Search

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) determinants of the Portuguese listed companies’ performance, considering a different point of view by managers, shareholders and other external stakeholders and investors. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this aim, the authors have used a sample of 34 nonfinancial listed companies in Euronext Lisbon between 2015 and 2020. The authors use the panel data methodology to test the hypotheses formulated according to the literature review, specifically the generalized method of moments (GMM) system estimation model proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991). Findings The main results point out that the determinants of the corporate performance vary depending on the dependent variable considered. From the managers’ perspective, the existence of an audit committee and expenses with the environment increase costs and reduce results, negatively influencing corporate performance, but the company’s maturity adds synergies in resource management and positively influences performance. Shareholders consider that gender diversity and board independence positively influence performance, whereas, for external stakeholders and long-term investors, gender diversity and the social responsibility committee harm the performance of Portuguese companies. However, environmental and social expenditures have a positive effect, showing that the market’s perception is that, in the long run, it is essential to eradicate poverty and protect the environment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one to analyze corporate governance and CSR determinants on the performance of listed Portuguese companies. This study shows that in a small banking-oriented country, there is still a long way to go in terms of increasing social responsibility and governance among different stakeholders. It is essential to promote actions that lead to effective governance and awareness of social responsibility.

Purpose This study aims to understand which factors determine the corporate performance of Portuguese and Spanish listed companies between 2011 and 2018, also considering the sub-period marked by the presence of the Troika in Portugal, between 2011 and 2014. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this aim, panel data methodology was used, specifically the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991), Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) for 110 non-financial companies from the Iberian Peninsula. Findings The results point out different signs and significance of the variables in the companies of the two countries. Regarding the sub-period, our results suggest that the intervention of the Troika in Portugal acted in a very different way from the neighboring country. Originality/value This research shows the importance of studying countries individually, even with small dimensions, to reinforce the path that is still necessary for more sustainable companies. Furthermore, when companies have strong governance structures, the harmful contagion from one neighboring country to another may not happen.

PurposeThe main objective of this work is to show that the traditional specific characteristics of companies as well as cultural and religious dimensions can influence the leverage of companies in different macro-environmental systems.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, the authors have used data from 1.568 firms from 7 European countries between 2010 and 2016, and the models were estimated by using panel data methodology, specifically the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998).FindingsOverall, the empirical results point out that the cultural moderating factors are essential in determining companies' capital structure, regardless of the country's legal origin. The study results also show that traditional variables, intrinsic to management, macroeconomic environment and religion, have a central role in capital structure, namely for the civilian countries.Originality/valueAs far as the authors know, this is the first work that uses, in addition to the traditional specific characteristics of companies, cultural dimensions and religion, as determinants of debt levels, in different legal systems for Europe.

PurposeThis paper aims to study the influence of some company-specific characteristics, corporate governance factors and macroeconomic factors on the Portuguese companies’ performance.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, the authors have used data from 39 Euronext Lisbon companies for the period between 2014 and 2019. The authors used panel data methodology, specifically the generalized method of moments estimation method by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998).FindingsThe results point out that the sign and significance of the determinants of corporate performance change depending on the variable used to measure performance. The Tobin’s Q variable, as a market variable and variable of interest to potential investors, is explained by some corporate governance variables and company-specific factors. Specifically, potential investors are confident in the leadership power of the chief executive office (CEO) and the members of the Board of Directors, which contributes positively to corporate performance. However, the firms’ age has a negative impact on Tobin’s Q. Considering an accounting variable managed internally by the organizations, the results show that return on assets is negatively influenced by leverage, and positively affected by CEO duality, which the manager believes is decisive to maintain performance levels.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze specific characteristics of companies and corporate governance factors, in a specific macroeconomic environment of high dependence on banking, considering the nonlinear effect of company age on company performance.

