Josep A Tribo

• Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology (US) and Professor at Universidad Carlos III (Spain) -On leave
• Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology (New Jersey US)

This paper shows that borrowers’ ethical behavior leads lending banks to loosen financing conditions when setting loan rates. We advance the banking literature by stressing that the previous financing loosening is enhanced when there is similarity of lenders and borrowers along their ethical domain given that such similarity brings about familiarit...

In this paper we argue that corporate social responsibility (CSR) to various stakeholders (customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, and community) has a positive effect on global brand equity (BE). In addition, policies aimed at satisfying community interests help reinforce credibility to social responsible polices with other stakeholders. We...

This paper examines the effects of a firm's intangible resources in mediating the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance. We hypothesize that previous empirical findings of a positive relationship between social and financial performance may be spurious because the researchers failed to account for the mediating eff...

In this study, we explain how multinational enterprises (MNEs) respond to pressure to conform to their stakeholders' expectations for corporate social responsibility. We invoke the institutional theory to propose that mounting stakeholder pressure in their home country will lead MNEs to transfer the socially irresponsible practices of their headqua...

We explore the interaction between public support for R&D and appropriability using a dataset constructed from the Spanish Community Innovation Survey, for the period 2000-2005. We find that public support policy is less able to stimulate privately financed internal R&D in firms where appropriability mechanisms are more effective. On average, the e...

This paper investigates how signaling and herding behavior interact in crowdfunding markets to give raise to an information cascade, even when there are no identifiable experts, which is the typical case in reward-based crowdfunding. Using daily funding data for on all the projects launched on Kickstarter during one month, we find that during the i...

The United Nations’ increasing involvement in global sustainability culminated in 2015 with the release of the 2030 Agenda. This agenda puts businesses in the spotlight, and their innovation and stakeholder partnering activities are portrayed as essential strategies for achieving an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this...

In this paper, we empirically examine the spreads of syndicated and non-syndicated loans. We compare the spreads from tranches belonging to both types of contracts across deals of similar sizes. Our study of large corporate loans in the US market for the period from 1990-2013 shows that the differential between syndicated and non-syndicated spreads...

We investigate whether suppliers value customer firms’ socially responsible activities by examining the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms’ access to trade credit. We posit that firms with better social performance are more likely to receive trade credit because suppliers view customers’ CSR activities as a signal of t...

Research summary Building on the comparative capitalism's notion of institutional complementarities, we examine whether firms’ simultaneous adoption of managerial entrenchment provisions (MEPs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reinforces or undercuts one another in influencing firm financial performance. We propose that the financial impac...

This paper studies the mechanisms which motivate managers to engage in cheap talk and attract market's attention in a credible way. We consider stock splits announcements, voluntary earnings forecasts and press releases issued by firms to the media as proxies for managerial cheap talk. We show that: (i) managerial performance‐related pay contracts...

Research Question/Issue In this paper we study the impact of banks’ stakes in firms on the use of market mechanisms like securities issues by firms to raise funds. Research Findings/Insights There is a U‐shaped connection between banks’ stakes and the likelihood of issuing securities. Interestingly, the balance between the negative (expropriating)...

Research is a key determinant of health improvement. However, there is little empirical evidence showing how the research conducted in hospitals affects healthcare outcomes. To address this issue, we used panel data of 189 Spanish public hospitals over the period 1996–2009 to estimate the causal effect of both clinical and basic research on hospita...

In this study, we examine the existence and performance of cognitive groups. In accordance with the attention-based view of managerial cognition, cognitive groups are defined as groups of firms in which the CEOs focus their attention on similar strategic elements when seeking to maximize their firm's competitive advantage. We developed a panel data...

For agency theorists, managerial entrenchment is one of the costliest manifestations of agency problems. CEOs in their attempt to neutralize the discipline of corporate governance mechanisms cause substantive losses to firms’ shareholders. In this study, we broaden the concept of managerial entrenchment by considering the network of firms in which...

We show that creditors do not just ensure that inefficient investment is not undertaken, but also do not preclude efficient investment. Examining what happens following a debt covenant violation, a situation through which creditors acquire some control rights over the firm, we find that investment declines when the firm has few growth opportunities...

In this paper, we study the ability of organizations to enhance their legitimacy while minimizing risk that supporting audiences will not withdraw their adhesion. A central claim of this study is that symbolic actions related to the social responsible commitment of an organization (cheap social talk) may be effective in the short term but when thes...

