Does board structure drive dividends payout? Evidence from the Sultanate of Oman

The study investigates whether corporate board characteristics influence dividends policy in Omani listed firms. It also examines whether this relationship is determined by the recent global oil crisis. Using a sample of 109 listed firms in Muscat Securities Exchange between 2009 and 2019, we find that dividends payout is positively associated with board independence, board activity, and board nationality diversity. Though, no evidence is found that board size and gender diversity have an impact on dividends payout. Interestingly, when controlling for the global oil crisis, none of the corporate board attributes influence dividends payout. This study presents new evidence on the influence of board structure on dividends policy. The findings suggest that the impact of corporate board characteristics on dividends policy is contingent on the surrounding institutional environment (i.e., the recent global oil crisis).

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Impact of firm performance and corporate governance mechanisms on intellectual capital disclosures in CEO statements

Journal of Intellectual Capital ◽

10.1108/jic-02-2020-0053 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Ghassan H. Mardini ◽

Fathia Elleuch Lahyani

Keyword(s):

Corporate Governance ◽

Impression Management ◽

Intellectual Capital ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Vital Role ◽

Content Type ◽

Listed Firms ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact ◽

Three Components

PurposeUsing agency theory and impression management theory, this study examines the impact of financial performance (FP) and corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on the extent of intellectual capital disclosures (ICDs) and the three components within the CEO statement – human capital (HC), structural capital (SC) and relational capital (RC).Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a sample of non-financial SPF-120 French listed firms to capture the relevant variables; it collects data for 2010–2017, using a panel data technique to run the random effects regressions.FindingsThe study finds that FP, measured using both market (Tobin's q) and accounting (return on equity and return on assets) indicators, plays a vital role in the extent of ICDs and the three components in the CEO statement published by SPF-120 companies. This confirms its impact on the decision-making needs of stakeholders. Among the CG mechanisms, this study finds that cultural diversity and gender diversity affect some ICD components. Moreover, CEO characteristics such as age, education and role duality affect ICD, while institutional ownership drives the extent of such disclosures.Practical implicationsOur findings have comprehensive implications for managers of French listed firms, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, and stakeholders in general.Originality/valueThis study provides significant insights by investigating the impact of FP, CG and company characteristics on the extent of the ICDs published in CEO statements.

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Determinants of corporate corruption disclosures: evidence based on EU listed firms

Meditari Accountancy Research ◽

10.1108/medar-11-2019-0616 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Bikki Jaggi ◽

Alessandra Allini ◽

Gianluca Ginesti ◽

Riccardo Macchioni

Keyword(s):

Legal System ◽

Common Law ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Independent Directors ◽

Corporate Board ◽

Content Type ◽

Listed Firms ◽

Female Directors ◽

Eu Directive ◽

The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of corporate board characteristics and country-level legal system on corruption disclosures mandated by the recent European Union (EU) Directive No. 95/2014. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 234 European listed companies and covering the 2017–2018 period, this study uses regression analyses to empirically test the association of independent directors, board gender diversity and country’s legal system with disclosure of corruption information. Findings The presence of independent directors and female directors is positively associated with corporate corruption disclosures. The association between independent directors and corruption disclosures is especially strong when firms are operating in the common law environments. Research limitations/implications This study is exclusively focused on larger European listed firms and therefore the findings may not be valid for small and medium firms. Practical implications This study provides important information to policymakers to have a better understanding of the factors that influence firms’ disclosure policy on corruption-related activities. It also offers useful information to investors because it shows firms’ propensity to disclose corruption information that would enable them to evaluate their risk and return better. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates firms’ response to the EU Directive No. 95/2014 in disclosing corruption information after its implementation in 2017. It documents the effective role played by female directors in influencing firms’ information disclosure policies. It also confirms that common law environment is more conducive to disclosures.

