Ahmed A. El-Masry

The impact of corporate governance on the timeliness of corporate internet reporting by Egyptian listed companies

Purpose - This study seeks to examine the key factors that affect the timeliness of corporate internet reporting (CIR) by the Egyptian listed corporations on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use firm characteristics and corporate governance variables to investigate the influence on the timeliness of CIR. They also develop a disclosure index to measure the timeliness of CIR for the listed Egyptian corporations. Findings - The primary analysis finds a significant relationship between the timeliness of CIR and firm size, type of industry, liquidity, ownership structure, board composition and board size. The results indicate that firms typically in the service sector, that are large and have a high rate of liquidity, a high proportion of independent directors, a large number of board directors and a high free float disclose more timely information on their web sites. Furthermore, a significant association between the entire independent variables and some items of timeliness of CIR is found. Originality/value - This study is one of the first empirical studies to investigate the relationship between the corporate governance and the timeliness of CIR in an emerging market.

The impact of board independence and ownership structure on the timeliness of corporate internet reporting of Irish listed companies

Purpose - This study seeks to provide valuable new insight into the timeliness of corporate internet reporting (TCIR) by a sample of Irish-listed companies. Design/methodology/approach - The authors apply an updated version of Abdelsalam Findings - It is found that Irish-listed companies, on average, satisfy only 46 per cent of the timeliness criteria assessed by the timeliness index. After controlling for size, audit fees and firm performance, evidence that TCIR is positively associated with board of directors independence and chief executive officer (CEO) ownership is provided. Furthermore, it is found that large companies are faster in posting their annual reports to their web sites. The findings suggest that board composition and ownership structure influence a firms TCIR behaviour, presumably in response to the information asymmetry between management and investors and the resulting agency costs. Practical implications - The findings highlight the need for improvement in TCIR by Irish-listed companies in many areas, especially in regard to the regular updates of information provided on their web sites. Originality/value - This study represents one of the first comprehensive examinations of the important dimension of the TCIR in Irish-listed companies.

Derivatives use and risk management practices by UK nonfinancial companies

Purpose – In the last two decades, a number of studies have examined the risk management practices within nonfinancial companies. For instance, some studies report on the use of derivatives by nonfinancial firms. Yet, another group of researchers has investigated the determinants of corporate hedging policies. These and other studies of similar focus have made important contributions to the literature. This study sheds light on derivatives use and risk management practices in the UK market. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey, which focused on determining the reasons for using or not using derivatives for 401 UK nonfinancial companies. Furthermore, it investigates the extent to which derivatives are used, and how they are used. Findings - The results indicate that larger firms are more likely to use derivatives than medium and smaller firms, public companies are more likely to use derivatives than private firms, and derivatives usage is greatest among international firms. The results also show that, of firms not using derivatives, half of firms do not use these derivative instruments because their exposures are not significant and that the most important reasons they do not use derivatives are: concerns about disclosures of derivatives activity required under FASB rules, and costs of establishing and maintaining derivatives programmes exceed the expected benefits. The results show that foreign exchange risk is the risk most commonly managed with derivatives and interest rate risk is the next most commonly managed risk. The results also indicate that the most important reason for using hedging with derivatives is managing the volatility in cash flows. Research limitations/implications - As with other survey research, a major limitation is that responses might represent personal opinions. We cannot verify that the opinions coincide with actions. We suggest that further research could improve the understanding of firms’ derivatives use by including more detailed data, different time spans, and larger samples. Originality/value - To highlight the extent of derivatives usage and risk management practices in UK nonfinancial companies.

Perceived barriers to organizational creativity: A cross‐cultural study of British and Egyptian future marketing managers

Purpose – The overall purpose of this research is to further the understanding of how future marketing managers in Egypt and the UK perceive creativity barriers. The paper also examines the construct validity of the barriers to creativity scale in an Arab non‐Western context.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 125 respondents was used to achieve the research purpose. Respondents completed a 17‐item instrument designed to assess barriers to creativity in business organizations.Findings – Discriminant analysis results showed that Egyptians differ from British with respect to their attitudes towards organizational creativity barriers. t‐test procedure confirmed also that gender and age have significant effects on the attitudes towards creativity barriers.Originality/value – This study has provided some insights into the factors associated with organizational creativity barriers in Egypt and the UK. The more is known of how future managers perceive creativity barriers, the more quickly and efficiently c...

CITIZENS AS CONSUMERS: PROFILING E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES’ USERS IN EGYPT VIA DATA MINING TECHNIQUES

Abstract This study uses data mining techniques to examine the effect of various demographic, cognitive and psychographic factors on Egyptian citizens’ use of e-government services. Data mining uses a broad family of computationally intensive methods that include decision trees, neural networks, rule induction, machine learning and graphic visualization. Three artificial neural network models (multi-layer perceptron neural network [MLP], probabilistic neural network [PNN] and self-organizing maps neural network [SOM]) and three machine learning techniques (classification and regression trees [CART], multivariate adaptive regression splines [MARS], and support vector machines [SVM]) are compared to a standard statistical method (linear discriminant analysis [LDA]). The variable sets considered are sex, age, educational level, e-government services perceived usefulness, ease of use, compatibility, subjective norms, trust, civic mindedness, and attitudes. The study shows how it is possible to identify various dimensions of e-government services usage behavior by uncovering complex patterns in the dataset, and also shows the classification abilities of data mining techniques.

The exchange rate exposure of UK non‐financial companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the exchange rate exposure of UK non-financial companies from January 1981 to December 2001. Design/methodology/approach - The study employs different exchange rate measures and adopts an equally weighted exchange rate. The analyses are conducted at the firm level. All analyses are conducted by regressing the firms exchange rate exposure coefficients on its size, foreign activity variables and financial hedging proxies over the whole sample period. Findings - The findings show that a higher percentage of UK non-financial companies are exposed to exchange rate changes than those reported in previous studies. Generally, the results provide a stronger support for the suggested equally weighted rate as an economic variable, which affects firms’ stock returns. The results also show a high proportion of positive exposure coefficients among firms with significant exchange rate exposure, indicating a higher proportion of firms benefiting from an appreciation of the pound. Finally, the results also indicate evidence that firms’ foreign operations and hedging variables affect their sensitivity to exchange rate exposure. Practical implications - This study provides important implications for public policymakers who wish to understand links between policies that affect exchange rates and relative wealth effects. Originality/value - The empirical results of this study should help investors to examine how common stock returns react to exchange rate fluctuations when making financial decisions, and prove useful for financial managers when measuring exposure to foreign exchange rate changes.

Exchange rate exposure: do size and foreign operations matter?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of firm size and foreign operations on the exchange rate exposure of UK non-financial companies from January 1981 to December 2001. