The determinants of profitability in Sharia-compliant corporations: evidence from Jordan

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nizar Mohammad Alsharari ◽  
Turki Raji Alhmoud
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Voluntary Disclosure ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Return On Assets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Internal And External Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of profitability of 28 Sharia-compliant corporations in Jordan over the three-year period of 2013-2015. Design/methodology/approach The two-stage least square (2SLS) regression analysis with fixed effects was conducted using two measures of profitability, namely: return on assets and return on equity. The empirical data were collected from 28 Sharia-compliant corporations in Jordan over the study period. A variety of internal and external factors was used to determine profitability. Findings In general, this analysis of the determinants of profitability for Sharia-compliant corporations confirmed previous findings. Regression findings revealed that previous year profitability, debt ratio, organizational structure, the size of the audit firm and voluntary disclosure to be important determinants of profitability of Sharia-compliant corporations in Jordan from 2013 to 2015. The independent variables of firm size, ownership ratio greater than 5%, liquidity ratio, percentage of non-Jordanian ownership or the age of the firm were not found to significantly influence the profitability of the corporations studied. Research limitations/implications The authors determined that the independent variables selected, with few exceptions, behaved according to expectations. Moreover, the current literature on the influence of management on performance, and thus, profitability, does not consider the philosophy under which business is conducted (a limitation with respect to the type of business conducted). For example, Sharia-compliant and non-Sharia-compliant firms operate under different sets of principles and rules. This variance in business philosophies may have an important bearing on management style, an aspect that has been neglected in the organizational management literature. The panel data from a three-year period was insufficient to validate the consistency of the results; future researchers may increase the length of the study periods to confirm results and increase the robustness of the data collection method. Practical implications The findings from the study have implications that may be functional for businesses, investors and policymakers in their focus on the Sharia-compliant business sector in Jordan. The factors influencing profitability may inform the setting of regulatory policy designed to stabilize and sustain the performance of Sharia-compliant corporations more broadly. Originality/value This study contributes to the growing body of literature on Islamic finance, and can be considered one of a very few that have examined the internal and external determinants of the profitability of Sharia-compliant corporations in a developing country such as Jordan, using panel data.

Shadow banking from China's perspective: an empirical analysis of bank-issued wealth management products

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Mehmood Raza Shah ◽  
Qiang Fu ◽  
Ghulam Abbas ◽  
Muhammad Usman Arshad
Keyword(s):  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Shadow Banking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wealth Management ◽  
Chinese Banks

PurposeWealth Management Products (WMPs) are the largest and most crucial component of China's Shadow banking, which are off the balance sheet and considered as a substitute for deposits. Commercial banks in China are involved in the issuance of WMPs mainly to; evade the regulatory restrictions, move non-performing loans away from the balance sheet, chase the profits and take advantage of yield spread (the difference between WMPs yield and deposit rate).Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors investigate what bank related characteristics and needs; influenced and prompted the issuance of WMPs. By using a quarterly panel data from 2010 to 2019, this study performed the fixed effects approach favored by the Hausman specification test, and a feasible generalized least square (FGLS) estimation method is employed to deal with any issues of heteroscedasticity and auto-correlation.FindingsThis study found that there is a positive and significant association between the non-performing loan ratio and the issuance of WMPs. Moreover, profitability and spread were found to play an essential role in the issuance of WMPs. The findings of this study suggest that WMPs are issued for multi-purpose, and off the balance sheet status of these products makes them very lucrative for regulated Chinese commercial banks.Research limitations/implicationsNon-guaranteed WMPs are considered as an item of shadow banking in China, as banks do not consolidate this type of WMPs into their balance sheet; due to that reason, there is no individual bank data available for the amount of WMPs. The authors use the number of WMPs issued by banks as a proxy for the bank's exposure to the WMPs business.Practical implicationsFrom a regulatory perspective, this study helps regulators to understand the risk associated with the issuance of WMPs; by providing empirical evidence that Chinese banks issue WMPs to hide the actual risk of non-performing loans, and this practice could mislead the regulators to evaluate the bank credit risk and loan quality. This study also identifies that Chinese banks issue WMPs for multi-purpose; this can help potential investors to understand the dynamics of WMPs issuance.Originality/valueThis research is innovative in its orientation because it is designed to investigate the less explored wealth management products (WMPs) issued by Chinese banks. This study's content includes not only innovation but also contributes to the existing literature on the shadow banking sector in terms of regulatory arbitrage. Moreover, the inclusion of FGLS estimation models, ten years of quarterly data, and the top 30 Chinese banks (covers 70% of the total Chinese commercial banking system's assets) make this research more comprehensive and significant.

Does the second wave of COVID-19 undermine corporate immunity? International evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huy Viet Hoang ◽  
Cuong Nguyen ◽  
Khanh Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study compares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stock returns in the first two waves of infection across selected markets, given built-in corporate immunity before the global outbreak.Design/methodology/approachThe data are collected from listed firms in five markets that have experienced the second wave of COVID-19 contagion, namely the United States (US), Australia, China, Hong Kong and South Korea. The period of investigation in this study ranges from January 24 to August 28, 2020 to cover the first two COVID-19 waves in selected markets. The study estimates the research model by employing the ordinary least square method with fixed effects to control for the heterogeneity that may confound the empirical outcomes.FindingsThe analysis reveals that firms with larger size and more cash reserves before the COVID-19 outbreak have better stock performance under the first wave; however, these advantages impede stock resilience during the second wave. Corporate governance practices significantly influence stock returns only in the first wave as their effects fade when the second wave emerges. The results also suggest that in economies with greater power distance, although stock price depreciation was milder in the first wave, it is more intense when new cases again surge after the first wave was contained.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical implications for corporate managers, policymakers and governments concerning crisis management strategies for COVID-19 and future pandemics.Originality/valueThis study is the first to evaluate built-in corporate immunity before the COVID-19 shock under successive contagious waves. Besides, this study accentuates the importance of cultural understanding in weathering the ongoing pandemic across different markets.

Does digital proximity between countries impact entrepreneurship?

Info ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 46-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Veronica Alderete
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Spatial Dependence ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spatial Spillovers ◽  
Information And Communication

Purpose – This paper aims to determine if there is a spatial dependence in the entrepreneurial activity among countries. The existence of a “digital proximity” could explain the spatial pattern of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – This question is empirically addressed by using a five-period, 2008-2012, panel data for 35 countries. A spatial fixed effects panel data model is estimated by using the total entrepreneurial activity published by the global entrepreneurship monitor as the dependent variable. Findings – A significant negative influence of the digital proximity on the entrepreneurial activity is observed. Mobile broadband (MB) direct effect is positive while the indirect effect (the spatial spillovers) is negative, leading to a negative total effect on the total entrepreneurial activity. This result is contrary to non-spatial models’ results. Besides, a higher MB penetration in a country would lead to a competitive advantage fostering its opportunities for entrepreneurship, but reducing those of its neighbours’. Originality/value – This paper examines the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) and entrepreneurship, by introducing the spatial effects is the main contribution. This paper expands the scant literature on the ICT impact on entrepreneurship. Results obtained support policies towards enforcing innovation, education and reducing entry regulations for encouraging entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, MB policies could counteract the entrepreneurial policies’ results due to the spatial dependence.

Confidentiality in loan credit agreements

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ca Nguyen ◽  
Alejandro Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Loan Pricing ◽  
Product Markets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Firms ◽  
Loan Contracts ◽  
Loan Spreads ◽  
Corporate Loan

PurposeThis study has two primary objectives. First, it analyzes the information content of confidentiality strictness in corporate loan credit agreements. Second, it examines how confidentiality strictness impacts covenant design, lending syndicate structure and loan pricing.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 6,327 loan credit agreements originated by US public firms in the period of 1996–2017, this study measures the confidentiality strictness in loan contracts using textual analyses that capture the appearance of confidentiality-related words and the length of confidentiality provision. All regressions include relevant loan characteristics, firm-specific accounting variables, industry and year fixed effects. To address the endogeneity concern, the paper uses borrowing firms' rival cash holdings and R&D expenditures to instrument for confidentiality strictness in two-staged least square regressions.FindingsBorrowers which have higher R&D and operate in more competitive product markets have tighter confidentiality policies. Furthermore, this study reveals that confidentiality strictness is negatively associated with the imposition of financial covenants, especially performance covenants. Loan contracts for borrowers with stricter confidentiality on average have more relaxed covenant intensity, measured by the number of covenants. The study also shows that stricter confidentiality attracts finance companies, which have strong expertise in product markets of their parent firms, into the lending syndicate. However, confidentiality-conscious borrowers with higher degree of information asymmetry are subject to higher loan spreads.Originality/valueThis study provides the first examination of confidentiality policies in loan contracts and supports the idea that loan provisions are not simply made of “boilerplate” language. The results suggest that, for confidentiality-sensitive borrowers, the greater exposure to product market competition helps control managerial slack and substitute monitoring from financial markets.

