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This study examines if the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation is homogeneous or depends on the type of CSR practice and/or the type of innovation. The paper focuses on the three dimensions of the “three bottom line” of CSR (economic, social, and environmental) and on the so‐called “fateful triangle” of innovation, which together with studied product and process innovation types also considers organizational innovation. The theoretical framework is based on the resource‐based view and the knowledge‐based view approaches. In analysing sustainable innovation in the Spanish context, we look at a set of firms taking data for the 2009–2014 Spanish Community Innovation Survey. The empirical study uses random effect probit panel data methodology. The results show that, although the positive effect of CSR on innovation is confirmed for the majority of the cases, there are differences depending on the innovation type and the CSR dimension.

Previous research about the effects of board structure and process on the firm financial performance is based on conflicting theoretical perspectives, and empirical results, mostly based on regression analysis, are inconclusive. Building from complexity theory and configurational analysis, this study offers clarity to inconclusive previous empirical results about the link among several board features and firm financial performance. From a sample of 295 non-financial firms from Southern Europe for the period 2001-2010, and by using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, findings of this study show that firm financial performance depends on a complex configuration of several board features (board size, board independence, leadership structure and board activity) and several corporate characteristics (firm size, firm leverage and firm age). This paper has implications for academics. Despite different theoretical arguments and inconclusive results of the wide empirical literature addressing the effect of board characteristics on the firm performance, building from complexity theory this paper adds to our knowledge because it empirically explores under which circumstances different board features should contribute positively or negatively to firm performance. The results of this study have also implications for policy makers and practitioners by providing some useful hints to the controversial relationship between corporate governance and financial performance. In this sense, general corporate governance recommendations must be rethought.

The aim of this paper was to analyze equity market reactions to the mandatory European Union regulation of remuneration policies in financial institutions. Using event study methodology, we investigated market reactions to the first European Directive on compensation policies after the financial crisis using a sample of 124 banks operating in the European Union. We divided the sample into two groups according to bank size considering four criteria: the US Dodd-Frank Act 2010, the Liikanen Report 2012, Global Systemically Important Banks 2011, and the European Central Bank 2014. We found strong evidence of an average negative market reaction to compensation regulation. Moreover, this negative reaction is stronger for large banks than for small/medium sized banks.

This paper uses an event study approach to investigate the shareholder wealth responses to European legislation on bank executive compensation. Using a sample of 124 banks over 2009–2010 and over 20 legislative and related events, we find that in early stages bank shareholders react positively to broad discussion at the EU level on executive pay. When plans to regulate the pay process are considered, however, this results in a negative stockholder reaction. We also find that large bank shareholders are most affected by remuneration policy.

The financial crisis revealed the lack of effectiveness of corporate governance (CG) principles in the financial services sector. During recent years, several aspects of corporate governance have been subject to hard law regulation in the European Union for the benefit of shareholders, such as remuneration (Directive 2010/76/EU), shareholder rights (Directive 2007/36/EC) and transparency/nonfinancial information disclosure (Directive 2014/95/EU). However, some questions remain unanswered. Are governance structures the same in financial and non-financial firms? Are the same CG recommendations applicable to both sectors? Has the crisis changed the way financial and non-financial firms are governed? Without a deep knowledge of these issues, governance policies cannot be fully developed. This paper considers the differences in CG across Europe, analysing 33 variables that measure policies related to corporate governance, including the areas of board structure and functioning, committees, compensation policy, anti-takeover devices, shareholder rights and Corporate Social Responsibility. Our analysis focuses on a sample of 206 enterprises that belong to the main stock market indexes of Spain (IBEX 35), France (DAX), Germany (CAC-40) and the United Kingdom (FTSE-100), dividing the sample into financial and non-financial firms and considering the pre- and postcrisis period. The results show sector-based differences in CG in six variables in 2007 and in eight variables in 2013 for the full sample. Therefore, financial firms were not worse governed than non-financial firms before the crisis, and since the crisis financial firms have also been similarly governed to non-financial firms. The crisis has affected almost half of the CG variables analysed in financial firms. There were also country-based differences in CG in 19 variables in financial firms. These differences between countries show the difficulty in developing common governance recommendations for all European countries without considering their own specific characteristics.

The research on Corporate Governance (CG) has evolved over the last three decades. However, board composition and its effectiveness, as well as compensation policy, remain at the centre of policy debates and CG research.

