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The issue of women's participation in top management and boardroom positions has received increasing attention in the academic literature and the press. However, the pace of advancement for women managers and directors continues to be slow and uneven. The novel framework of this study organizes the factors at the individual, organizational and public policy level that affect both career persistence and the advancement of women in top management positions; namely, factors affecting (1) career persistence (staying at the organization) and (2) career advancement or mobility (getting promoted within the organization). In the study location, Chile, only 32 percent of women "persist", or have a career without interruptions, mainly due to issues with work–family integration and organizational environments with opaque and challenging working conditions. Women who "advanced" in their professional careers represent 30 percent of high management positions in the public sector and 18 percent in the private sector. Only 3 percent of general managers in Chile are women. Women in Chile have limited access and are still not integrated into business power networks. Our findings will enlighten business leaders and public policy-makers interested in designing organizations that retain and promote talented women in top positions.

This paper compares the corporate network strategies between multinational corporations of two different origins (United States and Spain), business groups, and state-owned enterprises in the public utility sector of a developing country going through economic and political transitions. The transitions we consider are from an import substitution industrialization model to an open market economy and from a democratic regime to a dictatorial one and back to democracy. We analyze the Chilean telecommunications sector between 1958 and 2005 and find that during a democratic regime all firms sought to build more networks with each other, while incentives decrease under an authoritarian regime. In the protectionist era, US investors built links with Chile's corporate elite, while in times of an open economy, Spanish investors built these links with the government. State-owned corporations did not attempt to build links with other actors at any time, and business groups sought to build most networks among members of the group. Our findings challenge two commonly held assumptions: first, that open economies decrease incentives for domestic actors to build links with each other and, second, that close political regimes increase incentives to build networks among economic actors.

La investigación sobre redes de directorios se ha llevado a cabo principalmente en los Estados Unidos y los países europeos. Escasos son los trabajos de investigación, ya sea de la naturaleza teórica o empírica, que han estudiado las características y los factores que afectan a esta importante red inter empresarial en economías periféricas y turbulentas. En este estudio comparativo e histórico, nos centramos en el efecto de la turbulencia política y económica y la composición de la propiedad de las empresas más importantes en la configuración de la estructura de las redes de directorios en Argentina y Chile a finales de los años sesenta. Las principales conclusiones de este análisis son las siguientes: 1) las redes de directorio son mas fragmentadas en Argentina que en Chile, 2) la mayoría de los actores mas relevantes en la red argentina son empresas de sectores considerados estratégicos por el gobierno, 3) las filiales de multinacionales ocupan una posición central en Argentina, y 4) los bancos y las empresas de propiedad de grupos de negocios locales jugaron un papel central en la red de directorios chilena. Este estudio muestra cómo los factores institucionales y económicos afectan la estructura de relaciones entre empresas. ; Research on interlocking directorates has been conducted primarily in the United States and European countries. Little work of either theoretical or empirical nature has been done to study the characteristics and the factors that affect this important business network in peripheral and turbulent economies. In this comparative and historical study, we focus on the effect of the political and economic turbulence and the ownership composition of the largest firms on shaping the structure of interlocking directorates in Argentina and Chile by the end of the sixties. Four main findings result from this analysis: 1) the interlocking directorate in Argentina is more fragmented than in Chile; 2) most relevant actors in the directorship interlock in Argentina are firms in industries considered strategic by the government; 3) multinational subsidiaries occupy a central position in Argentina; 4) banks and firms owned by local business groups played a central role in the interlocking directorates in Chile. This study shows how the institutional and economic factors shape the structure of relations between companies.

Research on interlocking directorates has been conducted primarily in the United States and European countries. Little work of either theoretical or empirical nature has been done to study the characteristics and the factors that affect this important business network in peripheral and turbulent economies. In this comparative and historical study, we focus on the effect of the political and economic turbulence and the ownership composition of the largest firms on shaping the structure of interlocking directorates in Argentina and Chile by the end of the sixties. Four main findings result from this analysis: 1) the interlocking directorate in Argentina is more fragmented than in Chile; 2) most relevant actors in the directorship interlock in Argentina are firms in industries considered strategic by the government; 3) multinational subsidiaries occupy a central position in Argentina; 4) banks and firms owned by local business groups played a central role in the interlocking directorates in Chile. This study shows how the institutional and economic factors shape the structure of relations between companies. ; La investigación sobre redes de directorios se ha llevado a cabo principalmente en los Estados Unidos y los países europeos. Escasos son los trabajos de investigación, ya sea de la naturaleza teórica o empírica, que han estudiado las características y los factores que afectan a esta importante red inter empresarial en economías periféricas y turbulentas. En este estudio comparativo e histórico, nos centramos en el efecto de la turbulencia política y económica y la composición de la propiedad de las empresas más importantes en la configuración de la estructura de las redes de directorios en Argentina y Chile a finales de los años sesenta. Las principales conclusiones de este análisis son las siguientes: 1) las redes de directorio son mas fragmentadas en Argentina que en Chile, 2) la mayoría de los actores mas relevantes en la red argentina son empresas de sectores considerados estratégicos por el gobierno, 3) las filiales de multinacionales ocupan una posición central en Argentina, y 4) los bancos y las empresas de propiedad de grupos de negocios locales jugaron un papel central en la red de directorios chilena. Este estudio muestra cómo los factores institucionales y económicos afectan la estructura de relaciones entre empresas.

This article examines the interlocking directorates' structure of prominent Argentine business groups at the end of the import substitution period (1970–72), identifying corporate relations among and between business groups and the largest companies, during a period characterised by high institutional and macroeconomic instability. Applying social network analysis, it seeks to clarify how business groups can contribute to the cohesion of a corporate network structure, through their ability to create links among firms not only within their boundaries but also external to them. The article contributes to both corporate network and business groups' literature, highlighting a role of business groups that extant literature has failed to identify as relevant.

PurposeIn this exploratory multiple case study, we aim to compare the internationalization of two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) owned by subnational governments with three owned by central governments in Latin America. This study provides a contextualized answer to the question: What are the differences in the internationalization of subnationally owned SOEs compared to central SOEs? This study finds that the speed and diversification of these two types of SOEs' internationalization differ because they have a different expansion logic. Subnationally owned SOEs have a gradual and diversified expansion following market rules. Central government's SOEs are specialized and take more drastic steps in their internationalization, which relates to non-market factors.Design/methodology/approachThis study builds an exploratory qualitative comparative case analysis that uses multiple sources of data and information to develop a comprehensive understanding of SOEs through process tracing.FindingsThe study posits some assumptions that are confirmed in the case analysis. This study finds relevant differences between sub-national (SSOEs) and central authority (CSOEs') strategies. SSOEs' fewer resources and needs to increase income push them to follow a gradual market-driven internationalization and to diversify abroad. CSOEs non-gradual growth is justified by non-market factors (i.e. national politics). CSOEs do not diversify abroad due to the broader set of constituencies they have to face.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the exploratory comparative case study of this research, the findings are bounded by the particularities of the cases and their region (Latin America). This paper and its findings can be useful for theory building but it does not claim any generalization capacity.Originality/valueThis study adds complexity into the SOEs phenomenon by distinguishing between different types of SOEs. This paper contributes to the study of subnational phenomena and its effect in SOEs' internationalization process, which is an understudied topic. To the authors' best knowledge, this is among the first studies that explore subnational SOEs in Latin America.