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Purpose: This study aims to identify which determinants are responsible for impact ing the user experience of three peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services in the Spanish market. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of all online reviews (n=16,048) pub lished in Google Play of three paytech apps—Bizum, Twyp, and Verse—was analyzed using text mining and sentiment analysis. Findings: A holistic interpretation of the seed terms included in each aspect allowed to label them based on the preferences expressed by paytech app users in their reviews. Six latent aspects were identified: ease of use, usefulness, perceived value, per formance expectancy, perceived quality, and user experience. In addition, the results of the analysis suggest a positivity bias in the online reviews of fintech P2P app users. Our results also show that online reviews of apps associated with banks or financial institutions, such as Bizum (to a greater extent) or Twyp, show more negative emotions, whereas independent apps (Verse) show more positive emotions. Moreover, the most critical users are those of unidentified gender, while women remain in a more neutral position, and men tend to express their opinions more positively regarding P2P pay ment apps. Practical implications: Paytech providers should analyze the problems faced by users immediately after an encounter. By applying text mining analysis, service providers can gain efficiency in understanding user sentiments and emotions without tedious and time-consuming reviews. Originality/value: This is a pioneering study on peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment systems from the user’s perspective because it investigates the emotions and senti ments that users convey through bank reviews.

The objective of this investigation is to determine the influence of the female labor force on the performance of the microfinance institutions (IMFs) of Latin America and the Caribbean (ALCA). Based on data obtained in the Mix Market, the influence of women was analyzed in positions as loan officers, managers and board members of 171 IMFS from 18 countries in the region during the period 2010–2018, on the efficiency, productivity, financial performance and outreach. The results show that female loan officers and female managers have a positive influence on performance while female board do it negatively. However, when analyzing the influence of the female boards on those boards where they have a majority participation, a better performance is observed. It is recommended to increase the female presence in the IMFs workforce, especially at higher levels., El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar la influencia de la fuerza laboral femenina en el desempeño de las instituciones microfinancieras (IMF) de América Latina y el Caribe (ALCA). Partiendo de datos obtenidos en el MIX Market, se analizó la influencia de la mujer en puestos como oficiales de crédito, gerentes y consejeras, de 171 IMF en 18 países de la región durante el periodo 2010-2018, en la eficiencia, productividad, rendimiento financiero y alcance. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las oficiales de crédito y las gerentes influyen de forma positiva en el desempeño en tanto que las consejeras lo hacen de forma negativa. No obstante, cuando se analiza la influencia de las consejeras en aquellos consejos donde tienen una participación mayoritaria, se observa un mejor desempeño. Se recomienda incrementar la presencia femenina en la fuerza laboral de las IMF, especialmente en niveles gerenciales.

En la legislación española se ha normado un nuevo reglamento (Reglamento 2021/1253) el cual pretende fomentar la inversión sostenible pero que puede comprometer la protección del inversor dentro del marco jurídico de España. Se establece que las entidades financieras a la hora de aplicar el test de idoneidad y el test de conveniencia deben de consultar sobre las preferencias de inversión sostenible. Los autores pretenden aportar valor facilitando un debate sobre la eficacia y el efecto en la protección del inversor mediante un análisis crítico de la normativa legal., In Spanish legislation, a new regulation has been established (Regulation 2021/1253) which aims to promote sustainable investment but which may compromise investor protection within the legal framework of Spain. It is established that financial entities, when applying the suitability test and the convenience test, must consult about sustainable investment preferences. The authors aim to provide value by facilitating a debate on the effectiveness and effect on investor protection through a critical analysis of legal regulations.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assess and contrast the impact of various factors, including both bank-specific and macroeconomic factors, on the financial performance of Islamic and conventional banks (I&CB) in countries with a dual banking system. Design/methodology/approach – A general least square model is applied to a large data set of 103 I&CB operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, comprising unbalanced annual panel data spanning the period from 2015 to 2020. The financial performance index (FPI) derived from capital adequacy, asset quality, management efficiency, earnings, and liquidity (CAMEL) ratios is used as the dependent variable. Findings – Key factors, such as overhead expenses, gross domestic product (GDP) and retained earnings, exert a substantial influence on the financial performance of both I&CB. Moreover, the findings suggest that certain parameters, including deposits, inflation and cellular banking usage, significantly impact on the financial performance of conventional banks, while bank size specifically affects the financial performance of Islamic banks. Research limitations/implications – While this study provides valuable insights, it is essential to acknowledge its limitations. The research focuses on a specific region (MENA) and may not be universally applicable to other geographical areas or banking systems. The study’s findings are based on historical data and might not fully reflect current or future market conditions. Additionally, the choice of variables and methodology may introduce bias or limitations, as with any empirical study. The theoretical implications of the research paper lie in the distinct ethical principles that constitute the foundation of Islamic finance. The ethical opposition to Riba is poised to have extensive implications, influencing market stability, commercial and economic impact and contributing to responsible banking practices within the Islamic banking sector. The study sugges

