Impact of board of directors’ characteristics on accrual and real earnings management among Jordanian listed firms: conceptual paper

This study aims to develop a theoretical framework that paves the way for future empirical research measuring the impact of boards of directors through independence, activity (number of meetings), financial expertise, and foreign directors on the magnitude of earnings management, both accrual and real. The current study proposes that the sample of the coming empirical study be Jordanian industrial and service firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange during the period from 2014 to 2019, given the importance of these companies and their significant contribution to national income. The choice of such a study period is important because it is likely to contribute to measuring the effectiveness of boards of directors during two important phases in the life of Jordanian corporate governance: the first is the “comply or explain” phase according to the Corporate Governance Code that entered into force in 2009, and the second is the “enforced” phase according to its latest revisions in 2017. Additionally, the importance of the study stems from the idea of giving Jordanian companies more time to adapt to corporate governance, in line with the claim that the quality of corporate governance matures over time. Further, choosing real earnings management will contribute to the earnings management literature, given the scarcity of previous research conducted on this issue in Jordan. The results of future empirical studies are expected to have implications for Jordanian legislators and policy-makers by distinguishing between good and weak corporate governance tools

The board gender composition and cost of debt: empirical evidence from Jordan

The present research aims to examine the influences of board gender composition on debt costs and its significance to Jordanian creditors: mainly banks, using agency and resource dependence theories. A sample of 113 non‐financial Jordanian firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) from 2010 to 2019 was utilised to explore the impact of board gender on the cost of debt financing through panel regression analysis. To tackle endogeneity concerns, we employ a two‐step system generalised method of moments estimator. The findings discovered that more female directors on firm boards generated economic benefits for non‐financial sectors, which achieved an average 0.75% cut‐off interest rate incurred by lenders compared to the counterparts with fewer female directors. Our findings are still robust to endogeneity concerns. The findings offered valuable insights for academics, shareholders, firms, and regulators. Shareholders are required to provide more pressure on firms to enhance gender equality. Firms should adjust board gender composition via the inclusion of more female directors while regulators should develop guidelines, such as a minimum female quota in promoting more females to the board. The finding generalisability is limited to developing markets with similar settings. This study bridged a vital gap in the governance literature on the nexus between board gender composition and debt costs in Jordanian contexts where no minimum gender quota exists

Eco-innovation and financial performance nexus: Does company size matter?

Nowadays, there is an increasing recognition of the value of eco-innovation in both academic and practical spheres. Establishing the connection between eco-innovation and corporate performance is highly important. This paper aimed to analyze the correlation between eco-innovation, corporate performance, and company size. To accomplish this goal, the paper collected unique data from 383 global non-financial companies using the Refinitiv Eikon database from 2013 to 2022. This paper uses fixed effect and (generalized method of moment) GMM techniques to overcome possible endogeneity concerns. The strong empirical results display a positive relationship between eco-innovation and corporate performance. Importantly, this paper discovered that the size of companies significantly magnifies the effect of eco-innovation on corporate performance. Our findings are still robust to endogeneity concerns. The results confirm that prioritizing eco-innovation can benefit larger companies in multiple ways, including boosting productivity, avoiding penalties, expanding into new markets, improving green image, and gaining a competitive edge, all of which ultimately enhance corporate performance. Additionally, the extensive evaluation by stakeholders enables these larger corporations to generate increased profits. This paper aims to contribute the innovation literature by exploring an under-explored topic using extensive panel data and offering practical guidance for non-financial firm stakeholders. The implications of the findings have various impacts on future research and policy development. Furthermore, this paper aims to assist policymakers in establishing impactful mechanisms and guidelines that foster ecologically conscious attitudes. The conclusion assists managers in grasping the importance of context-based eco-innovation