According to researchers, information generated from social media provides useful data for understanding the behaviour of various types of financial assets, using the sentiment expressed by these network users as an explanatory variable of asset prices. In a context in which investment based on sustainability and environmental preservation values is vital, there is no known scientific work that analyses the relationship between social networks and environmental investment, which is closely related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this study, we aim to identify how investor sentiment, generated from social networks, influences environmental investment and whether this influence depends on the time variable, as well the role of the pandemic crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war. Our results show different forms of behaviour for the different periods considered, with the proximity between the two types of variables being time-varying. For shorter periods, proximity occurred mainly during the pandemic crisis, repeatedly revealing that sentiment is a risk factor in environmental investment and in particular how important the information generated from social networks can be in pricing environmental assets. For longer periods, no common stochastic trends were identified. The mechanisms generating the series are thus characterised by a certain autonomy.

With the globalization and internationalization of markets, companies need to be more competitive and offer high-quality guarantees to consumers, suppliers, banking institutions, and shareholders. Thus, the objective of this paper is to measure the impacts that these guarantees, analyzed through quality management, environmental management, and management of occupational health and safety standards, will have on the return on assets (ROA) of companies classified by sector of activity, considering each of the certifications individually and as a whole. The panel data approach methodology was used for 10 years in Portuguese-certified companies between 2010 and 2019. The Chow test, the Breusch-Pagan, and the Hausman test were applied to identify a more feasible model between the pooled OLS and the random or fixed effects model. Furthermore, the cluster-robust standard errors model was applied.The results show the existence of synergies when adopting more than one certification to improve firm performance. Moreover, the single certification estimate by sector results are significant and can be positive drivers of profitability, but only for companies in the manufacturing industries related to natural resources. However, they trigger negative results in the accommodation, catering, and information and communication sectors. AcknowledgmentThis paper is funded by National Funds through the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project Refª UIDB/05583/2020. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD) and the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, for their support.

This paper aims to analyze the determinants of Portuguese funds' performance and efficiency. The authors have used an alternative approach that combines data envelopment analysis (DEA) with multiple criteria decision aiding (MCDA), the value-based DEA, for assessing the efficiency of Portuguese equity and bonds portfolios for the 2019 period; which represents a year of economic expansion in Portugal. In general, these results point out that the fund´s performance depends on its size, turnover, and risk levels. Of the total sample, 44% of funds are classified as efficient, and most of them are bond funds. Besides, funds with less liquidity, less rotation, and older age show better efficiency. This study seeks to contribute to completing the existing literature, analyzing the characteristics that most influence the funds' performance, and also help an investor in their investment choices. As far as the authors know, they are the first to investigate 50 funds registered in the Portuguese Securities Market Commission, incorporating 31 equity funds and 19 bond funds.

PurposeThe main goal of this paper is to study the specific characteristics of the performance of companies in the metallurgical sector, in the northern region of Portugal.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, the authors have used data from 325 companies manufacturing metal products, except machinery and equipment (CAE Rev.3 25) and 27 companies that manufacture machinery and equipment (CAE Rev. 3 28). The models were estimated by using the panel data methodology for the period between 2011 and 2019. Specifically, the estimation method of the generalized method of moments system (GMM system) proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) was used.FindingsThe results show that the main decisions on the performance of metallurgical companies in Northern Portugal depend on the dimensions of sales in the domestic market (SDM), sales in the community market (SCM), and sales in the foreign market (SFM) and also highlight that the signal and significance of the specific variables depends on how the different stakeholders understand performance.Originality/valueAs far as the authors know, this is the first study to comparatively analyze the two metallurgical databases in Portugal. Despite the huge difference in the size of the sample, this study’s results show that in an era of paradigm shift about what business objectives should be, stakeholders are still not environmentally aware and the social dimension is only considered by shareholders, but not yet by the manager and the general community.

