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This research analyzes the concept of financial vulnerability of nonprofits in depth. We review the definitions given by the prior literature, concluding that none of them is complete. We propose a definition in which financial vulnerability consists of three dimensions: operational (variation of net assets over time), leverage (relationship between total assets and debt), and liquidity (ratio of current assets to short-term debt). We use a sample of 212 Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGDOs) from the United Kingdom to analyze these measures, observing a limited number of nonprofits simultaneously classified as vulnerable according to the different traditional concepts. Applying our proposed multidimensional model, we find that 6 % of the sample is highly financially vulnerable according to the three dimensions, and a high proportion (18 %) of nonprofits is simultaneously vulnerable in leverage and liquidity dimensions. Finally, we compare the obtained results using traditional variables and those derived from our model.

This article analyzes the financial vulnerability of 228 British nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs) during the period 2008–2012. To do this, we use the Financial Vulnerability Index developed by Trussel et al. (2002). This index is commonly used in the literature on nonprofit organizations. However, we observe a very poor adaptation of the index to the reality of this industry, at least in predictive terms. The article goes deeply into each of the variables that are used to calculate this index, and we offer explanations of their inadequacy to this subsector of nonprofits.

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) can be triggered by metabolic disturbances and drugs in adults without previous epilepsy. We present the case of a 51-year-old woman without previous history of epilepsy and recently diagnosed with infiltrating lobular breast carcinoma. Following the administration of paclitaxel–cremophor, she presented a striking disinhibited behavior with episodic spatial disorientation, emotional indifference, and irritability. Urgent EEG was consistent with NCSE. Clinical improvement and resolution of EEG abnormalities were observed following the administration of intravenous levetiracetam and lacosamide. Other causes of NCSE were ruled out, and antiepileptic drugs were slowly tapered off without new episodes of abnormal behavior after three months of follow-up. We have reported the first case of NCSE secondary to paclitaxel–cremophor. Neurologists and oncologists should consider NCSE as an unusual complication of treatment with paclitaxel–cremophor in patients without a history of epilepsy.

Este trabajo ha obtenido el Accésit Premio Estudios Financieros 2011 en la modalidad de CONTABILIDAD Y ADMINISTRACIÓN DE EMPRESAS. Las redes sociales se muestran como un potente factor explicativo de diversos aspectos de la empresa, afectando al gobierno de la misma. Se pueden mostrar como un canal de acceso a todo tipo de recursos, aportando ventajas competitivas a la empresa; o como una limitación, en el caso de suponer una barrera al control del gobierno corporativo. Consecuentemente, se hace necesario conocer las características que posee una red, así como la centralidad de las empresas que forman parte de ella y que las conferirá unas fortalezas o debilidades. Este trabajo trata de contribuir a la literatura sobre relaciones interlocking y redes sociales entre empresas, con el objetivo de analizar la evolución acaecida en la red de las principales empresas cotizadas españolas así como su comparación con la red de Reino Unido. Los cambios experimentados en dicha red durante el periodo 1999-2010 conducen a una red con mayor tamaño pero menos densa, más dispersa, que conlleva la existencia de un menor número de relaciones entre los consejeros. Además, se observa una tendencia de desplazamiento de las empresas del sector financiero desde las posiciones más centrales (caso de 1999) a posiciones más periféricas (caso de 2010). Estas circunstancias derivan en una mayor homogeneidad entre la red española de 2010 y la red de Reino Unido del mismo año, dando apoyo a una hipótesis de convergencia entre modelos de gobierno corporativo.

Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, C/Padre Julio Chevalier 2, 47012Valladolid, SpainCorresponding author email: meromero@uemc.esDue to the significant role of non-profit organizations in the development of modernsocieties, these organizations must adjust their boardrooms. Since traditional theoriesof corporate governance appear to be limited in explaining the changing non-profitworld, we propose an extended model of governance that integrates the traditionalarguments of agency theory with a cognitive dimension. Based on a sample of Spanishfoundations, we present evidence on the effect of the board composition on foundations’organizational efficiency. We show that board size and independence do not have adefinitive effect on the entity’s efficiency. Instead, the knowledge diversity inside theboardroom and the active character of trustees have a positive influence on resourceallocation. The cognitive dimension of the extended model of governance is critical toexplaining how boards impact on organizational performance.