The effects of corporate disclosure on firm value and firm performance: evidence from Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hüseyin Temiz
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
Transparency And Disclosure ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of firms’ disclosure practices on firm value and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Firms’ disclosure scores were calculated based on unique hand-collected data by using the S&P transparency and disclosure index (S&P TD index). Ordinary least squares with year/firm fixed effects and two-stage least square methods were used to test the hypothesis. Findings It is observed that firms’ disclosure scores have positive and statistically significant effects on firm value. However, firms’ disclosure scores do not have significant effects on firm performance. This result is mostly observed in sub-categories of the index. Practical implications Results show that disclosed information has an impact on firm value. Therefore, standardization and increasing the reliability of this information are necessary for both information users and firms. It is important to standardize the information published by the firms and to increase their reliability by implementing new regulations by regulatory bodies in Turkey. Social implications Firms bear the costs due to their disclosure practices. However, the benefits derived from this situation may be higher than the cost incurred. Hence, it is suggested that firms that are traded in Turkey consider this in the determination of their disclosure policy. Originality/value This is the first study that investigates the effects of firms’ disclosure scores on both firm value and firm performance by using the S&P TD index in the Turkish context.

The effect of audit fees, audit quality and board ownership on tax aggressiveness: evidence from Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marziana Madah Marzuki ◽  
Muhammad Syukur Muhammad Al-Amin
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tax Aggressiveness ◽  
Nonaudit Services ◽  
Board Ownership

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of audit fees, auditors' quality and board ownership on tax aggressiveness in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of this study is based on 215 firm-year observations of SET-100 listed companies in Thailand during the 2010–2018 periods. This study employs a panel least square regression with period fixed effects. The study retrieved the corporate governance variables from the downloaded annual reports, whilst the remaining data were collected from the EMIS database.FindingsThis study provides evidence that audit fees reduce tax aggressiveness and board ownership enhance tax aggressiveness among the firms. Nonaudit services provided by auditors impair auditors' independence and lead to higher tax aggressiveness. The result supports the agency theory, which explains that managers and blockholders may enjoy private benefits of control at the expense of other shareholders in the absence of market control. Thus, firms need good governance practices such as incentives paid for the effort of auditors and nonaudit services monitoring to curb such exploitation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide implications to the firms and regulators that incentives to the monitoring parties such as auditors can reduce tax aggressiveness among the firms. Nevertheless, higher ownership given to boards as incentives may lead to concentrated ownership and thus lead to the type 2 agency problem, which is between majority and minority shareholders. The result also provides caution to the regulators to monitor the nonaudit services provided by the auditors as it might impair their independence and compromise the tax paid to IRB.Originality/valueThis study is pioneer research discussing tax avoidance in Thailand. The Thai Government has been noticing that tax avoidance is being performed in the country, but academic discussion on this topic had never been elaborated.

Risk disclosure and financial performance: the case of Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman E. Haddad ◽  
Hussain Alali
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Risk Disclosure ◽  
Return On Assets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose This study aims to explore the extent of risk disclosure (RD) among conventional banks (CBs) and Islamic banks (IBs) listed on stock markets in the Gulf cooperation council (GCC). It also examines the influence of RD on the banks’ financial performance as measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Design/methodology/approach This study uses content analysis to examine RD in the annual reports of 16 CBs and 14 IBs in the GCC for a sample of 240 firm-year observations over the period 2007 to 2014. Findings The study shows no significant differences between the RD reported in the annual reports of CBs and that of IBs. On average, a CB reported 234 sentences while an IB disclosed 244 sentences of RD in its annual report. The authors also find that both types of banks had an upward trend over the periods. While the means of RD reported by CBs have significantly improved over the period, the RD reported by IBs has not. Similar results are also found when the authors compared the RD pre- and post-financial crisis period. Finally, the authors find that there is a significant association between RD and both models of financial performance (ROA and ROE) for IBs, after controlling other variables. However, RD has a significant association with only ROE for CBs. Research limitations/implications The bank selection was restricted to publicly traded banks in the GCC. Other financial institutions and different types of industries were not considered. Further research could determine whether the results obtained in this study could be generalized to different industries in the GCC and or in other countries. Practical implications This study provides evidence on the significant association between RD and the financial performance of CBs and IBs in GCC countries. This study could be helpful to regulatory authorities in encouraging banks to adopt the best practice of RD and thus promote banks’ transparency. Originality/value This is the first known study to examine the RD practices of both types of banks and their association with banks’ financial performance in five-GCC countries (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain), based on a longitudinal analysis of year-end annual reports, covering eight years period from 2007 to 2014.

