Programa del congreso

This study examines the role of trust in the relationship between consumers and socially responsible firms. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) often involves product or production attributes that are difficult for consumers to observe, creating an asymmetric information problem. To address this, consumers and responsible firms develop a trust-based relationship (relational contract).

The paper introduces a single variable to measure trust, defined as the probability of consumers forgiving a firm upon receiving bad news about its actions. Unlike previous studies that find a negative relationship between trust and regulation—arguing that regulation is a costly substitute for trust—this study shows that trust and regulation can be complementary. The key difference lies in the regulatory approach: while prior models make compliance costlier for responsible firms, this study considers a framework where non-compliant firms bear higher costs.

When regulation is in place, consumers expect firms to have stronger incentives to act responsibly, which enhances trust. The paper illustrates this insight using cross-country data on trust and regulation. It also highlights how consumer observation of regulatory sanctions and the strength of ethical and social (ES) preferences contribute to the emergence of a trust equilibrium.

This paper analyzes which personal characteristics make former politicians more likely to be appointed to corporate boards, focusing on the role of political capital and personality traits in regulated and non-regulated industries. While prior research highlights the resource provision role of political directors, we argue that board service also requires governance-related capabilities, such as monitoring and strategic leadership. We propose that the relative importance of political capital and personality traits varies by industry. In regulated industries, political connections and interpersonal traits are key. Meanwhile, in non-regulated industries, traits that support governance functions matter more. Using data on all former Spanish cabinet members from 1977 to 2020, we find support for most of our hypotheses. Our study contributes to the extant literature by demonstrating the combined influence of political background and personality in director selection and offering a more nuanced understanding of how former politicians are evaluated for board roles.

Objectives. The paper aims to reveal the intellectual and conceptual structures of the sustainable leadership body of literature in the management, business, and economics research domains.

Theoretical framework. The theoretical framework of the research includes the concepts of sustainable leadership and methods of bibliometric and text analyses.

Methodology. We applied bibliometric and text analysis methods for this purpose. The data for the research were extracted from the Web of Science database.

Results/implications. The application of bibliometric tools showed that the field has rapidly grown in recent years, and evolved from general topics such as business, management, industry, and sustainable competitive advantage, to studying the impact of sustainable leadership on company performance. The revealed conceptual structure of sustainable leadership included theoretical topics, topics in management and economics fields, and interdisciplinary topics. Furthermore, based on the text analysis results regarding conceptual structure, we anticipate the growth of diverse and interdisciplinary sustainable leadership research in the coming years. Lastly, our study contributed to further developing the framework and uncovering the future research agenda of sustainable leadership research.

Objectives: This study examines the impact of Corporate-NGO partnerships on firms’ Environmental Performance (EP) and Environmental Innovation (EI). It investigates whether these partnerships drive improvements in environmental outcomes and whether their effects persist after the collaboration ends.

Theoretical framework: The study applies legitimacy theory as an analytical lens to understanding how Corporate-NGO partnerships influence firms’ environmental strategies. It differentiates between EP, representing immediate, tangible improvements, and EI, which reflects long-term, innovation-driven sustainability efforts, as dual pathways through which firms can enhance their legitimate.

Methodology: Using panel data from 971 publicly listed firms (2010–2019) sourced from Refinitiv Eikon, the study employs econometric models (OLS, FGLS, and HLM) to assess the impact of Corporate-NGO partnerships on EP and EI. A Propensity Score Matching is applied to ensure robust causal inference.

Results/implications: Findings indicate that Corporate-NGO partnerships significantly enhance both EP and EI, with a stronger impact on EP due to its more visible nature. The results further suggest that environmental improvements persist beyond the formal partnership period. These insights offer practical implications for firms seeking to integrate sustainability into their long-term strategy and for policymakers aiming to foster effective collaborations aimed at environmental objectives.