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This paper aims to examine the extent to which board composition and ownership structure (OS) affect a firm’s dividend payout (DP) policy.

The sample comprises a total of 1,432 firm-year observations for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nonfinancial firms. Total 179 firms were analyzed from 2009 to 2016. To test the research hypotheses, the paper used panel data analysis (i.e. fixed effects model) and instrumental variable method to ensure the robustness of results against endogeneity effects.

Corporate governance (CG) variables were found to significantly impact DP. Specifically, independent directors on board, institutional ownership and royal ownership were positively associated with DP. In contrast, board size, management, government and family ownership had a negative association with DP. The empirical evidence presented in this study supports that CG elements can be both an outcome and substitute of DP as a disciplinary mechanism.

This study excluded financial firms from the sample list. Future studies should carry out on financial firms to observe if the findings are different. Future research is suggested to incorporate more CG mechanisms. Future studies are suggested to use a dynamic panel regression due to its advantages.

Practitioners, such as investors and lenders operating in GCC markets, can derive valuable insights from this study regarding the influence of board components on DP policy. The study also provides information about the investment and business environment in GCC.

The contribution of this study lies in providing empirical evidence regarding the impact of CG mechanisms and OS on DP in GCC countries.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between selected board characteristics and ownership elements and the performance of firms listed in the Muscat Securities Market (MSM30). The examination focused on how the firm financial performance was affected by the board size, the number of board meetings and the ratio of the independent board of directors along to the ownership concentration types (i.e. institutional, state and concentrated individual ownership).

Data were extracted from the annual reports available online on the MSM30 website over a period of seven years (2009–2015). The sample consisted of 14 firms belonging to the non-financial sector. The data were of a balanced type and there were 98 observations. The analysis was conducted using the ordinary least square in STATA with the use of the robustness technique of standard error.

The findings of this study provide evidence that the selected elements for board characteristics and ownership influence firm performance. Nevertheless, such influence has its interpretation that differs to some extent from other securities markets in the developing countries. For instance, the ratio of the independent board of directors, the number of board director’s meetings, state ownership and concentrated individual ownership were inversely affecting the firm performance. However, institutional ownership and board size were found to have a positive effect on firm performance.

Studies on the influence of corporate governance and ownership structures in the context of Oman are still scarce. MSM30 received little attention, even though such an index encompasses the most liquid and the most profitable firms. MSM30 is an important index for investors in Oman looking for capital gains. Accordingly, this present study contributes to the knowledge body by providing new findings related to Oman and compares it with the other markets within Gulf Council Countries (GCC) and around the world. This will provide more understanding of the Omani context. Moreover, the authors anticipate that the outcomes of this research, which so far is the most comprehensive study in the Omani context in terms of the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on firm financial performance can significantly shape corporate governance discourse, practices and policies in Oman, in particular, and in other GCC countries in general, to improve financial performance and corporate sustainability.

Integration of religiosity and positive emotions at workplace sheds light on the intersection of faith and professional well-being where these two factors lead to increased job satisfaction, higher productivity and improved overall mental health. The study examines the relationship between religiosity, positive emotions and work engagement among academics in Algeria.

This research is based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the job demands-resources (JD-R) model of work engagement. The study uses a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire with stratified random sampling to collect data from 356 academics at public universities in Algeria. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with Smart PLS 3.

The results indicate that religiosity is positively associated with work engagement, and positive emotions mediate the relationship between religiosity and work engagement. The study also illustrates that job demands (workload) moderate the relationship between positive emotions and work engagement.

The study highlighted that role of religiosity and positive emotions as essential factors in increasing academics' work engagement and contributes to the COR theory and JD-R model of work engagement.