Katrin Simon

Measuring performance: differences between capitalist and labour-owned enterprises

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test whether performance differences between labour-managed (LOFs) and mercantile (PCFs) firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital-ownership configurations. Design/methodology/approach - Tests for the equality of two means and two variances of a variety of performance measures were used to ascertain whether differences between LOFs and PCFs firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital-ownership configurations Findings - The indicators analyzed do not provide either type of organizational structure a definite superiority in either short-economic performance or in short-term profitability and the profitability indicators assign as good a chance of survival to LOFs as to PCFs of similar size, even if the analysis of their respective debt structures indicates some clear limitations on their growth prospects. Practical implications - The paper stresses the importance of using proper measures of the performance of LOFs, to avoid a common practice of being short-changed in their evaluation of their economic performance, profitability, return of labour and financial structure. Originality/value - The study will be useful to the worker-owners of the LOFs and to those evaluating their performance, such as lenders, regulators, other public officials and the like.

Differences in Financial Performance Amongst Spanish SMES According to Their Capital-Ownership Structure: A Descriptive Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether financial performance differences between labour-managed (LOFs) and mercantile (PCFs) firms are due to differences in their capital-ownership configuration or to the particular measurement indexes commonly used to quantify performance. The empirical evidence rests upon a 1994-2003 data set of LOFs and PCFs that operate in the Industrial and Services sectors of the economy of Navarre, Spain. The results do not detect significant differences in financial performance between LOFs and PCFs, especially in the long-term and suggest the need to develop performance indices more akin to the special nature of the LOFs. Copyright

DESEMPEÑO ECONÓMICO: DIFERENCIAS DE PEQUEÑAS EMPRESAS CLASIFICADAS SEGÚN LA ESTRUCTURA DE LA PROPIEDAD DEL CAPITAL

El objetivo de este trabajo es el estudio del desempeno de la Sociedad Laboral Navarra, a traves del analisis de sus resultados economicos y financieros. El periodo de analisis se refiere a 1994-2003. Compararemos estos resultados con los obtenidos, para el mismo periodo, por la Sociedad Mercantil convencional Navarra, e inferiremos, a partir del estudio comparado, en aquellas caracteristicas que diferencian, desde el marco de la funcion financiera, el comportamiento de las Sociedades Laborales (LOFs) de las Sociedades Mercantiles convencionales (PCFs).

Managerial Performance Differences between Labor‐Owned and Participatory Capitalist Firms

This paper tests for differences in the managerial performance of micro and small firms, classified by capital‐ownership configuration, be they labor‐owned or participatory capitalist firms. Measures of managerial performance comprise indices of economic performance, profitability, financial structure, worker remuneration, and solvency. Explanators of these differences include the age of the firm, its economic sector of operations, its capital‐ownership configuration and an ordinal measure of strategic risk. The evidence rejects ibrats law of proportional effects, in favor of the life cycle hypothesis. It also leads to inconclusive short‐term effects and to a nondifferential role of the type of key capital‐ownership configuration in a firms long‐term prospects.

IT-based product and process innovation: a case from the Spanish legal information sector

In this paper we analyse the process of technical and organizational innovation through which Editorial Aranzadi (the leading firm in the Spanish legal information sector) adapted to the changes in its environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a theoretical introduction, we introduce the firm (Editorial Aranzadi) and study some of the factors that provoked the beginning of the innovation process in the late 1980s. Then we analyse the main phases of the process of introduction of IT and organizational change in Editorial Aranzadi. Attention is then focused on product and process innovation. Finally, we draw the main conclusions from this case study.

Type of ownership and the creation of new enterprises in Navarre, Spain: differences in financial survival

The purpose of this paper is to study whether there exist differences in the financial survival, as measured by their degree of solvency and profitability, of very small firms by type of ownership, i.e. between participatory capitalist firms (PCFs) and employee or labour owned firms (LOFs). The indexes used to measure these two factors include return on assets, return of income, earnings before taxes, dividends and interest, the liquidity ratio, total solvency and an index of perceived risk. The evidence suggests that LOFs tend to perform better in the short-term, but tend to fall behind in more long-term concerns.