Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of aggregate and individual corporate governance provisions on firm performance on all firms listed at Damascus Securities Exchange (DSE) for the period between 2011 and 2015. In addition, it disentangles ownership structure provision to ownership concentration and foreign ownership and investigates which component of ownership structure stands behind the significance of ownership structure in explaining firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The study uses multiple linear regression models to analyze the relationship between aggregate corporate governance index and its provisions and firm performance. A corporate governance index is built on the basis of four mechanics (i.e. board of directors, audit, disclosure and ownership structure) for all firms listed at DSE. On the other hand, the dependent variable (firm performance) is measured using Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Return On Assets (ROA). The authors capture current war conditions using political stability and absence of violence indicator, one of Worldwide Governance Indicators accumulated by the World bank. Findings This study finds that ownership structure is the only significant corporate governance provision in determining Syrian firms’ performance, as it loads positively and significantly on firm performance proxies (ROA and EPS). Moreover, the analysis of ownership structure items shows that foreign ownership is the main source of this positive and significant impact. This result is robust for both measures of firm performance and in the presence of political stability indicator. Originality/value This paper provides evidence on corporate governance measures from Syrian Arab Republic, a developing country with an emerging stock exchange. It examines board structure, ownership structure, audit committee and disclosure in a period of crisis because of the war in this country. Moreover, it uncovers that foreign ownership is the only influential provision affecting firm performance at DSE. Furthermore, it combines firm-level governance indicators with country governance indicator of political stability and absence of violence.

The impact of accruals quality and disclosure quality on stock returns is a topical issue in market-based accounting research. Most of the debate is centred on their incremental ability to predict future earnings. Recent studies suggest that higher information risk proxied by either lower accruals quality or lower disclosure quality results in higher stock returns. This paper examines the relationship between accruals quality and disclosure quality, and investigates whether they are complements or substitutes in explaining the time-series variation in portfolio returns. Applying portfolio groupings, we find a positive association between accruals quality and disclosure quality, suggesting that firms with higher disclosure quality engage less in earnings management and have higher accruals quality. Asset pricing tests show that an accruals quality factor and a disclosure quality factor explain the time-series variation in the excess returns of similar sets of portfolios. This suggests that they contain similar information and confirms the substitutive nature of accruals quality and disclosure quality factors.

This study aims at investigating the factors that affect the entrepreneurial intentions of university students in Syria. The impact of three groups of factors was investigated, demographic, personal, and external factors. The questionnaire survey method was applied. Data was collected from two major universities in Syria: Damascus University and Arab International University and two faculties: Business and Economics, and Informatics and Communication Engineering. We analyze 183 responses from the above-mentioned faculties to understand whether differences exist in entrepreneurial intentions between students from different universities and faculties. Also, we use ordinary least squares to uncover the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions for those students. The results show higher entrepreneurial intentions for Informatics and Communication Engineering and for male students. Moreover, self-efficacy, information and communication, institutional environment come to have positive and significant impacts on entrepreneurial intentions. We recommend that more polices should be directed towards developing female entrepreneurial intents. Also, entrepreneurship training courses should be offered to Informatics and Communication Engineering to enable them turn their intentions into projects. Furthermore, universities should consider establishing entrepreneurship centers, incubators and science parks that foster innovative ideas and support start-ups.

Pharmaceutical sector of Syrian Arab Republic before the war was characterized by bold and successful development since the late 1980s. With the beginning of war in the country back in March 2011, momentum has changed significantly. Traumatism, communicable diseases related to morbidity and mortality as well as wound infections became particularly hot public health concern. This relates not only to the direct victims of military conflict but also to the displaced civilians, refugees, and ordinary citizens alike. Evolving legislative framework in Syria since 1980s tolerated dispensing of antibiotics without appropriate prescription. Such practice led to spreading of antibiotic resistance among the local bacteria frequently causing both community-acquired and nosocomial infections. Laboratory findings of resistant bacteria strains among the Syrian refugees in some European countries serve as evidence of concern spreading far beyond Middle East. Practice of self-diagnosis and self-medication with antibiotics by patients themselves and restraint to pharmacist advice is widespread. A number of recommendations is presented to stakeholders to compact antibiotic resistance after the peace is established in the country. The successful implementation of such recommendations is the way to preserve shrinking golden reserve of highly potent antibiotics as it is the last defense line against resistant bacterial strains causing severe life—threatening infections.

No abstract