Search results

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and the financial performance of both Islamic and conventional banks in the context of an emerging market, i.e. Malaysia.

This study includes 300 bank-year observations from Islamic and conventional banks over the period 2010–2021. The dynamic panel model (generalized method of moments [GMM]) was considered the primary estimation model that solves simultaneity, endogeneity and omitted variable problems as most governance variables are endogenous by nature. Hence, static models are considered biased after conducting the DWH test of endogeneity, and considering dynamic panel GMM is valid proven by Sargan and Hensen and first-order (ARI) and second-order (ARII) tests.

Based on the regression results, the authors discovered that board size, female participation in the board and director remuneration have a significant positive impact on bank performance, whereas board meetings have a significant negative impact. Furthermore, the board governance structure of commercial banks is found to be more passive than that of Islamic banks.

The study’s findings added a new dimension to governance research, which could be a valuable source of knowledge for policymakers, investors and regulators looking to improve existing governance mechanisms for better performance of conventional and Islamic banks.

The goal of this study is to add to the existing literature by focusing on the impact of female board participation and other board governance mechanisms in both conventional and Islamic banks on bank performance.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure and firm-specific characteristics, i.e. firm size, leverage, growth opportunities, previous year dividend, firm risk, profitability, and liquidity on dividend behavior of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms.

Final sample of the study consists of 140 PSX-listed firms. The study covers a period of six years, starting from 2015 to 2020. Dividend payout dummy, dividend payout ratio, and dividend yield were used to assess the dividend behavior of the sample firms. The appropriate regression procedures (logistic, probit, ordinary least square (OLS), and fixed effect regression) are used to test the study hypothesis. To check the robustness of the result, a system GMM estimation technique is also used in the present study.

The study reveals that institutional ownership, foreign ownership, and individual ownership have a significant positive whereas managerial ownership has a significant negative impact on the dividend decision of sample firms. Among firm-specific characteristics, it was found that liquidity, profitability, and the previous year's dividend were significantly positive, while growth opportunities were significantly inversely associated with dividend payout decisions of PSX-listed firms.

This study sheds light on the relationship between dividend policy, ownership structure, and firm-specific factors in the context of an emerging market like Pakistan. The study's findings have important implications for managers, minority shareholders, lawmakers, and investors looking for guidance on the dividend policy of publicly-traded non-financial firms.

The literature lacks studies that together analyze the ownership characteristics and firm-specific variables on dividend decisions, particularly in the context of developing economies. The current study aims to fill this gap.

The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of CSR as a mediator in the board diversity–FD relationship.

The study examined six board diversity dimensions – age, gender, nationality, education and tenure in 81 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. The CSR engagement of the sample firms is evaluated using a multidimensional financial approach and the likelihood of FD is computed using Altman’s Z-score. The system-generalized method of moments estimator is used to meet the study objectives. In addition, several tests are run to determine the robustness of the study’s findings.

Based on the procedure for mediation analysis outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), the authors found that CSR is significantly inversely associated with the likelihood of FD. Second, board diversity variables age, gender and national diversity were positively associated with CSR. Third, board age, gender and national diversity are significantly inversely related to FD. Finally, it was found that there is partial mediation between board age diversity and FD, whereas full mediation is shown between board age diversity and FD and between board nationality diversity and FD.

This study provides practical insights into PSX’s board diversity for companies, regulators and policymakers.

This research studies the connection between board diversity and FD. In addition, the current study extended the analysis by testing for the first time the mediating role of CSR in the diversity–distress relationship, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.

A company’s dividend policy is determined not just by its strategy but also by the qualities of its managers, particularly overconfidence. As a result, the purpose of this study is to explore the impact of CEO overconfidence on dividend policy using the dividend payout ratio and dividend yield ratio.

The study’s sample includes 170 non-financial enterprises listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange between 2011 and 2022. Furthermore, we used corporate governance and firm-specific factors as control variables. The fixed effect model based on the Hausman test result and dynamic system GMM estimation technique was employed in the analysis. Furthermore, the dividend dummy variable and alternative proxies of dividend payments are used to ensure the results are robust.

The findings indicate that CEOs’ overconfidence positively impacts dividend payout and dividend yield ratios. Further analysis reveals that board size and remuneration committee significantly impact dividend payment among corporate governance control variables, while block holding has a negative effect. Among firm-specific control variables, the results suggest that firm size, profitability, and market-to-book ratio are significantly positively associated. In contrast, the coefficient of variation and debt ratio are inversely associated with dividend payments.

Managerial overconfidence benefits shareholders by increasing dividend payouts, but firms may struggle in the long run if they do not have adequate retained earnings to meet capital requirements. Dividends and retained earnings must be balanced to make enough funds available for long-term investment in capital-intensive projects.

Although little previous research has focused on the managerial overconfidence-dividend policy relationship, the authors believe this is the first study to test this relationship generally in emerging markets, particularly Pakistan.

This study aims to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the cost of debt (CoD). In this CSR-CoD relationship, the significance of insider and institutional ownership is also examined.

The research sample consists of 145 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange between 2010 and 2021. The level of a firm’s participation in CSR-related activities is measured through multidimensional financial methodology, whereas CoD is the ratio of interest expenses to average interest-bearing debt outstanding.

The result of fixed effect model, based on the Hausman test, demonstrates that CSR has a negative impact on CoD, which supports the risk mitigation hypothesis and the stakeholder’s perspective of CSR. Insider ownership has an insignificant effect on CoD, confirming the management entrenchment hypothesis; nevertheless, institutional ownership has a significant positive impact on CoD, supporting the shareholder’s conflict argument. Finally, insider and institutional ownership interaction has no statistically significant effect on the CSR-CoD connection, favoring neither corporate governance’s complementing nor substitutive impacts. The results are subject to robustness by using various economic methodologies and alternative measurements of CSR.

The study’s findings will assist regulatory authorities, investors, financial analysts and other stakeholders in better understanding the CSR-CoD relationship and the role of insider and institutional ownership in that relationship.

The literature contains very little research on the impact of CSR on COD. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in an emerging market to experimentally assess this relationship and analyze the impact of insider and institutional ownership in this relationship.