Scientific articles

• The gender pay gap at the top floor: A multilevel analysis of Spanish listed companies

  García, C.J.; Herrero, B.; Vila, L.E.

  Reino Unido: European Management Journal , 2024.Article

  The gender pay gap, including at the top management level, is a socially relevant issue; however, it remains controversial. This study explores the distribution of pay by gender for executive directors of Spanish listed companies over the period 2012 to 2021. The analysis is based on multilevel regression. Three-level models with a fixed slope for gender show that female directors face an average 45% pay penalty relative to their male peers after controlling for time-varying individual and board/firm variables, time-invariant firm characteristics, and year of observation. A three-level model including all control variables and a random slope for gender shows that the gender pay penalty...

  The gender pay gap, including at the top management level, is a socially relevant issue; however, it remains controversial. This study explores the distribution of pay by gender for executive directors of Spanish listed companies over the period 2012 to 2021. The analysis is based on multilevel regression. Three-level models with a fixed slope for gender show that female directors face an average 45% pay penalty relative to their male peers after controlling for time-varying individual and board/firm variables, time-invariant firm characteristics, and year of observation. A three-level model including all control variables and a random slope for gender shows that the gender pay penalty varies significantly across boards/firms (from 18% to 78%), with an average value of 46%. This finding suggests that unobservable heterogeneity among firms is a primary source of the observed gender pay gap.

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• The impact of the environmental, social and governance dimensions of sustainability on firm risk in the hospitality and tourism industry.

  García, C.J.; Herrero, B.; Morillas-Jurado, F.

  Reino Unido: Corporate Social Responsibility And Environmental Management , 2024.Article

  This paper explores the relationship between adherence to corporate social responsibility goals and firm financial risk. Data on an international sample of 209 firms were collected for the period 2002 to 2022. Firm risk was proxied using stock return volatility and probability of default. The results show that the environmental performance of hospitality and tourism firms unequivocally influences firm risk, whether this risk is quantified as probability of default or volatility of stock market returns. This finding confirms that the adoption of environmentally sustainable and responsible practices is crucial not only for the environment but also for the stability of hospitality and tourism...

  This paper explores the relationship between adherence to corporate social responsibility goals and firm financial risk. Data on an international sample of 209 firms were collected for the period 2002 to 2022. Firm risk was proxied using stock return volatility and probability of default. The results show that the environmental performance of hospitality and tourism firms unequivocally influences firm risk, whether this risk is quantified as probability of default or volatility of stock market returns. This finding confirms that the adoption of environmentally sustainable and responsible practices is crucial not only for the environment but also for the stability of hospitality and tourism firms.

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  31 - 4, pp. 2783 - 2800

• Corporate entrepreneurship and governance: Mergers and acquisitions in Europe

  García, C.José; Herrero, Begoña.

  Estados Unidos: Technological Forecasting and Social Change , 2022.Article

  Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a form of corporate entrepreneurship involving strategic decisions that require discussion and approval by the board of directors of the acquiring firm. We focus on board attributes to analyze the entrepreneurial function of the board of directors and its involvement in corporate entrepreneurship. Building on different theories (agency theory, resource dependence theory, stewardship theory, and stakeholder theory), we examine whether board composition affects the number of acquisitions, the risk involved in bids, and the creation of value for the acquirer's shareholders. For a sample of European firms over the period 2002 to 2020, we find that board size...

  Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a form of corporate entrepreneurship involving strategic decisions that require discussion and approval by the board of directors of the acquiring firm. We focus on board attributes to analyze the entrepreneurial function of the board of directors and its involvement in corporate entrepreneurship. Building on different theories (agency theory, resource dependence theory, stewardship theory, and stakeholder theory), we examine whether board composition affects the number of acquisitions, the risk involved in bids, and the creation of value for the acquirer's shareholders. For a sample of European firms over the period 2002 to 2020, we find that board size and the percentage of external directors are related to the number of acquisitions. However, neither the percentage of women on the board nor CEO duality affects the number of acquisitions by a given firm. We also show that more risky acquisitions are associated with larger firms with a lower proportion of women directors, whereas less risky transactions are related to smaller firms where the CEO is also the chair of the board. Finally, our results indicate that firm acquisitions create value for the acquiring firm and that the market reaction is positively related to board size and CEO duality.

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  182 – 121845

• Do board characteristics affect environmental performance? A study of EU firms

  García Martín, C. José; Herrero, B

  (2019).Article

  This paper explores the relationship between board characteristics and environmental performance. We adopt a triple perspective of environmental performance, focussing on emissions (waste and CO2), resource consumption (water and energy), and the implementation of environmental initiatives. The sample comprises 644 nonfinancial European Union–based companies. The data cover the period 2002 to 2017. The results confirm that gender diversity and the existence of a corporate social responsibility committee are positively associated with the firms' environmental performance. This finding is consistent with the view that the educational background, talent, and experience of women help promote...

