M.A. Inostroza, Jorge Sepúlveda Velásquez and Santiago Ortúzar
This article aims to analyze how gender and decision-making styles of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) impact the financial performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to analyze how gender and decision-making styles of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) impact the financial performance of the firms they manage.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained for 2017 for 185 SMEs in Chile, an emerging economy, including firm information, CEO's sociodemographic characteristics and CEOs' decision-making styles. Generalized Least Squares (GLS) models were estimated to explain the influence of gender and decision-making styles on firm performance, controlling for a series of covariates. To test whether gender moderates the effect of decision-making styles on firm performance, interaction terms were included. Furthermore, models were subject to several robustness procedures, with no significant differences in results.
Findings
The authors find evidence of significant relationships for both gender and the avoidant style. Likewise, the authors find evidence of interaction effects between gender and decision-making styles, particularly between gender and the dependent style.
Originality/value
Findings contribute to prior research by analyzing the relationship between CEO gender and SME performance in the context of a Latin American emerging economy; by providing evidence of the impact of decision-making styles on the financial performance of SMEs; and by examining how a specific decision-making style, namely the dependent style, operates differently according to CEO gender, shedding some light on its ambiguous character as described by prior research. For policymakers and authorities, findings indicate the importance of incorporating women to SMEs and supporting their way towards higher management.
Propósito
Esta investigación analiza cómo el género y los estilos de toma de decisiones de los gerentes generales (CEOs) de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) impactan en el desempeño financiero de las empresas que administran.
Diseño
Se obtuvieron datos del año 2017 para 185 PYMEs ubicadas en Chile, una economía emergente, incluyendo información de la empresa, así como características sociodemográficas y estilos de toma de decisiones de los gerentes generales. Se estimaron modelos de Mínimos Cuadrados Generalizados (GLS) para explicar la influencia del género y los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento de la empresa, controlando por una serie de covariables. Para determinar si el género modera el efecto de los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento de la empresa, se incluyeron términos de interacción. Además, los modelos fueron sometidos a varios procedimientos de robustez, sin encontrar diferencias significativas en los resultados.
Hallazgos
Los autores encuentran evidencia de relaciones significativas tanto para el género como para el estilo evitativo. Asimismo, los autores encuentran evidencia de efectos interacción entre el género y estilos de toma de decisiones, particularmente entre el género y el estilo dependiente.
Originalidad
Los hallazgos contribuyen a investigaciones anteriores al analizar la relación entre el género del CEO y el rendimiento de las PYMEs en el contexto de una economía latinoamericana emergente; al proporcionar evidencia del impacto de los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento financiero de las PYMEs; y al examinar cómo un estilo de toma de decisiones específico, a saber, el estilo dependiente, opera de manera diferente según el género del CEO, esclareciendo su carácter ambiguo tal como ha sido descrito en investigaciones anteriores. Para las autoridades y los responsables de políticas, los hallazgos indican la importancia de incorporar mujeres a las PYMEs y apoyarlas en su ascenso hacia la alta administración.
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Jorge Peña and Percy Caruajulca
Considering the entrepreneurship nature and the high number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American region, this study seeks to empirically test the…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the entrepreneurship nature and the high number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American region, this study seeks to empirically test the relationship between organizational culture (OC), transformational leadership (TF) and organizational performance (OP) to support their long-term survival.
Design/methodology/approach
Under a post-positivism paradigm, quantitative approach and correlational scope, this research analyzed the interrelationship between OC, TF and OP across Peruvian SMEs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to test the hypotheses based on the responses of 276 SMEs’ top executives from the commerce, services, manufacturing, construction and agriculture industries.
Findings
OC fully mediates the relationship between TL and OP. Although TF solely does not drive OP, the mediating effect of OC is crucial for SMEs’ long-term survival, especially considering their contribution to employment, poverty reduction and GDP in developing countries. Entrepreneurial transformational leaders inspire their followers to achieve goals, strive to develop individual skills, transmit confidence and leave aside their own interests to focus on the common goal of growing their entrepreneurship competitively.
Originality/value
The three variables under analysis have been applied to large companies and SMEs. However, this research enriches previous findings, highlighting the necessity for an adequate OC derived from an entrepreneur with TL, contributing to the survival of SMEs, whose results are critical for developing countries’ economies.
Propósito
Considerando la naturaleza emprendedora y el elevado número de pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) en Latinoamérica, este artículo busca probar empíricamente la relación entre cultura organizacional (OC), liderazgo transformacional (TF) y desempeño organizacional (OP), con el fin de contribuir a su sobrevivencia en el largo plazo.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Bajo el paradigma post-positivista, con un enfoque cuantitativo y un alcance correlacional, esta investigación analiza la interrelación entre las variables OC, el TF y el OP en PYMES peruanas. Para ello se utilizó análisis factorial confirmatorio (CFA) y modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) considerando las respuestas de 276 altos ejecutivos de PYMES provenientes de las industrias de comercio, servicios, manufactura, construcción y agricultura.
