Female leadership and business results: the moderating effect of family businesses

Carolina Ruiz-Moreno, M. Ángeles Rodríguez-Serrano, Silvia Martelo-Landroguez and Carmen Barroso-Castro

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 2026, 1-18

Abstract: PurposeGiven the disparity of results in the literature on female business leadership, this study aims to deepen the existing debate by offering an enriching proposal on this concept. We focus both on previous contributions to the literature and on the inclusion of contextual factors, such as the family business environment, to develop our proposal.Design/methodology/approachThe article adopts a quantitative approach using panel data to analyse data collected from 162 large companies between 2007 and 2019.FindingsThe effectiveness of female business leadership increases when women participate in more than one of the company's corporate governance actors, with the family context being more conducive to achieving this female business leadership.Originality/valueOur work takes a step further by delving deeper into female business leadership, arguing that it should not only involve the possibility of participating in and influencing business decision-making, but also generate the capacity for this participation to influence others and, therefore, the orientation of the company.

Keywords: Female leadership; Gender diversity; Family business; Corporate governance; ROA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ejmbep:ejmbe-10-2025-0405

DOI: 10.1108/EJMBE-10-2025-0405

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