In this article, we study the impact of implementing corporate social responsible (CSR) practices on firms’ inventory policy. We propose that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between firms’ CSR and their inventory levels. Two elements explain such a proposal. First, stakeholders have different interests regarding the outcome of the invent...

In recent years, research policy stakeholders have emphasized their interest in the societal returns of research. The goal of this study is to assess the impact of research activities on Spanish hospitals clinical outcomes. To do so, we use a panel data set of Spanish hospitals, and we consider two fixed effects models, one for medical and the othe...

This article investigates minority expropriation in closely-held firms. Using a sample of Spanish firms for the period from 1996 to 2006, we find that firms that are more vulnerable to minority expropriation have blockholders controlling groups with aggregate equity stakes that are far removed from 50%, which is the point that maximizes the chances...

Much theory and empirical evidence focus on the role of creditors in preventing inefficient investment, and if unsuccessful, in punishing firms and their managers. We show that creditors’ effect on investment decisions can be more complex as they also assess the potential of a firm’s business. Examining what happens to investment following a debt c...

We investigate whether segment disclosure influences cost of capital. We find that better segment information contributes to improving the accuracy of analysts’ forecasts, and to reducing the assessed covariance between the firm’s returns and the returns of all other firms in the same industry sector. This is consistent with an improvement in infor...

This paper presents a model in which a firm with a degree of R and D specialization raises external funds to develop a two-period project that involves some non-verifiable returns (R and D-type of project). Taking into account a possible opportunistic behavior by the manager, we find out that the optimal firm's debt equity ratio is negatively relat...

The study here examines the interaction between shareholder value and customer satisfaction, as well as the impact on a firm's brand equity. Customer satisfaction may have a positive effect on brand equity, except when managers show excessive customer orientation, in which case the effect is negative because of reductions in shareholder value. The...

In this paper we analyze the effect of covenants in corporate investment. We argue that when lenders fix excessive stringent covenants this may generate inefficient underinvestment when a firm is close to a covenant violation, particularly for good quality firms. However, when a covenant violation does occur, these firms increase investment and thi...

We investigate the role of segment disclosure, as a corporate governance mechanism, in enhancing investment efficiency, and whether and how corporate governance mechanisms ameliorate or exacerbate under-investment and over-investment problems. Using a large US sample for the period 2001-2006, we find that firms providing better segment disclosure q...

This paper studies empirically the effect of ownership concentration on the risk and performance of commercial banks, controlling for shareholders protection laws, bank regulations, and other country and bank specific traits. The sample used comprises 795 banks of 47 countries, in the period from 1997 to 2007. Our main finding is the existence of a...

This study examines empirically the bank stocks price reactions to loan announcements. Using a sample of 1,354 announcements of loans made by 119 banks located in 35 countries during the period 1998-2006, we find significant abnormal bank stock returns on the days surrounding a bank loan announcement. Positive reactions are greater and more frequen...

This study examines empirically how bank regulations adopted in lender countries influence the characteristics of loan contracts, using a sample of 46,453 loans made by 278 large commercial banks around 39 countries, to borrowers in 83 countries, in the period from 1998 to 2006. Our findings indicate that the stringency of capital regulations have...

This article analyses how a firm's returns are affected when a bank becomes a large blockholder. We investigate this issue by taking into consideration the types of blockholders that build coalitions with banks in order to control a firm. We find that the effect on a firm's returns is negative when a bank buys the largest stake and forms coalitions...

In this paper we argue that socially responsible policies have a positive impact on a firm�s brand equity in the short-term as well as in the long-term. Moreover, once we distinguish between different stakeholders, we posit that secondary stakeholders such as community are even more important than primary stakeholders (customers, shareholders, work...

In modern corporations, the Operations Manager's role in defining of firm's strategy is becoming more important. In this paper we describe how firms can use this tendency for Operations Managers to make strategic decisions as a mechanism to prevent inventory mismanagement. These managers have incentives to speculate with inventory cost reductions,...

We investigate the role of earnings quality in determining the levels of segment disclosure, and whether and how better quality earnings and segment disclosure influences cost of capital. Using a large US sample for the period 2001-2006, we find a positive relation between earnings quality and levels of segment disclosures. We also find that firms...

