Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?

Family firms form the backbone of most of the world’s economies. While the issues surrounding family firms are diverse, gender diversity and its impact on the strategic and financial decisions of such firms is a topic that has generated significant debate in recent years. In particular, one of the m...

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Autores principales:	Cristina Fenoy-Castaño, María J. Martínez-Romero, Rubén Martínez-Alonso
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	level of indebtedness corporate governance females family firms agri-food industry Agriculture (General) S1-972
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/4e6f549f037e495cbc20df6fde1eea9e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:4e6f549f037e495cbc20df6fde1eea9e2021-11-25T16:00:03ZDoes the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?10.3390/agriculture111111352077-0472https://doaj.org/article/4e6f549f037e495cbc20df6fde1eea9e2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/11/1135https://doaj.org/toc/2077-0472Family firms form the backbone of most of the world’s economies. While the issues surrounding family firms are diverse, gender diversity and its impact on the strategic and financial decisions of such firms is a topic that has generated significant debate in recent years. In particular, one of the most crucial unresolved questions is whether or not increasing the female presence in the family firms’ corporate governance bodies would be beneficial for improving their internal functioning. To shed new light on these issues, our study aims to examine the influence of gender diversity on the level of indebtedness of Spanish agri-food family firms. Specifically, and applying a risk-aversion perspective, the research goal is to analyse whether the female presence in corporate governance structures (board of directors, top management team and general shareholders’ meeting) influences the level of firm indebtedness. To test the suggested relationships, ordinary least square regression models were applied to a sample of 137 firms. The final sample was obtained by combining quantitative data from the SABI database and qualitative data from a survey conducted by the Spanish Institute of Family Firms and the Spanish Network of Family Business Chairs. This study reveals an inverse relationship of female presence in the board of directors, in the top management team, and in the general shareholders’ meeting on the level of indebtedness of Spanish agri-food family firms. In other words, the findings show that female presence in corporate governance structures contributes to enhanced business management behaviour and, thus, to a better utilisation of firms’ financing strategies. The obtained results have very important practical and social implications, insofar as they contribute to the building of a more inclusive and sustainable business world, aimed at reducing gender inequality at top positions in firms.Cristina Fenoy-CastañoMaría J. Martínez-RomeroRubén Martínez-AlonsoMDPI AGarticlelevel of indebtednesscorporate governancefemalesfamily firmsagri-food industryAgriculture (General)S1-972ENAgriculture, Vol 11, Iss 1135, p 1135 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	level of indebtedness corporate governance females family firms agri-food industry Agriculture (General) S1-972
spellingShingle	level of indebtedness corporate governance females family firms agri-food industry Agriculture (General) S1-972 Cristina Fenoy-Castaño María J. Martínez-Romero Rubén Martínez-Alonso Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
description	Family firms form the backbone of most of the world’s economies. While the issues surrounding family firms are diverse, gender diversity and its impact on the strategic and financial decisions of such firms is a topic that has generated significant debate in recent years. In particular, one of the most crucial unresolved questions is whether or not increasing the female presence in the family firms’ corporate governance bodies would be beneficial for improving their internal functioning. To shed new light on these issues, our study aims to examine the influence of gender diversity on the level of indebtedness of Spanish agri-food family firms. Specifically, and applying a risk-aversion perspective, the research goal is to analyse whether the female presence in corporate governance structures (board of directors, top management team and general shareholders’ meeting) influences the level of firm indebtedness. To test the suggested relationships, ordinary least square regression models were applied to a sample of 137 firms. The final sample was obtained by combining quantitative data from the SABI database and qualitative data from a survey conducted by the Spanish Institute of Family Firms and the Spanish Network of Family Business Chairs. This study reveals an inverse relationship of female presence in the board of directors, in the top management team, and in the general shareholders’ meeting on the level of indebtedness of Spanish agri-food family firms. In other words, the findings show that female presence in corporate governance structures contributes to enhanced business management behaviour and, thus, to a better utilisation of firms’ financing strategies. The obtained results have very important practical and social implications, insofar as they contribute to the building of a more inclusive and sustainable business world, aimed at reducing gender inequality at top positions in firms.
format	article
author	Cristina Fenoy-Castaño María J. Martínez-Romero Rubén Martínez-Alonso
author_facet	Cristina Fenoy-Castaño María J. Martínez-Romero Rubén Martínez-Alonso
author_sort	Cristina Fenoy-Castaño
title	Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
title_short	Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
title_full	Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
title_fullStr	Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
title_full_unstemmed	Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?
title_sort	does the female presence in corporate governance influence the level of indebtedness in agri-food family firms?
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/4e6f549f037e495cbc20df6fde1eea9e
work_keys_str_mv	AT cristinafenoycastano doesthefemalepresenceincorporategovernanceinfluencethelevelofindebtednessinagrifoodfamilyfirms AT mariajmartinezromero doesthefemalepresenceincorporategovernanceinfluencethelevelofindebtednessinagrifoodfamilyfirms AT rubenmartinezalonso doesthefemalepresenceincorporategovernanceinfluencethelevelofindebtednessinagrifoodfamilyfirms
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Does the Female Presence in Corporate Governance Influence the Level of Indebtedness in Agri-Food Family Firms?

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