Documento de Trabajo 15/06 perteneciente a la colección de documentos de trabajo "Nuevas Tendencias en Dirección de Empresas", dentro del Máster en Investigación en Economía y Empresa., [EN] Recently, many empirical studies have shed light on the determinants of boards of directors. Our aim in this paper goes far from the corporate setting. We explain how nonprofits boards are structured. As opposed to corporations’ goals, the objectives of nonprofits are non-lucrative. They can not disburse profits to their contributors, but the role played by their boards of trustees in monitoring and advising managers is analogous to that of boards of directors. Using a sample of Spanish foundations, we show that nonprofit board determinants, such as organizational complexity and financing structure, are mostly similar to those of corporate boards. Nonprofit age, however, illustrates the different nature of these organizations and their voluntary boards., [ES] Recientemente, muchos estudios empíricos han arrojado luz sobre los factores determinantes de los consejos de administración. Nuestro objetivo en este trabajo va mucho más desde el entorno corporativo. Explicamos cómo se estructuran las juntas sin fines de lucro. A diferencia de los objetivos de las corporaciones, los objetivos de organizaciones no lucrativas son sin ánimo de lucro. Ellos no pueden desembolsar los beneficios a sus contribuyentes, pero el papel desempeñado por sus consejos de administración en la vigilancia y consejeros de directivos es análoga a la de los consejos de administración. Usando una muestra de fundaciones españolas, se muestra que los factores determinantes sin fines de lucro bordo, tales como la complejidad de organización y estructura de financiamiento, son en su mayoría similares a los de las juntas corporativas. Sin Fines de Lucro de edad, sin embargo, ilustra la diferente naturaleza de estas organizaciones y sus juntas directivas voluntarias.

The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between ownership structure and firm value. This relationship is analyzed taking into account not only the endogenous character of ownership but also the peculiarities of the Spanish corporate system. For this purpose, we select a balanced panel of 101 companies quoted in the Madrid exchange market from 1991 through 1997. We have applied econometric panel data techniques (generalized method of moments, gmm), which allows us to control the endogeneity problem through instruments. Our results confirm the positive effect of ownership concentration on firm market value. This relationship is robust to the inclusion of variables regarding the nature of the main shareholder, firm industry and time. Furthermore, we present some evidence about the relationship between the type of control (majority and minority) and a firm’s market value

To verify the existence and relevance of control mechanisms that impede the expropriation of resources by the managers of nonprofits and that improve efficiency, we use a representative sample of Spanish nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs). The authors study how the donors’ structure and board of trustees relates to organizational efficiency. Results show that the presence of an active institutional donor provides a control mechanism for these NGDOs, thus favoring the efficient allocation of resources, and that the structure of the board of trustees is irrelevant in this respect. Results are robust to alternative measures of technical and allocative efficiency.

This paper tests whether stock prices reflect investor's expectations regarding the value of real options. The analysis is implemented based on a sample of 391 high-tech companies listed on main OECD stock markets during the period December 1994 through December 2000. Results confirm the predicted relation between the fraction of a firm's market value not accounted for by its assets-in-place, and a series of variables that are assumed to disclose its real options value, variables such as research and development activity, risk and skewness of stock returns, and size. The results are robust even after controlling for valuation date, sub-industry, country, and alternative measures of risk.

This paper aims to examine how investors’ expectations about the value of a firm's real options are reflected in the price of its stocks. If the real-option approach is correct, then the efficient-...

We test hypotheses about the structure of corporate debt ownership and the use of bank debt by firms in a civil-law country, Spain. We focus on bank debt effects in the presence of information asymmetries and agency costs, and on efficient versus inefficient firm liquidation. We find that the relation between growth opportunities and bank financing is not as strong as the one found in common-law countries, that there is a positive relation between firm size and the proportion of bank debt used, and that firms closer to bankruptcy and highly leveraged are more likely to use bank debt.

This paper analyses the influence of financial leverage decisions, dividend payout policies and the ownership structure on the firm market value when companies either face, or do not face, profitable growth opportunities. A sample of 101 large non-financial publicly-traded Spanish companies is used. The results confirm the relevance of debt and dividends in terms of firm value creation by showing a negative relationship between firm value and both leverage and dividend payments in the presence of growth opportunities. On the contrary, this relationship turns out to be positive when firms have no profitable investment projects. The results also demonstrate the relevance of ownership structure in the allocation of firm resources.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the Chilean firms’ financial decisions on market value. The economic environment considers both the absence and existence of growth opportunities for a panel of 180 quoted Chilean companies during the period 1990 - 2001. Our results support the disciplinary view of debt in absence of profitable growth opportunities (overinvestment problem) and their investment inhibit effect in the contrary case (underinvestment and asset substitution problems). Furthermore, we find a positive and non-lineal relationship between ownership structure and the firm value for the case of low growth opportunities firms.