In this article, we argue that firms that are floated on the stock market are subject to close scrutiny by financial markets, which hinder them from implementing the type of empire-building overinvestment policies that may generate inventory accumulation (the signaling role of inventories). Also, listed firms have more resource availability to fina...

In this paper, we argue that those firms with higher levels of absorptive capacity can manage external knowledge flows more efficiently, and stimulate innovative outcomes. We test this contention with a sample of 2265 Spanish firms, drawn from the Community Innovation Surveys (CIS) for 2000 and 2002, produced by the Spanish National Statistics Inst...

This paper examines the effects of a firm's intangible resources in mediating the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance. We hypothesize that previous empirical findings of a positive relationship between social and financial performance may be spurious because the researchers failed to account for the mediating eff...

Background and objectives This article examines, on the one hand, the impact of the cooperation between universities and industry on the performance of innovative activities conducted by pharmaceutical firms in Spain and, on the other hand, the article assesses the impact of universities as a source of information for the innovative activities of t...

This article examines, on the one hand, the impact of the cooperation between universities and industry on the performance of innovative activities conducted by pharmaceutical firms in Spain and, on the other hand, the article assesses the impact of universities as a source of information for the innovative activities of the Spanish pharmaceutical...

This paper investigates minority expropriation problems in closely-held corporations, where control is shared by a small number of blockholders. Using a large sample of Spanish firms for the years 1996 through 2000, we find that firms whose characteristics make them more vulnerable to minority expropriation tend to have controlling groups with stak...

The article discusses the social responsibility of international business enterprises and the impact on stockholder pressures. Corporate social responsibility in multinational companies (MNCs) may be increased due to global and institutional pressure as well as decreased in their efforts to reduce costs. Research is conducted as to the impact of pr...

  We examine empirically the relationships amongst managerial entrenchment practices, social performance, and financial performance. We hypothesize that entrenched managers may collude with non-shareholder stakeholders in order to reinforce their entrenchment strategy; this is particularly so in firms that have efficient internal control mechanisms...

This paper investigates minority expropriation problems in closely-held corporations, where control is shared by a small number of blockholders. Using a large sample of Spanish fi rms for the years 1996 through 2000, we fi nd that fi rms whose characteristics make them more vulnerable to minority expropriation tend to have controlling groups with s...

This paper builds upon the theoretical framework developed by Zahra and George [Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review 2002;27:185-203] to empirically explore the antecedents of potential absorptive capacity (PAC), i.e. the ability to identify and assimilate external knowledge flows. Based on...

In this paper we study the effect of banks' equity holdings on the probability of firms being listed on the stock market as well as on issuing negotiated debt. We argue that banks take an equity position either to expropriate the current shareholders or strategically to open the possibility of future business opportunities once firms are listed on...

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper investigates the connection between earnings management and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We argue that earnings management practices damage the collective interests of stakeholders; hence, managers who manipulate earnings can deal with stakeholder activism and vigilance by res...

In this paper, we study the impact that financial institutions have on a firm’s earnings management, when acting as lenders or owners. Making use of a database of 2844 non-financial Spanish firms for the period 1996-2000, we find that when financial institutions are shareholders, they stimulate earnings management practices in participated firms, e...

The possibility of measuring and comparing sustainability performance is generally taken for granted in management studies and practices based on the evaluation, selection and ranking of the supposedly best companies in the field. The purpose of this article is to question this basic assumption by analyzing the comparability of sustainability perfo...

Using data from 3,638 Spanish firms between 1996 and 2000, this article studies the relationship between the presence of large shareholders in the ownership structure of firms and R&D investment. Consistent with our theoretical contention, our results indicate that the impact of large shareholders on the R&D investment is (1) negative when blockhol...

This paper makes use of a database of Spanish manufacturing firms to explore the effect of a firm's ownership structure on its inventory policy. We have argued that the presence of institutional investors reduces a firm's liquidity needs and prevents overinvestment policies. This, in turn, leads to lower equilibrium inventory levels. Also, we expec...

In this paper we study the interaction between ownership structure and customer satisfaction, and their impact on a firm¿s brand equity. We find that customer satisfaction has a positive direct effect on brand equity but an indirect negative one, through reductions in ownership concentration. This latter effect emerges when managers are focused mai...

This paper studies the interaction between ownership structure, taken as a proxy for shareholders' commitment, and customer satisfaction - the main driver of consumer loyalty - and their impact on a firm's brand equity. The results show that customer satisfaction has a positive direct effect on brand equity but an indirect negative one because of r...

