Esteban Alfaro-Cortés | University of Castilla-La Mancha (original) (raw)

Papers by Esteban Alfaro-Cortés

Research paper thumbnail of Do travel uncertainty and invasion rhetoric spur Metaverse financial asset? – Gauging the role of media influence

Research paper thumbnail of El uso de software libre en la enseñanza de la Estadística

El gran desarrollo del software libre, junto con la situacion economica que atraviesa el pais y, ... more El gran desarrollo del software libre, junto con la situacion economica que atraviesa el pais y, por ende, las universidades espanolas, ha provocado un incremento en el uso de este tipo de software en la ensenanza de distintas materias, especialmente en asignaturas instrumentales como la Estadistica. El beneficio que reporta el uso de software libre no se limita al ahorro de cantidades prohibitivas de dinero destinadas al mantenimiento de la licencia de algunos programas, sino que tambien proporciona al alumnado un gran numero de ventajas, como mayores posibilidades de trabajo autonomo con equipos propios dentro y fuera de las aulas y la adquisicion de competencias en el uso de lenguajes de programacion, muy positivamente valorados entre la comunidad cientifica y en determinados entornos laborales. No obstante, el uso de este tipo de software para la docencia puede generar algun problema organizativo, especialmente en clases con grupos numerosos. En este trabajo abordamos la experie...

Research paper thumbnail of Association between Business Characteristics and Intellectual Capital Disclosure: A Study of Companies in the Ibex 35

This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies... more This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies to disclose higher levels of information about their Intellectual Capital. For this purpose, we use a sample of 115 corporate annual reports, which corresponds to the information published by 23 companies in the Ibex 35 during a period of 5 years. The methodology used to obtain the sample was content analysis, and we carry out a descriptive analysis and a multivariate linear regression analysis. The results show low levels of Intellectual Capital disclosure. However, the size, the leverage, the industry and the market to book affect the provision of this information.

Research paper thumbnail of Using Random Forest to Interpret Out-of-Control Signals

Research paper thumbnail of Combinación de clasificadores mediante el método boosting. Una aplicación a la predicción del fracaso empresarial en España

Autor: Esteban Alfaro Cortes Director: Matias Gamez Martinez Universidad y fecha de lectura: Univ... more Autor: Esteban Alfaro Cortes Director: Matias Gamez Martinez Universidad y fecha de lectura: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 30 de noviembre de 2005. Palabras clave: Prediccion del fracaso empresarial, combinacion de clasificadores, metodo Boosting Clasificacion JEL: 0272, 0463, 0984 Acceso al documento completo: ProQuest Information and Learning Company (http://il.proquest.com/brand/umi.shtml) Publicaciones: Alfaro, E., Gamez, M. and Garcia, N. (2006): "Multiclass corporate failure prediction by Adaboost.M1'', International Advances in Economic Research, proxima publicacion.

Research paper thumbnail of Estimating the relative effects of raw material prices, sectoral outlook and market sentiment on stock prices

Research paper thumbnail of Asociación entre las características empresariales y la divulgación sobre Capital Intelectual: Un estudio de las empresas del Ibex 35

Studies of Applied Economics, 2020

This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies... more This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies to disclose higher levels of information about their Intellectual Capital. For this purpose, we use a sample of 115 corporate annual reports, which corresponds to the information published by 23 companies in the Ibex 35 during a period of 5 years. The methodology used to obtain the sample was content analysis, and we carry out a descriptive analysis and a multivariate linear regression analysis. The results show low levels of Intellectual Capital disclosure. However, the size, the leverage, the industry and the market to book affect the provision of this information.

