[en] This doctoral thesis studies the financial behaviour of worker cooperatives (WC) based on a mixed qualitative and quantitative research methodology. Traditionally, the literature has considered that this type of companies present difficulties to access external financing, due to issues and problems related to their legal, accounting and tax framework. Likewise, financial theories that try to explain financial structure decisions have been based, mostly on large capitalist companies. It is therefore important to analyse how WC fit into these contexts, and with that aim, a sample of MONDRAGON co-operatives have participated in the study. Thus, the financial dynamics of these companies have been analysed on the basis of several interviews with their financial managers and supplemented with the quantitative analysis carried out on the basis of MONDRAGON's economic-financial panel data. The results obtained show that these companies do not behave financially as differently as might be expected, although they do present relevant singularities that distinguish them from capitalist companies. These include a concern for the perceived limited ability to act regarding the solidity of their equity and financial diversification, and their motivations and preferences can be explained both through the predictions of trade-off theory (TOT) and pecking order theory (POT), specially the latter. In this sense, a separate analysis of debt maturity corroborates that the behaviour of short-term indebtedness is very similar to that of total indebtedness, while long-term indebtedness frequently inverse relationships related to the variables taken into consideration. However, the specific factors included in the analysis considering that the study focuses on WC companies seem not to be so decisive, although some significant relationships have been found.

[eu] Tesi honek lan elkartuko sozietate kooperatiboen (LEK) finantza-portaera aztertzen du, metodologia kualitatibo eta kuantitatiboan oinarritutako ikerketa misto baten bidez. Tradizioz, literaturak oso zailtzat jo izan du enpresa mota hauentzat kanpo-finantzaketa eskuratzea, haien esparru juridiko, kontable eta fiskalarekin lotutako arazo eta gaiengatik. Era berean, finantza-egitura erabakiak azaltzen saiatzen diren finantza-teoriak, nagusiki, enpresa kapitalista handietan oinarritu dira. Beraz, garrantzitsua da LEKek testuinguru horietan nola kokatzen diren aztertzea, MONDRAGONeko kooperatibek osatutako lagin bat erabiliz egiten dena. Hala, enpresa horien finantza-dinamika aztertzen da, beren finantza-zuzendaritzei egindako zenbait elkarrizketaren bidez, eta MONDRAGON taldearen ekonomia- eta finantza izaerako paneleko datuetan oinarrituta egindako analisi kuantitatiboarekin osatzen da. Lortutako emaitzek agerian uzten dute enpresa horiek ez dutela espero bezain finantza- portaera desberdina, nahiz eta enpresa kapitalistetatik bereizten dituzten berezitasun garrantzitsuak erakutsi. Horien artean, funts propioen sendotasunean eta finantza- aniztasunean eragiteko ahalmen urriari buruzko kezka aipa daiteke, eta haien motibazioak eta lehentasunak trade-off teoriaren (TOT) zein pecking order teoriaren (POT) iragarpenen bidez azal daitezkeela; baina gehiago bigarren horren bidez. Alde horretatik, zorraren heldutasunaren azterketa bereiziak frogatzen du epe laburreko zorpetzearen portaera, guztizko zorpetzearen oso antzekoa dela; epe luzekoak, berriz, aztertutako aldagaiekiko alderantzizko erlazioak erakusten ditu kasu askotan. Hala ere, aztergaia LEKak izateagatik erabilitako faktore espezifikoak ez dira hain erabakigarriak, nahiz eta erlazio esanguratsu batzuk aurkitu diren.