IE Repository (IE Univ.)
Not a member yet
1291 research outputs found
Sort by
Ensayos sobre la formación, el gobierno y el desempeño de las empresas familiares: una perspectiva conductual e institucional
Full text linkThis dissertation, Essays on Family Firm Emergence, Governance, and Performance: A Behavioral and Institutional Perspective, examines how family ownership shapes firm behavior and value creation through intertwined cognitive, behavioral, and institutional mechanisms. Building on and extending behavioral theories, it conceptualizes family ownership not merely as a structural attribute but as a dynamic system of intentions, relationships, and competences that evolve with institutional change.
Anchored in China’s distinctive context of economic transition, the dissertation brings together three empirical essays to explore the emergence, governance, and performance of family firms. The first essay investigates how family owners, as competent controllers, transform privatized firms into more efficient and value-creating organizations. The second examines how transgenerational intentions arise as cognitive foundations of family firms, shaping long-term strategic behavior and investment horizons. The third explores how social-relational and legitimacy pressures condition board behavior, revealing a decoupling between structural and behavioral independence in familycontrolled firms.
Collectively, these studies advance a behavioral and institutional perspective of family firms that move beyond static ownership definitions to explain how intentions, cognition, and institutional contexts jointly shape family firm behavior and outcomes. The dissertation contributes to family business research by integrating insights from ownership competence, behavioral governance, and institutional dynamics, offering a multi-level account of how family control operates across contexts of emergence, governance, and performance. It also extends the study of family firms in emerging economies by demonstrating how institutional transitions, such as privatization and demographic reforms, activate distinctive cognitive and governance mechanisms.Naldi, Lucia (PRESIDENTE)De Castro Campbell, Julio Orlando (SECRETARIO)Kammerlander, Nadine (VOCAL)YesPublishe
Uncovering drivers of EU carbon futures with Bayesian networks
No full textThe European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a key policy tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing toward a net-zero economy. Under this scheme, tradeable carbon credits, European Union Allowances (EUAs), are issued to large emitters, who can buy and sell them on regulated markets. We investigate the influence of financial, economic, and energy-related factors on EUA futures prices using discrete and dynamic Bayesian networks to model both contemporaneous and time-lagged dependencies. The analysis is based on daily data spanning the third and fourth ETS trading phases (2013–2025), incorporating a wide range of indicators including energy commodities, equity indices, exchange rates, and bond markets. Results reveal that EUA pricing is most influenced by energy commodities, especially coal and oil futures, and by the performance of the European energy sector. Broader market sentiment, captured through stock indices and volatility measures, affects EUA prices indirectly via changes in energy demand. The dynamic model confirms a modest next-day predictive influence from oil markets, while most other effects remain contemporaneous. These insights offer regulators, institutional investors, and firms subject to ETS compliance a clearer understanding of the interconnected forces shaping the carbon market, supporting more effective hedging, investment strategies, and policy design.yesPublishe
Women and the Wall: Gender Attitudes and Political Engagement in Unified Germany
No full textWomen are generally less likely to express an interest in politics, join political organizations, and participate in political activities. Scholars posit that gender-(in)egalitarian attitudes are an important determinant of women’s political engagement. Yet, existing work finds mixed support for this claim. Using the German General Social Survey (1991–2016), we compare citizens’ attitudes toward gender across birth cohorts from East and West Germany. We find that cohorts socialized in the East hold more progressive gender attitudes than West Germans. We then show that traditional gender attitudes are negatively correlated with political interest and participation and that this effect is somewhat greater for women. Importantly, women who hold gender-egalitarian attitudes are nearly as politically engaged as men. We then assess the robustness of these results, show the findings hold in cross-national analyses, and explore an individual-level mechanism underlying our results. Together, our findings reveal an important barrier to political engagement.YesPublishe
Incorporating Temperature-Dependent Mortality into Projected Life Tables
Full text linkClimate change may affect mortality patterns through changes in temperature exposure, with potential implications for life tables and life-contingent insurance liabilities. For insurers, the relevant question is not to predict a single future outcome but to understand how alternative climate pathways could impact mortality assumptions and financial results under different scenarios.