En este trabajo utilizamos una base de datos formada por 13247 empresas españolas para el periodo 1996-2000 y estudiamos el efecto de la presencia de instituciones financieras –bien sea como accionista o como acreedor- en las practicas de manipulación de beneficios (earnings management) de las empresas. Encontramos que las instituciones financieras...

In modern corporations, the Operations Manager’s role in defining of firm’s strategy is becoming more important. In this paper we describe how firms can use this tendency for Operations Managers to make strategic decisions as a mechanism to prevent inventory mismanagement. These managers have incentives to speculate with inventory cost reductions,...

By drawing on stakeholder-agency theory and the earnings management framework, we hypothesize a positive connection between corporate social responsibility and earnings management. We argue that earnings management damages the interests of stakeholders. Hence, managers who manipulate earnings can deal with stakeholder activism and vigilance by reso...

I present a structural empirical model of collective household labour supply that includes the non-participation decision. I specify a simultaneous model for hours, participation and wages of husband and wife. I discuss the problems of identification and statistical coherency that arise in the application of the collective household labour supply m...

We propose a theory that hypothesizes the non-existence of a direct causal relationship between financial and corporate social performance and only an indirect one that relies exclusively on their mutual connection with a firm's intangible investment. We find empirical support for this contention making use of a unique international dataset that pr...

This article studies the relationship between the presence of large shareholders in the ownership structure of firms and R and D investment. In our analysis, we consider the influence of three types of blockholders: banks, non-financial corporations, and individuals. Moreover, we incorporate an additional feature largely ignored in previous researc...

This study investigates the connection between the duration of financial contracts and that of labour contracts. Workers with long-term contracts have incentives to invest in training. This makes them attractive to the entrepreneur. Furthermore, this behaviour will be reinforced if financial contracts are long-term, because it reduces the probabili...

This paper explores how firms finance their R&D projects. There are several instruments that can be used, however, due to information asymmetries and the combination of tangible and intangible returns that R&D projects generate, debt-financing is the worst alternative. The novelty of this paper is that it combines aspects of the resource-based view...

Definir el papel que juega el sistema financiero en general, y los bancos en particular, a la hora de facilitar las inversiones y crecimiento de las empresas, impulsar la adopc i�n de innovaciones tecnol�gicas y las mejoras en la productividad, o en la mejor supervisi�n de la actuaci�n de los directivos ha sido siempre un tema que ha generado encen...

This paper investigates how multiple large shareholders share control and extract private benefits in closely-held corporations. We find that ownership structures with multiple large shareholders are common and very stable. Moreover, they seem to be, to a large extent, exogenously given. The structure of the controlling group of shareholders has a...

This paper shows the existence of a positive relationship between the issue of public debt and the reduction of firm's banking cost. This feature relies on three main arguments. First, banks can delegate to investors the supervision task, a fact that makes bank supervision less costly. Second, the issue of public debt increases firms' bargaining po...

In this paper, we analyze the effects of banks as main blockholders on a firm’s returns and on the concentration of ownership in the hands of the controlling blockholders. Compared with previous studies, we approach to this problem by taking into consideration the type of blockholders building up coalitions with banks for controlling a firm. This a...

This paper shows the existence of a positive relationship between the issue of public debt and the reduction of firm's banking cost. This feature relies on three main arguments. First, banks can delegate to investors the supervision task, a fact that makes bank supervision les s costly. Second, the issue of public debt increases firms' bargaining p...

This paper analyzes the effects of banks as main blockholders on a firm's returns and on the concentration of ownership in hands of the controlling blockholders. We approach this problem by taking into consideration the type of blockholders building up coalitions with banks for controlling a firm. We argue that the effect is negative only when bank...

RESUMEN En este trabajo se razona que la decisión de emitir deuda negociable por parte de las empresas genera una reducción en los costes financieros de origen bancario que éstas soportan. Fundamentamos este hecho a partir de tres argumentos: i) la posible delegación en el mercado de la supervisión que deberían llevar a cabo los bancos, con lo que...

Operations managers are becoming more important in modern corporations. They do not only care on firms’ inventory management but also they are involved in firms’ strategic decisions. Within this setting we ask about the consequences in the inventory policy of this new role undertaken by these managers. To do so, we develop a model where a firm’s Op...

