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PurposeThe present study examines the potential relationship between financial capability and household financial vulnerability for a sample of Spanish individuals.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology combines a literature review deepening on the two concepts addressed in this paper – financial vulnerability and financial capability – and an empirical analysis. Based on a sample of 7,811 Spanish individuals taken from the Survey of Financial Competences, different probit regression models are used to test the relationship of key independent variables (namely, financial literacy, financial inclusion, and financial capability) with household financial vulnerability.FindingsEmpirical evidence points to the existence of a negative relationship between financial capability and household financial vulnerability. Besides, the variable on financial capability demonstrates, per se, a greater explanatory power than its two components (i.e. objective financial literacy and financial inclusion) separately, particularly in the case of financial literacy.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the research on household finances along three main dimensions. Firstly, it enhances the research on financial capability by analysing how it relates to consumers' financial vulnerability; an association barely explored by the extant literature. Secondly, it gets closer to the multifaceted concept of financial vulnerability through a wide set of objective and subjective proxy variables. And thirdly, the empirical evidence found leads to proposing some recommendations aimed at improving households' financial capability.

The idiosyncrasies of family firms (FFs) may enable or hamper their ability to exploit the region’s knowledge spillovers. To the date, this issue has not been addressed by the literature. The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, to explore whether FF nature influences on firm innovative performance by acknowledging the fact that firm innovation happens in a certain location where firms are exposed to knowledge spillovers; and secondly, to analyse whether FF management plays a moderating role in the effects of regional knowledge spillovers on innovative outcomes. We used multilevel modelling and panel data methodology in a sample of 1191 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2009–2016. By applying multilevel analysis and panel data methods, the results indicate that being part of a family group increases innovative performance, and this effect seems to be even more important in regions with low technological or human capital resources.

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG [Abstract] Aging of the population has created a direct effect on economies and tension onsocial security systems. Policymakers have been senior entrepreneurship as an optionto reduce unemployment and delay the age of retirement. The positive effects, ofcreating a firm increase when is operating in technology-based sectors. This paperexplores the technological and senior entrepreneurship relations, analyzing if ageinfluences technological entrepreneurship and if determining factors for senior andnon-senior groups are different. By using a sample of 8637 entrepreneurs in22 OECD countries based onGlobal Entrepreneurial Monitor2018 data, the resultsfirstly show a negative effect of being a senior entrepreneur, understood as an entre-preneur aged 50+years, on technological entrepreneurship. Secondly, it has beendetected that in some way senior entrepreneurship follows a different pattern of theprobability of entrepreneurship in technology sectors than the sample of the non-senior entrepreneurs Funding for open access charge: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG

Las pequeñas empresas suponen la práctica totalidad del tejido empresarial español e internacional. Pese a que estos agentes son esenciales para la creación de empleo, también son los que más sufren la inestabilidad del contexto económico, en parte, por la moderada alfabetización financiera de sus gestores. Utilizando una muestra de 1.120 pequeñas empresas obtenida durante 2021, en este trabajo se hace un diagnóstico del nivel de alfabetización financiera de sus propietarios/gestores, a través del diseño de diferentes clústeres de naturaleza singular. A su vez, se relacionan esos niveles con las características sociodemográficas de los encuestados. Los resultados muestran aquellos conocimientos, actitudes y comportamientos financieros que pueden ser fortalecidos en las personas empresarias. En consonancia, esta investigación aporta algunas recomendaciones para mejorar la alfabetización financiera empresarial

In recent years, households have become increasingly indebted, which constitutes a matter of concern. Based on a sample from the Spanish Survey of Financial Competences, this paper examines the relationship between self-control and consumer borrowing behaviour and, in so doing, it proposes a new multi-item scale of individual’s self-control in financial matters and considers several types of consumer debt, thus overcoming the main gaps identified in previous research. Empirical evidence reveals that, overall, self-control problems lead to more indebtedness. However, comprehensive analyses have demonstrated that the influence of self-control differs across an exhaustive range of credit options. In this regard, the lack of self-control increases the probability of taking out unsecured personal loans, loans from family or friends, and credit card use. Evidence suggests that individuals’ first impulse leads them to ask their social circle for a loan. Overall, individuals might be tempted to get indebted when they cannot make ends meet. However, this first impulse usually faces barriers from the supply perspective, so the evidence suggests that the effect of self-control on borrowing decisions might be shaped not only by the demand side of credit but also by the supply one Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature SI