Research paper thumbnail of A Fully Automated Adjustment of Ensemble Methods in Machine Learning for Modeling Complex Real Estate Systems

Complexity, 2020

The close relationship between collateral value and bank stability has led to a considerable need... more The close relationship between collateral value and bank stability has led to a considerable need to a rapid and economical appraisal of real estate. The greater availability of information related to housing stock has prompted to the use of so-called big data and machine learning in the estimation of property prices. Although this methodology has already been applied to the real estate market to identify which variables influence dwelling prices, its use for estimating the price of properties is not so frequent. The application of this methodology has become more sophisticated over time, from applying simple methods to using the so-called ensemble methods and, while the estimation capacity has improved, it has only been applied to specific geographical areas. The main contribution of this article lies in developing an application for the entire Spanish market that fully automatically provides the best model for each municipality. Real estate property prices in 433 municipalities ar...

Research paper thumbnail of Stakeholders and Long-Term Sustainability of SMEs. Who Really Matters in Crisis Contexts, and When

Sustainability, 2019

The impact of crises on the long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)... more The impact of crises on the long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been attracting growing interest in the literature and from governments due to the significance of such companies with respect to economic growth, innovation, and employment. Although failure prediction models have been proposed based on accounting and other qualitative information, little is known regarding the influence of stakeholders on the failure process of SMEs. From the perspective of long-term sustainability, this article analyzes the role of the financial influence of stakeholders on the likelihood of business failure. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of 2352 Spanish SMEs, examining the differences between failed and non-failed SMEs and using a classification tree methodology to investigate the role played by each type of stakeholder in overcoming crisis events. The study provides empirical evidence regarding the relative importance of stakeholders to SMEs un...

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding the stakeholders’ role in a business failure situation: An empirical boosting approach

Revista de Contabilidad, 2020

Este estudio investiga el rol de los stakeholders en situaciones de fracaso empresarial. En concr... more Este estudio investiga el rol de los stakeholders en situaciones de fracaso empresarial. En concreto, analiza qué stakeholders primarios tienen impacto en la probabilidad de fracaso de una empresa y cómo lo ejercen. También propone un orden de priorización de los stakeholders primarios con la finalidad de ofrecer a los gestores empresariales información útil para que, ante situaciones de crisis financiera, orienten sus decisiones a reducir la aparición de conflictos de intereses que pueden afectar a la sostenibilidad de la empresa a largo plazo. De esta forma, se ha tomado una muestra de 2.352 pymes españolas, 1.176 empresas sanas emparejadas con 1.176 empresas fracasadas, de las que se han extraído datos económico-financieros de sus cuentas anuales y a los que se han aplicado las metodologías de regresión logística y boosting. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los stakeholders primarios tienen efecto estadísticamente significativo en la probabilidad de fracaso empresarial. Adem...

Research paper thumbnail of M&A effects on innovation and profitability in large European firms

Management Decision, 2019

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on innovation and profitability in large European firms. Design/methodology/approach Using information from a unique micro-longitudinal database of top European R&D investors and information from the European Commission (EC) Merger Control Authority, dynamic panel estimations with firm-level fixed effects are performed. Moreover, the paper presents a qualitative case study of a merger in the European electronic and electrical equipment industry. Findings The analysis of a sample of 562 M&As authorized by the EC Merger Control Authority shows that mergers positively influence the R&D intensity and profitability of top companies in the European Union over the period 2004–2012. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that the timing and magnitude of these effects differs. In particular, the positive effect of mergers on R&D intensity is found for the short and large term while they influence pr...

Research paper thumbnail of Control estadístico de la calidad: una breve reseña histórica

Historia De La Probabilidad Y La Estadistica 2004 Isbn 84 933631 2 X Pags 549 566, 2004

Resumen: En este trabajo se pretende resumir la evolución histórica del control de la calidad des... more Resumen: En este trabajo se pretende resumir la evolución histórica del control de la calidad desde la edad media hasta la actualidad, centrándose en su aspecto estadístico. Ya en el siglo XX, se analizarán las distintas etapas por las que ha pasado el control ...

