Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza

Competencies for entrepreneurship as a career option in a challenging employment environment

Purpose – Entrepreneurship is an increasing relevant career option in the present labour market, which is complex and ever less rigidly structured. In this context, individuals need to develop a range of competencies, and one of major importance is resilience, defined as the ability to cope with difficult situations and to adapt to adverse environments. Taking into account the theory of planned behaviour, the purpose of this paper is to determine the direct relationship between resilience and entrepreneurship as a career option, and to analyse the mediating role of resilience in the relation between entrepreneurial intention (EI) and underlying factors such as attitudes towards entrepreneurship, social norms and self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach – Using structural equation modelling, the authors studied a sample of 1,251 business students at a Spanish university. Findings – The results obtained reveal positive and significant relationships between resilience and EI, and highlight the mediating ro...

Consequences of earnings management for corporate reputation. Evidence from family firms

Purpose - Based on earnings management (EM) practices, the aim of this research is to analyze their market social consequences on corporate reputation. Moreover, this paper illustrates this impact in the context of family firms which are led and controlled by family members, whose main interest is the long-run survival through succession. Design/methodology/approach - We use a sample comprising 1169 international listed companies for the period 2006–2010. Findings - Our empirical evidence shows the negative impact of these discretionary accounting practices on corporate image. However, family firms have more incentives for controlling and monitoring managerial decisions, avoiding information asymmetries and thus, earnings management behavior and their subsequent loss of reputation. Therefore, fewer negative effects on corporate reputation are observed in highly concentrated ownership structures as a result of the negative link between family control and EM. Originality/value - This study presents a number of contributions because of its focus on specific discretionary practices and on family firms. This study contributes to previous literature on family firms as previous papers do not tend to focus on EM issues. Moreover, in contrast to most of the studies that have focused on only one country, we use an international panel database. This leads to potentially more powerful and generalized results. In addition, our paper is the first attempt (as far as we know) to study the possible impact of EM on corporate reputation in the family firm context.

Innovativeness and Performance in Women-Owned Small Firms: The Role of Knowledge Acquisition

Abstract The phenomenon of women’s entrepreneurship has been growing in importance over the last decade due to the significant increase in firms founded by women. The current study seeks to analyze the results achieved in small women-owned firms by explaining the extent to which they acquire and exploit the capabilities needed to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. Based on a sample of women entrepreneurs, this study analyzes the innovativeness of women-owned businesses, its relationship to performance and the role of knowledge acquisition from relationships with customers and collaborators. The results obtained show that innovativeness is positively related to different types of operational and financial performance, and that knowledge acquisition from customers improves innovativeness. This improvement does not occur, however, in the case of knowledge acquisition from collaborators.

Entrepreneurial cognitions in academia: exploring gender differences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw from an adapted model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and from existing models of entrepreneurial intention (EI) to analyse the role of gender on academics’ perceptions concerning the commercialisation of their research results. In particular, the authors explore differences in perceptions arising from diverse cognitions, such as attitudes towards entrepreneurial activities, the influence of close social groups and opportunity recognition self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was addressed to 500 Spanish academics who have headed research projects with public funding in technology-related areas, and the results were subjected to multigroup structural equation analysis (LISREL) to determine the extent and nature of the differences within this group. Findings – The results obtained show that the influence of close social groups is perceived differently by men and women, particularly as regards the support received for academics’ attitu...

Ownership and trust in the governance structures of Spanish-Moroccan SMEs constituted as international joint ventures

The choice of a specific governance structure can be related to different aspects. This structure can be critical in the success of a firm. In SMEs constituted as international joint ventures (IJVs) the governance structure may depend on different elements to large firms and they should be described. The relationship between partners can be decisive in determining these structures. So, the ownership, the participation of partners in different levels of governance, and trust are key factors in determining the choice of the governance structure. The results, from 210 SMEs constituted as Spanish-Moroccan IJVs, reveal the importance of the ownership concentration and the overlapping of roles in the choice of governance structures. Control and trust are important issues. The existence of a board or a sole administrator allows aligning the interest of partners and managers, limiting the possible situations of opportunism by managers. The existence of owner-managers in Spanish-Moroccan IJVs is positively related with the existence of a board, possibly because there is no convergence of interests between partners. The results show that trust and the control exercised via the governance structure are substitutive mechanisms.

The impact of organizational culture on competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency in Spanish-Moroccan international joint ventures

Purpose – The characteristics of a particular organizational culture may affect performance in achieving the objectives of international joint ventures (IJVs), a type of partnership that is often used in international business relations between developed and emerging countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the underlying dimensions that characterize organizational culture in these countries may affect firms’ performance, specifically their competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – The survey conducted for this study was addressed to Spanish-Moroccan IJVs trading in Morocco. The research hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis techniques (exploratory factor analysis and linear regression model). Findings – Based on information provided by the CEOs of Spanish-Moroccan IJVs between small- to medium-sized firms, the present study shows that levels of competitiveness, effectiveness and/or efficiency in these organizations are influenced by the involvement of staff in management, the degree of centralization of decision taking and the firms’ emphasis on results or on procedures. Practical implications – This research contributes to the knowledge of the main factors related to the organizational culture of joint ventures that influence competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency achieved. Originality/value – The value provided by this research lies in the sample examined, in its focus on a very common type of partnership between SMEs, which has been little studied previously, and in the fact that the results obtained are extensible to other realities, such as partnerships between European companies and those from countries with similar characteristics (located in Africa or in countries where an Arab culture prevails).

The strength of the board on sustainability assurance decisions: The moderating role of family business

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how family ownership influences the strength of the board’s monitoring function in companies’ decisions regarding the assurance of sustainability reports. Design/methodology/approach The international sample consists of 536 companies operating in more stakeholder-oriented countries during the period 2007-2014. The paper proposes alternative logit models of analysis using the random-effects estimator. Findings The results provide evidence that a firm’s sustainability assurance and its choice of accounting professionals as higher quality assurers are positively associated with board size and independence. The main result is the positive impact of family businesses on these assurance issues. The paper evidences the greater orientation toward sustainability issues of family businesses. Furthermore, it verifies the greater impact of board size on family firms’ assurance demand. Originality/value This study sheds some light on the unexplored topic of sustainability assurance in family firms. One of the differentiating aspects with respect to previous studies is the consideration of the moderating factor of family property. This study also contributes to the understanding of family firms’ demand for assurance and its practitioners, and the literature’s focus on its determinants.

Is family ownership of a firm associated with the control of managerial discretion and corporate decisions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the association between family firms and managerial discretion, hypothesising that a higher degree of family ownership may decrease the conflict of interest between owners and managers, thus avoiding the risk of discretionary actions by the latter. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis is based on a large sample of international listed companies from 20 countries including the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and covers the period 2002-2010. Methodologically, the authors use a logit model with marginal effects on the panel data. Findings – The analysis shows that family ownership is associated with greater control and monitoring of managerial decisions, thus avoiding information asymmetries and, therefore, the risk of discretionary actions. In other words, family owners impose a stronger discipline and dissuade non-family managers from using managerial discretion to act in their own interest. Finally, the authors clarify the incon...