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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to survey financial managers in the Arab Gulf region about a broad set of financial decisions and contrast their answers with both prescriptions of financial theory and practices of their North American and European peers. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses Graham and Harvey's questionnaire on the cost of capital, capital budgeting and capital structure that is also employed by Brounen et al. in Europe, containing two additional questions on corporate governance. Moreover, the survey included an additional question about Islamic financial instruments. Findings -Despite each firm's unique characteristics and institutions, chief financial officers (CFOs) in the Middle East are acting in a manner similar to their North American and European counterparts. Originality/value -All CFOs surveyed are located in countries that abide by a combination of Islamic, civil (French, Romano-Germanic), and common (Anglo-Saxon) laws. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that a nearly identical corporate finance survey has been simultaneously administered in North America, Europe and the Arab Gulf region.

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Este artigo tem como objetivo básico desenvolver, com apoio no teste de causalidade de Granger, uma técnica de pesquisa que possa avaliar, no agregado de empresas e como uma alternativa ao estudo de caso, as estratégias de preços adotadas por empresas brasileiras. Em especial, busca-se distinguir aquelas empresas que adotam o custometa como estratégia, em relação àquelas empresas que adotam o custo mais margem ou, ainda, daquelas que não apresentam uma estratégia clara de preços e custos. Quarenta e sete empresas, de oito setores distintos, foram analisadas mediante a utilização do método de causalidade de Granger. Os resultados evidenciaram a falta de estratégia com relação à gestão de preços e custos das empresas, na maioria dos casos. Em particular, a hipótese da estratégia de custo-meta predominou somente no setor de distribuição de energia elétrica. Os resultados apresentados são suscetíveis a várias contribuições e podem servir como uma agenda para futuras pesquisas.
This article aims to develop, based on the Granger-causality test, a research technique to assess, in business sectors and as an alternative for case studies, the price strategies adopted by Brazilian companies. It focuses on the differentiation between those companies which use target costing as a strategy from those using the cost plus margin, or yet, from companies without a clear strategy for establishing prices and costs. Forty-seven companies from eight different segments were analyzed through Granger causality. In most cases, the results revealed a lack of strategy in terms of company price and cost management. Target costing was only predominant in the electric power distribution sector. The research results suggest possibilities for future studies