Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use the dynamic capabilities framework to explain the effect of board networks, as a source of intellectual capital, on firm performance. The authors propose that the influence of board interlocks depends on their ability to contribute to strategic decision making. As a result, their effect is subject to the business context in which they occur and the different role of the interconnected directors involved. Design/methodology/approach The authors use social network analysis to make board connections and to calculate centrality measures. The authors also identify busy boards to analyze whether their effect differs from centrality. The authors estimate the theoretical model using the Generalized Method of Moments in order to take advantage of the panel database. Findings For a sample of Spanish firms from 1999 to 2015, the results show there is no direct significant effect of directors’ networks on firm performance. However, the authors find a positive and significant influence of intra-industry board connections, particularly when they are established among outsiders. Research limitations/implications The Spanish context of the study can limit the generalization of the papers’ results. Practical implications The results can be useful both for practitioners – since they can serve as a guide for companies to reformulate their boards in search of the optimal structure-, and when implementing good governance codes – establishing limits for director interlocking. Originality/value This study helps to offer a better understanding of how directors’ networks can add value to the firm depending on the kind of resources they provide (context) and the role of the director who is connected.

The chapter analyses the use and management of the European Structural and Investment Funds, attending to the differences between the countries that carry out them to highlight possible inefficiencies. Taking the EU funds related to the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, made up by 7.162 projects, the types of funds and their distribution among the countries are analysed through different maps, by comparing budget, decided and spending policies for the projects by each country, with special emphasize the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund. The paper continues with an empirical research to contrast the hypotheses connected with the efficiency use of funds and indicators that measure the level of transparency and corruption in each country. The results show that the efficiency is higher in northern countries, Finland and Denmark especially, where the levels of transparency are higher and the corruption rates lower.

No abstract

We investigate the determinants of the effective use of European Structural and Investment Funds. We use a newly constructed database of the 1,024 programmes from the last two programme periods that started in 2007 and 2014, respectively. Our results show that virtually all programmes fail to meet the initial deadline and need the extension period to be able to spend the funds initially allocated. About 45% of EU funds allocated are not used by the initial deadline and a tenth of the programmes end up not using over 10% of the funds. Our econometric analysis shows that beyond institutional framework measures of accountability, law and order, corruption and public officials' attitudes, education and management capacity are key determinants in the efficient use of fund allocation. These findings are in line with previous work documenting that, as in the private sector, management capacity plays an important role in explaining government efficiency. In such circumstances, implementing measures that help bureaucracies deal with the lack of management skills and processing capacity -such as outsourcing fund management-may improve the efficient use of EU funds.

We analyse the trend among 79 banks from 20 European countries towards scrip dividends. Whereas banks do not seem to smooth cash dividends, they do smooth total dividends, which include both cash and scrip dividends. We also find that the new legal requirements (resulting from the Basel III Accord and other country‐level laws) have different implications on cash and scrip dividends. Whereas the need for better and more capital imposed by these rules has led banks to cut cash dividends, there is a positive relationship between the legal requirements on capital adequacy and scrip dividends.