Exploring the relationship between the gender composition of senior company bodies and surplus distribution in worker cooperatives in the MONDRAGON Corporation

Abstract

This study examines the influence of gender composition of the governing council (GC) and senior management council (SMC) of worker cooperatives on the distribution of cooperative surplus. The analysis relies on a panel dataset of 383 observations from 82 worker cooperatives, member firms of the MONDRAGON Corporation, over the period 2010–2022. Using the System generalized method of moments panel data methodology, the results indicate that gender composition does have an impact. Data on GCs’ gender composition on surplus distribution suggest that a higher proportion of women on these councils is associated with lower surplus allocations, in line with the substitution perspective of agency theory and several studies on women's behaviour in decision-making bodies. Conversely, in the case of the SMCs, a positive relationship is observed between the proportion of women and surplus distribution. Although agency conflicts should be minimal in the cooperative context, the different results observed between the two governance bodies suggest that certain agency effects may be present. This suggests that the configuration and functioning of decision-making bodies can play a key role in how surpluses are managed and distributed. These findings contribute to the literature by advancing our understanding of gender effects on senior-level financial decision-making processes in worker cooperatives.