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Purpose The use of linear models has major limitations for accurately representing the true link between gender diversity and organizational performance. This study aims to explore two curvilinear models and tests which one – the U-shape or the inverted U-shape – best represents the gender diversity–performance link at two hierarchical levels: the board of directors and the workforce. Design/methodology/approach Both models are tested using data collected from a representative sample of Spanish educational organizations, which are dominated numerically by women, although women are still slightly underrepresented in managerial positions. Findings The results show the existence of an inverted U-shape and, therefore, the existence of a potential “optimal” level of gender diversity for both the board of directors and the workforce. While the highest performance by the board of directors is attained when the proportion of women and men is balanced in the workforce, the highest level of performance is attained when the proportion of women is greater. Originality/value There are hardly any studies simultaneously exploring the gender diversity–performance linkage at two hierarchical levels where the proportion of women/men is substantially different: the board of directors and the workforce. Thus, this study contributes to better know whether such relationship is dependent on the hierarchical position. It is important to know this because each level is related to different functions and tasks and shape a social status that can significantly influence performance.

This study sheds light on the contingent effect that employee human capital may have on the relationship between family involvement and internationalisation via exporting —both in terms of entry mode (how to export) and degree (how much to export). We formulate several hypotheses by drawing mainly on arguments from the resource-based view and stewardship theory. The empirical setting is a large sample of Spanish manufacturing firms (family and non-family) operating between 1991 and 2016. Our results reveal that the positive (negative) relationship between family involvement and export intensity (direct exporting) is boosted (mitigated) at higher levels of employee human capital. Our findings thus provide statistical support for a positive and significant contingent approach to the effect human capital has on the connection between family involvement and internationalisation.

Today, almost half of the female population is employed and their participation rates in the labor market are gradually approaching those of men in many developed and emerging countries. However, the gender imbalance is still latent and even more so in terms of access, promotion and development of women in leadership positions. The persistence of certain stereotypes and gender roles continues to be an obstacle for women to lead and occupy positions of maximum responsibility. It undoubtedly affects the economic and social dimension of women, but it also influences different business issues related to efficiency, corporate reputation or the degree of loyalty and engagement of stakeholders, among others. Based on this problem, this study seeks, on the one hand, to show the underrepresentation of women in the Ibero-American business scene and, on the other, to analyse the initiatives aimed at making visible and exploiting female talent that can have a positive effect on the presence of women in corporate governance and top leadership positions. Firstly, this objective is achieved by reviewing the MERCO Leaders ranking of each country during the period 2013-2020. Secondly, information related to the actions to promote female talent and the evolution of the gender composition of the different hierarchical positions has been collected from the Annual Reports and the Sustainability/Diversity Reports of the companies included in the ranking. On the one hand, the quantitative descriptive analysis carried out allows us to show the underrepresentation of women as leaders in all the Ibero-American countries examined —Spain, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay are those that have, at the end of the period, a greater female presence, although women represent, at most, a fifth of the positions in the ranking. The worst figures belong to Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil, the latter three being the ones that have made the least progress since 2013. Legislative and cultural differences may be the cause of such disparities. On the other hand, the quanlitative comparative analysis reveals that the vast majority of companies have initiatives or participate in campaigns aimed at granting greater visibility, empowering and professionally activating women as a whole. However, the number of companies that implement programs that are specifically aimed at promoting their careers as leaders or that have established quotas to increase the representation of women in leadership positions and Boards of Directors is decreasing. In general, the companies that show the best figures for diversity, both in leadership positions and Boards of Directors, are those that have adopted the most policies, programs and objectives, which suggest the positive effect of such actions. The Latin American multinationals examined show less ambitious priorities and objectives in terms of diversity, and it is clear evidence that none of them has any program aimed at promoting women's leadership. This study offers a recent vision of the Ibero-American business panorama and allows us to identify the main challenges that arise in terms of gender. Some lines of action that involve government authorities, companies and society as a whole are suggested.

