Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze crowdfunding (CF) as new entrepreneurial finance (EF) tool and to predict the success of CF projects in the Middle East region. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted in seven Middle Eastern countries (i.e. Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE) in addition to serval CF platforms that are commonly used by crowd funders in this region (such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Beehive and Zoomal) with total members (195,193). A pilot sample of 20 units was used to validate and verify the research instrument of the study. The research sample consists of 1,910 respondents from the seven countries included in the study. The study emphasizes the partners, micro-structures, administrative conditions and CF advancement in the Middle East. Findings The findings reveal that CF’s presence positively impacts fundraising success and that CF platforms are an effective financial technology (Fintech) tool for financing entrepreneurs in the Middle East. The study shows that the success of CF projects in the Middle East can be anticipated by estimating and breaking down enormous information of web-based and social media movement, human resources of funders and online venture introduction. The authors conclude with recommendations for future EF and CF research. Originality/value This study aims to analyze the CF and EF principles in the Middle East region as the CF experience and practice in this part of the world tend to be unexplored in terms of research. Presently a very few numbers published research on CF exists. Moreover, to the best of the knowledge, there is no single study investigating CF as an alternative financing source in the Middle East. In particular, the study.

G4 This study aims at examining the importance of managers' behavior in explaining the capital structure related decisions of the listed firms in the Egyptian stock exchange (EGX). Managers' behavior data has been collected using a survey method (i.e. psychometric test) which specifies three aspects of the behavior (namely: overconfidence, optimism, and risk aversion) in addition to some demographic characteristics as suggested by previous studies particularly Graham et al. (2013) and Menkhoff et al. (2006). The sample of the study includes 47 mangers and 31 firms along with their related financial information which has been extracted from the published financial statements for a period of 3 consecutive years. The secondary data of the Egyptian firms and the responses from survey were fully analyzed. A cross sectional analysis is applied to assess the effect of the managers' behavior on the corporate financial leverage level. Further, a hierarchal type of regression is used due to the existence of some control variables. The findings of the study reveal that managerial optimism and risk tolerance have a significant positive impact on the firm's leverage ratio, while managerial overconfidence has no significant impact on the firm's capital structure. Moreover, risk averse managers differ from non-risk averse managers in terms of the adopted leverage level of their firms, as risk averse managers tend to use lower leverage ratio level. Contribution/ Originality: Although there is a surge of empirical research in behavioral finance examined the capital structure decisions and managerial behavior, to the best of the authors' knowledge this research effort is the first of its kind which examines this relationship in the Middle East and particularly in Egypt. Hence, this study contributes in the existing literature of behavioral finance.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss the viability of Islamic crowdfunding (ICF) as an alternative form of financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle Eastern and Islamic business environment. This study raised essential questions: what is the perception of ICF in the Middle East? Does the Middle East region really need an Islamic crowdfunding model to support SMEs? Is it possible to create a crowdfunding platform complaint with Sharia? What are the requirements for developing an Islamic crowdfunding model? Design/methodology/approach The methodology followed to answer these questions is a qualitative research design depends on in-depth interviews, literature review, historical analysis and critical discussion. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo to analyze 25 in-depth interviews with Islamic scholars, Sharia board members and Islamic finance experts from different Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, UAE and Bahrain. In addition, more than 115 transcriptions, memos and research articles were used. Findings The study provides a new Islamic Sharīʿah-compliant crowdfunding model as the main outcome of this study. In addition, the content analysis revealed four main themes to be the essential pillars to develop the ICF model. These provisions of Islamic Sharia are: Project Idea (Halal) (28.5%), Funding Goal (36%), Return and Risk (14%) and Funding Commitments (21.5%). The findings also revealed that the four types of crowdfunding (reward-based crowdfunding, donation-based crowdfunding, loan-based crowdfunding and equity-based crowdfunding) are legal and supported by evidence from Quran and Sunnah. Originality/value Despite the critical development in Islamic finance and the expanding number of young Muslims slanting digital Islamic services, empirical studies exploring this issue in the Middle East is still inadequate. Further, ICF has increased attention and there is an urgent need for financing new SMEs in the Middle East.