The impact of board diversity on aggressive tax planning in GCC countries: Does the digital transformation matter?

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Abstract

In light of the growing concern of governments and society about aggressive tax behavior, which poses ethical questions and conflicts with their interests, this study is designed to investigate the relationship between board diversity and aggressive tax planning in commercial banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It also examined the moderating effect of digital transformation on the former relationship. The study adopted 814 observations from GCC countries’ banks from 2010 to 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM) were used to test the hypotheses. Normative (OLS) and dynamic (System-GMM) estimates indicate a consistent pattern whereby board diversity, specifically multiple memberships, gender diversity, and financial expertise, is linked to a significant decrease in the intensity of aggressive tax planning in GCC banks. These findings confirm that combining effective governance with digital transformation can constitute a dual strategy to enhance tax compliance, especially in emerging market environments experiencing rapid developments in digital infrastructure, such as the GCC countries.

Keywords: Board Diversity, Aggressive Tax Planning, Digital Transformation, GCC Countries

Authors’ individual contributions: Conceptualization — A.M.S.; Methodology — A.M.S. and A.J.K.; Software — M.A.S. and A.M.S.; Validation — M.A.S. and A.M.S.; Formal Analysis — M.A.S. and A.M.S.; Data Curation — M.A.S. and A.M.S.; Investigation — A.J.K; Resources— A.F.S.; Writing — Original Draft — M.A.S. and A.M.K.; Writing — Review & Editing — M.A.S. and A.M.K.; Supervision — A.M.S.; Project Administration — A.M.S. and A.J.K.; Funding Acquisition — M.A.S. and A.M.S.

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

JEL Classification: G3, H26, M40, M41

Received: 26.09.2025
Revised: 23.01.2026; 03.03.2026
Accepted: 10.03.2026
Published online: 12.03.2026

How to cite this paper: Suwaid, M. A., Khalaf, A. M., Sadaa, A. M., Khalaf, A. J., & Saleh, A. F. (2026). The impact of board diversity on aggressive tax planning in GCC countries: Does the digital transformation matter? Corporate Board: Role, Duties and Composition, 22(1), 87–98. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbv22i1art7