Open Access
Are family firms really more socially responsible?
(SAGE, 2014) Cruz, Cristina; Larraza Kintana, Martín; Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Berrone, Pascual; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
This paper conducts an empirical study as to whether family firms are more socially responsible than their non-family counterparts, and explores the conditions in which this difference in social behavior occurs. We argue that family firms, given their socioemotional wealth bias, have a positive effect on social dimensions linked to external stakeholders, yet have a negative impact on internal social dimensions. Thus, family firms can be socially responsible and irresponsible at the same time. We also suggest that institutional and organizational conditions act as catalysts in the relationship between firm type and CSR. General support for our thesis that family firms neglect internal social dimensions came from the study of a sample of 598 listed European firms over a period of 4 years. Moreover, while national standards and industry conditions influence the degree of CSR in non-family firms, these factors do not affect family firms. However, family firms’ social activities are more sensitive to declining organizational performance.
Embargo
Editorial note: heterogeneity in management and governance in family firms
(Elsevier, 2023) Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Heterogeneity within family firms has emerged as a pivotal area of research interest. This special edition of The Journal of High Technology Management Research makes a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge on the diversity found within family-run enterprises, with a specific emphasis on the variances in governance and management structures. In this introductory piece, the proposition is put forth that family governance, encompassing both ownership and management, alongside the decisions guiding governance practices, plays a pivotal role in driving diversity within family businesses. This exploration delves into multiple facets of heterogeneity within family firms. The subsequent content of this issue comprises four studies that illuminate the impact of governance on diverse aspects, including the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, innovation in products and processes, strategic maneuvers, and the distinctive governance structures prevalent in Latin American family businesses. Furthermore, this discourse extends beyond the findings presented in these studies by delving into uncharted realms of research, focusing on the disparities evident in the contextual settings and governance mechanisms adopted by different family firms.
Open Access
When do women make a better table? Examining the influence of women directors on family firm's corporate social performance
(SAGE Publications, 2019) Cruz, Cristina; Justo, Rachida; Larraza Kintana, Martín; Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas
Our paper seeks to further understand the influence of gender board diversity on firms' corporate social performance (CPS) in the context of publicly held family firms. Grounded on corporate governance and family firm literature, we argue that the influence of women directors on CSP will be contingent on their relative power and legitimacy within the board, and that such dynamics are particularly important in family firm boardrooms. Our empirical results show that increases in CSP associated with the presence of women in the boards of family firms are due mainly to the presence of outsider nonfamily and insider family women directors. Implications for the theory of family firms are discussed.
Open Access
Family firms: the role of non-economic factors
(2015) Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Larraza Kintana, Martín; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
En esta tesis se estudia el papel de los factores no económicos en la toma de decisiones de las empresas familiares y las compara así con las decisiones tomadas por las empresas no familiares. Analiza los factores no económicos en distintas bases de datos y a través de diferentes variables económicas, como son: la orientación emprendedora, la responsabilidad social corporativa y la satisfacción general de la empresa respecto a los resultados económicos. La variedad de contextos económicos, así como la distintas variables analizadas hacen que los resultados sean mucho más consistentes. Además, se utilizan distintos factores moderadores que contribuyen y enriquecen el marco teórico. La tesis no sólo compara las empresas familiares y las no familiares en base a las anteriores variables económicas sino que además es capaz de explicar las variaciones que exiten en los comportamientos dentro de las empresas familiares, contribuyendo al actual debate sobre la heterogeneidad de la empresa familiar. Por último, la tesis amplia el estudio sobre la teoría de la riqueza socioemocional, y su aplicación en la empresa familiar junto con otras teorías que hacen más fácil la comprensión del especial comportamiento de la empresa familiar.
Open Access
Sistemas de gestión de personas de alto compromiso (SGPAC) y empresa familiar: ¿son realmente diferentes las empresas familiares?
(Eusko Ikaskuntza-Sociedad de Estudios Vascos., 2013) Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
El presente trabajo analiza si existen diferencias entre las empresas familiares y no familiares en el grado de implementación de sistemas de gestión de personas de alto compromiso en diferentes grupos de empleados. Los resultados indican que las empresas familiares no presentan un grado de implementación de sistemas de gestión de personas de alto compromiso diferentes al de las empresas no familiares.