Working capital management (WCM) is a critical matter forthe growth of firms, especially small and medium‐sizedmanufacturing companies faced with liquidity shortageswhose current assets account for a significant part of theirinvestments. These characteristics describe most compa-nies in the fish processing industry. Using a sample of morethan 1050 European fish processing companies duringthe period 2013–2020 and applying dynamic panel datamethods, this paper analyses the extent to which workingcapital investment and financing policies affect firm's salesgrowth. The empirical evidence reveals that the trade creditchannel (i.e., accounts receivable and accounts payable)enhances sales growth, while the opposite effect is foundfor investment in inventories. Additionally, the findingsinsist on the importance of financing current assets withpositive working capital to boost sales growth. [EconLitCitations: C23, G31, L25, L79, Q22] SI

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the linkage between households' social interactions and credit context and how these interactions may influence household borrowing decisions.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 45,907 individuals referred to 18 countries, drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, different probit regressions are used to test the four hypotheses proposed.FindingsEmpirical evidence confirms that intensive and extensive sociability are positively related to consumer debt holding. However, when social activities are considered separately, there is weak evidence that they are also related to mortgage debt holding and over-indebtedness. Moreover, at this level of analysis, the different nature of the social activities in which the individual participates in may condition the relationship with borrowing behaviour. The findings also show that relative income plays a passive role in household borrowing behaviour, since low-income households are more likely to hold mortgage and informal loans or to be over-indebted in highly indebted countries.Originality/valueFirst, this paper extends the knowledge of the relationship between social interactions and borrowing behaviour by considering not only the intensity and diversity of the social activities in which the individual participates, but also the different nature of these activities. Second, it proposes that social interactions may play a passive role on borrowing decision, suggesting that household's behaviour might be passively affected by the density of borrowers surrounding it. To the best of our knowledge, there has not been any attempt to test this issue regarding household borrowing decisions. Third, unlike the few empirical papers on the topic, the paper also analyses previous issues by distinguishing between different types of debts; a distinction that revels the different role played by social interactions.

La capacitación o competencia financiera de los individuos, resultado de la combinación de su cultura financiera y de la oportunidad de acceder a los productos financieros, supone un reto en las sociedades actuales y, particularmente, para ciertos colectivos de población como la generación millennial. Por esta razón, es importante conocer la competencia financiera de los millennials y constatar si existen diferencias con respecto a las generaciones predecesoras. Tras la revisión de la literatura, el análisis empírico se basa en una muestra de datos extraída de la Encuesta de Competencias Financieras (ECF). La muestra está conformada por unas 6.852 personas no jubiladas menores de 65 años, de las cuales aproximadamente un 34% son millennials, y sobre ellas se aplicarán sendos análisis estadístico-descriptivos y econométricos. La evidencia empírica sugiere que la capacidad financiera de los individuos está más condicionada por su cultura financiera que por sus oportunidades de acceso a productos financieros. Sin embargo, la inclusión financiera se relaciona en mayor medida con los comportamientos financieros de los encuestados. Esta relación es clara, con independencia de la cohorte generacional analizada, en el retraso en pagos, en el mantenimiento de fondos de emergencia y en el horizonte de planificación financiera. También se detecta que la relación que mantienen algunos comportamientos con la capacitación financiera es más similar entre los millennials adultos y los no millennials, que cuando se compara a los primeros con sus congéneres. Esta investigación contribuye a la literatura financiera existente a través del análisis de la competencia financiera de la generación millennial en España y de cómo esta influye en su comportamiento financiero. En este sentido, el trabajo aporta evidencias empíricas a un campo de estudio en el que apenas existen investigaciones que vayan más allá de los análisis centrados en contextos anglosajones.

Working capital management (WCM) is a key question for firms' profitability, especially for small and medium enterprises faced with severe financial restrictions and whose current assets account for a significant part of their investments. These features describe most firms in the livestock industry. However, studies on WCM related to these firms are scarce. Using a sample of 444 Spanish cheese‐manufacturing companies during the period 2010–2016 and applying a dynamic panel data methodology, this paper analyzes the extent to which the main components defining the WCM policies—days sales outstanding, days inventory outstanding (DIO), days payable outstanding (DPO), and cash conversion cycle (CCC)—affect firms' profitability. Empirical evidence reveals a negative effect of DIO and the CCC on firms' profitability, suggesting the need to reduce the level of inventory of cheese‐manufacturing companies. Similarly, the empirical evidence confirms a negative relationship between DPO and firms' profitability. [EconLit Citations: C23, G31, L25, L79, Q12].