Purpose: Building on arguments drawn from Upper Echelons Theory, this study provides insights into how certain demographic characteristics related to principals―gender, age, tenure, and formal educ...

This study explores the relationship between exporting strategies, firm efficiency, and downsizing. Drawing on the resource-based view, we first test whether there is a link between export intensity and the propensity of a firm to downsize. Next, we examine the impact of direct/indirect exporting strategies as well as the interactive effects of efficiency and each exporting strategy on the propensity to downsize. We use a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms between 1993 and 2016. Our findings reveal a negative effect of a firm’s level of involvement in foreign markets via exports on the propensity to downsize. Our results also show that the propensity to downsize is lower in firms using a direct export strategy and in more efficient firms opting for this strategy. However, no support for a significant association between the propensity to downsize and the use of an indirect export strategy and efficiency is observed. Financial support is gratefully acknowledged from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) (Reference: ECO2016-76876-R) and Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spain) (Reference: RTI2018-097447-B-I00).

In recent years, greater attention is being paid to happiness in the workplace. Previous research has revealed that the happiness of employees and organisations is closely related to working conditions and climate. Gender inequality in employment opportunities, work-life imbalance, the gender pay gap and the existence of the glass ceiling are a workplace reality and generate failures that can reduce women’s happiness at work and affect the happiness of organisations. This chapter seeks to understand workplace happiness through women’s advancement and leadership. Specifically, it explores how organisations can increase women’s happiness in the workplace and the effect that women leaders can have on the happiness of organisations. An exploratory and descriptive analysis is carried out in a set of Spanish and Latin American multinational companies based on information published in their annual reports and websites. Qualitative and quantitative techniques are used. The findings reveal that the implementation of organisational practices to reduce existing gaps and create fairer and more equitable workplaces can increase women’s happiness at work, and greater female representation in leadership positions can contribute to organisation happiness and sustainability. Important practical implications are derived for the management of human resources and female talent.

PurposeBuilding on Upper Echelons Theory and prior research on strategic leadership, the purpose of this paper is to examine the possible effect on employee motivation of two sets of characteristics related to leaders: demographic (gender and age); and professional development (tenure, prior career experience in the organization and training).Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis is based on data from a survey of Spanish educational organizations (secondary schools). The hypotheses are tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis estimations.FindingsThe results reveal that the characteristics linked to a leader’s professional development have a significant impact on employee (teacher) motivation. Specifically, a long tenure in office has a negative effect, while prior career experience in an organization and continuous training have a positive impact. However, none of the leader’s demographic characteristics considered in the study has a significant impact on teacher motivation.Practical implicationsSeveral lines of managerial and educational policy action are suggested for improving employee (teacher) motivation, especially in the specific case of the schools considered here.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first attempts to explore what impact certain leaders’ characteristics have on employee motivation.

Accésit Premio Estudios Financieros 2018 A lo largo de las dos últimas décadas, dos prácticas empresariales relacionadas con la gestión de recursos humanos han ganado una extraordinaria popularidad tanto en el terreno académico como en el profesional: la reducción de personal y la marca del empleador. Este trabajo representa un intento preliminar de explorar, desde un punto de vista descriptivo, si existe algún tipo de vínculo entre ambas prácticas, que a priori muestran efectos diametralmente opuestos sobre los empleados de una empresa. Específicamente, el objetivo principal del trabajo es doble: por un lado, examinar cómo la reducción significativa e intencional en la fuerza de trabajo puede influir en la marca del empleador y, por otro, analizar si la marca del empleador puede ayudar a mitigar los más que probables efectos negativos de una drástica reducción de personal y, con ello, contribuir a mejorar la calidad de los futuros procesos de reclutamiento y contratación. El estudio empírico se realiza con una pequeña muestra de grandes compañías que figuran en el ranking Merco Talento en España entre 2007 y 2017. Para el análisis descriptivo se utiliza también información extraída de prensa, los informes financieros anuales y las memorias anuales de responsabilidad social corporativa de cada compañía acerca de ambos fenómenos. Los resultados obtenidos del análisis descriptivo llevado a cabo parecen apoyar la idea de que ambas prácticas están estrechamente relacionadas entre sí. Del trabajo realizado se derivan una serie de conclusiones e implicaciones que pueden resultar de interés para los responsables de recursos humanos de las empresas.

