scholarly journals The effect of political connections on firm performance: evidence from Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aref M. Eissa ◽  
Yasser Eliwa

PurposeThis paper examines the effect of political connections (PCs) on firms' profitability and market value in the Egyptian market after the uprising of 2013.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study is conducted based on 284 firm-year observations for non-financial listed firms on the EGX100 during the period of 2014–2017. To test the study’s hypothesis, two independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and ordinary least square (OLS) regressions are conducted.FindingsThe results suggest that PCs are common across all industries in Egypt, the PCs through top officers do not improve firm's profitability; however, it has a positive effect on firms' market value. Further, PCs through business owners improve neither profitability nor the market value. Finally, the results suggest that PCs through government ownership have a positive effect on both firms' profitability and market value.Practical implicationsThe study’s finding encourages policymakers and regulators in emerging markets, e.g. Egypt, to develop stricter laws, policies and regulatory initiatives to restrain the potential conflict of interest in the politically connected firms.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the relationship between PCs and both firms’ profitability and market value in Egypt.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mejbel Al-Saidi

Purpose This paper aims to reduce the knowledge gap by using a large sample and different regressions while controlling the endogeneity and causality issues. Design/methodology/approach This study used the ordinary least square (OLS) and two stage least squares (2SLS) regressions to control the endogeneity and causality problems; this estimation strategy allows for comparison of both estimates to identify any inconsistency and biases in the parameters. Findings General speaking, this study found that board independence negatively affected firm performance based on Tobin’s Q only and the relationship between the two variables ran from board independence to firm performance but not vice versa. Originality/value The current independent directors are not adding value to Kuwait’s listed firms. Some directors who represent large shareholders and the conflict between large shareholders and small shareholders could affect the role of independent directors in Kuwait. To best of the researchers’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider board independent after controlling the issues of endogeneity and causality in Kuwait; thus, the results could be useful for Kuwaiti firms, regulators and policymakers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Syed Tehseen Jawaid ◽  
Abdul Waheed ◽  
Aamir Hussain Siddiqui

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the first time ever the effects of overall terms of trade, bilateral terms of trade and main commodity groups’ terms of trade on economic growth. Design/methodology/approach Augmented Dickey Duller and Philips Perron unit root tests and Johensan cointegration test have been applied by using annual time series data from 1974 to 2017. Dynamic ordinary least square and fully modified ordinary least square have also been used to perform sensitivity analysis. Findings The cointegration test confirm the positive long-run relationship between overall terms of trade (ToT) and economic growth. Country-wise results show that ToT with Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, UK and the USA have significant positive effect on economic growth. Conversely, ToT with China and UAE has significant negative effect on economic growth. In contrast, ToT with India, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland has insignificant effect on the economic growth of Pakistan. Product-wise results indicate that the product group namely, Chemical, Crude Material inedible except fuels, Manufactured and Minerals fuels and Lubricant found to be a significant positive effect on economic growth. However, Beverages and Tobacco, and Machinery and Transport product groups found to be significant negative impact on economic, while Food and Live animals found to be insignificant. Practical implications In general, it is suggested that the beneficial terms of trade are favorable for economic growth. The study suggested export promotion policy for which relationship between ToT and economic growth found positive and import substitution policy is suggested the products found a negative relationship between the said variables. Originality/value This paper is a pioneer attempt to investigate the effect of overall ToT, bilateral terms of trade and the main commodity group’s ToT on economic growth in Pakistan.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huu Cuong Nguyen ◽  
Phan Minh Hoa Nguyen ◽  
Bich Hiep Tran ◽  
Thi Thien Nga Nguyen ◽  
Le Thanh Thuy Hoang ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to examine the levels of integrated reporting disclosure alignment in annual reports by listed firms in Vietnam and the factors influencing these disclosure levels. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a sample of 200 listed firms in Vietnam in 2017, the authors constructed a disclosure index based on the content of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) Framework. Using this index, the study measures the extent to which Vietnamese listed firms’ annual reports include the content elements required by the integrated reporting (IR) Framework. The study performs ordinary least square regression to investigate the influencing factors. Findings The study documents that, on average, Vietnamese listed firms disclose about 43% of the information required by the IIRC Framework. The disclosure levels are positively associated with manufacturing firms, board independence, foreign ownership, government ownership, audit quality and firm size. Originality/value Integrated reports have been widely adopted in many countries, but it is still a new issue in Vietnam. This is the first paper providing some insights into the inclusion of the content elements required by the IR Framework by listed firms in Vietnam. It also contributes to the disclosure literature by providing empirical evidence on the factors influencing these disclosure levels. Deriving from the findings, the authors offer recommendations for policymakers on the issue of regulating and implementing IR in Vietnam.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Tahir ◽  
Salma Ibrahim

