Management Practices and Firm Performance during the Great Recession

Florian Englmaier, Galdón Sánchez, José Enrique, Ricard Gil, Michael Kaiser and Helene Strandt

No 20749, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: This paper examines how management practices affect firm productivity over the business cycle. Using Spanish plant-level survey data and unsupervised machine learning, we identify a “structured†management style positively correlated with performance before the 2008 financial crisis. Interestingly, this correlation turns negative during the crisis and positive again in the post-2013 recovery. Our evidence suggests structured firms focus on long-run profitability and innovation, prioritizing intangible investments. This strategy leads to higher short-run adjustment costs, evidenced by more fixed assets and lower employee turnover, making them less resilient during a severe downturn.

Keywords: Culture; Productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C38 D22 M12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10
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