El objetivo principal de este trabajo consiste en analizar el efecto que ciertos aspectos observables asociados a los equipos directivos y sus líderes pueden tener en la motivación del personal que está bajo su dirección. La contrastación empírica del modelo teórico y las distintas hipótesis planteadas se efectúa en el seno de una muestra de 105 organizaciones educativas de la Comunidad de Madrid. Respecto a las características de los equipos de dirección, los resultados del análisis de regresión realizado reflejan, de manera consistente, que la motivación del personal está influenciada positivamente (aunque de manera débilmente significativa) por la presencia de un mayor número de miembros en el equipo directivo o cuando dicho equipo opta por seguir un estilo de liderazgo de tipo participativo o colaborativo. En cuanto a las características personales referidas al máximo responsable, los resultados obtenidos también revelan de manera consistente que la antigüedad en la organización, la formación continua para ejercer el cargo y el hecho de ser mujer muestran un efecto positivo y significativo sobre la motivación del personal. Sin embargo, contrariamente a nuestras expectativas iniciales, la existencia de métodos de evaluación del desempeño de los equipos (internos y externos) parece que está relacionada negativamente (aunque de manera débilmente significativa) con la motivación. El trabajo concluye con una serie de reflexiones y posibles líneas de acción institucional en el contexto de las organizaciones analizadas.

Originality/Value This study shows that some of the largest Spanish firms are slowly exhibiting responsible behavior with respect to female employment, both longitudinally and in their subsidiaries. The fact that this is not a consistent tendency lends support to the argument that existing legislation should have stronger normative pressures, such as fines and penalties for noncompliance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious consequences on employment and recent reports have warned that the impacts of the crisis are never gender-neutral. The objective of this research is to analyse the variations that have existed in terms of female representation in the Spanish listed companies during the COVID-19 scenario. The integrated annual reports and the non-financial information reports of each company have been examined to identify the changes that have occurred in their governance structures, leadership positions, and total workforce. A descriptive and correlational analysis was carried out in 2019 and 2020. The findings reveal that: (1) there has been a slight increase in the figures of female representation in different hierarchical positions, (2) the proportion of women on the boards of directors does not depend on the number of women in lower positions, and (3) there is a positive relationship between female representation in leadership positions and the number of women in the total workforce. These results have important implications for business sustainability in the medium and long term.

Workforce downsizing has become an everyday fact of working life as most firms struggle to cut costs and adapt to changing market demands in order to survive in the new competitive arena. Extant research has made good progress in better understanding the different issues surrounding downsizing. However, there are still several key issues that have largely been ignored by prior research. One of these issues involves the potential effect downsizing may have on employer branding. This chapter is a preliminary attempt to explore whether there is some kind of relationship between both phenomena. More specifically, the main purpose is to examine how a significant and intentional reduction in the workforce may influence employer branding; while the other way around, an attempt is made to discover whether employer branding practices help to mitigate the negative effects of post-downsizing in the workplace, as well as improve the quality of future recruitment processes. The research setting consists of a small sample of large companies listed in the Merco Talent Ranking in Spain over the period 2007-2017. The results obtained in our study following a preliminary descriptive analysis seem to provide support for the notion that both practices may be closely interrelated in a circular way.

The use of linear models presents important limitations to accurately representing the link between gender diversity and organizational performance. This study therefore investigates curvilinear mo...

This study is one of the first attempts to simultaneously explore the impact that women in different organizational positions –leader, board of directors and workforce– have on performance. Specifi...