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relative performance of Shariah-compliant companies (SCCs) compared to conventional companies. This study focuses on two periods, the first being the recession period of 2007-2010 and the second, the non-recession period of 2011-2014. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach is adopted using an ordinary least square regression model. The chosen variables are those used by previous researchers in conventional studies of corporate performance. Data are selected from individual companies listed on the FTSE All World Index. This study examines two periods of time: the recession of 2007-2010 and the post-recession years of 2011-2014 to analyse performance measured by accounting returns (return on equity, return on asset and earnings per share) and market returns (stock return and price/earnings ratio). Findings The study found that SCCs outperformed non-Shariah compliant companies, in terms of both accounting and market returns during both periods. It was also found that size has a negative effect on performance during both periods. The degree of risk, leverage and growth has no significance in either period, but cash flow from operations has a positive effect on performance in both. Research limitations/implications The study could beneficially be extended by the inclusion of corporate governance variables to assess how these affect performance in SCCs. Originality/value In contrast to previous research carried out on indices, this study uses data from individual companies listed on the FTSE All World Index. It provides insight into the way Shariah ethics can influence performance and suggests that some of the features could be useful if adopted by conventional companies.


Author(s):  
Ahsan Habib ◽  
Abdul Haris Muhammadi

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the association between political connections and the audit report lag and whether related party transactions moderate the association between the two. Design/methodology/approach An ordinary least square regression is estimated whereby audit report lag is regressed on political connections, related party transactions and the interaction between the two. Data on the number and amounts of RPTs are hand-collected from audited financial reports. A firm-year observation is politically connected if at least one large shareholder (controlling at least 10 per cent of the votes directly or indirectly) or board member or commissioner is a current or former Member of Parliament, a minister or head of local government or closely related to a politician or party. Findings Findings show that the audit report lag is relatively short for politically connected firms but increases when such firms conduct both operating and loan-type related party transactions. This suggests that auditors understand the incentives for, and the implications of, related party transactions and hence exert additional audit efforts in scrutinizing financial statements: activities that will increase the audit report lag. Originality/value Although a large body of empirical research exists on the determinants of audit report lag, none has examined the impact of political connections. This paper further contributes to the auditing literature by documenting auditors’ evaluation of related party transactions in a developing country.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Redhwan Al-dhamari ◽  
Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of cash holding, political connection and their interaction effect on earnings quality in the Malaysian environment, where political influence plays a vital role in many aspects of business dealings and resources allocation is seriously affected by politics. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses ordinary least square and seemingly unrelated regressions upon a sample of the Malaysian top 100 listed firms. Findings – This paper finds that earnings of firms with excess cash reserves are of high quality. Consistent with previous research, the study finds that investors perceive earnings numbers of politically connected firms as being of low quality. However, this research fails to support an expectation that the adverse consequences of holding a large amount of cash to earnings quality would be more pronounced when political extraction is high. The findings of this study suggest that policy makers should encourage or mandate firms to disclose information in relation to their connections with government, political party, or politicians so that investors and all interested parties can use the information to better assess the firms’ earnings quality. Originality/value – This research is considered as the first attempt to examine the relationships between cash holdings, political connections, and earnings quality in a developing country such as Malaysia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Swarup Kumar Dutta

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how firms affiliated to business groups (BGs) are able to improve their innovation capability (IC) when engaged in coopetition (collaboration between competing firms). This study aims to explore the relationship between coopetitive relationship strength (CRS), the extent of tacit knowledge transfer (TKT) and IC as well as examine the moderating effect of both BG affiliation and coopetitive experience. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines inter-firm relationships within the empirical context of Indian manufacturing and service firms, by adopting (ordinary least square) regression analysis to test the various hypotheses. The central thesis is that the TKT in coopetition constitutes an important driver to the IC. Findings The paper provides some evidence that inter-firm CRS influences the extent of TKT, and the extent of TKT affects firm IC. The results support that firms in coopetition gain more if their coopetitive partner has a BG affiliation. In absence of a BG affiliation of any of the coopetitive partners, the buildup of TKT reduces as CRS is increased. Research limitations/implications Additional large-sample of data may attempt to validate relationships. The study, however, did not consider all enablers that are critical for TKT. Despite these limitations, analysis provides important and novel perspectives. Practical implications The paper contributes to develop executives’ practices in understanding potential benefits of coopetitive relationship. The implications of this research are important for managers seeking understanding of the management of coopetition. Originality/value The paper makes a modest attempt to investigate the various scenarios of the presence or absence of the moderation of BGs and its impact on CRS in the buildup of TKT. This is the first attempt to link coopetition to the TKT in the BG literature. This study also contributes to our understanding of coopetition in a non-western context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjiang Xu ◽  
Sakthi Mahenthiran

