International ownership and firm performance in Arab economies

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Abstract

This paper aims at filling existing research by examining the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on firm performance using cross-sectional data from companies in the MENA region for the years 2009-2013. The results indicate that higher ownership concentration is associated with higher returns. Furthermore, firms with higher international ownership share tend to perform better than those with only local private and/or state ownership. The results suggest some prevalent features with respect to ownership and performance of firms in the MENA region. Due to the volatile social and business environment, these firms operate in, they may be particularly dependent on effective ownership structures and support which may be provided by international, institutional, and large shareholders.

Keywords: MENA, FDI, Firm Profitability, Ownership, Globalization

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization – S.L. and E.K.A.M.; Methodology – S.L., E.K.A.M., and M.A.K.B.; Formal Analysis – S.L., E.K.A.M., and M.A.K.B.; Resources – E.K.A.M. and M.A.K.B.; Validation – K.H.; Writing – Original Draft – S.L., E.K.A.M., and M.A.K.B.; Writing – Review and Editing – K.H. and M.A.K.B.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: M10, M41, M42, F20, L22

Received: 19.05.2020
Accepted: 07.08.2020
Published online: 10.08.2020

How to cite this paper: Lutz, S., Hegazy, K., Mohamed, E. K. A., & Basuony, M. A. K. (2020). International ownership and firm performance in Arab economies [Special issue]. Corporate Ownership & Control, 17(4), 308-318. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv17i4siart8