Justo de Jorge Moreno

Influence of entrepreneur type, region and sector effects on business self-confidence: Empirical evidence from Argentine firms

In this current work we analyse the influence of factors potentially able to explain entrepreneurs’ self-confidence in their own business activity, in view of the repercussions that they may ultimately have on economic development. Specifically, we include a number of factors in the analysis presented here that can be considered traditional in the specialized literature, such as the regional and sectoral factors, along with an additional factor measuring the type of entrepreneur running the firm. This typology is defined on the basis of the entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics, and their way of managing the firms resources. The authors used a cross-section (during 2001–2002) of 1314 firms, grouped in four sectors of activity, spatially distributed over 14 Argentine provinces, and considering seven models of entrepreneurial behaviour in the analysis. Our results, controlled by size, at the business level, and for the socio-economic and demographic characteristics, at the regional level, have been tested to be able to capture the significant effect that the entrepreneur type, the sector of activity and the regional location of the firm have in strengthening the entrepreneurs’ perception of the improvement in the economic situation of their firms.

Productivity growth of European retailers: a benchmarking approach

Purpose - The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to evaluate the efficiency and productivity of the European retailers. Design/methodology/approach - Applying a two-stage approach at individual and global levels, in this study the paper adopts the efficient frontier approach using the Malmquist index, based on DEA to measure productivity of European retailers. Findings - An efficiency and productivity evaluation process is developed incorporating non-parametric techniques in the European retail sector for the period of 1998-2006. The author proposes an integrated benchmarking framework illustrated in two stages. In the first stage, work is carried out in an individualized way at the country level identifying the firms that form the corresponding efficient frontier. In a second stage a benchmarking analysis is carried out starting from the selection of the best firms made in the first stage. In this case the firms belonging to different countries are compared against each other. The aim of this procedure is to seek out those best practices that will lead to improved performance throughout the whole sample. The results confirm that convergence/divergence in efficiency and productivity growth do not have the same behaviour patterns, concluding that some countries experienced improvements while others worsened. Individual scrutiny (benchmarks) in the second stage shows that there are four groups of firms that have allowed us to extract important managerial implications. Originality/value - The paper proposes an integrated benchmarking framework illustrated in two stages. With this methodology answers can be given to important questions such as, how efficient and productive is European retailing? What is the evolution of the productivity over time in Europe? Do different patterns of convergence/divergence of the efficiency exist among the analysed countries? What characteristics do the firms with the best managerial practices belonging to the European global frontier have?

Corporate Growth, Age and Ownership Structure: Empirical Evidence in Spanish Firms

The objective of this work is to analyse firm mobility among the different sectors of the Spanish economy according to a statistical classification of economic activities at the 1-digit level. Some of the stylised facts that we find are: an inverse relation between firm growth and age; an increase in new entrants’ average relative size in terms of sales compared to established firms among the different industries and cohorts; the importance of the firms initial size in entrepreneurial activity; the favourable impact of the economy on firm growth; and a positive relation between non-concentration in the ownership structure and greater mobility. In this context, an efficient corporate governance system may prove as a significant policy tool for the investment and growth prospective of the Spanish economy. The regulatory framework of the Spaniard capital market has been coordinate with the EU standards. The challenge is now mostly for the firms to adopt the appropriate corporate governance structures, in order to achieve real convergence, in terms of productivity and competitiveness, with other developed economies.

Estimating technical efficiency and bootstrapping Malmquist indices

Purpose – The purpose of this work is twofold: on the one hand, recent methodologies will be used to estimate efficiency and productivity in Spains non‐specialized retail sector for the period of 1997‐2007. In particular, the order‐m approach proposed by Cazals et al., which is based on the concept of expected minimum input function. On the other hand, the results obtained applying the methods mentioned in the Spanish retail sector can contribute to opening up a new field of analysis since the results may be compared by means of the methodologies proposed as well as those which already exist in the literature.Design/methodology/approach – The paper used data envelopment analysis stochastic (order‐m) and bootstrapping Malmquist index to measure productivity and efficiency in 12 sectors in Spanish retail trade 1997‐2007.Findings – In order to illustrate the methodology proposed in this paper different phases involved; first, we have estimated the efficiency in 12 sectors of the retail sector four digits NA...

Productivity growth, technical progress and efficiency change in Spanish retail trade (1995–2004): a disaggregated sectoral analysis

This article analyses productivity growth in Spanish retail stores during the period 1995–2004. It is also interested in analysing the influence of regulation/deregulation processes on the efficiency and productivity of the firms. The analysis is carried out from a disaggregated sectoral perspective at the 4-digit NACE code level. The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach is used to compute Malmquist productivity indexes. These are decomposed into efficiency change and technical change. Big differences are found in the productivity growth for each sector. First, six retail sectors experienced positive productivity growth, while six saw productivity growth decrease. Second, most sectors experienced technical progress. Third, some sectors improved their efficiency, while others became less efficient. Fourth, the TFP improvements were almost entirely due to technical progress, and only four sectors improved their efficiency. The findings obtained from the analysis of the deregulation of opening hours show two important facts: (i) the differences in the productivity and the efficiency of the firms between sectors, and (ii) the losses /improvements of efficiency of the firms in relation to the effects of the shop opening hours or the lack of adaptation to the environment.This article analyses productivity growth in Spanish retail stores during the period 1995–2004. It is also interested in analysing the influence of regulation/deregulation processes on the efficiency and productivity of the firms. The analysis is carried out from a disaggregated sectoral perspective at the 4-digit NACE code level. The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach is used to compute Malmquist productivity indexes. These are decomposed into efficiency change and technical change. Big differences are found in the productivity growth for each sector. First, six retail sectors experienced positive productivity growth, while six saw productivity growth decrease. Second, most sectors experienced technical progress. Third, some sectors improved their efficiency, while others became less efficient. Fourth, the TFP improvements were almost entirely due to technical progress, and only four sectors improved their efficiency. The findings obtained from the analysis of the deregulation of opening h...