El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar la influencia de la fuerza laboral femenina en el desempeño de las instituciones microfinancieras (IMF) de América Latina y el Caribe (ALCA). Partiendo de datos obtenidos en el MIX Market, se analizó la influencia de la mujer en puestos como oficiales de crédito, gerentes y consejeras, de 171 IMF en 18 países de la región durante el periodo 2010-2018, en la eficiencia, productividad, rendimiento financiero y alcance. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las oficiales de crédito y las gerentes influyen de forma positiva en el desempeño en tanto que las consejeras lo hacen de forma negativa. No obstante, cuando se analiza la influencia de las consejeras en aquellos consejos donde tienen una participación mayoritaria, se observa un mejor desempeño. Se recomienda incrementar la participación femenina en la fuerza laboral de las IMF, especialmente en niveles gerenciales., The aim of this research is to determine the influence of the female labor force on the performance of microfinance institutions of Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on data obtained in the MIX Market, the influence of women in positions such as loan officers, managers and board members were analyzed in171 IMFS from 18 countries in the region between 2010–2018, measuring efficiency, productivity, financial performance and outreach. Results show that female loan officers and female managers positively influence performance, while female board members do so negatively. However, when analyzing the influence of the female boards on those boards where they have a majority participation, better performance is observed. It is recommended to increase the female participation in the IMFs workforce, especially at higher levels

Disruptive innovations caused by FinTech (i.e., technology-assisted customized fnancial services) have brought digital peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to the fore. In this chal lenging environment and based on theories about customer behavior in response to technological innovations, this paper identifes the drivers of consumer adoption of mobile P2P payments and develops a machine learning model to predict the use of this thriving payment option. To do so, we use a unique data set with information from 701 participants (observations) who completed a questionnaire about the adop tion of Bizum, a leading mobile P2P platform worldwide. The respondent profle was the average Spanish citizen within the framework of European culture and lifestyle. We document (in this order of priority) the usefulness of mobile P2P payments, infu ence of peers and other social groups such as friends, family, and colleagues on indi vidual behavior (that is, subjective norms), perceived trust, and enjoyment of the user experience within the digital context and how those attributes better classify (poten tial) users of mobile P2P payments. We also fnd that nonparametric approaches based on machine learning algorithms outperform traditional parametric methods. Finally, our results show that feature selection based on random forest, such as the Boruta procedure, as a preprocessing technique substantially increases prediction perfor mance while reducing noise, redundancy of the resulting model, and computational costs. The main limitation of this research is that it only has a place within the socio cultural and institutional framework of the Spanish population. It is therefore desirable to replicate this study by surveying people from other countries to analyze the efects of the institutional environment on the adoption of mobile P2P payments