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparison of Different Classification Techniques to Determine the Change Causes in Hotelling's T 2 Control Chart

Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 2015

To detect out-of control situations using multivariate control charts is relatively easy. However... more To detect out-of control situations using multivariate control charts is relatively easy. However, the determination of the change causes is more difficult. In the last years the application of classification techniques to analyze the out-of-control signals has been proposed. These proposals include increasingly sophisticated methods but it is not clear, if there is one, which is the most powerful. In this paper we have simulated different scenarios varying the correlation structure and shift type, to test the performance of Linear Discriminant Analysis, Classification Trees, Neural Networks and Boosting Trees with the main aim to analyze whether or not using more complex classification methods is worthy. Results show that although the performance of different methods depends on the correlation structure and the class of change, under the more feasible situations Boosting shows the best performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research paper thumbnail of adabag : An R Package for Classification with Boosting and Bagging

Journal of Statistical Software, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The adabag Package

Depends R (>= 2.4.0), rpart, mlbench Description This package implements Freund and Schapire&#... more Depends R (>= 2.4.0), rpart, mlbench Description This package implements Freund and Schapire's Adaboost.M1 algorithm and Breiman's Bagging algorithm using classification trees as individual classifiers. Once these classifiers have been trained, License GPL (>= 2) Description Fits the Adaboost.M1 algorithm proposed by Freund and Schapire in 1996 using classification trees as single classifiers.

Research paper thumbnail of Combinación de Árboles de Clasificación con R. Aplicación a la Economía

Esta monografía, Combinación de árboles de clasificación para la Economía, pretende introducir al... more Esta monografía, Combinación de árboles de clasificación para la Economía, pretende introducir al lector en los métodos de combinación de clasificadores mediante la exposición de las técnicas más utilizadas. El objetivo no es un análisis completo de las técnicas y su aplicación, ni un recorrido exhaustivo por todos los temas y aspectos que surgen dentro de este campo en continua expansión. Más bien, se busca presentar de forma intuitiva cómo ha surgido la combinación de clasificadores como una extensión de los clasificadores individuales, cuáles son sus características básicas y qué tipo de problemas se pueden presentar en su uso práctico. El libro se dirige, por tanto, a todo aquel interesado en iniciarse en estos campos, especialmente estudiantes, profesores, investigadores y personas relacionadas con la tarea de clasificación estadística en el ámbito de la economía y de la empresa. Para cumplir estos objetivos el trabajo se ha estructurado en dos partes bien diferenciadas que com...

Research paper thumbnail of RNA+ SIG: sistema automático de valoración de viviendas

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparison of Three Ensembled Classifiers in a Financial Case

Research paper thumbnail of Árboles De Clasificación Para El Análisis De Gráficos De Control Multivariantes

Revista de Matemática: Teoría y Aplicaciones, 2009

En control estadístico de la calidad, una de las herramientas más utilizadas son los gráficos d... more En control estadístico de la calidad, una de las herramientas más utilizadas son los gráficos de control. El principal problema de los gráficos de control multivariantes radica en que sólo indican que se ha producido un cambio en el proceso, pero no dice cuál o cuáles de las variables son las que originan este cambio. En la literatura especializada existen muchas aproximaciones para solucionar este problema, si bien, la más utilizada consiste en la descomposición del estadístico T2. En este trabajo se propone un método alternativo mediante la aplicación de árboles de clasificación. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que estos árboles de clasificación constituyen una buena herramienta para completar la interpretación de los gráficos de control multivariantes.

Research paper thumbnail of A GRASP method for building classification trees

Expert Systems with Applications, 2012

This paper proposes a new method for constructing binary classification trees. The aim is to buil... more This paper proposes a new method for constructing binary classification trees. The aim is to build simple trees, i.e. trees which are as less complex as possible, thereby facilitating interpretation and favouring the balance between optimization and generalization in the test data sets. The proposed method is based on the metaheuristic strategy known as GRASP in conjunction with optimization tasks. Basically, this method modifies the criterion for selecting the attributes that determine the split in each node. In order to do so, a certain amount of randomisation is incorporated in a controlled way. We compare our method with the traditional method by means of a set of computational experiments. We conclude that the GRASP method (for small levels of randomness) significantly reduces tree complexity without decreasing classification accuracy.

