Facultad de Económicas y CC Empresariales

This study explores the realm of authentic leadership theory to examine how female teenagers can enhance relational authenticity and develop authentic leadership skills through a specialized program. Employing multigroup Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we assess the impact of this leadership intervention on female teenagers, comparing pre- and postintervention results. Additionally, we contrasted the outcomes of program participants with those of same-aged, nonparticipating students from similar backgrounds. The analysis revealed a significant increase in the scores for the four constructs of authentic leadership among the program’s participants. Notably, their academic grades also improved post-intervention. Focusing on high school females aged 16 years and above, the study addresses a critical age for developing selfperception of competence and confidence. The persistent underrepresentation of females in leadership roles underscores the necessity for early interventions like this one. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how a leadership program can positively influence the development of authentic leadership skills among participants, while also observing enhancements in academic achievement following this particular intervention.

El presente estudio centra su atención en un tipo particular de emprendimiento: el emprendimiento digital iniciado por mujeres. Este tipo de creación de empresas tiene un interés particular por su alto impacto en el desarrollo económico y la dinamización de las economías desarrolladas; y en muchos casos además por su intensa orientación social. Aquí resulta especialmente relevante encontrar una paridad entre hombres y mujeres a la hora de emprender, ya que, de lo contrario, no se obtendría un desarrollo inclusivo, ni se explotaría todo el potencial emprendedor de una sociedad. Tras una descripción de las características particulares tanto del emprendimiento digital, como del femenino, se revisan las barreras a las que comúnmente se enfrenta cada uno de ellos. Mediante un estudio empírico, que logró recopilar la respuesta de 161 emprendedoras digitales en España, se procede a contrastar las barreras identificadas en la literatura con la realidad empresarial. Se pueden confirmar las dificultades que comúnmente enfrentan emprendimientos digitales, al igual que femeninos, en lo referente a las dificultades para encontrar financiación. Sin embargo, otras barreras, tales como el rol de la mujer en la familia, parecen tener menor relevancia en este tipo de emprendimientos. Finalmente, se ofrecen conclusiones generales, en las que se destacan los puntos de actuación para posibles políticas de fomento del emprendimiento digital femenino.

Companies are vital agents in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. One key role that businesses can play in achieving the 5th Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality is implementing training programs for their women executives so they can reach top corporate leadership positions. In this paper, we test the effectiveness of an Authentic Leadership Development (ALD) program for women executives. By interviewing 32 participants from this ALD program and building on authentic leadership theory, we find that this program lifts women participants’ self-efficacy perception, as well as their self-resolution to take control of their careers. The driver for both results is a reflective thinking process elicited during the program that leads women to abandon the stereotype of a low status role and lack of self-direction over time. Through the relational authenticity developed during the program, women participants develop leadership styles that are more congenial with their gender group, yet highly accepted by the in-group leader members, which enhances their social capital. After the program, the women participants flourished as authentic leaders, were able to activate and foster their self-esteem and social capital, and enhanced their agency in career advancement, increasing their likelihood of breaking the glass ceiling.

This study sheds light on the underrepresentation of women as school principals by analysing which model (organisational or individual) is most identified with the gender differences in the quality of management found in favour of women principals. To do so, this study presents a model for the appointment of school heads in a two-sided market: demand and supply. On the demand side (organisational model), the presence of double standards, with respect to the promotion of women, would imply that higher bars are set for the evaluation of women. Alternatively, on the supply side (individual model), a potential lower self-efficacy perception among women could lead them to self-exclude from managerial positions. In both cases, the findings reveal only highly-skilled females as principals and a gender gap in principal positions. By using the World Management Survey (WMS), data indicate that female principals are associated with higher management quality, which confirms the presence of barriers to female promotion. Exploration of the market side responsible for these barriers found that only the demand side is significant, which signals the double-standard argument. This supports the argument that changes in the principal selection process should be implemented for the maximisation of the available pool of talent.

The study of Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFC) has found that training and education have, among other things, a positive effect on overcoming barriers when starting your own firm. Our research can be placed in this line, but with an added specificity, since it is focused firstly on women and secondly on the digital economy. Thus, we have studied the situation of women entrepreneurs in the digital economy in Spain, asking them about their personal traits, the characteristics of their ventures and the barriers they encountered. We have studied the effect of EFCs on overcoming barriers to entrepreneurship, with a special focus on training and entrepreneurship education. In addition, the effect of self-efficacy perception (the conviction of having the necessary skills to start a business) on overcoming barriers to entrepreneurship has been factored in. After the implementation of a Structural Equation Model (SEM), we show that training helps female entrepreneurs in the digital economy to overcome barriers to entrepreneurship, especially after the mediation of their self-efficacy perception, which is increased by specific entrepreneurial training. We can conclude that policy recommendations to counteract the gender gap in entrepreneurship with specific training should be promoted, specifically in such a strategic sector as the digital economy

El presente trabajo estudia la asociación entre el nivel de competencia al que están sometidos las escuelas y la calidad de su gestión, utilizando para ello una base de datos de corte transversal que incluye 1.800 centros educativos de ocho países distintos y cuya propiedad abarca desde administraciones públicas, cooperativas de enseñanza, fundaciones o empresas de capital riesgo, entre otros. El interés de esta investigación se pone de manifiesto ya que otros trabajos han demostrado que la calidad de la gestión de los centros educativos afecta directamente al rendimiento de los alumnos y por ende al desarrollo social. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la principal hipótesis de que la competencia se relaciona positivamente con la calidad de la gestión del centro. Si bien esta conclusión es relevante desde el punto de vista de la política educativa, es preciso tener en cuenta que la literatura ha mostrado posibles consecuencias negativas derivadas de la competencia entre centros, como son la tendencia hacia la segmentación de los centros y la creciente polarización de los mismos

This paper reflects on the importance of employability skills for higher education students in the present and future working environment to determine the impact these skills may have on student competitiveness and satisfaction. The study focused on university students in the Madrid region during their final academic year who participated in a teaching activity that launched real business challenges. We created a model that analyzed the impact of employability skills on student competitiveness and satisfaction and the mediating role of competitiveness in two different moments (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic). Empirical findings suggest that students' improved employability skills increased their competitiveness and satisfaction, with competitiveness as a mediating factor. Thus, academic authorities must focus on students acquiring employability skills, which are among the most valuable in the labour market and positively impact student competitiveness and satisfaction. This way, future graduates can work successfully in a changing and demanding world and find positions aligned with their training. In contrast to some studies that place the teacher as the research target, ours focused on the student and the impact these skills have on the variables mentioned.

Este trabajo analiza la importancia que tiene la creación de un marco de integración generacional en las empresas que están abordando, o van a abordar, procesos de transformación digital del negocio. La transformación digital ha revolucionado los modelos empresariales y ha impregnado todas sus estrategias relacionadas con empleados, clientes y stakeholders. Su impacto en los negocios es de tal magnitud que, más que nunca, se hace imprescindible poner en el centro de la actividad tecnológica a las personas y crear los entornos necesarios para que nadie pueda ser excluido del proceso de implantación digital, especialmente aquellas que, por su edad, pueden ser víctimas de una brecha digital que les expulse del sistema productivo. Es imprescindible crear un marco de capacitación digital que integre a las diferentes generaciones en torno a los procesos de implantación tecnológica y favorezca la inclusión social y laboral de las generaciones más vulnerables frente a la transformación digital, potenciando habilidades y competencias digitales que les permitan participar del cambio tecnológico sin quedar segregadas de la actividad laboral por incompetencia digital.