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Uses a conjectural variation approach to derive a general result concerning the equivalence of tariffs and quotas. Shows that, as long as the quota is binding, the equivalence of tariffs and quotas depends exclusively on the domestic firm′s conjectural variations. Specifically, the domestic prices of the goods under the quota are higher than, identical to, or lower than those under the tariff if the domestic firm′s conjectural variation under the quota is larger than, equal to, or smaller than that under the tariff. This conclusion holds for both price‐setting and quantity‐setting duopoly with heterogeneous goods as well as quantity‐setting duopoly with homogeneous goods.

This paper aims to appraise the effectiveness of gender quotas in breaking the glass ceiling for women on boards (WoBs) in companies that are legally obliged to comply with quotas (listed companies and state-owned companies, LP) and in those that are not (unlisted companies and nonstate-owned companies, NLNP). Furthermore, it investigates the glass cliff phenomenon, according to which women are more likely to be appointed to apical positions in underperforming companies.

A balanced panel data of the top 116 Italian companies by total assets, which are present in both 2010 and 2017, is used for estimating ANOVA tests across sectors and fixed-effects panel regression models.

WoBs significantly increased in both the LP and the NLNP companies, and this increase was greater in the financial sector. Furthermore, the relationship between the percentage of WoBs and firm performance is not linear but depends on the financial corporate health. Specifically, the situation in which a woman ascends to a leadership position in challenging circumstances where the risk of failure is high (glass cliff phenomenon) is only present in companies with the lowest performance in the sample, in other words, when negative values of Roe and negative or zero values of Roa occur together.

These findings have relevant policy implications that encourage the adoption of gender quotas even in specific top positions, such as CEO or president, as this could lead to a “double spillover effect” both vertically, that is, in other job positions, and horizontally, toward other companies not targeted by quotas. Practical interventions to support women in glass cliff positions, on the other hand, relate to the extent of supervisor mentoring and support to prevent women from leaving director roles and strengthen their chances for career advancement.

The authors explore the ability of gender quotas to break through the glass ceiling in companies that are not legally obliged to do so, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the glass cliff phenomenon in the Italian context.

This paper aims to seek the perceptions of potential future corporate managers and directors on the issues raised in the literature, especially recent articles in the corporate communications literature, concerning corporate board gender quotas. It focusses on the Czech Republic, where research on board gender diversity is sparse.

The study is part of much more comprehensive research into board gender diversity. It adopts a questionnaire approach, with this paper focussing on 13 research statements. A Likert Scale of 1–4 (Strongly Agree; Agree; Disagree; Strongly Disagree) was applied to the perceived views expressed. The questionnaires were completed by university students at a public university in the Czech Republic during March–April 2023. A pilot questionnaire was conducted in February 2023, resulting in minor changes being made. The data is analysed using SPSS and MedCalc® statistical software.

There is overwhelming opposition to quotas, even from women. The opinions expressed by the respondents to this research, in many respects, support the literature, but there is unmistakable evidence of gender bias. Regarding the positive female benefits of quotas, male respondents disagreed; regarding the negative issues of quotas, male respondents agreed more than their female counterparts.

The research findings have important implications for how women recruited through quotas may be received onto corporate boards – what challenges will they likely face? Some current female candidates for directorship, who would have been selected on merit and perceived as such by their male counterparts, may now be hesitant to apply for such positions if they are seen as being appointed due to quotas. Therefore, the selection procedure must continue to be based on merit and seen as such.

One of the important aspects of the paper is that it focusses on a country that has, until recently, resisted pressures to implement mandatory corporate board gender quotas; in this respect, it has a corpus of originality and value. The Czech Republic and other European countries will also be affected by the recent EU law on gender balance or corporate boards. The paper also highlights the perceptions of potential future directors on various issues of board gender quotas.