Efficiency, internationalization and market positioning in textiles fast fashion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the competitive position of the company Inditex in the period 1990-2013 as a case study, identified by academics and professionals as a successful company. The analysis has focussed on the comparison of Inditex with its competitive environment. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used to achieve the objectives was: data envelopment analysis for the analysis of efficiency and for the second the Tobit regression to determine the factors explaining efficiency. The authors have used additional methodologies such as social networks or cluster analysis. Findings – The individual company analysis reveals that the average efficiency level by years for the period 1990-2013, is relatively high 88.8 percent. The determinants of efficiency have been; the resources of the company in terms of assets whose relationship with is U-shaped curvilinear, where the minimum value (trend change) is produced between years 2002 and 2003. The degree of internationalization of the firm, is positively related to efficiency. As the company increases its expansion, experience and skills, increases efficiency. Finally, the effect of liberalization of textile trade in 2005 had no influence on the efficiency levels. Research limitations/implications – The limitations involving the methodology, in terms of representativeness, possible generalizations and type of secondary information used, can be offset by the ability to provide good vision and establish alternatives for possible studies. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the fast-fashion retail industry literature by emphasizing the importance of the case study.

Foreign Direct Investment and Productivity Spillovers: Firm-Level Evidence From Chilean Industrial Sector

ABSTRACT Using firm-level panel data, this article examines whether spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) make a contribution to productivity growth in Chilean manufacturing firms. The main contribution of this work is to apply a methodology to estimate, in a consistent manner, the productivity impact of investment climate variables, such as FDI. With this aim, the spillover effects from FDI are analyzed using a stochastic frontier approach (SFA). Productivity growth is decomposed using a generalized Malmquist output-oriented index. The results show positive productivity spillovers from FDI; higher competition is associated with larger spillovers; and firms with high R&D effort gain more spillover benefits compared to those with less R&D effort.

Technical efficiency and productivity growth of entrant firms in the retail sector in Spain

This paper analyses efficiency and productivity growth in relation to size, and age and for both entrant and incumbent firms using a birth cohort approach for the period 1995–2003 for two sectors, non-specialized shop (521) and specialized shop (524) three-digit NACE. On the one hand, our results indicate the existence of statistically significant differences among entrant and incumbent firms by size. Also, we found differences according to the start up size in relation to membership of the birth cohort and activity sectors. On the other hand, productivity growth shows that, in general, the larger entrants in the non-specialized sector obtained higher productivity than did small firms. This phenomenon was not observed in the specialized sector, where firms worsened in productivity in most of the cohorts and we did not find significant differences in productivity growth between large and small firms. Efficiency changes tend to be a positive contributor to total factor productivity change, but technical change tends to be a negative contributor for both sectors. A deeper analysis of the efficiency changes (catching up) has shown that these improvements are generally attributed to pure technical efficiency and the scale.This paper analyses efficiency and productivity growth in relation to size, and age and for both entrant and incumbent firms using a birth cohort approach for the period 1995–2003 for two sectors, non-specialized shop (521) and specialized shop (524) three-digit NACE. On the one hand, our results indicate the existence of statistically significant differences among entrant and incumbent firms by size. Also, we found differences according to the start up size in relation to membership of the birth cohort and activity sectors. On the other hand, productivity growth shows that, in general, the larger entrants in the non-specialized sector obtained higher productivity than did small firms. This phenomenon was not observed in the specialized sector, where firms worsened in productivity in most of the cohorts and we did not find significant differences in productivity growth between large and small firms. Efficiency changes tend to be a positive contributor to total factor productivity change, but technical cha...

Estimating efficiency and productivity change in European retail sector (1998–2006)

In this paper, we use recent robust non-parametric techniques in the European retail sector. By means of a database of firms in the European retail sector (four-digit NACE 5211) in five European countries over the period 1998–2006, we apply data envelopment analysis and compare the analysis with robust measures of efficiency (order-m estimation). Our findings reveal important differences in the results achieved by both methodologies for average mean efficiency. In addition, we analyse productivity growth using bootstrapping Malmquist indices. This methodology allows for a more careful analysis of what happens at firm level. Differences in conclusions between the original estimates and the bootstrap results are more evident when we scrutinise the sample firms and individual levels.

Evolution of efficiency and its determinants in the retail sector in Spain: new evidence

The purpose of this work is twofold: on the one hand, recent methodologies will be used to estimate technical efficiency and its determinants factors in Spains retail sector. In particular, the order- m approach, which is based on the concept of expected minimum input function and quantile regression, for the analysis of the factors determinants of efficiency is used. On the other hand, the results obtained applying the methods mentioned in the Spanish retail sector can contribute to opening up a new field of analysis since the results may be compared by means of the methodologies proposed as well as those which already exist in the literature.The paper used data envelopment analysis stochastic (order- m ) to measure efficiency and quantile regression analysis for the second stage in Spanish retail.For the second stage of analysis relative of the factors determinants of efficiency, we use quantile regression. We take account of heterogeneity between the different characteristics of firms, using quantile regression techniques. We find that firm size, age and market concentration are positively related to the efficiency along the quantiles considered in the analysis. The relationship between intensity of capital and better trained employees in the efficiency shows a curvilinear behavior. Also, there are significant differences by region to which the firm belongs.The main contribution of this paper is to provide an efficiency analysis for Spanish retail sector using a non parametric approach with a robust estimator and quantile regression analysis for second stage. This methodology allows for a more careful analysis of what happens at firm level.