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Corporate governance practices and capital structure decisions: the moderating effect of gender diversity

Corporate Governance ◽

10.1108/cg-11-2019-0343 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 939-964

Author(s):

Mohammad A.A Zaid ◽

Man Wang ◽

Sara T.F. Abuhijleh ◽

Ayman Issa ◽

Mohammed W.A. Saleh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Corporate Governance ◽

Panel Data ◽

Capital Structure ◽

Generalized Method Of Moments ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Business Environment ◽

Board Structure ◽

Content Type ◽

Financing Decisions ◽

The Impact

Purpose Motivated by the agency theory, this study aims to empirically examine the nexus between board attributes and a firm’s financing decisions of non-financial listed firms in Palestine and how the previous relationship is moderated and shaped by the level of gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach Multiple regression analysis on a panel data was used. Further, we applied three different approaches of static panel data “pooled OLS, fixed effect and random effect.” Fixed-effects estimator was selected as the optimal and most appropriate model. In addition, to control for the potential endogeneity problem and to profoundly analyze the study data, the authors perform the one-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. Dynamic panel GMM specification was superior in generating robust findings. Findings The findings clearly unveil that all explanatory variables in the study model have a significant influence on the firm’s financing decisions. Moreover, the results report that the impact of board size and board independence are more positive under conditions of a high level of gender diversity, whereas the influence of CEO duality on the firm’s leverage level turned from negative to positive. In a nutshell, gender diversity moderates the effect of board structure on a firm’s financing decisions. Research limitations/implications This study was restricted to one institutional context (Palestine); therefore, the results reflect the attributes of the Palestinian business environment. In this vein, it is possible to generate different findings in other countries, particularly in developed markets. Practical implications The findings of this study can draw responsible parties and policymakers’ attention in developing countries to introduce and contextualize new mechanisms that can lead to better monitoring process and help firms in attracting better resources and establishing an optimal capital structure. For instance, entities should mandate a minimum quota for the proportion of women incorporation in boardrooms. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence on the moderating role of gender diversity on the effect of board structure on firm’s financing decisions, something that was predominantly neglected by the earlier studies and has not yet examined by ancestors. Thereby, to protrude nuanced understanding of this novel and unprecedented idea, this study thoroughly bridges this research gap and contributes practically and theoretically to the existing corporate governance–capital structure literature.

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Re-examining the Impact of Educational and Gender Diversity in Ventures in Business

Academy of Management Proceedings ◽

10.5465/ambpp.2021.11218abstract ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (1) ◽

pp. 11218

Author(s):

Violetta Gerasymenko ◽

Yohan Choi ◽

Samyul Cho ◽

Jonathan D. Arthurs

Keyword(s):

Gender Diversity ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

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Institutional Quality and Sustainable Development of Industries’ Exports: Evidence from China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10114173 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 4173 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Feifei Wu ◽

Xinyu Yan

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Institutional Environment ◽

Institutional Quality ◽

Emerging Countries ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Continuous Release ◽

Comparative Advantages ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

The Impact ◽

New Evidence

The knowledge about the relations between domestic institutional quality and the sustainable development of exports in emerging markets remains limited, since most research into the relations between the institutional environment and the sustainable development of exports has been conducted in developed market economies, especially in those of North America and Europe. With dynamic changes in the institutional environment of emerging countries over the years, this paper provides a novel perspective for investigating the relations above. This is the first paper to investigate the impact of institutional quality on the sustainable development of industries’ exports in emerging countries from a comprehensive perspective of multiple institutional environments and multi-dimensional industries’ heterogeneity. On the basis of defining institutional quality and industry heterogeneity, this paper explores the underlying mechanisms of institutional quality affecting sustainable development of industries’ exports and conducts empirical analyses by using the data from China’s 20 industries’ exports to 117 countries for the period of 1996–2011. The results show that: (a) Industries with higher degrees of financial dependence or higher product technical complexities have export comparative advantages in better financial environments; (b) Industries with higher research and development (R&D) intensity or a higher concentration of intermediate inputs have export comparative advantages in better legal environments; (c) The differences in the level of financial development or in the efficiency of legal system would influence the effects of interactions between institutional quality and industry heterogeneity on the sustainable development of industries’ exports. The present paper provides new evidence that institutional quality does promote the sustainable development of industries’ exports in emerging countries. These results indicate that exports of heterogeneous industries in emerging economies are an adaptive response to the specific institutional environment, as well as a continuous release of institutional dividends with the improvement of the institutional environment.

