Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between political connections, financing decisions and cash holding. Design/methodology/approach Based on historical data from 181 active non-financial firms listed on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Stock Exchange Markets during the period of 2009–2016, this study uses ordinary least squares and dynamic system-generalized method of moments to test the research hypotheses. The final data set comprises a total of 1,448 firm-year observations from ten major non-financial industry classifications. Findings This study finds a positive relationship between political connections and each of internal financing proxied by retained earnings ratio and external financing proxied by short- and long-term debt to total asset. The findings also show a positive relationship between political connections and cash holding. Practical implications The findings of the study provide a better understanding of the role of politically connected directors in financing decisions and cash holding in the GCC. Investors can consider the presence of royal family members in the board of directors when making investment decision. Policymakers are encouraged to develop more effective policies that encourage listed firms to provide information on the political positions of the board of directors, managers and major shareholders/owners of companies. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between political connections and financing decisions by focusing on the GCC region. This study also highlights that boards in connected firms in the GCC have lower monitoring role owing to political interventions, and that connected firms face higher agency problems as they have weak governance and boards compared with non-connected firms.

This study analyzes the impact of petroleum and non-petroleum indices on the financial development of the Sultanate of Oman from 1978 to 2017. To this end, it uses the petroleum proxy of oil rents (% of gross domestic product, GDP) and the non-petroleum proxy of industry (including construction) value added (% of GDP); agriculture, forestry, and fishing value added (% of GDP); and services value added (% of GDP) to determine the effect on financial development, measured by the amount of domestic credit extended to the private sector by banks (% of GDP). It applies an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The long-term equation illustrates that the agriculture and industry GDPs have a negative and significant relationship with domestic credit in Oman. However, the oil and service sector GDPs promote financial development. The short-term equation illustrates that the oil, agricultural, and service sectors have positive and significant effects on domestic credit. The conclusion is that the economy of Oman is still in the first phase of economic diversification. Accordingly, the government should use oil revenues to develop various non-oil industrial sectors. This would enhance the country's competitiveness in the global economy and positively contribute to improving the liquidity of the banking sector for stimulating credit at the macroeconomic level.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of cloud accounting (CA) in Oman’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research model is developed based on relationships between technology, organisational and environmental contexts. Design/methodology/approach This study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of SMEs in Oman’s information and communication sector. In total, 300 enterprises were selected, and the questionnaire was distributed to the executives. The questionnaires valid for analysis were 159. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling through analysis of a moment structures software. Findings This study tested seven factors, namely, support from top management, firm size, infrastructure (technology readiness), security and privacy, compatibility, competitive pressure and relative advantage. The results revealed that compatibility has a significant impact on the adoption of CA. Practical implications This study suggests the mangers in SMEs should play a more decisive role in identification of technological, organisational and environmental factors that affect the success of implementing CA in a comprehensive model. Originality/value This study constitutes a management strategy that helps the enterprises in light of limited economic resources and concerns about the use of cloud services to make the appropriate decision in adopting CA.

The study aims to investigate the effect of several sustainability indicators on firms’ value. Panel data of 1914 observations from the UK and Turkey from 2016 to 2021 with a fixed effect model are used to estimate the results. The findings reveal that ESG indicators associate significantly with firms’ value. However, ESG indicators exhibit a stronger significant association with Tobin’s Q than stock prices and market-to-book value. This indicates that sustainability indicators are linked to the firm’s overall market value and the long-term run market valuation rather than just the stock market value. The results also reveal that while board independence, board expertise, and diversity exhibit a significant and positive association with firms’ value, board size negatively affects firms’ value. The current study provides unique contributions and comprehensive evidence based on different institutional and country sustainability enforcement statuses. It offers empirical implications for regulatory authorities and other developing countries to provide a comprehensive ESG reporting framework.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of companies’ Shariah compliance (SC) debt financing decisions, financing with retained earnings (REs), cash holdings, capital expenditures and dividend pay-out policies. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 1,648 firm-year observations of GCC non-financial firms from various industries. The authors scrutinised the firms over a period of eight financial years from 2012 to 2019. To analyse the research hypotheses, the authors used a panel data model using ordinary least squares and generalised method of moments, depending on historical data. Findings The results of this study show a negative effect of SC on debt financing decision and dividend pay-out policies but a positive effect on financing decision with REs, cash holdings and the decision on capital expenditures. Practical implications This study's findings provide a better understanding of the role of restrictions of financing options in SC companies on financing decisions in the GCC. Whether religious or simply interested in investing in SC companies, investors can benefit from knowing that these companies make financial decisions that may affect their short- and long-term profits for policymakers and regulators. This study may be valuable in evaluating the effect of restrictions imposed by Islamic Shariah on how firms make different financial decisions. Policymakers should encourage the issuance of Islamic financial products and prepare two financial indicators to classify SC firms. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is to obtain empirical evidence on the effect of SC on a set of financial decisions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to focus on non-financial companies committed to Shariah. They do not depend on interest-bearing loans for their financing but are limited to financing by shares, financing with REs and financing using various Islamic financing formulas.

PurposeThis study aims to assesses the factors that affected the development of cloud-based accounting education (DCBAE) and students' academic performance at Oman Universities.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper a questionnaire was used to collect data for a sample of students. Partial least squares (PLS) were used to assess the hypotheses and model.FindingsResults indicate that human factors and cultural and social factors have a direct positive effect on the DCBAE and students' academic performance.Practical implicationsThis study is carried out after five semesters since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it can help universities (accounting education in particular) in the Sultanate of Oman know the factors that affect the development of accounting education and adopt policies and strategies that depend on cloud computing in education operations, even after the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to evaluate the factors that affected the DCBAE and the academic performance of students in the Sultanate of Oman from March 15, 2020 to June 2022, a period that witnessed the application of cloud-based education, either in whole or in part using a questionnaire about the opinions of students.

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