Research paper thumbnail of Do travel uncertainty and invasion rhetoric spur Metaverse financial asset? – Gauging the role of media influence

Research paper thumbnail of El uso de software libre en la enseñanza de la Estadística

El gran desarrollo del software libre, junto con la situacion economica que atraviesa el pais y, ... more El gran desarrollo del software libre, junto con la situacion economica que atraviesa el pais y, por ende, las universidades espanolas, ha provocado un incremento en el uso de este tipo de software en la ensenanza de distintas materias, especialmente en asignaturas instrumentales como la Estadistica. El beneficio que reporta el uso de software libre no se limita al ahorro de cantidades prohibitivas de dinero destinadas al mantenimiento de la licencia de algunos programas, sino que tambien proporciona al alumnado un gran numero de ventajas, como mayores posibilidades de trabajo autonomo con equipos propios dentro y fuera de las aulas y la adquisicion de competencias en el uso de lenguajes de programacion, muy positivamente valorados entre la comunidad cientifica y en determinados entornos laborales. No obstante, el uso de este tipo de software para la docencia puede generar algun problema organizativo, especialmente en clases con grupos numerosos. En este trabajo abordamos la experie...

Research paper thumbnail of Association between Business Characteristics and Intellectual Capital Disclosure: A Study of Companies in the Ibex 35

This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies... more This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies to disclose higher levels of information about their Intellectual Capital. For this purpose, we use a sample of 115 corporate annual reports, which corresponds to the information published by 23 companies in the Ibex 35 during a period of 5 years. The methodology used to obtain the sample was content analysis, and we carry out a descriptive analysis and a multivariate linear regression analysis. The results show low levels of Intellectual Capital disclosure. However, the size, the leverage, the industry and the market to book affect the provision of this information.

Research paper thumbnail of Using Random Forest to Interpret Out-of-Control Signals

Research paper thumbnail of Combinación de clasificadores mediante el método boosting. Una aplicación a la predicción del fracaso empresarial en España

Autor: Esteban Alfaro Cortes Director: Matias Gamez Martinez Universidad y fecha de lectura: Univ... more Autor: Esteban Alfaro Cortes Director: Matias Gamez Martinez Universidad y fecha de lectura: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 30 de noviembre de 2005. Palabras clave: Prediccion del fracaso empresarial, combinacion de clasificadores, metodo Boosting Clasificacion JEL: 0272, 0463, 0984 Acceso al documento completo: ProQuest Information and Learning Company (http://il.proquest.com/brand/umi.shtml) Publicaciones: Alfaro, E., Gamez, M. and Garcia, N. (2006): "Multiclass corporate failure prediction by Adaboost.M1'', International Advances in Economic Research, proxima publicacion.

Research paper thumbnail of Estimating the relative effects of raw material prices, sectoral outlook and market sentiment on stock prices

Research paper thumbnail of Asociación entre las características empresariales y la divulgación sobre Capital Intelectual: Un estudio de las empresas del Ibex 35

Studies of Applied Economics, 2020

This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies... more This study aims to analyze the specific characteristics which lead some Ibex 35 Spanish companies to disclose higher levels of information about their Intellectual Capital. For this purpose, we use a sample of 115 corporate annual reports, which corresponds to the information published by 23 companies in the Ibex 35 during a period of 5 years. The methodology used to obtain the sample was content analysis, and we carry out a descriptive analysis and a multivariate linear regression analysis. The results show low levels of Intellectual Capital disclosure. However, the size, the leverage, the industry and the market to book affect the provision of this information.