Purpose – This study aims to identify the factors that could explain the intention to use Paytech services within an Islamic banking context. The authors use an extended version of the technology acceptance model to develop a causal–predictive analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The research model and hypotheses were tested by applying partial least square-structured equation modeling to data collected from 214 users of Islamic banking in Saudi Arabia. Findings – The results show that perceived trust has a highly significant direct effect on the intention to use Islamic Paytech services, whereas perceived risk has a significant indirect effect on IU. Research limitations/implications – Internet banking behavior may not be static. In technology acceptance, during the various phases from introduction to the maturity phase, the respondent’s perceptions tend to change Practical implications – From the point of view of Fintech services providers, the knowledge of the factors fostering the adoption of Fintech services would allow an international expansion without the inconvenience of establishing offices or companies in countries whose legislation does not favor the operations carried out by Islamic banks. Social implications – These digital payment services would allow access to financial services to the entire Muslim population regardless of their location (Islamic and non-Islamic nations) and will also reach out to the next generation of young Muslims as a majority are “digital natives”ready for digital Islamic financial solutions. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the intention to use Paytech services by Islamic banking users in Saudi Arabia. From a theoretical perspective, this work contributes to the academic literature by analyzing the intention to use Paytech services in an Islamic banking context. On the practical front, the study identifies the crucial factors that industry players can use to design their Paytech applications and servic

Este artículo consiste en un estudio bibliométrico en el que se identifica cuales son las tendencias actuales de publicación en ESG y su influencia bursátil. El cual se trata de un problema de investigación de creciente interés principalmente por parte de USA, Canadá y China. No obstante, a pesar de la investigación previa los resultados no son concluyentes sobre la relación entre ESG y la influencia bursátil como son el caso de los estudios de Feng, J. (2022); Wong, J.B. (2022); Hebb, T. (2010). Así mismo, es recomendable emplear otros enfoques de estudio para abordar este problema desde otros puntos de vista que no sean mediante estudios empíricos y cuantitativos que permitirán a los investigadores profundizar y comprender mejor la problemática.

El presente estudio realiza una evaluación sobre las variaciones de la eficiencia en cada onda de Elliot de las ratios financieras de liquidez, Inversión de activo, ingresos, rotación, financiación de pasivo, solvencia, apalancamiento, CBF, ROA, ROE, en la predicción del precio de las acciones de las empresas cotizadas en la bolsa de valores española. Para realizar la evaluación y el diseño de los modelos se emplea la regresión multivariable. Donde se aceptó la hipótesis principal de forma que si se pudieron encontrar diferencias en el comportamiento de las ratios financieras en la predicción del precio de las acciones en cada onda de Elliot.

Digital innovation is challenging the traditional way of ofering fnancial services to companies; the so-called Fintech phenomenon refers to startups that use the latest technologies to ofer innovative fnancial services. Within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the primary pur pose of this paper is to develop a causal-predictive analysis of the relationship between Subjective Norms, Attitudes, and Perceived Behavioral Control with the Intention to Use and Behavioral Use of the Fintech services by companies. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling methodology was used with data collected from a sur vey of 300 companies. Our fndings support the TRA and TPB models and confrm their robustness in predicting companies’ intention and use of Fintech services. Financial technology innovators must understand the processes involved in users’ adoption to design sound strategies that increase the viability of their services. Studying the ante cedents of behavioral intention to adopt Fintech services can greatly help understand the pace of adoption, allowing these players to attract and retain customers better. This study contributes to the literature by formulating and validating TPB to predict Fintech adoption, and its fndings provide useful information for banks and Fintech companies and lead to an improvement in organizational performance management in formulat ing marketing strategies.

Financial intermediation theory posits that a smaller loan size triggers a higher cost per dollar lent. This leads to question whether microfinance can become a self-sustainable industry. Hence, in microfinance innovations like loans without collateral, progressive loans, solidarity groups and relational lending are employed to reduce asymmetric information costs, adverse selection, and moral hazard while serving the poorest people. Crucially, we find a non-linear U-shaped effect of loan size on financial and social efficiencies. This reconciles the two opposite strands of the literature, aligning microfinance and banking central principles. The major implication of this study is that, unlike banking, microfinance institutions can grant small size loans while simultaneously obtaining high levels of financial and social efficiency. Indeed, our findings do not support the widely debated mission drift assumption since loan size does not generate a trade-off between financial and social outcomes. Therefore, loan size is a core management variable.