Purpose This study aims to develop a scale to measure the cloud provider’s performance and it investigates the factors that impact that performance from the users’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a research framework, develops hypotheses and conducts a survey to test the framework. Findings The results from both ordinary least square regression and structural equation modeling analyzes indicate that information technology complexity negatively and significantly affects users’ perception of the cloud computing providers’ performance. Additionally, the trust in the supervisor significantly enhances the otherwise insignificant positive relationship between providers’ cybersecurity capability and users’ perception of their providers’ performance. Originality/value The research makes important contributions to the cloud computing literature, as it measures users’ perception of the cloud computing provider’s performance and links it with cybersecurity, technical complexity and incorporates both the trust in the client firm’s supervisor and the strength of cybersecurity offered by cloud computing provider.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
Deffrinica Deffrinica

Education  (X1) shows the results of the analysis of poverty (Y) in Bengkayang Regency. Not significant when viewed from the results of the t test partially can be obtained to count to the value of the Education Sector, -1.449> 1.796 so that education has a positive and not significant effect on poverty, which is supported by a significant level of 0.385 <0.050. This shows that the Education Sector variable has no significant effect on Poverty (Y). Health (X2) has a negative and significant effect on Poverty, which is supported by the Probability Value (sig) of 0.437 <0.050. This means that in terms of health, the government in this case has made every possible effort  for budget expenditures , but in fact in the field there are still many underprivileged people who have not been able to enjoy maximum hospital services. The results of the analysis of the direct effect of Unemployment (X3) on Poverty in Bengkayang Regency showed insignificant influence. The results of the analysis show that this path has a significant effect because the value of t count is 1,217, while the table is 1,796 (t count 1,217> t table 1,796), thus in this direct relationship pattern, unemployment has a positive effect not significant to poverty, which is supported by Probability Value (sig) 0.371> 0.050. The results of the analysis of direct influence of Infrastructure (X4) on poverty levels in Bengkayang Regency show that the path coefficient between Infrastructure and poverty is 0.804> 0.050, which means that the pathway has a negative and insignificant effect. The method used to analyze this research is linear regression with the least squares method usually known as OLS (Ordinary Least Square), which is a method used to determine the effect of an independent variable on the dependent variable.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 1550-1566
Author(s):  
Dharani Munusamy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavior of the stock market returns in the different days of the week and different months of the year in accordance with the Islamic calendar. Further, the study estimates the risk-adjusted returns to test the performance of the indices during the Ramadan and non-Ramadan days. Finally, the study investigates the impact of Ramadan on the returns and the volatility of the stock market indices in India. Design/methodology/approach Initially, the study applies the Ordinary Least Square method to test the day-of-the-week and the month-of-the-year effect of the common and Shariah indices. Next, the study employs the risk-adjusted measurement to examine the underperformance and over-performance of the indices for both the periods. Finally, the study estimates the GARCH (1,1) and GJR-GARCH (1,1) models to observe the impact of Ramadan on the returns and the volatility of the Shariah indices in India. Findings The study finds that an average return of the indices during the Ramadan days are higher than non-Ramadan days. Further, the average returns of the Shariah indices are significantly higher on Wednesday than other days of the week. In addition, the highest and significant mean returns and mean risk-adjusted returns of the indices during the Ramadan days are observed. Finally, the study finds an evidence of the Ramadan effect on the returns and volatility of the indices in India. Originality/value The study observes evidence that the Ramadan effect influences the Shariah indices, but not the common indices in the stock market of the non-Muslim countries. It indicates that the Ramadan creates the positive mood and emotions in the investors buying and selling activities. The study suggests that investors can buy the shares before Ramadan period and sell them during the Ramadan days to get an abnormal return in the emerging markets.


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