Resultados
La cultura organizacional media completamente la relación entre el liderazgo transformacional y el desempeño organizacional. Aunque el liderazgo transformacional por sí solo no influye en el desempeño organizacional, el efecto mediador del TF es clave para la supervivencia a largo plazo de las PYMES, especialmente si se tiene en cuenta su contribución al empleo, su impacto en la reducción de la pobreza y el PBI, en los países en desarrollo. Los emprendedores con liderazgo transformacional inspiran a sus seguidores para alcanzar objetivos, se esfuerzan por desarrollar las habilidades de cada individuo, transmiten confianza y dejan de lado sus intereses personales para centrarse en el objetivo común del crecimiento de su emprendimiento con competitividad.
Originalidad/valor
Las tres variables en estudio han sido aplicadas en empresas grandes y PYMES. Sin embargo, esta investigación enriquece los hallazgos previos, destacando la necesidad de contar con una adecuada cultura organizacional derivada de un emprendedor con liderazgo transformacional, contribuyendo con la supervivencia de las PYMEs, cuyos resultados son críticos para la economía de los países en desarrollo.
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This study aims to explore the direct impact of various personality traits of the CEO on new product development (NPD) performance, as well as the mediating role of strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the direct impact of various personality traits of the CEO on new product development (NPD) performance, as well as the mediating role of strategic schema changes in the relation among these key variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The research focuses on Chinese science and technology enterprises. A total of 659 valid responses from CEOs and senior managers have been analyzed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that CEO’s conscientiousness and agreeableness negatively correlate with NPD performance and strategic schema changes. CEO traits such as extroversion, openness to experience and emotional stability are positively associated with both variables. Furthermore, the study confirms that strategic schema changes partially mediate the relation between CEO personality traits and NPD performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses only on the relation between CEOs’ Big Five personality traits and NPD performance. However, other personality traits such as narcissism or dark personality traits may also influence NPD performance. Future research should explore the effect of a broader range of CEO personality traits on corporate performance. And, this paper primarily investigates the mediating role of strategic schema change between CEO personality and NPD performance, drawing on personality psychology and strategic cognition. However, other important theoretical perspectives, such as organizational resources and binary learning, may offer additional insights into the relation between CEO personality and NPD performance. Future research could delve deeper into these perspectives at multiple levels for a more comprehensive understanding.
Originality/value
The findings broaden the application of personality psychology within innovation management, offering valuable practical insights and new perspectives for technology enterprises seeking to enhance new product performance.
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Marta M. Vidal-Suárez, Cristina López-Duarte and Pilar L. González-Torre
The purpose is to explore the existence of different export manager profiles in terms of managerial attributes and personal traits according to gender. The study aims to answer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to explore the existence of different export manager profiles in terms of managerial attributes and personal traits according to gender. The study aims to answer two research questions: (1) Do export manager profiles differ depending on gender? If so, (2) which are the traits or managerial attributes that differ by gender and which is the relationship among them?
Design/methodology/approach
The article relies on a quantitative empirical analysis of a sample of export managers of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Findings
Our results point to the existence of gendered export manager profiles that differ in terms of objective managerial attributes, personal traits, managerial styles and subjective perceptions relative to discriminatory practices and detrimental stereotypes. Two gender-specific substitution effects exist: one between managers’ experiential skills and their formal education and the other between managers' entrepreneurial orientation and the use of relational networks.
Research limitations/implications
Our data are limited in terms of geographical scope and firms size; therefore, our results are no generalizable without new studies on this issue.
Practical implications
Our findings can help firms to understand the relevance of export teams that encompass different gender managers and benefit from the combination of diverse managerial attributes, personal traits and relational processes in their international growth.
Originality/value
Gender is an scarcely studied issue in international business and management literature despite its relevance in the international institutional context. This article addresses the gender aspect of export management.
Objetivo
Explorar la existencia de perfiles de gestor de exportaciones diferenciados en función del género. El estudio pretende responder a dos preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿difiere el perfil de los gestores de exportación en función del género? En caso afirmativo, (2) ¿en qué atributos directivos/rasgos se observa la diferencia y cuál es la relación entre ellos?
Diseño/metodología
Análisis empírico cuantitativo sobre una muestra de gestores de exportación de pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) españolas.
Resultados
Nuestros resultados apuntan a la existencia de perfiles de gestor de exportación diferenciados por género en términos de atributos objetivos, rasgos personales, estilos de gestión y percepciones relativas a prácticas discriminatorias y estereotipos perjudiciales. Existen dos efectos sustitución en función del género: (1) experiencia profesional versus educación formal y (2) orientación empresarial versus uso de redes relacionales.