The main aim of the article is an empirical verification of the channels through which the transfer of knowledge and technology from technical universities to enterprises takes place. The specific objective is to indicate the forms in which scientists can transfer knowledge and technology to enterprises in the field of sustainable solutions. In order to identify the features of the hidden dimensions of the university-enterprise relationship, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used. The factor analysis showed that there are 3 channels through which scientists from technical universities establish relations with enterprises: the consulting and educational channel, the scientific and information channel, and the research and commercialization channel. In each of these channels, forms of knowledge and technology transfer have been identified that may relate to environmental topics for enterprises.

Purpose – Traditional payment systems based on cash and bank cards are being replaced by new innovative formats. This research analyzes the success factors in the adoption by customers of Bizum, a peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment system widely used in Spain. This study proposes a theoretical framework based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) model and includes the analysis of the moderating effect of perceived risk and the mediating effect of perceived trust. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the proposed objectives, an online questionnaire was administered to 701 Spanish smartphone users, potential users of the proposed P2P payment systems. Findings – The results show that perceived usefulness is the most important predictor of intention to use. Additionally, a medium predictive relevance performance of the proposed model is found. Originality/value – This research contributes to a more holistic understanding of the adoption of P2P payment systems and provides new business opportunities that companies can exploit through the use of this technology.

Among the many formulas that exist for financing a business project, two of the most widely used by entrepreneurs today are business angels (BA) and venture capital (VC). This chapter sheds light on the interaction between these sources of funding. Both financing options played an essential role for the growth of start-ups even before the financial crisis. In particular, the main goal of this chapter is to provide the reader with an accurate understanding of both sources of financing before making an investment decision. The chapter shows the concept, operations, and growth expectations of BA and VC and a subsequent comparison between the two methods. Overall, this chapter provides a more fine-grained understanding of the role that BA and VC investors can play in the process of creating new ventures. As the main takeaways of this chapter, it is expected that entrepreneurs will learn to successfully find the financing formula that best suits the characteristics and urgencies of their project and that, in this way, their company will develop or continue to grow.

En el presente trabajo se desarrollará un análisis exhaustivo del comportamiento bursátil de las empresas españolas del sector construcción que cotizan en la bolsa de valores de España. Entre los estudios que se van a presentar para este proyecto se encuentra un análisis de regresión multivariante aplicado con los datos correspondientes a la autofinanciación, el riesgo de quiebra y la proporción de deuda sobre las aportaciones de los socios y la cotización bursátil de las acciones en las ondas de Elliot ocurridas en el periodo desde 1995 y 2015, In the present work, an exhaustive analysis of the stock market behavior of Spanish companies in the construction sector that are listed on the Spanish stock market will be developed. Among the studies that are going to be presented for this project is a multivariate regression analysis applied with the data corresponding to self-financing, the risk of bankruptcy and the proportion of debt over the contributions of the partners and the stock market price of the shares in Elliot waves occurred in the period from 1995 to 2015.

La revolución digital ha irrumpido con fuerza el sector financiero y ha dado lugar a nuevos modelos de negocio basados en las nuevas tecnologías, como son los neobancos. El objetivo principal del estudio es analizar el modelo de negocio de una vertical Fintech, los neobancos, así como exponer las diferentes fuentes de financiación alternativas a las que puede optar una startup del sector.

El presente trabajo fin de máster tiene como objetivo analizar la viabilidad del emprendimiento enfocado a la exportación de pasta de cacao 100% orgánica desde Ecuador hacia España. Las actividades de la empresa consistirán en la adquisición y procesamiento de la materia prima hasta la obtención del producto pasta de cacao, el cual será exportado al territorio español, con la finalidad de ofrecer a los consumidores pasta de cacao 100% orgánica de manera directa y fácil de obtener, sin necesidad de acudir al supermercado, ya que, la empresa a través de su portal on-line y comerciales a comisión ofrecerá al público la venta directa de variadas presentaciones del producto, las mismas que se adaptan a las necesidades del mercado. El proyecto se ha elaborado con especial énfasis en los aspectos económicos y financieros, en el cual he aplicado los conocimientos adquiridos en las diferentes asignaturas del máster, entre ellas: Emprendimiento de Negocios, Project Finance y Comercio Electrónico., The objective of this master's thesis is to analyse the viability of an entrepreneurship project focused on the export of 100% organic cocoa paste from Ecuador to Spain. The activities of the company will consist on the acquisition and processing of the raw material until the cocoa paste product is obtained, which will be exported to the Spanish territory, in order to offer consumers 100% organic cocoa paste directly and easy to obtain, without having to go to the supermarket, since, through its on-line portal and external salespeople, the company will offer the public direct sales of various presentations of the product, which are adapted to market needs. The project has been developed with special emphasis on economic and financial aspects, in which I have applied the knowledge acquired in the different subjects of the master, including: Business Entrepreneurship, Project Finance and Electronic Commerce