Research paper thumbnail of A Fully Automated Adjustment of Ensemble Methods in Machine Learning for Modeling Complex Real Estate Systems

Complexity, 2020

The close relationship between collateral value and bank stability has led to a considerable need... more The close relationship between collateral value and bank stability has led to a considerable need to a rapid and economical appraisal of real estate. The greater availability of information related to housing stock has prompted to the use of so-called big data and machine learning in the estimation of property prices. Although this methodology has already been applied to the real estate market to identify which variables influence dwelling prices, its use for estimating the price of properties is not so frequent. The application of this methodology has become more sophisticated over time, from applying simple methods to using the so-called ensemble methods and, while the estimation capacity has improved, it has only been applied to specific geographical areas. The main contribution of this article lies in developing an application for the entire Spanish market that fully automatically provides the best model for each municipality. Real estate property prices in 433 municipalities ar...

Research paper thumbnail of Stakeholders and Long-Term Sustainability of SMEs. Who Really Matters in Crisis Contexts, and When

Sustainability, 2019

The impact of crises on the long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)... more The impact of crises on the long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been attracting growing interest in the literature and from governments due to the significance of such companies with respect to economic growth, innovation, and employment. Although failure prediction models have been proposed based on accounting and other qualitative information, little is known regarding the influence of stakeholders on the failure process of SMEs. From the perspective of long-term sustainability, this article analyzes the role of the financial influence of stakeholders on the likelihood of business failure. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of 2352 Spanish SMEs, examining the differences between failed and non-failed SMEs and using a classification tree methodology to investigate the role played by each type of stakeholder in overcoming crisis events. The study provides empirical evidence regarding the relative importance of stakeholders to SMEs un...

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding the stakeholders’ role in a business failure situation: An empirical boosting approach

Revista de Contabilidad, 2020

Este estudio investiga el rol de los stakeholders en situaciones de fracaso empresarial. En concr... more Este estudio investiga el rol de los stakeholders en situaciones de fracaso empresarial. En concreto, analiza qué stakeholders primarios tienen impacto en la probabilidad de fracaso de una empresa y cómo lo ejercen. También propone un orden de priorización de los stakeholders primarios con la finalidad de ofrecer a los gestores empresariales información útil para que, ante situaciones de crisis financiera, orienten sus decisiones a reducir la aparición de conflictos de intereses que pueden afectar a la sostenibilidad de la empresa a largo plazo. De esta forma, se ha tomado una muestra de 2.352 pymes españolas, 1.176 empresas sanas emparejadas con 1.176 empresas fracasadas, de las que se han extraído datos económico-financieros de sus cuentas anuales y a los que se han aplicado las metodologías de regresión logística y boosting. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los stakeholders primarios tienen efecto estadísticamente significativo en la probabilidad de fracaso empresarial. Adem...

Research paper thumbnail of M&A effects on innovation and profitability in large European firms

Management Decision, 2019

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on innovation and profitability in large European firms. Design/methodology/approach Using information from a unique micro-longitudinal database of top European R&D investors and information from the European Commission (EC) Merger Control Authority, dynamic panel estimations with firm-level fixed effects are performed. Moreover, the paper presents a qualitative case study of a merger in the European electronic and electrical equipment industry. Findings The analysis of a sample of 562 M&As authorized by the EC Merger Control Authority shows that mergers positively influence the R&D intensity and profitability of top companies in the European Union over the period 2004–2012. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that the timing and magnitude of these effects differs. In particular, the positive effect of mergers on R&D intensity is found for the short and large term while they influence pr...

Research paper thumbnail of Control estadístico de la calidad: una breve reseña histórica

Historia De La Probabilidad Y La Estadistica 2004 Isbn 84 933631 2 X Pags 549 566, 2004

Resumen: En este trabajo se pretende resumir la evolución histórica del control de la calidad des... more Resumen: En este trabajo se pretende resumir la evolución histórica del control de la calidad desde la edad media hasta la actualidad, centrándose en su aspecto estadístico. Ya en el siglo XX, se analizarán las distintas etapas por las que ha pasado el control ...