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the performance determinants of listed companies in the Iberian Peninsula, focusing on the analysis of the effect of gender diversity and the structure of the board of directors. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this aim, the authors analyzed 97 listed companies, of which 23 are Portuguese and 74 are Spanish, between 2015 and 2019. The authors use Arellano and Bond’s (1991) generalized method of moments system model to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show an important impact of corporate governance variables on corporate performance. Specifically, board size, average director age and board academic qualifications are crucial to explaining profitability and market value. Moreover, the authors identified a nonlinear relationship between gender diversity and profitability and market value levels due to critical mass theory and quotas that enhance more social justice. The authors concluded that the corporate performance determinants differ depending on the performance measures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the nonlinear effect of gender diversity and board structure (size, educational qualifications and average director age) on the performance of Iberian listed companies as a single market.

PurposeThe main goal of this paper is to study the influence of some corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate-specific characteristics on the performance of Iberian-listed companies.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the paper's aim, the authors have used data from 33 Portuguese-listed companies, and 60 Spanish-listed companies, for the period 2011 to 2018. To test the hypotheses, the authors employed the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method, developed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998).FindingsThe results point out that the performance determinants vary depending on the country under analysis and the variable used to measure performance. Despite being neighbors and historically commercially close, these countries have differences in their governmental, social and economic structure that lead to different stakeholder perceptions on the determinants of corporate performance. Specifically, when the authors use Tobin's Q as a market performance variable, board independence and the existence of a CSR committee have different signs in the two countries. The same happens when return on assets (ROA) is used as an accounting variable for internal management, implying that both, managers and potential investors of the two countries have different understandings about the variables that influence their performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to comparatively analyze the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula, analyzing the effect of corporate governance and social responsibility characteristics on the performance. The authors' results show that managers and potential investors have different points of view regarding the importance of corporate governance and social responsibility characteristics in corporate performance.

This study investigates the relevance of stock buy/sell transactions by insiders in Portuguese companies' performance. To achieve this aim, the sample covers the period from 2013 to 2017. The data from buy/sell transactions by insiders were collected in the internal transaction reports delivered by the companies to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission for the same time interval. The results, using panel data methodology, suggest a negative relationship between the long/short positions and the companies' performance, although the volume traded is not significant. Therefore, the increased control of Portuguese companies by their managers signals the existence of conflicts of interest of the managers, whether due to financial reasons or to strengthen their continuity in the position. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first time that a study has been carried out using insider transactions for Portuguese companies and their influence on corporate performance.

The main goal of this chapter is to analyze the performance of four investment strategies within a recent period of international political uncertainties. RSI and MACD supported three competing investment strategies, which were compared to the conservative Buy and Hold strategy. Euro Stoxx 50 Index was selected through the Markowitz Theory, and the DAX index was established as a benchmark. The period considered was between the start of Donald Trump's official campaign to the US elections and the first date set for Brexit. Two subsequent additional studies were performed to evaluate their profitability. The entry and exit points were determined by international economic reports. Alternative time lengths for the RSI window were considered. The results suggest that, when the market is bear or undefined, the investor should have a strategy supported on technical analysis and he should consider more than one indicator to increase the information that is taken from the market. The passive Buy and Hold strategy should be considered when the market is considered a bull market.

This paper proposes a two-step approach to build portfolio models. The first step employs the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to select assets attaining efficient financial performance according to a set of indicators used as inputs and outputs. The second step builds interval multiobjective portfolio models to obtain the optimal composition of efficient portfolios previously identified with respect to investor preferences. The usefulness of this proposed methodology is illustrated through a selected sample of diversified Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) operating in the US energy sector. Our results with respect to all models and time horizons mainly show that: (i) ETFs related to nuclear energy are more often viewed as efficient according to all DEA models considered; (ii) the efficient portfolios do not contain any ETFs related to the renewable energy sector; and (iii) natural gas and oil are the sectors that have the most ETFs represented in efficient portfolios. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10479-021-04323-6.

