Effects of gender and performance: The Spanish firms and the economy for the common good

Abstract

Firm performance has traditionally been evaluated on the basis of financial results; if a company achieved a profit or managed to increase profit levels, this was believed to indicate that it was doing well. However, it is now considered advisable to focus not only on the purely economic aspects of organizations, but also to assess the effects of a firm's actions from an environmental and social point of view. This paper aims to analyse firm performance for a sector or group of companies that are understood to show an awareness of the different impacts generated by their actions; specifically, the companies that lie within the orbit of the Economy of the Common Good. The objective of this study is to assess the extent to which the performance of these companies differs from that of the other companies in the Spanish economy, and the role played by the most common financial ratios, firm size, and the sector to which the firm belongs, as well as the influence of gender. To that end, factor analysis is applied.