The current environment of high competitiveness has made innovative firms, especially job-creating ones, central to regional economic growth. Most of previous studies have not considered the interactions between internal and regional factors, and has focused on product innovation performance. This paper aims to fill both gaps in the literature on the regional determinants of firm innovation. Assuming a firm-centered approach, the main goal of the paper is to analyse whether the regional resources determine firm innovation either in a direct way or by shaping the effect of the firm’s internal resources. We used multilevel modelling and panel data methodology in a sample of 2141 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2008–2014. More specifically, we assume fixed slopes and estimate a three-level logistic random intercept models (observations: level 1; firms: level 2; regions: level 3). Our results show that the internal factors are the cornerstone of firm innovation. Nevertheless, there is also a ‘regional effect’ in the firms’ propensity to innovate. Particularly, the effect of the region’s resources in explaining the differences across firms in product innovation is more substantive than in process innovation. In this last case, regional factors play a subtler role by shaping the effect of its internal drivers. Policy-makers should be conscious of the need of keeping a bottom–up approach (or a firm-centered approach) when designing regional innovation policies. In this respect, policies aimed at promoting the size, export activities and R&D intensity of firms could be effective to increase the number of firms that can benefit from the exploitation of the region’s resources.

Individuals’ financial well-being has been recognised as an important concern to reach individuals’ general well-being and societal welfare. In this context, understanding how individuals can ensure a good state of financial well-being is a critical question. However, previous studies have not paid enough attention to underlying the mechanisms by which individuals achieve financial well-being. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of attitude to money on individuals’ financial well-being, placing the emphasis on the intervention of financial planning horizon, risk tolerance and individuals’ actual financial behaviour. Using Structural Equation Modelling and Process Procedure for SPSS, empirical evidence for a sample of 8554 Spanish individuals largely supports the proposed hypotheses. Indeed, it suggests that individuals’ attitude to money influences actual financial behaviour, besides planning horizon and risk tolerance, that both exert an influence over actual financial behaviour, and this, ultimately, influences individuals’ financial well-being. This study ends up by presenting the main implications of these findings.

España es uno de los principales productores de conserva de pescado de Europa y, este es un sector económico de gran relevancia para su economía. En los últimos años parte de las compañías del sector, en su mayoría pequeñas y medianas empresas, está sufriendo problemas de liquidez y bajas rentabilidades que pueden estar asociados, en parte, a la gestión del circulante. Usando una muestra de 377 empresas para el periodo 2010 – 2018, en este trabajo se realiza un análisis económico-financiero del sector centrado en la gestión del circulante y la rentabilidad empresarial. Los resultados obtenidos apuntan hacia la necesidad de que las empresas revisen sus patrones de financiación a corto plazo, así como sus políticas de inversión en activo circulante.

[Abstract]: In the current knowledge economy, firms hardly innovate alone; the collaboration with other partners has become crucial for successful innovation. Literature has recently focused on two modes of collaboration: the learning-by-doing, by-using and by-interacting (DUI) and science and technology-based innovation (STI). Nevertheless, collaboration seems to be easier if firms are located in highly populated areas. This paper aims to analyse whether the population size of municipalities where firms are located influences firm innovation either in a direct way or by shaping the effect of the DUI and STI partnerships. Applying panel data methodology to a sample of 3004 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2009 to 2016, the results show that innovative performance benefits from STI and DUI innovation modes, especially product innovation. In contrast, location in less populated municipalities seems to have no effect on innovation, regardless of the threshold used to limit the number of inhabitants. Also, weak evidence of the moderating role of the population size on the effect of DUI and STI partnerships on firm innovation is found.

[Abstract]: Previous research on the firm growth of the university spin-offs (USOs) and its drivers yields inconclusive results. Recently, the literature on the high-growth firms (HGFs) has relied on regression quantile methods to study how the effects of growth determinants may differ along the firm growth distribution. This study builds a bridge between the two strands of literature by exploring how firm-specific characteristics may shape sales and employment growth patterns of USOs. To this end, it applies panel data quantile regression models in a sample of 531 Spanish USOs over the period of 2001–2013. The results show that the growth drivers not only differ between employment growth and sales growth but also along the growth distributions.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of surgical site infections and its treatment is challenging due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Natural berry-derived compounds have shown antimicrobial potential, e.g., ellagitannins such as sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C, the main phenolic compounds in Rubus seeds, have shown antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C fractionated from cloudberry seeds, on the MRSA growth, and as treatment of a MRSA biofilm development in different growth media in vitro and in vivo by using a murine wound infection model where sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C were used to prevent the MRSA infection. Sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C inhibited the in vitro biofilm development and growth of MRSA. Furthermore, sanguiin H-6 showed significant anti-MRSA effect in the in vivo wound model. Our study shows the possible use of sanguiin H-6 as a preventive measure in surgical sites to avoid postoperative infections, whilst lambertianin C showed no anti-MRSA activity.

