 933 personal interviews in the four interior tourist regions. The results provide useful information to public institutions and private business pointing out the main pillars that need to be worked on in order to improve the image of these destinations and generate competitive advantages.