El sector FinTech ha logrado acaparar la atención de los investigadores económicos. Las empresas de este sector utilizan la tecnología como el principal factor disruptor en el sector financiero, posibilitando el acceso a la banca y mejorando la calidad de vida de las personas con diferentes grados de vulnerabilidad. Este trabajo analiza la relación entre el nivel de inclusión financiera y el desarrollo de las Fintech en la región del “Oriente Antioqueño” en Colombia. Para llevar a cabo el trabajo de investigación se ha realizado una extensa revisión bibliográfica y se ha complementado con la realización de una encuesta a 186 personas residentes en dicha región. Los resultados de la investigación han evidenciado que los servicios financieros digitales facilitados por las Fintech han eliminado las barreras de acceso al sector bancario a los habitantes de la región, sin embargo, también muestran que hace falta mayor compromiso del gobierno y de las instituciones financieras frente al fortalecimiento de la educación financiera.

Agency theory posits that the profit orientation of firms influences their social and organisational performance. However, due to the extensive heterogeneity of lending organisations operating in the microfinance industry, there is no general agreement in the literature on how profit orientation affects social and organisational outcomes of microfinance institutions (MFIs). In this paper, we contribute to this debate by analysing whether the relationship between outreach and financial performance of MFIs is mediated by their productivity and loan portfolio quality, and, separately, whether this relationship is moderated by their profit orientation. To this end, a par- tial least squares (PLS) multi-group analysis is applied to a worldwide sample of 435 MFIs. First, we find substantial differences in the business model among non- profit-oriented and profit-oriented lenders, but the findings also reveal that both types of MFIs can increase their outreach while improving their financial outcomes. Essentially, the analysis shows a negative direct effect of outreach on financial per- formance for non-profit lenders, but we also find that this negative effect is posi- tively mediated via productivity and portfolio quality of non-profit lenders which leads to a positive overall impact of outreach on financial performance. Hence, our findings do not support the mission drift hypothesis popular in the microfinance lit- erature. On the contrary, the results suggest that non-profit-oriented lenders achiev- ing higher levels of productivity and loan portfolio quality can additionally obtain better financial outcomes.

El auge de las empresas Fintech ha estado motivado, principalmente, por el gran desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías (blockchain, Big Data, Inteligencia Artificial y Cloud Computing). Aunque no existe una definición única de empresa Fintech, sí hay acuerdo en que se caracterizan por ofrecer productos online, transparencia, seguridad, rapidez, eficiencia, privacidad y costes mínimos. Las Fintech actúan sobre las siguientes áreas: financiación, plataformas de asesoramiento financiero, pagos y transferencias, monedas digitales y su tecnología y gestión integral de las finanzas. La vertical de medios de pago es una de las más utilizadas. El sistema financiero ha sufrido cambios como el desarrollo de la directiva PSD2, blockchain, Big Data, Inteligencia Artificial, Cloud Computing, pagos móviles y digitales y autenticación y biométrica, y además han surgido aplicaciones Fintech, como Bizum.

En este trabajo de fin de grado expondremos la trayectoria que han seguido y que van a seguir las finanzas islámicas. Se analizarán los principios sobre los que se fundamenta la economía islámica y dichas finanzas y la evolución sufrida de sus activos a lo largo de los 10 últimos años. También se hará especial mención a los principales productos financieros islámicos y, posteriormente, se realizará un análisis comparando dos de estos productos con instrumentos financieros convencionales.