Originalidad
El género es una cuestión escasamente estudiada en la literatura sobre gestión internacional a pesar de su relevancia en el contexto institucional internacional. Este artículo aborda el aspecto del género en la gestión de exportaciones.
Limitaciones
Nuestros datos son limitados en términos de ámbito geográfico y tamaño de las empresas; por tanto, no son generalizables sin la realización de nuevos estudios.
Implicaciones prácticas
Nuestras conclusiones pueden ayudar a comprender la relevancia de los equipos de exportación que integran a directivos de diferente género y se benefician de la combinación de diversos atributos directivos, rasgos personales y procesos relacionales en su crecimiento internacional.
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M. Alejandra Inostroza and Christian Espinosa-Méndez
In this paper the authors study how sociodemographic characteristics and personality traits of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) impact financial performance in small and medium…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper the authors study how sociodemographic characteristics and personality traits of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) impact financial performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy such as Chile.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors applied a questionnaire to 185 Chilean SME CEOs during 2017 concerning sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, experience and marital status), personality traits (extraversion, responsibility, openness to experience, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and firm characteristics.
Findings
The authors find that some sociodemographic characteristics (gender and age) significantly impact SME performance. The authors find no significant connection between personality traits and firm performance.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the business literature by investigating how sociodemographic variables and personality traits of the CEO are related to SME financial performance; by providing new evidence on the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm performance, mostly centered on developed economies, in the context of an emerging economy; and allowing for a better understanding of how CEO decisions impact firm performance.
Objetivo
Este artículo estudia cómo las características sociodemográficas y los rasgos de personalidad del gerente general (CEO) afectan el desempeño financiero de Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (PYMEs) en una economía emergente como Chile.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Se aplicó un cuestionario a 185 gerentes generales de PYMEs chilenas en 2017 acerca de sus características sociodemográficas (género, edad, experiencia, estado civil), rasgos de personalidad (extraversión, responsabilidad, apertura a la experiencia, amabilidad y neuroticismo) y características de la empresa.
Resultados
Se encontró que ciertas características sociodemográficas (género, edad) afectan significativamente el desempeño de las PYMEs. No se encontraron asociaciones significativas entre rasgos de personalidad y desempeño de la empresa.
Originalidad/valor
Este trabajo contribuye a la literatura de negocios al investigar cómo las variables sociodemográficas y los rasgos de personalidad del gerente general se relacionan con el desempeño financiero de las PYMEs; al entregar nueva evidencia sobre la relación entre características del gerente general y el desempeño de la empresa, mayoritariamente centrada en economías desarrolladas, en el contexto de una economía emergente; y al permitir una mejor comprensión de cómo las decisiones del gerente general afectan el desempeño de las empresas.
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Christian Espinosa-Méndez and Alejandra Inostroza Correa
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how chief executive officer (CEO) gender relates to financial performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a Latin American…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how chief executive officer (CEO) gender relates to financial performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a Latin American emerging economy like Chile.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply a questionnaire on a sample of 188 SMEs in Chile in 2017. The authors apply multiple ordinary least squares regression models to test the effects of CEO gender on SME performance using the industry location indicators to account for unobserved heterogeneity in the sample. As a robustness test the authors use hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
The authors find a positive relationship between the presence of female CEOs and firm performance. Then, when probing whether the sociodemographic characteristics of the CEO are related to firm performance or moderate the gender-performance relationship, the authors do not find statistically significant evidence that these types of characteristics affect the performance of SMEs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate the relationship between CEO gender and financial performance of SMEs in an emerging Latin American economy. The study contributes to the general literature by reporting comparable evidence with studies in developed economies.
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Daniel Oviedo, Luis A. Guzman, Julian Arellana, Orlando Sabogal-Cardona, Carlos Moncada and Lynn Scholl
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities have transformed the lives of urban societies across the globe. One of such effects has been the redefinition of access and urban…
Abstract
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities have transformed the lives of urban societies across the globe. One of such effects has been the redefinition of access and urban mobility patterns, exposing divides and inequalities along the lines of class, gender and social positions. In Latin America, long-term lockdowns and widespread containment-oriented restrictions have deepened already acute conditions of poverty and deprivation. Low-income and socially vulnerable households and individuals in countries such as Colombia find themselves unable, or in a disadvantaged position, to work from home, access goods and services securely and avoid transport modes that increase exposure to contagion. This chapter examines inequalities in urban mobility and access to essential opportunities in urban settings in Colombia, through data collected from 3,900 respondents to a web survey organised during the national lockdown in the country in April 2020. The chapter presents a Latent Class Analysis model exploring how intersecting differences in class, gender, ethnicity, age and other relevant socioeconomic characteristics, influence the degree of adaptability and capacity to adapt to the challenging conditions posed by COVID-19 for physical travel and carrying out everyday activities. Building on three distinct classes of mobility and access-related conditions, the chapter reflects on structural inequalities associated with Colombian cities’ urban form, functional and productive structures and its wide social gaps. The chapter builds on empirical findings to reflect on urban policy and discuss avenues for addressing social and spatial inequalities worsened by the pandemic.
