Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible causes of the heterogeneous productivity observed in Spanish firms, finding evidence of a link between managerial capability and higher productivity in the context of family firms. Also, innovative human resource policies are much more frequently found in companies where there is a high level of management capability.

Productivity differences in Spanish family firms are, for the first time, analysed from a managerial view, and using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA).

This paper proposes a way to measure managerial capability. Innovative human resource policies are much more frequently found in companies with high levels of management capability. The authors show that sustained competitive advantage is not just a function of single or isolated components, but rather a combination of human capital elements. Besides, a clear association between high managerial capability and performance in family firms is established. Thus, better management skills enable Spanish family firms to design the necessary strategies and internal structures to facilitate their adjustment to the business environment, and, thereby, achieve operational performance gains.

This paper proposes a way to measure managerial capability and its association with productivity in Spanish family firms using MCA. The authors also show a clear positive association between high managerial capability and performance in family firms. Thus, better management skills enable Spanish family firms to achieve operational performance gains.

Este artículo explora las posibles causas de la heterogeneidad observada en la productividad de las empresas españolas, buscando un vínculo entre la capacidad de gestión y la productividad en el contexto de las empresas familiares. Además, se muestra cómo las políticas innovadoras de recursos humanos se encuentran con mayor frecuencia en las empresas donde hay una mejor capacidad de gestión.

Por primera vez, se analizan las diferencias de productividad en las empresas familiares españolas desde el punto de vista de la gestión empresarial, utilizando análisis de correspondencias múltiples (MCA).

Este trabajo mide la capacidad de gestión de una forma innovadora. Las políticas de recursos humanos se encuentran con mayor frecuencia en las empresas donde hay una alta capacidad de gestión. Se muestra que la ventaja competitiva de la empresa no es la suma individual de cada elemento, sino más bien una combinación de elementos de capital humano. Además, se establece una clara asociación entre la capacidad de gestión y los resultados en las empresas familiares. Por lo tanto, la mejora de las habilidades de la gestión empresarial permite a las empresas familiares españolas diseñar las estrategias y estructuras internas necesarias para facilitar su adaptación al entorno empresarial, y de ese modo, lograr mejoras en los resultados.

Este artículo muestra la asociación entre la capacidad de gestión y la productividad de una forma original, a través de análisis de correspondencias múltiples (MCA). Establece una clara asociación positiva entre la capacidad de gestión y los resultados en las empresas familiares. Por lo tanto, la mejora de las habilidades de gestión permite a las empresas familiares españolas lograr mejoras en los resultados.

Upper echelons theory (UET) stands that cognitive bases of the CEO influence the field of vision and interpretation of the environment and affect its decisions about the firm. The main objective of the paper is to see if there are different CEO profiles, which can be associated with different strategic management choices.

Using a representative sample of 1,236 small firms in high- and medium-high-technology, both in industrial and service sectors, the authors identify five CEO typologies through cluster analysis. The classification is based on CEO's personal characteristics such as education, tenure in the company or entrepreneurial experience. Multivariate analysis is carried out to establish the possible association between belonging to these clusters and some strategic decisions such as orientation towards innovation, efficiency or internationalisation. The unit of analysis is the firm focusing on the CEO.

The authors conclude that it is possible to classify the CEOs of these companies into five well-differentiated groups, with specific profiles. We find a significant association between belonging to a CEO profile and strategic choices taken in the firm. Managers who have been CEOs in several companies and have some entrepreneurial experience frequently guide the company towards innovation and internationalisation. CEOs with a lot of experience but limited to a single company often look for process efficiency.

Furthermore, it is observed that the belonging of these clusters is not evenly distributed in the group of companies analysed. Instead, depending on size and family / no family issues, the authors find a different presence of the CEO typologies.

The work provides relevant information in the field of small-, high- and medium-high-technology companies in relation to the profile of the CEO.

La teoría de los estratos superiores (UET) sostiene que la base cognitiva del CEO influye en el campo de visión y la interpretación del entorno y afecta sus decisiones sobre la empresa. El objetivo principal del documento es ver si existen diferentes perfiles de CEO, que pueden asociarse con diferentes opciones de gestión estratégica.

Utilizando una muestra representativa de 1,236 pequeñas empresas de alta y media–alta tecnología tanto en el sector industrial como en el de servicios, identificamos cinco tipologías de CEO a través de análisis Cluster. La clasificación se hace en base a características personales del CEO tales como Formación, antigüedad en la empresa o experiencia emprendedora. Se llevan a cabo análisis multivariante para establecer la posible asociación entre la pertenencia a uno de esos clusters y algunas decisiones estratégicas como la orientación a la innovación, la eficiencia o la internacionalización. La unidad de análisis es la empresa focalizándonos en el CEO.

Encontramos que es posible clasificar a los CEOs de estas empresas en cinco grupos bien diferenciados, con perfiles específicos. Encontramos una asociación significativa entre la pertenencia a un perfil de CEO y las decisiones estratégicas tomadas en la firma. Los directivos que han sido CEO en varias empresas y tienen alguna experiencia emprendedora orientan con frecuencia la compañía hacia la innovación y la internacionalización. Los CEOS con mucha experiencia, pero limitada a una única empresa, buscan a menudo la eficiencia en los procesos.

