Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of strategic competitive innovation types on the financial performance of SMEs during a very critical period: the COVID-19 pandemic. Four strategic competitive innovation types are considered in this study: marketing innovation, organizational innovation, product innovation and processes innovation. Design/methodology/approach To examine empirically the relationship between strategic competitiveness and financial performance, data were collected from a sample of 426 Lebanese SMEs belonging to seven different sectors. Findings The empirical findings of principle component analysis model (PCA) and multiple regression model (MR) reveal that the ability to innovate is essential to an SME’s survival during a crisis. The results of this study confirm the existence of a positive impact of marketing innovation and processes innovation on the financial performance of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications Moreover, results suggest that, in Lebanese SMEs, product innovation and organizational innovation do not have any impact on the financial performance during the pandemic period. Originality/value This research focused on strategic competitive innovation as a broadly considered essential condition for the survival of SMEs during the COVID-19 crises.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of internal and external corporate governance mechanisms on the financial performance of banks in the under-researched Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Bank annual reports, the Orbis Bank Focus database, and World Bank reports were used to collect both financial and non-financial information on the banking sector, followed by fixed effects regressions and two-stage least squares. Results showed that the corporate governance measures of presence of independent members on the board of directors, high ownership concentration, lack of political pressure on board members, and strong legal protection, had positive effects on bank financial performance. Corporate governance mechanisms, such as performance-based compensation, the presence of women on boards, moderate size of the board, and anti-takeover mechanisms had no significant impact on bank performance during the crisis period. An effective internal and external corporate governance mechanism could improve the financial performance of banks in MENA countries in times of pandemics and crises.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of dynamic managerial innovative capabilities on the competitive advantage (CA), financial performance (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP) of the health-care sector during the very turbulent Covid-19 pandemic period. The focus is on human behavior and personnel interaction in the hospitals that receive Covid-19 cases. Design/methodology/approach Data for this research was collected from the medical sector in Lebanon. The authors approached 14 public hospitals and 60 private hospitals for the study and only 48 hospitals (total of 284 respondents) accepted to complete the survey and provide data using a structured questionnaire. Findings This study reveals the moderating impact of CA on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative capabilities and the performance of the health-care sector. Based on 48 Lebanese health-care centers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results of the structural equation modeling model indicate that dynamic managerial innovative practices positively impact on CA and NFP. The results also reveal that CA has a moderating effect on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative practices and NFP. Practical implications This study does not reveal any direct or indirect relationship between managerial capabilities and FP during the pandemic. Originality/value As the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, the health-care sector needs new approaches and methods for confronting the constantly evolving and turbulent environment. This study examines how health-care leaders are dealing with these dynamic challenges and tests a three-dimensional SEM model of dynamic managerial capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguration) that impact CA.

By considering different systems of legal protection this study examines the impact of capital structure on the performance of listed firms in European region. Based on 5050 listed firms in eight European countries, the results of the study reveal that the owners in low level of legal protection are more likely to use the capital structure of the firms in order to serve their proper interests. In high level of legal protection, the market based system and the debts are enrolled to constraint the expropriation of private benefits.

PurposeThe aim of this paper has twofold: (1) to explain and compare the financial evolution of Islamic and conventional banking sector in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to explore the key success factors that might affect Islamic and conventional banks performance before and mainly during COVID-19 pandemic period.Design/methodology/approachOrbis Bank Focus database and annual financial reports are used to collect financial information of Islamic and conventional banks in GCC countries over four years: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Descriptive statistics, T-test, multiple regression, and 2SLS and GMM models are employed to analyze the financial structure and performance of Islamic and conventional banks before and during the COVID-19 pandemic period.FindingsResults of this study reveal that (1) there is a significant difference between Islamic banks and conventional banks during the crisis of COVID-19, where the conventional banks have presented a higher level of financial performance and financial liquidity than their Islamic counterparts, (2) conventional banks have revealed higher capacity to manage their financial risk during the crisis period, and (3) a high level of non-performing loan, high inflation rate and high percentage of non-important cost have a negative impact on the financial performance of Islamic banks mainly during the pandemic period of COVID-19. However, the result indicates that a high level of liquidity risk increased the performance of Islamic banks but this impact falls sharply during the pandemic period.Originality/valueThis study provides information that supports investors, regulators and executive managers in GCC countries. A well-structured balance sheet would improve the financial performance and risk management of the banking sector in GCC countries, especially in times of crisis and pandemics.