This paper presents a methodology for incorporating temperature-dependent mortality into projected life tables at the city level. The approach integrates epidemiological temperature--mortality relationships with standard actuarial mortality projection frameworks while preserving existing actuarial practices. Climate effects are introduced through a transparent, age- and year-specific multiplicative adjustment to baseline all-cause mortality rates.NoIn proces
Organizing for Advantage: Managing Synergy and Redeployment Logics in Diversified Firms
Full text linkThis dissertation is composed of five chapters. The first chapter presents an overview of the three essays that form the core of this research. Chapter 2 develops a theoretical framework at the micro-structural level, proposing how firms can design internal systems to manage the synergy-redeployment trade-off. This chapter proposes three core design elements: (i) a hybrid task structure that combines centralized strategic brand oversight with decentralized execution of shelf space at the product level, (ii) a deliberate sequencing of brand-related tasks to reduce disruption of synergies during resource shifts, and (iii) a hybrid authority structure that allows for local autonomy while ensuring accountability through post-decision review. The framework contributes to the resource redeployment literature by clarifying how synergy and redeployment logics can coexist within diversified firms. Chapter 3 provides an empirical analysis of how macro-structural configurations—specifically the number of organizational layers and the dispersion of functional activities—moderate the relationship between inducements to redeploy resources and firm value. Using an archival dataset of U.S. pharmaceutical firms, the findings show that although industry-level volatility enhances firm value through redeployment opportunities, this effect is weakened in firms with deep hierarchies and highly concentrated functional activities. Chapter 4 shifts the focus to the external environment, examining how firms’ internal diversification logics—synergy and redeployment—influence their segment disclosure strategies. Using a two-step estimation method, the chapter shows that firms oriented toward synergy tend to aggregate segments to protect resource sharing advantages, while those emphasizing redeployment disclose more segments to signal agility. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the findings, discusses managerial implications, and offers directions for future research. This dissertation contributes to the redeployment literature by demonstrating that flexibility comes not just from having switching or growth options, but from a firm’s capacity to execute them—something that depends on its organizational design.Esta tesis se compone de cinco capítulos. El primer capítulo presenta una visión general de los tres ensayos que constituyen el núcleo de esta investigación. El capítulo 2 desarrolla un marco teórico a nivel microestructural, proponiendo cómo las empresas pueden diseñar sistemas internos para gestionar la tensión entre sinergia y redistribución de recursos. Este capítulo plantea tres elementos clave: (i) una estructura de tareas híbrida que combina supervisión estratégica centralizada con ejecución descentralizada del espacio en estantería a nivel de producto, (ii) una secuenciación deliberada de tareas de marca para minimizar la disrupción de sinergias durante los cambios de recursos, y (iii) una estructura de autoridad híbrida que equilibra autonomía local con rendición de cuentas posterior. El marco contribuye a la literatura sobre redeployment al mostrar cómo pueden coexistir las lógicas de sinergia y redistribución en empresas diversificadas. El capítulo 3 ofrece un análisis empírico de cómo configuraciones macroestructurales—como el número de niveles jerárquicos y la concentración de actividades funcionales—moderan la relación entre los incentivos para redistribuir recursos y el valor de la empresa. A partir de un conjunto de datos de empresas farmacéuticas en EE. UU., los resultados indican que, aunque la volatilidad sectorial incrementa el valor mediante oportunidades de redistribución, este efecto disminuye en empresas con jerarquías profundas y funciones centralizadas. El capítulo 4 analiza cómo las lógicas internas de diversificación—sinergia y redeployment—influyen en las estrategias de divulgación por segmentos. El capítulo 5 resume los principales hallazgos, discute implicaciones directivas y plantea líneas futuras de investigación. Esta tesis aporta a la literatura al demostrar que la flexibilidad no depende solo de contar con opciones, sino de la capacidad de ejecutarlas, lo cual requiere un diseño organizativo adecuado.Maicas López, Juan Pablo (PRESIDENTE)Pasquini, Martina (SECRETARIO)Palomeras Vilches, Neus (VOCAL)YesPublishe
Harnessing the potential of the microbial sulfur cycle for environmental biotechnology
No full textThe sulfur cycle is a complex biogeochemical cycle characterized by the high variability in the oxidation states of sulfur. While sulfur is essential for life processes, certain sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, are toxic to all life forms. Micro-organisms facilitate the sulfur cycle, playing a prominent role even in extreme environments, such as soda lakes, acid mine drainage sites, hot springs, and other harsh habitats. The activity of these micro-organisms presents unique opportunities for mitigating sulfur-based pollution and enhancing the recovery of sulfur and metals. This review highlights the application of sulfur-oxidizing and -reducing micro-organisms in environmental biotechnology through three illustrative examples. Additionally, it discusses the challenges, recent trends, and prospects associated with these applications.This work is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 665874.YesPublishe
Open Science: From Theory to Practice [10 years later ]. Policies and Mandates at the EU level
Full text link-Publishe
Imprints of a world to come: conformity and survival of Chicago architecture firms, 1928–2000
No full textDo new architecture firms face pressure to conform with the structures and strategies of leading firms? If so, how do these pressures evolve over time? This study focuses on the organisational and institutional factors that condition, delimit, and inform the practice of architecture, and on the intertwined and apparently contradictory dynamics of conformity and innovation. Empirical support for this investigation is drawn from the entire population of architecture firms practicing in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1928 to 2000, a period that featured a rich and heterogenous population of firms and organisational forms, as well as a climate of profound environmental transformation. We drew on a range of archival sources to build an original database on the complete population of 3,882 Chicago-area architecture firms present over the period of study. We used quantitative methods to analyse how firms’ conformity with strategic and structural norms in the profession affected their likelihood of survival over time. For firms in our study, did conformity at birth provide an advantage? Or was it instead hazardous for new firms to adopt the prevailing structures and strategies of a changing environment? Might it have been more advantageous — to the degree that this was possible — to bear the imprint of an emerging condition and to conform with the leading traces of a world to come rather than with the practices of the current order? We suggest that conformity pressures can evolve; what may initially look like dangerous nonconformity may, in the long run, come to be seen as prescient innovation. Our study adds to the growing body of quantitative research in architecture while also contributing to our understanding of how architects navigated the competing pressures of conformity and innovation. For architects engaged in practice, these results may provide useful insights on how to stand out in a population of competing firms whilst simultaneously fitting in with the explicit and tacit norms of the architectural profession.YesPublishe
From Digital Craft to Automation
Full text linkGenerative artificial intelligence (AI) for image and video creation is rapidly reshaping the creative industry. This technology enables people to produce complex visuals without specialized software expertise, challenging traditional notions of creativity, authorship, and design. This chapter explores how the creative industry is navigating this shift and its ethical, social, and cultural implications. Using a mixed-methods approach, it examines how generative AI affects perceptions of agency, alters workflows, and redefines creative skillsets. Findings reveal a central tension between the sense of empowerment enabled by AI, and the need for control in the creative workflow. AI is perceived as liberating for rapid ideation and cost savings, at the expenses of expressive and ethical compromises. The process risks bypassing iterative and embodied stages of digital craft, trading critical reflection for speed and scalability, especially under mass-production logics. Digital craft is not replaced, rather integrated into hybrid workflows with AI that require continuous monitoring and discussion in an increasingly automated landscape.YesPublishe