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Diversity and safety on campus @ Western: Heterosexism and cissexism in higher education

International Review of Victimology ◽

10.1177/0269758018799032 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 320-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nicole L. Asquith ◽

Tania Ferfolia ◽

Brooke Brady ◽

Benjamin Hanckel

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Diverse Students ◽

University Campus ◽

Gender Diverse ◽

Sexuality And Gender ◽

Research Findings ◽

And Gender ◽

The University ◽

The Impact

Discrimination, harassment and violence can vitiate staff and students’ experiences of education and work. Although there is increasing knowledge about these experiences in primary and secondary education, very little is known about them in higher education. This paper draws from landmark research that examines the interpersonal, educational and socio-cultural perspectives that prevail about sexuality and gender diversity on an Australian university campus. In this paper we focus on three aspects of the broader research findings: the heterosexism and cissexism experienced by sexuality and gender diverse students and staff at the university; their actions and responses to these experiences; and the impact of these experiences on victims. The research demonstrates that although the university is generally safe, sexuality and gender diverse students and staff experience heterosexist and cissexist discrimination, which can have negative ramifications on their workplace and learning experiences.

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An Empirical Study on the Impact of Design Brief Information on the Creativity of Design Outcomes With Consideration of Gender and Gender Diversity

Journal of Mechanical Design ◽

10.1115/1.4043207 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 141 (7) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Georgios Koronis ◽

Pei Zhi Chia ◽

Jacob Kang Kai Siang ◽

Arlindo Silva ◽

Christine Yogiaman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Empirical Study ◽

Undergraduate Student ◽

Contextual Information ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

First Year ◽

Main Effect ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact ◽

Collaborative Sketching

This study aims to understand how information in design briefs affects the creativity of design outcomes. We tested this during a Collaborative Sketching (C-Sketch) ideation exercise with first-year undergraduate student designers. We focus on four types of stimuli—quantitative requirements, a visual example (video), a physical example, and contextual information—and we measure creativity according to three metrics—novelty, appropriateness, and usability with either the participants’ gender or the gender diversity of the participants’ groups. The findings suggest that the main effect of providing a video example results in high appropriateness and usability scores but low novelty scores and that physical-contextual briefs have high novelty and usability scores. In addition, we did not find any correlation between gender or gender diversity and creativity scores.

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Gender diversity and governance: Analysis of Italian listed companies

Corporate Ownership and Control ◽

10.22495/cocv17i4siart10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (4, Special Issue) ◽

pp. 329-338

Author(s):

Graziella Sicoli ◽

Giovanni Bronzetti ◽

Dominga Ippolito ◽

Giada Leonetti

Keyword(s):

Corporate Performance ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Corporate Board ◽

Italian Law ◽

Governance Analysis ◽

Female Presence ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women ◽

The Impact

In recent years, many countries have adopted different legislative and self-regulatory initiatives to be able to tackle the problem of the underrepresentation of women on boards. Also, Italy with Law No. 120/2011 introduced the gender issue adopting the normative that 1/3 of the elected members would be women. In this job, a primary aim was to study over the period 2016/2018 the impact of female presence on boards of 50 companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. In depth, our results confirm that Italian Law has produced significant effects on the composition of the corporate board. The result of our study shows that women positively influence corporate performance, this is perfectly in line with the literature on gender diversity. The contribution of the work is that the empirical study conducted on the 50 companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange allows confirming what has been claimed in the literature and that is the importance of the female presence on the boards. An immediate reading of the data allows us to confirm that the female presence in corporate governance has a positive impact on corporate performance and productivity.

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