Assessing the effects of flight delays, distance, number of passengers and seasonality on revenue

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2138-2149
Author(s):  
Murat Guven ◽  
Eyup Calik ◽  
Basak Cetinguc ◽  
Bulent Guloglu ◽  
Fethi Calisir
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Flight Delays ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Common Correlated Effects ◽  
Flight Delay ◽  
Airline Company

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of flight delays, distance, number of passengers and seasonality on revenue in the Turkish air transport industry. Design/methodology/approach The domestic return routes of a Turkish airline company were examined to address this issue. Among five cities and six airports, 14 major domestic return routes were selected. The augmented mean group (AMG) estimator and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimator were conducted with a two-way fixed effects (FE) robustness test in this study. Findings The results show that arrival flight delay and departure flight delay had negative effects on revenue, whereas the distance between airports, the number of air passengers and seasonality had positive effects on revenue. Research limitations/implications The data used in this study were retrieved from a Turkish airline company; for future research, other airline companies operating in Turkey may be included. Practical implications These findings could be evaluated by air transportation leaders to provide a guide to make strategic decisions to achieve greater performance in this competitive environment. Originality/value The originality of the paper comes from the facts that besides distance and number of passengers, the authors control for the seasonality when assessing the effects of flight delay on revenue; they use panel data techniques, which permit them to control for individual heterogeneity, and create more variability, more efficiency and less collinearity among the variables; they use two recent panel data techniques, CCEMG and AMG, allowing for cross-section dependence.

Barriers to growth of SMEs in Western Balkan countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naqeeb Ur Rehman ◽  
Arjona Çela ◽  
Fatbardha Morina ◽  
Kriselda Sulçaj Gura
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

PurposeWestern Balkans countries (WBCs) have a great potential for growth and among the main focuses of entrepreneurial activity is small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector. Moreover, SMEs are believed to contribute in the economy by stimulating employment, increasing production, transferring new technologies and so forth. Due to this crucial importance the purpose of this paper is to analyze the barriers that hinder labor productivity (LP) of SMEs in WBCs.Design/methodology/approachThe research method employed to discover solution to this research problem is quantitative analysis by using survey data of World Bank. Research methodology applied in this paper found it correctly to use cross-sectional data and conducts a factor analysis and ordinary least square (OLS) regression as the best procedure for this type of data.FindingsThe results show variability for different countries access to finance, tax rates, tax administration, corruption, inadequately educated labor force, competition in informal sector and political instability appear to be some of the main obstacles that are negatively affecting LP of SMEs in WBC.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study is the first to analyze all the possible obstacles for the six WBCs using factor analysis better results could be obtained with larger samples and panel data.Practical implicationsThe policy implications of this study suggest that in order to boost productivity of these firms there must be a reduction of the barriers and improvement of business environment. Although, this study is the first to analyze all the possible obstacles for the six WBCs using factor analysis and contributes as insight to policy makers, better results could be obtained with larger samples using panel data.Originality/valueDifferently from previous studies this work uses explanatory factor analysis and method OLS to estimate regressions for all barriers in each country of Western Balkan region.

Firm-level agreements, employment strategies and temporary workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
Saverio Minardi
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of two-tier firm-level collective agreements on firms’ propensity to use temporary employment, accounting for the process of self-selection of firms into different bargaining levels in the Italian context. It further examines which firm-level characteristics drive this process of selection. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis uses a panel data set of Italian firms for the years 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2015. Estimations are produced and compared through ordinary least square regression, random-effects and fixed-effects models. Findings Results show that enterprises adopting two-tier firm-level agreements (TTFA) are associated with lower levels of temporary workers. However, a longitudinal analysis suggests that introducing a TTFA does not impact firms’ propensity to employ temporary workers. This novel finding highlights the presence of a selection process based on firm-level time-constant characteristics. The paper argues that these characteristics refer to management orientation toward high-road rather than low-road employment strategies. Further evidence is brought in support of this claim, showing that firms’ propensity toward the provision of training for their labor force partially explain the process of selection. Originality/value The study is the first to analyze the impact of secondary-level collective agreements on firms’ reliance on temporary employment, offering new evidence on the causes of the expansion of temporary employment. It further highlights the relevance of employers’ strategies in shaping the impact of the bargaining structure.

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