This paper proposes a model for the analysis of the entrepreneurial creation and their effects. Time-series analyses of the new enterprises created in Spain for the period 1981-1995 allow for the evaluation of several types of effects : regulation, crowding out, stability and imitation. The empirical analysis provides some evidence about the relevance of these effects. The results show in particular both how important the influence of public authorities can be, positively or negatively, on the creation of new companies, and that there is a large degree of inertia in the adoption of creation decisions. Furthermore, we have made forecasts as concerns the creation of enterprises for the year 1999, showing the continuity of the enterprise creation process, to the extent that EMU convergence criteria are reached., Cette étude propose un modèle d'analyse des déterminants de la création d'entreprises. À partir d'une série de données relatives à la création d'entreprises en Espagne, de 1981 à 1995, des analyses chronologiques, successivement à une et à plusieurs variables, ont permis de mettre en évidence l'importance d'effets qualifiés d'effets d'imitation, de régulation, de stabilité et croissance et d'éviction sur la création d'entreprises. Les résultats obtenus soulignent en particulier l'influence importante qu'exercent les pouvoirs publics, positivement ou négativement, sur la création d'entreprise, ainsi que l'inertie caractérisant les décisions de création par les entrepreneurs. À partir de ces analyses des prévisions ont été faites, pour l'année 1999, dans l'hypothèse où les critères de convergence fixés par l'Union Monétaire Européenne sont atteints., De Andrés Alonso Pablo, Garcia Merino Teresa, De La Fuente Sabaté Juan Manuel. Influences de l'environnement socio-économique sur la création d'entreprises : le cas de l'Espagne. In: Revue d'économie industrielle, vol. 89, 3e trimestre 1999. pp. 7-28.

A board of directors is one of the most important corporate governance instruments available to banks. Another is the design of compensation packages for managers and directors to align their goals with those of other bank stakeholders: owners, creditors, depositors, taxpayers and regulators. Stakeholders can complement monitoring with incentive pay schemes by making the manager a residual claimant to the additional value obtained by his/her actions. However, compensation models for banks do not only have to align managerial and shareholder incentives, but must also avoid excessive risk-taking that may result in systemic risk (Bolton et al., 2010; Gordon, 2010).

Based on the linear decomposition of a firm's beta on the betas of its growth options and its Assets in Place, we propose a feedback algorithm to estimate the latter. Our proposal is founded on the existence of risk classes defined by a specific level of systematic risk for current business and growth opportunities. We test our model on a sample of US firms over the period 1994-2007, by identifying risk classes with industry groups as defined by Fama-French's 48-segment classification (Fama and French, 1997). Our results confirm rapid convergence of estimated parameters, and values which are quite consistent with the real option approach predictions. Our model addresses a practical problem which is yet to be resolved and is crucial for valuing firms and capital budgeting decisions. Empirical results are encouraging and shed new light on the problem of estimating the cost of capital.

The remarkable growth of literature about corporate governance during recent years is evidence of the importance that this issue has gained in the business world. The topic “corporate governance” is beginning to take the important place it deserves in the economics of organizations.

Using and international sample of commercial banks over the period 1996-2006, our study analyzes if bank’s specific factors and the legal environment in which they operate affect the board’s composition. We consider the dual role of the board as both monitor and advisor. Results show that there is no optimal board for every bank but it depends on several variables such as the bank’s size, the ownership concentration, the growth opportunities and the monitoring power of the country’s authorities. Our results lead us to a warning related to the general recommendations included in the codes of good governance because each bank needs a specific board of directors.

This paper analyzes the influence of financial leverage decisions, dividend payout policies and the ownership structure on the firm market value when companies either face, or do not face, profitable growth opportunities. We use a sample of 101 large non-financial publicly traded Spanish companies. Our results confirm the relevance of debt and dividends in terms of firm value creation by showing a negative relationship between firm value and leverage in the presence of growth opportunities. On the contrary, this relationship turns out to be positive when firms have no profitable investment projects and dividends show an outstanding role in improving value creation. Our results also demonstrate the relevance of ownership structure in the allocation of firm resources.

The explanation of the capital structures found in companies of different countries is one of the main topics in corporate finance. The capital structure theory tries to answer questions such as why some financial contracts appear more frequently in one country than in others, or why the financing models differ among countries (Hart, 1988). From Modigliani and Miller theory (1958), the financial instruments give their owners the right over the firm cash flows. Therefore, the firm capital structure is irrelevant and differences in capital structure in the international arena are a minor issue. In fact, these differences could be explained through the tax effect because each country has its own tax system.