En este trabajo veremos el análisis y planificación financiera de una empresa del sector de la ingeniería civil, dedicada principalmente al asfalto de carreteras y autopistas. En primer lugar, realizamos una descripción de la empresa y de su sector viendo las actividades que realiza y sus puntos fuertes y débiles. Una vez realizada esta primera introducción, procedemos al análisis financiero en el que realizamos sus ratios financieros y los analizamos junto a su balance. En este momento es cuando detecto un problema de exceso de recursos. Por último, proyectamos financieramente nuestra empresa con tres supuestos distintos en los que soluciono ese problema de exceso de liquidez

La innovación digital ha irrumpido con fuerza en el mundo de las finanzas generando nuevos modelos de negocio que provocan una disrupción con respecto al modelo organizativo de la banca tradicional. La disrupción digital está desafiando la manera tradicional de ofertar los servicios financieros a las empresas por formas más ágiles, flexibles, transparentes y económicas. Es el fenómeno FinTech, que proviene de la unión de las palabras en inglés Finance y Technology, y hace referencia a las startups que se sirven de las últimas tecnologías para ofrecer servicios financieros innovadores.

Consideramos que a través de la aplicación de la tecnología Virtual Reality, se pueden establecer las bases para mejorar y personalizar la oferta turística. Por ello, se ha elegido esta línea de emprendimiento para diseñar un plan de negocio para desarrollar una app con información cultural para el turista, aplicando para ello la metodología Lean Startup con el fin de generar un Startup con éxito

Following the calls from literature on bankruptcy, a parsimonious hybrid bankruptcy model is developed in this paper by combining parametric and non-parametric approaches.To this end, the variables with the highest predictive power to detect bankruptcy are selected using logistic regression (LR). Subsequently, alternative non-parametric methods (Multilayer Perceptron, Rough Set, and Classification-Regression Trees) are applied, in turn, to firms classified as either “bankrupt” or “not bankrupt”. Our findings show that hybrid models, particularly those combining LR and Multilayer Perceptron, offer better accuracy performance and interpretability and converge faster than each method implemented in isolation. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that the introduction of non-financial and macroeconomic variables complement financial ratios for bankruptcy prediction.

Analizar los factores que influyen en la sostenibilidad es clave para llegar a alcanzarla. En base a la Teoría de los Recursos y las Capacidades (Grant, 1991), desarrollamos un modelo de gestión que determina los factores explicativos de la sostenibilidad de las instituciones microfinancieras (IMF). El modelo empírico se desarrolla aplicando análisis de componentes principales y regresión logística, sobre una muestra de 313 IMF, con 31 variables financieras agrupadas en seis componentes/factores que están teóricamente relacionadas con su autosuficiencia. Nuestros resultados muestran una relación significativa y positiva entre el tama˜no y la eficiencia-productividad de las IMF con su sostenibilidad, presentando el factor riesgo de crédito una relación inversa con respecto a dicha sostenibilidad. Por tanto, sugerimos que las IMF que quieran continuar desarrollando su actividad bajo un enfoque de autosuficiencia, deben fomentar una estrategia de gestión orientada hacia: (1) el aumento de la eficiencia-productividad, (2) el control exhaustivo del riesgo de crédito y (3) el incremento del tama˜no para la consecución de economías de escala. La capacidad predictiva del modelo es alta, con un área bajo la curva ROC (AUC) del 89.7%., The analysis of the factors that influence sustainability is the key to achieving it. Based on the Theory of Resources and Capabilities (Grant, 1991), a management model that determines the explanatory factors of the sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFI) is developed. The empirical model is constructed by applying a principal component and logistic regression analysis using a sample of 313 MFI, with 31 finance variables, grouped into 6 components/factors that are theoretically associated with selfsufficiency. The results obtained showed a significant and positive relationship between size and the efficiency-productivity of the MFI and their sustainability, with the credit risk factor having an inverse relationship as regards that sustainability. Thus, it may be suggested that the MFI that wish to continue developing their activity using a self-sufficiency approach must promote a management strategy oriented towards: (1) an increase in efficiency-productivity, (2) the exhaustive control of credit risk and, (3) the increase in size in order to achieve economies of scale. The predictive capacity of the model is high, with an area under the ROC curve of 89.7%.