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Friederike Fleischer and Ivette S. Sepúlveda Sanabria
According to the Colombian Labour Ministry, in 2015, 750,000 persons officially worked as household employees. Ninety-eight per cent of these employees are women who tend to live…
Abstract
According to the Colombian Labour Ministry, in 2015, 750,000 persons officially worked as household employees. Ninety-eight per cent of these employees are women who tend to live in Bogotá’s (southern) urban fringe and travel to the city’s wealthier north on a daily basis. Yet public transportation in the Colombian capital is subject to stratification. Besides overcrowding and delays, petty crime and sexual harassment, fringe areas remain underserved. Based on ethnographic data, in this chapter, the authors discuss findings from a 3-year research project on female household employees’ subjective experience of space. Specifically, the authors explore their capacity (motility) to be mobile. This perspective breaks with the limits of bounded categories such as ‘urban’, ‘neighbourhood’ or ‘class’, to highlight their situational and spatial mutability. Moreover, an investigation of motility includes people’s potential to move as well as their subjective experiences of mobility. The research shows how gender intersects with local labour regimes and infrastructure to negatively affect women’s mobility. Urban stratification is not only a question of locale of residence and access to services, but importantly (re)produced in the household employees’ subjective experience of their daily commute, which they describe as suffering. In their limited spare time, female household employees abstain from travelling, effectively curbing their active appropriation of urban space. The research thus illuminates how spatial, social and economic dimensions mutually interact to impact on the women’s lives and possibilities.
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Silvia Ronchi, Stefano Salata and Andrea Arcidiacono
The spatial development of urban areas affects the characteristics of landscape as well as people’s aesthetic perception of it. Specifically, sprawl results in an urban morphology…
Abstract
Purpose
The spatial development of urban areas affects the characteristics of landscape as well as people’s aesthetic perception of it. Specifically, sprawl results in an urban morphology which is diametrically opposed to the compact city model and which assumes several kinds of patterns: for example “striped”, “ribbon” or “leapfrogged” urban development. Assessing urban morphology in spatial terms is crucial to urban policy, while landscape metrics are the key to a comprehensive understanding of different urban development patterns. The purpose of this paper to design and test an urban morphology indicator (UMI) for the Lombardy Regional Landscape Plan.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes an UMI that can be used to identify the heterogeneity of built-up patterns according to urban porosity, fragmentation and patch shape. This UMI is a result of Esri ArcGIS 10.3 “grouping analysis” which works by applying a spatial statistical metric for clustering geometries in a given geographical area.
Findings
Morphological analysis was used in regional urban development policies with a view to minimising impact on surrounding ecosystems and preserving the natural environment and landscape. It defines 28 different urban morphology patterns in the region, which are divided into systems, polarities and urbanised units.
Originality/value
The proposed methodology differs from those traditionally used in qualitative/descriptive landscape planning and supports the identification of morphological features with quantitative statistical and spatial data, allowing a fine-scale assessment of complex metrics.
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Rohit Pethe, Thomas Heuzé and Laurent Stainier
The purpose of this paper is to present a variational mesh h-adaption approach for strongly coupled thermomechanical problems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a variational mesh h-adaption approach for strongly coupled thermomechanical problems.
Design/methodology/approach
The mesh is adapted by local subdivision controlled by an energy criterion. Thermal and thermomechanical problems are of interest here. In particular, steady and transient purely thermal problems, transient strongly coupled thermoelasticity and thermoplasticity problems are investigated.
Findings
Different test cases are performed to test the robustness of the algorithm for the problems listed above. It is found that a better cost-effectiveness can be obtained with that approach compared to a uniform refining procedure. Because the algorithm is based on a set of tolerance parameters, parametric analyses and a study of their respective influence on the mesh adaption are carried out. This detailed analysis is performed on unidimensional problems, and a final example is provided in two dimensions.
Originality/value
This work presents an original approach for independent h-adaption of a mechanical and a thermal mesh in strongly coupled problems, based on an incremental variational formulation. The approach does not rely on (or attempt to provide) error estimation in the classical sense. It could merely be considered to provide an error indicator. Instead, it provides a practical methodology to adapt the mesh on the basis of the variational structure of the underlying mathematical problem.