[Abtract]: This paper explores how the entrepreneurial outcomes (patents, university spin-offs, research projects and R&D contracts) of universities relate to the availability and use of information and telecommunications (IT) solutions for knowledge management (KM) over the period 2011-2014. We hypothesize that entrepreneurial universities may benefit from a good connection between knowledge infrastructure (IT solutions) and knowledge management processes for KM. We tested this hypothesis by estimating generalized least squares models and negative binomial regression models in a sample of 63 Spanish universities over the period 2011-2014. The results show that using data grouping infrastructure increases several measures of entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. Unexpectedly, institutional tools of collaborative work and data warehouse significantly decrease the number of patents. According to these results we suggest that process-oriented approaches for KM may decrease the entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. The contribution of this analysis is twofold. First, it allows a better empirical understanding of how IT solutions for KM affect the entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. Second, this analysis could guide a new design of IT solutions in order to increase these outcomes.

Purpose This study aims to determine that the factors that lead to university spin-offs (USOs) high-growth firms (HGFs). In recent years, HGFs have been a topic of growing interest in the field of economic research because of these companies’ capacity for job creation and the dynamism they bring to the growth of the economy. In parallel, companies that are born of knowledge or technology developed at universities, known as university spin-offs, have also received attention from the literature in entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach In this study, to analyse the extent to which USOs have become HGFs, a sample of 237 Spanish companies with university origins for a period of study from 2007 to 2014 were used. To contrast the present study’s hypotheses, eight different models were estimated using probit models. Findings The results show that factors such as number of employees, internationalization, profitability and indebtedness positively affect the probability that a USO will become an HGF. However, for age, industry, innovation, the presence of venture capital and productivity, no statistically significant relationship could be found. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature in HGFs and university entrepreneurship in different ways. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have analysed the determinants of becoming an HGF from a USO. Second, hypotheses that, until now, had not been analysed in previous studies, in particular the fact of being a knowledge-intensive company, are tested. Third, the results obtained allow the establishment of recommendations to improve policies to support HGF-USO.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the driving forces of both the decision to participate in individual pension plans and the amount of money allocated to such plans. Moreover, this paper evaluates the potential role that income plays, which has not previously been considered in depth in the financial literature.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of the Spanish population over the period 2008–2015, this paper estimates probit and tobit models, using 165,791 observations. The driving forces of private retirement savings comprise demographic, financial and socio-economic characteristics.FindingsThis paper confirms the impact of socio-demographic and economic variables on participation and monetary contributions to pension plans. It also confirms that income plays a non-negligible role. Moreover, empirical evidence reveals that the effect of gender is related to the income stratum to which the individual belongs.Originality/valueRetirement planning plays a key role in retirees’ future income and several countries have emphasised the importance of private individual savings to supplement the minimum provided by public pension schemes. The previous literature has concluded that those who plan their retirement end their working lives with three times the wealth of non-planners. Consequently, analysis of whether people are saving enough for their retirement can contribute to avoiding future wealth inequalities among retirees. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest inequality in income distribution, so this issue is of even greater interest.

Previous research on the effect of risk preferences on stock market participation (SMP) has applied an individual-based approach without modelling how contextual factors may influence individuals’ ...

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether individuals’ planning horizon influences their decision to save privately for their retirement. Design/methodology/approach Focussing on Spain, this empirical research uses the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)[1]. Logit models are estimated considering variables related to demographic characteristics, economic situation, education and cognitive abilities and psychological and social factors. Findings The results confirm that the planning horizon significantly influences the decision to save for retirement. Long-term planners are more likely to save for retirement than short-term planners. Originality/value Although previous literature has identified the planning horizon as a relevant variable in the decision to save for retirement, few empirical studies have evaluated their impact. This paper shows that it is important to develop habits of financial planning in societies, especially in societies with a prominent orientation towards the present.

[Abstract] Universities have created USOs to exploit the research knowledge and contribute to the economic development of their regions in the last decades, leading to an extensive literature on the topic. However, this growing literature has widely overlooked the links between firm size and survival. This paper explores simultaneously the role of size and other firm characteristics on the likelihood of the USOs’ survival, mainly drawing on the RBV of the firm. The empirical study uses an unbalanced panel consisting of 2,220 observations from 465 Spanish USOs observed between 2005 and 2013 and event (survival) analysis techniques. The results confirm than firm size is positively associated with the USOs’ survival. Moreover, the empirical evidence seems to support the existence of a minimum size that, once reached, makes the failure risk of USOs not significantly dependent on size itself. The findings also confirm that the determinants of survival consistently differ between micro USOs and SML USOs. Thus, the survival of micro USOs is negatively affected by those activities that involve high needs of resources, like patent activity or debt payment. In contrast, exporting increases the survival probability of SML USOs.