This paper is built upon the predictions of the catering theory of dividends and examines whether investor sentiments exert significant influence on corporate dividend policy. Accordingly, we propose a dividend model that incorporates a variable at the firm-level proxy for the catering effect. Estimation of the model using the GMM shows that firms in Eurozone countries cater to their investors’ sentiments, and the model provides evidence supporting the catering model. Additionally, we show an interaction effect between catering and firm characteristics, particularly liquid assets, investment opportunities, and levels of free cash flow., This work is supported by: European Structural and Investment Funds in the FEDER component, through the Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (COMPETE 2020) [Project No. 006971 (UID/SOC/04011)]; and national funds, through the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/SOC/04011/2013., peer-reviewed

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of the Operational Research Society on [date of publication2018], available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1057/s41274-017-0259-7 The increased volatility in capital markets since the outbreak of the 2008 global financial crisis and the investor´s lack of confidence in the banking sector represented significant challenges to portfolio fund managers. The current study assesses the performance of Portuguese mutual fund portfolios considering the period 2007-2014 using the Value-Based DEA method. This approach combines Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA). A dynamic evaluation including value judgements is carried out using data from 15 Portuguese equity funds. The results unveil the impact of the global crisis in the Portuguese investment funds industry. They show that Portuguese investment funds performed better between 2011 and 2013; this suggests that equity funds investors became more confident in these vehicles due to political measures reinforcing financial markets. The methodology followed in this study contributes to help investors in the identification of the funds with the best practices according to their judgments.

This paper is built upon the predictions of the catering theory of dividends and examines the interaction effect between catering incentives and corporate ownership structure in a behavioral context with investor´s perceptions for dividends. We intend to evaluate how the ownership structure affects the disposition of companies in Eurozone countries to adjust their payouts to the investors’ sentiments. To achieve this aim, we propose a dividend model that incorporates a variable at a firmlevel proxying for the catering effect. The results from the estimation of the model by using the GMM reveal an interaction effect between catering and ownership variables, particularly the level of insider ownership and the interaction between the first and second largest shareholders, taking into account whether there is collusion or contestability between them.

Desde o pioneiro trabalho de Modigliani e Miller (1958) que a temática da estrutura de capital tem vindo a ganhar destaque na literatura empírica financeira. Todavia, devido à heterogeneidade dos resultados alcançados, ainda não foi possível chegar a uma conclusão única e de consenso global sobre o que de facto influencia as decisões da estrutura de capital. As decisões financeiras tomadas pelos gestores de uma organização são de elevada importância pelo que requerem uma profunda análise acerca dos seus fatores explicativos. Esta tomada de decisão pode variar de sociedade em sociedade o que indicia que a diversidade cultural pode ter um forte impacto na estrutura de capital das empresas. De facto, o que distingue este trabalho de outros já elaborados, é o facto de se introduzirem variáveis culturais como fatores moderadores na determinação da estrutura de capital. Assim, a presente dissertação visa desenvolver uma investigação empírica que procura compreender se os fatores culturais influenciam as decisões financeiras, em conjunto com outras caraterísticas intrínsecas á gestão, fatores de desenvolvimento económico e religião, tendo por base uma amostra de 1.568 empresas pertencentes a 7 países, durante o período de 2010 a 2016. Para o efeito, utiliza-se a metodologia de dados em painel, especificamente, o método de estimação Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) desenvolvido por Arellano e Bover (1995) e Blundell e Bond (1998). De uma forma geral, os resultados empíricos revelam que o fator moderador da cultura é fundamental na determinação da estrutura de capital, independentemente da origem legal das empresas. Neste estudo também foi possível observar que as decisões financeiras são determinadas pelas variáveis tradicionais da estrutura de capital, bem como pela variável macroeconómica PIB e pela religião, que demonstrou ter um importante papel na tomada de decisões, nomeadamente para os países civil-law.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estabelecer uma relação entre a tolerância ao risco financeiro do potencial investidor e os demais fatores socioculturais e demográficos, procurando ao mesmo tempo providenciar uma base de comparação do caso português com os casos da literatura existente. Para alcançar estas metas recolhemos informação com recurso a um questionário, que nos fornecesse os dados socioculturais e demográficos e permitisse calcular o perfil de risco do inquirido. Após a discriminação da informação recolhida pelas subcategorias das variáveis utlizadas e recorrendo a estatísticas descritivas, estabelecemos a eventual relação do perfil de risco com essas variáveis. De seguida, distribuímos as respostas ao longo da amostra e traçámos um perfil geral da amostra recolhida. Finalmente, com o recurso à Regressão Linear Múltipla, obtivemos um modelo com as variáveis mais significativas no desenho do perfil de risco do investidor potencial. Concluímos que a população portuguesa assume um perfil de risco conservador e que possui uma baixa literacia financeira. Por sua vez, o modelo obtido permitiu-nos concluir que o género, a faixa etária e o grau académico da mãe têm um papel influenciador no perfil de risco.

