The objective of this article is to analyze the characteristics of the most attractive companies in the labor market, which each year maintained their position in the ranking published by the Spanish business magazine Actualidad Económica (AE) for the period 2013–2020. The research study will focus on permanence in ranking, global valuation, and training. To do this, control variables were added: business management gender, geo-cultural areas, regional areas, economic activity, size and stock market membership. This is a quantitative work, where statistics such as partial correlations, Pearson coefficients and independent sample means were used with the Levene test; in modeling, multiple regressions of ordinary least squares (OLS) and panel data were used. It is concluded that the permanence in the ranking significantly increases the total value and training, which leads companies to excellence, along with the fact that they are in the capital of the country and that they focus on the commerce, professional, scientific and technical, and finance and insurance sectors. On the other hand, assessment of training is explained by employee valuation, the work environment and talent management. On the contrary, factors such as the gender variable in the business direction, nationality, size and stock market membership do not significantly influence the overall valuation.

The change in life and professional conditions in 2020 has impacted the growth expectations of new firms. Based on a sample of more than 20,000 people coming from the Spanish Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for 2019 and 2020, we analyze the effect of entrepreneurs’ motivations and social role models on the growth expectations of new firms using a binomial logit model. The results show that, as a consequence of the institutional conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurs only take into consideration the economic projections of the new firm in order to take the risk of hiring employees in the early stage of the firm’s creation. However, experienced entrepreneurs involved in the consolidating stage of the entrepreneurial process have more ambitious motivations, and take advantage of their knowledge derived from peer role models in order to face the new opportunities arising during the pandemic. The effect of motivations and role models on firms’ growth also differ between men and women.

Este Informe GEM España 2024-2025, elaborado por el Observatorio del Emprendimiento de España, ofrece una radiografía detallada del ecosistema emprendedor español, con comparativa internacional (50 países), evolución postpandemia y análisis territorial. Se centra en diversos aspectos clave como la Tasa de Actividad Emprendedora (TEA), el contexto institucional, el impacto de la inteligencia artificial, el perfil de los emprendedores, la brecha de género, el dinamismo en colectivos emergentes, las tendencias culturales y los desafíos pendientes.

When destinations are in a growth or maturity phase, two simultaneous debates usually arise: is there overtourism? and ‑if it exists ‑ does it have negative consequences? The literature has been concerned with providing scientific answers to these questions analysing cases of urban and sun and sand destinations. The differential elements of rural destinations in relation to this topic have usually been neglected. This study presents a prediction instrument built specifically for a growing destination located ‑ almost entirely ‑ in a rural environment: El Camino de Santiago. Based on the information collected over the last 20 years by the Pilgrim’s Welcome Office receiving more than 4 million pilgrims, this instrument is aimed at predicting the number of pilgrims who will pass through a series of hotspots ‑employing Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), and Trigonometric seasonality, Box ‑Cox transformation, ARMA errors, Trend and Seasonal Components (TBATS) models ‑ to help control management of pilgrim flows and thus counteract the possible negative consequences of overtourism, optimising the experience for tourists, business owners, and residents of the hotspots.

Purpose: This study investigates how intrinsic individual factors (sex and the presence of disabilities), extrinsic individual factors (motivation and education) and organizational drivers (innovation and exporting level) influence new ventures' engagement with sustainable development goals. Drawing upon the upper echelon theory (UET), which links the individual characteristics of decision-makers, organizational configuration, and strategic decisions within firms, this research analyzes how these factors affect the entrepreneurs' capacity to make a positive social and environmental impact. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis utilized data from a survey of 1,857 entrepreneurs conducted within the framework of the Spanish Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for 2023, employing both linear and multilevel regression analyses. Findings: Entrepreneurs driven to make a difference, with higher human capital and engaging in innovative ventures or undergoing internationalization, are more inclined to actively participate in pro-environmental and pro-social behaviors in their new ventures. However, contrary to expectations, female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with mild disabilities fail to invest in sustainability practices, despite being more likely to engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Organizational characteristics regarding innovation and internationalization capacities in new ventures underlie this behavior. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial behavior from the UET and cognitive approaches by highlighting the significance of cultural/cognitive factors in shaping entrepreneurs' adoption of practices aimed at addressing the social and environmental impact of new ventures. Furthermore, the findings underscore the role of innovation and export activities as organizational drivers facilitating the implementation of these practices.