Open Access
Enhancing innovation through ESG practices: the superior impact on family businesses
(Emerald, 2025-02-24) Barguilla Sanclaudio, Maite; Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Salazar Morales, Iván Alfredo; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Purpose: This work contributes to the debate on the link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and firm innovation, incorporating ownership structure as a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to analyse the impact of ESG criteria on innovation, considering firm ownership as a catalyst that strengthens the effect of environmental and social practices on innovative performance. Findings: Family-owned firms, with their unique characteristics like long-term orientation and commitment to family values, strengthen the relationship between environmental and social practices and innovation performance. This suggests that such firms are better positioned to leverage their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments and activities. Practical implications: The findings offer valuable insights for decision-making in organizations, particularly family firms focused on innovation and sustainability. The research shows that investing in sustainability practices not only ensures ESG compliance but also significantly fosters innovation. Originality/value: This study contributes to the debate regarding the relationship between ESG criteria and firm innovative performance. It highlights how the implementation of ESG practices influences innovation, and particularly how firm ownership further enhances the relationship between environmental and social practices and firm innovative performance.
Open Access
Bundles of HRM practices in family and non-family firms: the impact on enhancing performance
(Routledge, 2019) Bello Pintado, Alejandro; Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
This paper analyzes how ability, motivation and opportunity bundles of HRM practices affect enhanced manufacturing performance in family firms (FFs) and non-family firms (NFFs). Five hypotheses were proposed and tested using data from a unique survey of 301 manufacturing plants located in Uruguay and Argentina. Estimations indicate that coherent bundles comprising HRM practices aimed at enhancing abilities (A) and giving workers the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process (O), individually and interactively, have a positive effect on manufacturing performance in FFs. A motivational bundle of HRM practices (M) has a positive effect on enhanced performance in NFFs. The study therefore establishes the existence of hierarchies among bundles, which vary with company ownership.
Open Access
Absorptive capacity in family firms: exploring the role of the CEO
(Emerald, 2024) Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Kotlar, Josip; Caicedo Leitón, Ana Lucía; Larraza Kintana, Martín; Frattini, Federico; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Purpose: Absorptive capacity (AC), the ability to leverage external knowledge for innovation, helps explain the mixed findings on family firms' innovation performance. Our research focuses on the CEO's role - whether family or non-family, and founding or later generation - in influencing AC. We also explore how firm size and environmental dynamism affect these relationships, offering insights into varying AC levels among family firms. Design/methodology/approach: OLS regression models were estimated to test the hypotheses using a sample of 364 family firms in Spain. Findings: Family firms¿ absorptive capacity is greater when the CEO is a family member, and even more so when the family CEO belongs to the founding family generation. While AC diminishes in larger family firms this effect is mitigated when the CEO is a family member. The predicted moderating effect of environmental dynamisms is not supported by the analyses. Originality: This paper adds insights about the drivers of heterogeneity in innovation among family firms, addressing recent calls for more nuanced views of how family members drive the strategic behavior of the business, and incorporating considerations of different types of family firms based on the identity of the firm CEO. The results overall support the theoretical claims, but also open up important questions for future studies.
Open Access
Sistemas de trabajo de alto rendimiento y productividad: el papel de la orientación emprendedora
(Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo, 2019) Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Caicedo Leitón, Ana Lucía; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
Las prácticas innovadoras de recursos humanos denominadas como «Sistemas de trabajo de alto rendimiento» (STAR) y su estudio, es un tema de creciente interés, siendo objeto de numerosas investigaciones que reivindican la importancia de su implementación en las organizaciones. Desde los nuevos paradigmas como la economía basada en el conocimiento, se plantea reconocer a las personas como activos intangibles que generan valor a la empresa y que a su vez permiten el crecimiento económico (Steinmueller, 2002). La incorporación de activos intangibles en las empresas aparece como un determinante cada vez más importante de la mejora de la competitividad de las empresas y de su crecimiento económico.
Open Access
The role of female directors in family firms' annual report's readability
(Emerald, 2024) Abinzano Guillén, María Isabel; Garcés Galdeano, Lucía; Martínez García, Beatriz; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Purpose: this paper investigates the impact of board gender diversity on the readability of the annual reports of family-controlled public companies. Design/methodology/approach: grounded in the premises of the restricted and extended views of the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach and executive power theory, this paper explores the ways in which family-affiliated female directors influence report readability in a sample of 133 publicly traded US companies listed in the Fortune 1,000. We use the system GMM estimator, which deals with two key sources of endogeneity by controlling first for reverse causality, using the lags of the endogenous variables as instruments, and then for omitted variables, capturing the individual effect. Findings: our analysis confirms that the significant enhancement in annual report readability is associated with the presence of female family directors, particularly those who are insiders within the company. In contrast, non-family female directors and family outsider directors appear to have a negative impact on annual report readability. Originality/value: while scholars have increasingly focused on variations in annual report readability among family firms, the contribution of female directors to this phenomenon has received minimal attention. In our study, we integrate the theories of restricted and extended SEW perspectives with the theory of women's executive power within the board. This integration is essential for considering two critical factors: firstly, the primacy of their SEW objectives, and, secondly, their legitimacy within the board.