  This paper explores the relationship between board characteristics and environmental performance. We adopt a triple perspective of environmental performance, focussing on emissions (waste and CO2), resource consumption (water and energy), and the implementation of environmental initiatives. The sample comprises 644 nonfinancial European Union–based companies. The data cover the period 2002 to 2017. The results confirm that gender diversity and the existence of a corporate social responsibility committee are positively associated with the firms' environmental performance. This finding is consistent with the view that the educational background, talent, and experience of women help promote sustainable environmental initiatives. The existence of a corporate social responsibility committee reflects a company's commitment to sustainable development.

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  27, pp. 74 - 94

  ISSN: 1535-3966

• Importance of Balance Sheet Composition in Stress Test Estimates

  Climent, S., Bustos-Contell, E. and Labatut-Serer, G.

  (2019).Article

  Journal of Economic Science Research. No.Volume 01| Issue 01

  The stress tests are based on macroeconomic variables for the estimations of the results. However, there are other factors that may influence them. This paper studies the influence of the balance sheet structure in the NPL and the loss caused by the NPL using econometric models. The objective is to research how they affect the aggregates in the balance sheet to the delay in payment and the the provision for impairment, distinguishing these effects according to the economic cycle, so that can be applied to the stress test. The results show that the Balance sheet structure is important in delinquency and losses caused by it, especially in respect of stockholders’ funds, ECB resources and...

  The stress tests are based on macroeconomic variables for the estimations of the results. However, there are other factors that may influence them. This paper studies the influence of the balance sheet structure in the NPL and the loss caused by the NPL using econometric models. The objective is to research how they affect the aggregates in the balance sheet to the delay in payment and the the provision for impairment, distinguishing these effects according to the economic cycle, so that can be applied to the stress test. The results show that the Balance sheet structure is important in delinquency and losses caused by it, especially in respect of stockholders’ funds, ECB resources and the account Non-current assets held for sale. It also highlights the influence of the economic cycle and the different behavior of the NPL and the losses due to default with respect to the same explanatory variables.

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• Boards of directors: composition and effects on the performance of the firm

  García Martín, C. José; Herrero, Begoña

  Croacia: Ekonomska Istrazivanja-Economic Research , 2017.Article

  This paper analyses the structure of boards of directors and its impact on business performance, which is approximated by economic profitability and the Tobin’s Q ratio. We focus on three basic aspects of boards that have been reviewed in the recent reform of the Good Governance Code: the size of boards, their independence and their diversity. For the study of diversity, we use an index that integrates not only the gender of board members, but also their age and nationality, since these are factors that can influence the knowledge, experience and skills of the directors. The results confirm a high degree of compliance with the recommendations of the Good Governance Code, and suggest that...

  This paper analyses the structure of boards of directors and its impact on business performance, which is approximated by economic profitability and the Tobin’s Q ratio. We focus on three basic aspects of boards that have been reviewed in the recent reform of the Good Governance Code: the size of boards, their independence and their diversity. For the study of diversity, we use an index that integrates not only the gender of board members, but also their age and nationality, since these are factors that can influence the knowledge, experience and skills of the directors. The results confirm a high degree of compliance with the recommendations of the Good Governance Code, and suggest that the performance of the advisory and monitoring functions are factors that determine the composition of boards. With respect to the performance of the company, we note that there is a negative and significant relationship with the independence of boards. However, the results are sensitive to the performance measure employed.

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• The decision to acquire listed vs. unlisted firms: Determinants and value effects in the Spanish stock market

  Farinós, J.E., B. Herrero y M.A. Latorre

  (2017).

  Revista de Economía Aplicada. No.73, 1–40

• Self-selection bias and the listing status of target firms: Value effects in the Spanish market

  Farinós, J.E., B. Herrero y M.A. Latorre

  (2017).Article

  Czech Journal of Economics and Finance. No.67(5),423–438

• Effects of economic variables on NPLs depending on the economic cycle

  Climent, S Serrano

  (2017).Article

  Empir Econ. No.56, 325–340

  Late payments are a major problem for Spanish banks. This paper studies as determinants of loan delinquency: unemployment, interest rates, inflation, housing prices, leverage, bad debt coverage and solvency, which were the main problems facing the Spanish economy between 2004 and 2015, and also examines these determinants in periods of growth and recession. The results show that the price of housing, bad debt coverage, interest rates and solvency are the variables with the greatest impact on NPLs. Furthermore, differences exist in the behaviour of variables during periods of growth compared with periods of recession. Inertia of the dependent variable has also been detected.

  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-017-1362-y

• Bank Fragility and Contagion: Evidence from the CDS market. Journal of Empirical Finance Forthcoming.

  Ballester, L., Casu, B. and González-Urteaga, A.

  (2016).Article