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparison of Different Classification Techniques to Determine the Change Causes in Hotelling's T 2 Control Chart

Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 2015

To detect out-of control situations using multivariate control charts is relatively easy. However... more To detect out-of control situations using multivariate control charts is relatively easy. However, the determination of the change causes is more difficult. In the last years the application of classification techniques to analyze the out-of-control signals has been proposed. These proposals include increasingly sophisticated methods but it is not clear, if there is one, which is the most powerful. In this paper we have simulated different scenarios varying the correlation structure and shift type, to test the performance of Linear Discriminant Analysis, Classification Trees, Neural Networks and Boosting Trees with the main aim to analyze whether or not using more complex classification methods is worthy. Results show that although the performance of different methods depends on the correlation structure and the class of change, under the more feasible situations Boosting shows the best performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research paper thumbnail of adabag : An R Package for Classification with Boosting and Bagging

Journal of Statistical Software, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The adabag Package

Depends R (>= 2.4.0), rpart, mlbench Description This package implements Freund and Schapire&#... more Depends R (>= 2.4.0), rpart, mlbench Description This package implements Freund and Schapire's Adaboost.M1 algorithm and Breiman's Bagging algorithm using classification trees as individual classifiers. Once these classifiers have been trained, License GPL (>= 2) Description Fits the Adaboost.M1 algorithm proposed by Freund and Schapire in 1996 using classification trees as single classifiers.

Research paper thumbnail of Combinación de Árboles de Clasificación con R. Aplicación a la Economía

Esta monografía, Combinación de árboles de clasificación para la Economía, pretende introducir al... more Esta monografía, Combinación de árboles de clasificación para la Economía, pretende introducir al lector en los métodos de combinación de clasificadores mediante la exposición de las técnicas más utilizadas. El objetivo no es un análisis completo de las técnicas y su aplicación, ni un recorrido exhaustivo por todos los temas y aspectos que surgen dentro de este campo en continua expansión. Más bien, se busca presentar de forma intuitiva cómo ha surgido la combinación de clasificadores como una extensión de los clasificadores individuales, cuáles son sus características básicas y qué tipo de problemas se pueden presentar en su uso práctico. El libro se dirige, por tanto, a todo aquel interesado en iniciarse en estos campos, especialmente estudiantes, profesores, investigadores y personas relacionadas con la tarea de clasificación estadística en el ámbito de la economía y de la empresa. Para cumplir estos objetivos el trabajo se ha estructurado en dos partes bien diferenciadas que com...

Research paper thumbnail of RNA+ SIG: sistema automático de valoración de viviendas

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparison of Three Ensembled Classifiers in a Financial Case

Research paper thumbnail of Árboles De Clasificación Para El Análisis De Gráficos De Control Multivariantes

Revista de Matemática: Teoría y Aplicaciones, 2009

En control estadístico de la calidad, una de las herramientas más utilizadas son los gráficos d... more En control estadístico de la calidad, una de las herramientas más utilizadas son los gráficos de control. El principal problema de los gráficos de control multivariantes radica en que sólo indican que se ha producido un cambio en el proceso, pero no dice cuál o cuáles de las variables son las que originan este cambio. En la literatura especializada existen muchas aproximaciones para solucionar este problema, si bien, la más utilizada consiste en la descomposición del estadístico T2. En este trabajo se propone un método alternativo mediante la aplicación de árboles de clasificación. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que estos árboles de clasificación constituyen una buena herramienta para completar la interpretación de los gráficos de control multivariantes.

Research paper thumbnail of A GRASP method for building classification trees

Expert Systems with Applications, 2012

This paper proposes a new method for constructing binary classification trees. The aim is to buil... more This paper proposes a new method for constructing binary classification trees. The aim is to build simple trees, i.e. trees which are as less complex as possible, thereby facilitating interpretation and favouring the balance between optimization and generalization in the test data sets. The proposed method is based on the metaheuristic strategy known as GRASP in conjunction with optimization tasks. Basically, this method modifies the criterion for selecting the attributes that determine the split in each node. In order to do so, a certain amount of randomisation is incorporated in a controlled way. We compare our method with the traditional method by means of a set of computational experiments. We conclude that the GRASP method (for small levels of randomness) significantly reduces tree complexity without decreasing classification accuracy.