This paper provides a theoretical framework which analyses the relationship between the duration of labor contracts and that of financial contracts within a firm. The model predicts a positive correlation between the durations of the two types of contracts. Also, we empirically test the predictions of our model using data from the Bank of Spain "Ce...

Este trabajo analiza, en primer lugar, las características de la participación de las entidades de crédito en estructuras con varios grandes accionistas. Un segundo aspecto, que es lo más novedoso del artículo, muestra como la participación bancaria en las empresas con varios grandes accionistas puede ser positiva, a diferencia de lo que encuentran...

En este trabajo se estudia el efecto que tiene la emisión de deuda pública negociable por parte de las empresas, en la evolución de los costes bancarios de las mismas. Razonamos que debe de existir una relación negativa entre ambos basándonos en tres argumentos: 1/ la posible delegación en el mercado de la supervisión que deben llevar a cabo los ba...

A common claim in the literature of expatriation is the one referring to the high costs of expatriation. In this paper, on the basis of internalisation theory, we show how limited this approach is. In particular, we consider a set of costs that, although ignored in traditional expatriation literature, must he accounted for when an MNC is deciding o...

This paper examines the effect on the firm's banking cost of the issue of debt securities. We argue over the existence of a positive relationship between the issue of market debt and the reduction of firm's banking cost. This idea relies on three main arguments: i) Banks can delegate to investors the supervision task, a feature that makes bank supe...

En este trabajo se estudia el efecto que tiene la emisión de deuda negociable por parte de las empresas, en la evolución de los costes bancarios de las mismas. Razonamos que debe de existir una relación negativa entre ambos basándonos en tres argumentos: i) la posible delegación de la supervisión bancaria en el mercado, con lo que se abaratan los c...

We study the influence of the manager's degree of consolidation within the firm over the firm's labor policy. We argue that non-consolidated (recently-appointed) managers are more worried about short-term results than consolidated managers are. This feature leads the former to bias the labor contracting favoring short-term contracts. This has two m...

In this paper, we study the effect of different financial contracts on the firm's inventory policy. Doing so will allow to define the best financial instruments to diminish the stock variability of a profit-maximizing firm in a given economic environment (expansion or recession), and for a given market structure. We show that in periods of recessio...

This paper analyses the costs and benefits of using a Main Bank (MB) as a financial provider, which is so common in countries such as Japan. Several banks lend resources to a particular firm but only one monitors and remains responsible to other participants. These inside banks act as fund providers for the project but exchange roles by the time ot...

We have two main objectives in this work. Firstly, to link product market structure with the inventory policy followed by firms. Secondly, to study the effect of different financila contracts in firm's policy, in particular in its inventory policy. This will allow to define for a given economic environment (expansions or recessions), and a given ma...

This paper has three objectives: first to analyze the interaction between the basic internal contracts that shape the firm (labour and financial contracts). In particular we show how their temporal dimension are related. The linkage between firm's internal contracts and the project choice (short-term or long-term) is the second objective of our stu...

In this paper, we analyze the effects on a firm's returns and on a firm's controlling stake of the presence of banks as large blockholders. Differently to previous studies, we enrich our analysis by taking into consideration the type of coalitions that banks can build up with other blockholders. This approach allows conciliating different results o...

This paper evaluates how firm absorptive capacity moderates the impact of knowledge spillovers on innovation performance. We would expect that those firms with higher le vels of absorptive capacity are able to manage knowledge spillovers more efficiently, and are therefore more likely to transform them into innovative outcomes. Additionally, we see...

Using an artiele by Garvey and Swan (GS) 1992 as a benchmark, we extend their model to deal with the issue of the optimal financial structure for a firm when the interaction between labor and fmancial contracts is considered. The GS artiele coneludes that debt financing is Pareto superior to equity financing. We show that once we introduce a model,...

BACKGROUND ANO OBJECTIVES: This article examines, on the one hand, the impact of the cooperation between universities and industry on the performance of innovative activities conducted by pharmaceutical firms in Spain and, on the other hand, the article assesses the impact of universities as a source of information for the innovative activities of...

In this paper we evaluate empirically the role of concentrated ownership structures with multiple large shareholders for a sample of Spanish firms for the years 1996 to 1999. Our results indicate that multiple large shareholders emerge in situations with potential minority expropriation problems, and this feature generates value. In particular, fir...