Además, se observa que la pertenencia a esos clusters no se distribuye de manera uniforme en el colectivo de empresas analizado, sino que, dependiendo de si la empresa es industrial o de servicios, de su tamaño o si es o no familiar, encontramos distinta presencia de las tipologías de CEO.

El trabajo aporta una información relevante en el ámbito de las empresas pequeñas de alta y media alta tecnología en relación con las características del CEO.

This paper aims to recognize whether occupational pension scheme (OPS) is offered in a varied set of measures intended to design a coherent human resources management of people. Second, the authors will study the relationship of these OPS with job satisfaction and job change. The interest of this ultimate goal lies in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee motivation, commitment and loyalty.

Statistical methodology is carried out from three approaches. First, a descriptive analysis to define what type of companies are offering these OPS and what positions are occupying the OPS beneficiaries. Second, an exploratory analysis is conducted to establish associations between variables. The authors use the X2 tests with contingency tables and ANOVA of one and two factors. In all cases, the requirement of homoscedasticities is checked through Levene test. Third, the authors conduct a joint analysis between the studied variables. Multiple correspondence analysis is used to analyze the association between certain characteristics of the firm and the fact to offer OPS and other social benefits. Finally, to assess the potential impact of OPS on the decision to change the job, the authors conduct a binary logistic regression analysis, in which the authors used control variables of certain characteristics of the individual and the company.

Companies who develop the most innovative human resources management policies offering more training, more social benefits and incentives, are also most likely to implement OPS. The OPS beneficiaries have higher levels of satisfaction and are less likely to change the job, regardless of the position held and salary.

To the extent that the future is perceived as more uncertain, the savings will be more oriented toward prevision. OPS can be a saving instrument with broad appeal for business and workers. And of course, it can be a tool of differentiation in the recruitment policy, which attract workers to the company over other competitors which do not offer this kind of benefits.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organisational innovation effort that is being carried out by Spanish industrial companies through the implementation of advanced management systems.

Taking into account the results of two surveys conducted with Spanish companies (in 1996 and 2007), the authors study the implementation of innovative practices in the organisation of work and describe different typologies of companies, in agreement with how widespread these practices are. In addition, the authors study the determining factors that drive companies to use well‐developed management systems. In order to carry out these analyses use is made of two statistical techniques: cluster analysis and estimation of discrete choice models.

The study of the company typology reveals that there are industrial companies in Spain competing with three different profiles which are described in the paper. There are differences in some human resource management aspects. The greatest differences are seen in the way the information is shared. The results obtained through the estimation of discrete choice models determine that the main factors that explain the implementation of developed management systems in Spanish companies are: market competition; the development of positioning strategies; the existence of a participatory attitude in management; and the participation in networks along the value chain.

After acknowledging the variety of business typologies, the management recommendations suggested in this paper insist on making coordinated progress in decision making on strategies, resources, internal organisation of companies and human resources management policies.

This is the first comprehensive survey about how widespread organisational innovative practices are in Spanish industrial companies.

Analyses the factors that influence the adoption by Spanish manufacturing firms of incentive schemes that link blue‐collar workers’ pay to the results achieved by the organisation for which they work. In pursuing this aim information from 719 manufacturing plants, each with at least 50 employees, is used. Findings reveal the positive influence of factors such as the small size of the plant, the prospects of growth in the workforce or membership of a multinational company. It has also been found that workplace or firm incentives are more usual in factories with automated technologies, with widely defined jobs, and in plants that encourage workers’ involvement and that do not consider personality traits in new employee selection processes.

This study aims to offer a critique of the theory of the deterioration in terms of trade, developed by Raúl Prebisch and Hans Singer.

As an example of the theory’s shortcomings, the case of Argentina’s import substitution model is analyzed.

This study demonstrates how a misunderstanding of the influence of price variability in international trade may lead to the mistaken conclusion that protectionist measures must be enforced to achieve growth and prosperity.

This is the first study that criticizes the Prebisch-Singer theory of the deterioration in the terms of trade from an Austrian economics.

This paper aims to analyze the extent to which the influence of external knowledge search on innovation performance is contingent on both a firm’s innovation strategy and the industry context in which it operates.

The paper adopts a contingent approach that centers analysis on the influence of situational factors, either exogenous or endogenous to the organization, as determinants of the external knowledge search in promoting the firm’s innovation performance. The empirical study is based on a large sample of 18,955 firms operating in 29 industries that belong to 13 European countries.

This analysis reveals that a broad knowledge search is more effective for firms that innovate in new goods, while a deeper knowledge search is more effective for firms that innovate in new services. The results of this study also indicate that external knowledge search varies across industries, with search depth being used more in industries in which the knowledge development process is cumulative and appropriable, while the external breadth search is preferred in industries with a high level of technological opportunity.

The current approach implies recognizing that the knowledge search strategies may not always be effective, and that firms should align the search strategy to both internal and external factors. Analyzing the influence of these factors can help managers to better choose the type of knowledge search (e.g. intensive or extensive search) that best aligns with the firm’s innovation objectives.