The purpose of this study is to perform a literature review of risk management in megaprojects and systematize the risks studied in the literature. A systematic search of the main databases has been performed. The contributions include: (1) a bibliometric analysis of articles; (2) the systematization and classification into nine categories of the risks found in a content analysis of the articles; and (3) the identification of possible areas of interest for research and practice. Risks are comprehensively categorized to assist practitioners during the identification phase, while potential areas for future lines of research are presented for academics.

La importancia de las micro-entities como generadoras de empleo y propulsoras de la actividad económica conlleva, unida a sus mayores tasas de quiebra y a su dificultad para acceder a las fuentes de financiación, la necesidad de dise~nar métodos apropiados que anticipen sus quiebras. Con este fin, en este trabajo se desarrolla un modelo híbrido mediante la combinación de enfoques paramétricos y no paramétricos para la detección de sus quiebras. Para ello, se seleccionan las variables con mayor poder predictivo para detectar la quiebra mediante un modelo híbrido de regresión logística (LR) y árboles de regresión y clasificación (CART). Nuestros resultados muestran que este modelo híbrido obtiene una mejor performance que aquellos modelos implementados de forma aislada, además de tener una más fácil interpretación y una convergencia más rápida. Por otra parte, se constata la conveniencia de la introducció de variables no financieras y macroeconómicas que complementen a la información proporcionada por los ratios financieros para la predicción de la quiebra de las micro-entities, lo cual está en línea con las características propias e idiosincrasia de este tama~no empresarial recientemente definido por la Comisión Europea., The importance of micro-entities due to their generation of employment and propelling economic activity, together with the fact of their particularities, implies the need to design appropriate methods that anticipate their bankruptcies. For that purpose, a hybrid model by combining parametric and nonparametric approaches is developed in this paper. First, the variables with the highest predictive power to detect bankruptcy are selected using logistic regression (LR). Subsequently, a non-parametric method, namely regression trees and classification (CART), is then applied to companies classified as \bankruptcy" or \non-bankruptcy". Our results show that this model provides a better result than when it is implemented in isolation, which joins its easier interpretation and faster convergence. Moreover, we demonstrate that the introduction of non-financial and macroeconomic variables complement the financial ratios for bankruptcy prediction. Findings are based on a data set of micro-entities (MEs), as recently defined by the European Union.

El propósito de este trabajo es investigar el futuro de la banca online en España. Por ello, aparte de analizar datos y opiniones, también incluyo un trabajo de campo realizado a personas de mi entorno para ver qué opinan ellos de la banca online. Se puede anticipar que el futuro está en la banca online, aunque hay tramos de edad en los que todavía son reacios a este tipo de banca, sobre todo por la inseguridad que pueden provocar.

The use of non-parametric methodologies, the introduction of non-financial variables, and the development of models geared towards the homogeneous characteristics of corporate sub-populations have recently experienced a surge of interest in the bankruptcy literature. However, no research on default prediction has yet focused on micro-entities (MEs), despite such firms’ importance in the global economy. This paper builds the first bankruptcy model especially designed for MEs by using a wide set of accounts from 1999 to 2008 and applying artificial neural networks (ANNs). Our findings show that ANNs outperform the traditional logistic regression (LR) models. In addition, we also report that, thanks to the introduction of non-financial predictors related to age, the delay in filing accounts, legal action by creditors to recover unpaid debts, and the ownership features of the company, the improvement with respect to the use of solely financial information is 3.6%, which is even higher than the improvement that involves the use of the best ANN (2.6%).

This paper analyses the research published in high-impact journals on Financial Management in large projects. Our purpose is to answer the following research questions: (a) Which financial aspects are analysed? (b) How are the financial theories applied to large project management? (c) What are the potential areas for further research? The methodology applied is a bibliographic review of articles related with research questions published from 2000 to February 2013 as stored in the main databases. Our findings show that performance is the most intensely studied aspect although no agreement in performance measurement has yet been reached.