Many large companies in Europe include mainly men in supervisory boards and the women quota is often lower than 20%. In Germany an optional women quota of 30% in supervisory boards was proposed for capital-market-oriented companies in 2016. Some assume that without a gender quota the earnings of enterprises would shrink as male and female members in supervisory teams do not work in such a harmonized and structured way. Others think that a women quota in supervisory boards should be requested by law and should not remain optional. In this context, conducting research and analyzing the impact of the women’s presence in supervisory boards on the success of companies appear as a necessary topic. The present chapter looks at the companies of EURO STOXX 50 in the year 2015 and their success and tries to establish whether this success can be related to the percentage of female members in supervisory positions. It replicates in this way the study of Binder, Alonso-Almeida, and Bremser (2016) which analyzed the relationship between female’s representation in the management board (executive board) and firm performance (measured by earnings before taxes – EBT) of the EURO STOXX 50 companies in 2014. It is in the same time an extension of the original study as the supervisory board is brought under scrutiny.

This article addresses gender imbalances in senior company board decision-making positions and analyses the effects of applying gender quotas in European countries, through comparative and interpretative data analysis.

The results clearly demonstrate that those countries implementing quotas not only return higher levels of female representation on their boards of directors – approximately 40% – but also register higher rates of growth over both countries without quotas and those with quotas but without sanctions. Results furthermore suggest that the success of any quota system deeply depends on its formulated terms, on a country's corporate culture, on social receptivity and, at the micro level, on the sector an organisation belongs to.

Why did Sweden and Norway arrive at different conclusions with regards to the introduction of corporate gender quotas? The chapter points to two decisive and interwoven explanations.

First, there is a question of varieties of capitalism – even within the Scandinavian model: The strong and traditionally socially responsible Swedish business life enjoyed more autonomy than their Norwegian counterpart, making it harder for the Swedish state to interfere in business life. In Norway, on the other hand, the state was a dominant capitalist itself whereas private owners in general were small and dispersed. Consequently, the capacity of the state to interfere in business life was larger, compared to Sweden.

Second, there is a matter of different cultures concerning gender equality and the attitudes towards state intervention: In Norway, an established gender quota tradition and rather positive attitudes towards state intervention created a moderate discursive climate in gender equality matters. A discursive tradition accepting women as a group as different from men as a group gave politicians a larger scope of action concerning gender equality measures directed at women only. In Sweden, the discursive climate was more hostile towards state intervention, and there was a less strong tradition for legally imposing gender quotas. In addition, Swedish feminists were active and conflict-oriented, thereby creating a polarized gender equality discussion in a public life traditionally oriented towards consensus-based solutions to political discrepancies.

The current study examines the performance effects of financial incentives for a simple, recurrent task designed to simulate an assembly-line setting. The study looks at early performance, improvement and overall performance. For a new task, performance-based incentives appear to improve the initial performance of the task but not subsequent improvement rate (Bailey et al., 1998). The current paper reports on a laboratory experiment whose results confirm the findings of Bailey et al. (1998) but also indicates that for both performance-based and fixed incentives, significant performance improvement takes place well beyond the initial performance of the task, declining gradually over time. This is in contrast with the suggestion of Bailey et al. (1998) that workers with performance-based incentives will choose to improve initial performance rather than subsequent performance. Findings also suggest that improvement peaks earlier for performance-based incentives than for a fixed incentive. Improvement persisted longer and there was better overall performance with the high fixed component quota and piece rate incentives than with the low fixed component quota implying that incentives that impose higher risk (e.g. a low fixed component quota incentive) on workers result in de-motivation and lower performance.

Just over a decade after the first universities in Brazil adopted quotas for Afro-Brazilians and other disadvantaged groups, the country has implemented the most sweeping affirmative action policies in the Western Hemisphere. The surrounding controversy has inspired a large number of studies, which seek to evaluate the impact and scope of the policies, in terms of racial and social inequality, as well as to gauge perceptions within the public at large. This paper reviews some of the most significant findings of those studies, which have important implications for the global debate over affirmative action in higher education.

Discussions about the elimination of apparel quotas have focused on countries that obviously benefit or are harmed by their demise. Little attention has been paid to countries for which the post-quota environment is uncertain – and vital. As quotas were lifted in January 2005, uncertainty loomed particularly large for Turkey, the world's fourth largest apparel exporting nation. This paper utilizes secondary data and a survey to chronicle Turkish apparel exporters’ strategic expectations, preparations, and responses to the post-quota environment. The case details the unexpected consequences of quota elimination for the industry, including how the new competitive environment catalyzed many manufacturers to locate production in foreign lands.