O setor dos transportes de mercadorias detém um papel preponderante na nossa economia. Portugal representa um dos países da União Europeia mais dependentes deste meio de transporte. Portanto, é inevitável que todos os setores económicos da atualidade estejam dependentes da eficiência deste setor. Pode mesmo dizer-se, que a economia do país abrandaria drasticamente se todos os transportes de mercadorias parassem. O desempenho financeiro do setor dos transportes tem sido foco de atenção em diversos estudos, não só para académicos, como também para investidores, mas existe uma escassez de literatura científica que aborde o desempenho financeiro das empresas de transporte rodoviário de mercadorias. Neste contexto, tendo em conta a importância deste setor na economia nacional, o presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar se o preço dos combustíveis influencia de forma direta o desempenho das empresas de transporte de mercadorias, no nosso país. De forma a alcançar o objetivo proposto, foi utilizada uma amostra constituída por 498 empresas portuguesas, no período compreendido entre 2011 e 2017. Adicionalmente, será estudado o subperíodo compreendido entre 2011 e 2014, de modo a compreender o impacto da crise da dívida soberana e da intervenção da Troika no desempenho das empresas portuguesas do setor em análise. A metodologia utilizada para testar as hipóteses formuladas foi o modelo de dados em painel, mais concretamente, o Generalized Method of Moments (GMM- System) inicialmente proposto por Arellano e Bond (1991) e desenvolvido por Arellano e Bover (1995) e Blundell e Bond (1998). De uma forma geral, o sinal e significância das variáveis em estudo demonstram que as variáveis internas e externas influenciam o desempenho das empresas analisadas e que de facto os gastos com combustível são um importante fator de influência. Conclui-se que, quanto maior são os gastos com combustíveis menor é o desempenho das organizações.

Este estudo analisa o desempenho de Exchage-Traded Funds (ETFs) domiciliados nos EUA e na Europa através da abordagem Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Para este efeito, foi utilizado o modelo Slack Based Mesure (SBM), que é um modelo não radial. Em particular, foi usada uma versão do SBM denominada Base Point - SlackBased Measure (BP-SBM) que transforma dados originalmente negativos em positivos com recurso a “pontos de referência”. Os resultados evidenciaram que os fundos eficientes domiciliados nos EUA são considerados mais vezes como benchmarks em termos de desempenho do que os ETFs domiciliados na Europa. Contudo, foi possível aferir que os fundos ineficientes domiciliados na Europa apresentaram, de um modo geral, menor variabilidade em termos de ineficiência do que os fundos ineficientes domiciliados nos EUA. Foi constatado também que, no curto prazo, a eficiência dos fundos depende mais de fatores de risco do que de rendibilidade, isto é, à medida que o horizonte temporal contemplado na análise se vai dilatando, esta passa a depender mais de fatores de rendibilidade. Os resultados obtidos permitem corroborar ainda a vantagem da utilização da abordagem DEA, relativamente à utilização isolada das medidas de desempenho tradicionais