It has been acknowledged that exporting and innovation activities become key performance drivers of firm growth. In this chapter, using dynamic panel data methodology with a sample of 3267 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2004–2014, we explore whether the effect of exports and technological innovation on firm growth differs depending on firm size. Previous research has sometimes overlooked the perils of jointly developing both activities for resource-constrained firms, therefore our study contributes to the literature in this field. Furthermore, a wide set of innovation measures is employed and Spain makes it an interesting context. Our results reveal that process innovation increases firm sales growth regardless of firm size, whereas patents prove to have a positive effect only in large firms. In turn, exporting is positively associated with sales growth in SMEs.

The creation of university spin-off firms (USOs) to commercialize the academic research outputs contributes to the economic development of the regions. These firms are often resource-constrained, which may hamper their growth. However, the involvement of venture capital (VC) partners in their management can partly counterbalance their traditional lack of resources. Within the USOs created in Portugal and Spain, around one-third operate in the information and communication technology industry (ICT-USOs). This chapter aims to explore the effect of VC partners on the ICT-USOs' growth by using a sample of 127 Spanish and 176 Portuguese ICT-USOs over the period 2007–2013. The results show that the effect of VC on the ICT-USOs' growth depends not only on the country, but also on how firm growth is measured; whereas a weak positive effect on the sales growth is found, a negative one is obtained in the case of the employment growth.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that the female-owned university spin-off organizations (USOs) have a similar resource endowment and, as a consequence, growth rates similar to the male-owned USOs. Design/methodology/approach A unique and original longitudinal data set, which is an unbalanced panel, consisting of 120 Spanish USOs over the period 2001-2010 has been constructed. The methodology includes the analysis of mean differences (t-test) and dynamic panel data models. Findings The results confirmed that there are no gender differences in either the firms’ initial resource endowment or in the preference for industries. There is no gender effect on the USOs’ growth, but the initial endowment resources matter. Thus the financial, human and technological resources have a positive effect on the USOs’ growth. This evidence suggests that the USOs’ context may mitigate the initial resource endowment of the female-owned firms and their preferences for traditional industries, showing similar rates of growth than male-owned USOs. Research limitations/implications Owners’ gender has been used as a proxy for founders’ gender. Also, only USOs included in the SABI database have been considered as part of the sample; the significant number of USOs that did not reveal information about their owners have been discarded. Practical implications It is important to continue supporting academic entrepreneurship, as in the university context, firm growth is not affected by gender differences. However, given that the percentage of female owners in university entrepreneurship is still lower compared to entrepreneurship in general, the universities’ entrepreneur programmes targeting women must adopt a gendered perspective. Originality/value Literature on USOs has traditionally analyzed the firm-specific characteristics that impact their growth without considering the influence of the owners’ gender. In this paper, an attempt to fill this gap has been made using a sample of 120 Spanish USOs and by applying the dynamic panel data methodology. In particular, it has been argued that the university context from which USOs emerge allows female-owned USOs to have a similar resource endowment and, as a consequence, a similar growth when compared to male-owned USOs.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the determinants of firms’ attitudes to R&D cooperation with universities with the goal to propose a model of knowledge transfer university-firm. Design/methodology/approach By understanding university-industry cooperation as a process, the model in this study is based on two factors: the “promoter of university-industry relations” (PUIR) and a technological system that is able to match the research supply of universities with the demand for innovation of the firms. A total of 375 firms, 420 research groups and 18 experts in knowledge transfer from Spain, Portugal and France have been involved in this study. Findings This study provides the first evidences of the relation between the number of matches’ demand-supply of research, the number of university-firm relations and the willingness to cooperate; all of these presented in the knowledge transfer model. Results also reinforce the utility of the role of PUIR and the matching system in the open innovation process. Research limitations/implications However, more evidences are necessary to get a complete validation of the model. In the future, the continuous utilization of the matching system by the PUIRs of the selected regions will allow the authors to evaluate how well the system is working by analysing the possible increases in formal collaboration university-firm in the area of R&D. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature through aligning the open innovation and intellectual capital theories in the specific and complex context of university-firm collaboration. Also, little research regarding this topic has been noticed in SUDOE European Union (EU) countries (SUDOE is an EU territorial cooperation programme that supports regional development by funding transnational projects).