IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/agribz/v35y2019i4p639-656.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of gender diversity on the board of Spanish agricultural cooperatives on returns and debt: An empirical analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen María Hernández‐Nicolás
  • Juan Francisco Martín‐Ugedo
  • Antonio Mínguez‐Vera

Abstract

This paper focuses on gender diversity on the boards of Spanish agricultural cooperatives. Specifically, it examines the effect that gender diversity on the board exerts on returns, debt level, and economic risk. Cooperatives differ significantly from investor‐owned firms because cooperative members are producers, agents, and customers of the cooperatives. In Spain, there is an ongoing debate about the importance of women in business management. Spain is also a pioneer in terms of enacting specific legislation for the social economy. The sample examined includes 672 agricultural cooperatives. The results show that firms with greater female representation on their boards have higher returns and operational risk and lower levels of debt. [EconLit Classifications: J16, J54, Q13].

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen María Hernández‐Nicolás & Juan Francisco Martín‐Ugedo & Antonio Mínguez‐Vera, 2019. "The effect of gender diversity on the board of Spanish agricultural cooperatives on returns and debt: An empirical analysis," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(4), pages 639-656, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:agribz:v:35:y:2019:i:4:p:639-656
    DOI: 10.1002/agr.21608
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21608
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/agr.21608?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lerman, Zvi & Parliament, Claudia, 1991. "Size and industry effects in the performance of agricultural cooperatives," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 15-29, October.
    2. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    3. Rafat A. M. E. Soboh & Alfons Oude Lansink & Gerard Giesen & Gert van Dijk, 2009. "Performance Measurement of the Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives: The Gap between Theory and Practice," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 446-469, September.
    4. Stefan Hirsch & Adelina Gschwandtner, 2013. "Profit persistence in the food industry: evidence from five European countries," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 40(5), pages 741-759, December.
    5. Rafat A. M. E. Soboh & Alfons Oude Lansink & Gerard Giesen & Gert van Dijk, 2009. "Performance Measurement of the Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives: The Gap between Theory and Practice," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 446-469.
    6. Ruth Mateos de Cabo & Ricardo Gimeno & María Nieto, 2012. "Gender Diversity on European Banks’ Boards of Directors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 145-162, August.
    7. Mariateresa Torchia & Andrea Calabrò & Morten Huse, 2011. "Women Directors on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical Mass," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 299-317, August.
    8. Lex Borghans & Bart H. H. Golsteyn & James J. Heckman & Huub Meijers, 2009. "Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 649-658, 04-05.
    9. Jeffrey P. Katz, 1997. "Managerial behavior and strategy choices in agribusiness cooperatives," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 483-495.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    11. Frederick C. Scherr & Timothy F. Sugrue & Janice B. Ward, 1993. "Financing the Small Firm Start-Up: Determinants of Debt Use," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 3(1), pages 17-36, Fall.
    12. Lex Borghans & Bart H.H. Golsteyn & James J. Heckman & Huub Meijers, 2009. "Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity," Working Papers 200903, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    13. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    14. David G. Barton & Ted C. Schroeder & Allen M. Featherstone, 1993. "Evaluating the feasibility of local cooperative consolidations: A case study," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(3), pages 281-294.
    15. Liang, Julienne, 2015. "How fixed mobile usage interact? Does FTTH deployment influence the interaction?," 26th European Regional ITS Conference, Madrid 2015 127157, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Faridzah Jamaluddin & Norman Mohd Saleh & Azizah Abdullah & Mohamat Sabri Hassan & Noradiva Hamzah & Romlah Jaffar & Sarah Aziz Abdul Ghani Aziz & Zaini Embong, 2023. "Cooperative Governance and Cooperative Performance: A Systematic Literature Review," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kuhle Prudence Mnisi & Abdul Latif Alhassan, 2021. "Financial structure and cooperative efficiency: A pecking‐order evidence from sugarcane farmers in Eswatini," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 261-281, June.
    2. Adeel Mustafa & Abubakr Saeed & Muhammad Awais & Shahab Aziz, 2020. "Board-Gender Diversity, Family Ownership, and Dividend Announcement: Evidence from Asian Emerging Economies," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Donato Masciandaro & Paola Profeta & Davide Romelli, 2016. "Gender and Monetary Policymaking: Trends and Drivers," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1512, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    4. Maria Lucas-Pérez & Antonio Mínguez-Vera & Juan Baixauli-Soler & Juan Martín-Ugedo & Gregorio Sánchez-Marín, 2015. "Women on the Board and Managers’ Pay: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 265-280, June.
    5. Theo Benos & Nikos Kalogeras & Martin Wetzels & Ko De Ruyter & Joost M. E. Pennings, 2018. "Harnessing a ‘Currency Matrix’ for Performance Measurement in Cooperatives: A Multi-Phased Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-38, December.
    6. Andreas Seebeck & Julia Vetter, 2022. "Not Just a Gender Numbers Game: How Board Gender Diversity Affects Corporate Risk Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 395-420, May.
    7. Goodell, John W., 2019. "Comparing normative institutionalism with intended rationality in cultural-finance research," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 124-134.
    8. Maria Giuseppina Bruna & Rey Dang & Marie-José Scotto & Aymen Ammari, 2019. "Does board gender diversity affect firm risk-taking? Evidence from the French stock market," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 915-938, December.
    9. Ingersoll, Alicia R. & Cook, Alison & Glass, Christy, 2023. "A free solo in heels: Corporate risk taking among women executives and directors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    10. Mateos-Ronco, Alicia & Guzman-Asuncion, Sandra, 2018. "Determinants of financing decisions and management implications: evidence from Spanish agricultural cooperatives," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 21(6), July.
    11. Zeitun, Rami & Goaied, Mohamed & Refai, Hisham Al, 2022. "Does minority management affect a firm's capital structure? Evidence from Japan," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    12. María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez & Inmaculada Bel‐Oms & Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility reporting and capital structure: Does board gender diversity mind in such association?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1588-1600, July.
    13. Pham, Hanh Song Thi & Tran, Hien Thi, 2020. "CSR disclosure and firm performance: The mediating role of corporate reputation and moderating role of CEO integrity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 127-136.
    14. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Cyber Risk: Evidence from Cybersecurity Related Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 351-374, May.
    15. Hinrichsen, Anna & Schiereck, Dirk & von Ahsen, Anette, 2018. "Gender Diversity Issues Within the Company and Beyond: Perceptions of Investor Relations Professionals in German-Speaking Europe," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 72(2), pages 109-125.
    16. Yu, L. & Huang, W., 2018. "Non-economic societal impact or economic revenue? Performance and efficiency analysis of farmer cooperatives in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277512, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Isidoro GUZMÁN & Narciso ARCAS, 2008. "The Usefulness Of Accounting Information In The Measurement Of Technical Efficiency In Agricultural Cooperatives," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(1), pages 107-131, March.
    18. Luiz Eduardo Gaio & Angela Christina Lucas & Johan Hendrik Poker Junior & Marcio Marcelo Belli, 2024. "Gender diversity in management and corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4047-4067, September.
    19. Oliver Lukason & María-del-Mar Camacho-Miñano, 2021. "What Best Explains Reporting Delays? A SME Population Level Study of Different Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-15, April.
    20. McKee, Gregory J. & Shaik, Saleem & Boland, Michael A., 2009. "Role of Financial Variables in Explaining the Profitability of North Dakota Farm Supply and Grain Marketing Cooperatives," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 37(2), pages 1-12.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:agribz:v:35:y:2019:i:4:p:639-656. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1520-6297 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.