Vol. 5 No. 2 (2011)

The first article in this edition of the Journal of Globalization, Competitiveness and Governability aims to illustrate the evolution of practices in the dissemination of sustainability information since their beginnings. In order to do so, Eduardo Ortas and Jose M. Moneva, from the University of Zaragoza (Spain), review and discuss the main theories to explain this phenomenon, also analyzing the state of the matter of disseminating sustainability information in an emerging region: the Latin American context. In particular, they study the practices used in the key countries for the dissemination of sustainability information in Latin America.

Despite the importance and current nature of the re-structuring strategy of the business portfolio in diversified company, there are very few studies for the Spanish and Latin American corporate context. The article by Miguel Blanco Callejo, Luis Angel Guerras Martín and Francisco Javier Forcadell Martínez from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Spain aims to provide empirical evidence taken from an in-depth study of the application of this strategy by the three main Spanish multinational electrical companies with a strong presence in Latin America. The results of these three cases show that re-structuring is a result of changes in the environment, agency problems and the implementation of inappropriate diversification strategies. The authors consider that the return to corporate specialization led the companies to significantly improve their financial results and create value.

In the next article, Abel Torres García-Heras, from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Spain, attempts to offer an empirical vision of the perception of risk in global financial markets. The analysis of this risk focuses on the evolution of credit default swaps, both for public debt and corporate debt over the past five years. During this analysis, the author observes the distortions found, in addition new aspects in terms of risk perception. The most novel of these is that countries in Latin America have a lower risk of non-payment than European countries. Another is how highly geographically diverse companies present lower levels of risk than the national debt.

During 2008 and 2009 a high number of companies presented Employment Regulation Orders (ERE – Expediente de Regulación de Empleo) in Spain. Susana Callao Gastón and José Ignacio Jarne from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) study this type of business response to the economic crisis in order to know what economic and financial features mark the difference between companies which opt for ERE and those which do not. Having dismissed the issue of account manipulation, the authors believe that the results show that issues with profitability, liquidity and covering the financial expenses incurred by debt, and the load of staff costs weighing down on results, are determining factors for companies presenting an ERE.

José Julián Cao-Alvira, from the University of Puerto Rico and Carlos Ronderos-Torres from Sergio Arboleda University in Colombia, analyze the dynamic between the Colombian overseas sector and the variations in real exchange rate for the Colombian currency, in the theoretical framework of the Marshall-Lerner condition, for the trading of both commodities and non-commodities. The authors consider that it has been seen that, historically, the ML condition has been met for cases of Colombia overseas trading in non-commodities with the U.S.A. and Venezuela. However, Colombian trading in commodities has proven to be unaffected by change in terms of international exchange.

In the next article, Ciro Martínez Oropesa, from the Western Autonomous University in Colombia, tries to determine what kind of variations occurred in partner behavior patterns when supervisors changed their attitude and level of performance in terms of safety, allowing the application of more effective ways of compensating for high time consumption and improve efficiency in all stages of the management process. This author believes this permits the design of new indicators and proactive ways of assessing safety with a wider scope for measuring development and consistency throughout the process, and the impact on effectiveness and general efficacy.

In the last article, Juan Miguel Báez Melián, from the University of Zaragoza (Spain), analyses the factors which aid or impede the creation of cooperative companies, in particular associated employment cooperatives in Spain. The author believes that ideological motives are not an essential cause for the creation of cooperatives; however it does seem that the positive influence of the environment has played a relevant in their creation, just as unemployment has a positive influence on the incorporation of this kind of company. However, the difficulty in obtaining finance is a considerable handicap.

We would once again like to thank all those who make the smooth running of this journal possible: members of the Consultative Committee, Editorial Committee, Editors and Associate Area Editors, evaluators, authors and above all, our readers.