This study analyses whether or not the effect of board independence on a firm's strategic performance is moderated by family involvement in ownership and control. Moderation of the board's size and the independent director ratio are tested under quadratic specifications. The effect of CEO duality with family involvement on long-term sales growth is also measured. The empirical analysis is conducted in the Southern European context using a sample of publicly traded firms that have concentrated ownership structures. The main findings indicate that when nonlinearities are considered, family involvement moderates the relationship between the independent director ratio and firm performance. The optimal proportion of independent directors is lower in family businesses than in non-family ones. However, the results fail to support nonlinearities for board size. We find positive linear relationships between both board size and CEO duality with firm performance, which are not moderated by family involvement.

Although 43 % of Spanish enterprises consider CSR to be valuable to their organizations, only 15.5 % systematically implement Social Responsibility initiatives (Foretica (2011). The evolution of social responsibility among Spanish business.).

In this study, we examine whether the presence of a founder influences the relationship between the board of directors’ characteristics and company performance in a sample of European, publicly traded, family firms. Our findings contradict the widespread belief that smaller and more independent boards as well as nondual leadership structures always lead to better firm performance, suggesting that agency theory is limited in its explanation of the relationship between board characteristics and firm performance. We find a positive effect of board size on business performance in nonfounder-led family firms and a negative effect of board size on founder-led family businesses. The presence of independent directors on the board has a positive effect on performance when a firm is run by its founder. However, when descendants lead the firm, the presence of independent directors has a negative effect on performance. Although the effect of board meetings on firm performance is positive, this relationship is weaker when the family business is run by its founder. Finally, CEO duality improves firm performance when descendants run the business, although CEO duality has no effect on performance when the firm is led by the founder.

RESUMENEl objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la influencia de la dimension cualitativa de la estructura de propiedad, en particular de la identidad familiar del accionista de control mayoritario, sobre la configuracion optima del Consejo de Administracion, asi como el efecto que dicha configuracion tiene en la creacion de valor de la organizacion. La tecnica econometrica utilizada, el estimador de sistema del Metodo Generalizado de los Momentos, aplicada para un panel de empresas espanolas familiares y no familiares cotizadas en el periodo 2001–2007, nos permite solventar el tradicional problema de endogeneidad presente en los estudios de gobierno corporativo. Los resultados obtenidos muestran las diferentes necesidades de supervision y asesoramiento que tienen las empresas familiares con respecto a las de naturaleza no familiar y el consecuente efecto sobre las caracteristicas estructurales y funcionales de sus consejos de administracion. Entre las principales conclusiones encontramos que, a pesar de l...

Spain is ranked seventh in the world for CSR implementation (KPMG. International survey of corporate responsibility reporting, 2011). Although the CSR phenomenon reached Spain later than it did the northern European countries, public and private institutions have embraced sustainable development since its introduction there in the late 1990s.

The effectiveness of independent directors is empirically addressed in the Southern European context using a sample of 221 publicly traded firms during the 2001–2007 period. Drawing on the socioemotional wealth approach, we focus on family control and influence to test whether there are significant differences in the effect of independent directors on the firm’s performance among non-family businesses (NFBs) that have a non-family large shareholder, and family businesses (FBs). In doing so, we consider the heterogeneity of FBs by testing whether the FB’s life cycle moderates the effectiveness of independent directors. To that end, we differentiate among founder lead family businesses and non-founder lead family businesses. Moreover, we test whether dual leadership structures, in particular when the family chief executive officer is also the chairperson of the board, moderates the effectiveness of independent directors. A cross-country and panel data design was used, taking into account the endogeneity problem arising in studies of corporate governance. The results show that the contribution of independent directors to a firm’s performance differs for NFBs and FBs. Moreover, findings confirm that in FBs, contribution is moderated by the generational stage of the FB and by the leadership structure of the firm.

The effectiveness of the insider ownership as an internal governance mechanism is addressed in the Southern European context using a sample of publicly traded firms during the 2001-2007 periods. A cross country and panel data design is used, taking into account the endogeneity problem arising in studies of corporate governance. The results provide new evidence of the influence of the insider ownership on firm value by testing a non-linear relationship. Our study supports both the convergence of interests and the entrenchment effect. It also shows whether there are significant differences in the estimated relationship between family and non-family firms. We find that when the large shareholder has not a family nature, firm value initially declines with insider ownership, then increases, and, finally, increases again. However, when the large shareholder has a family nature, firm value initially increases with insider ownership and then decreases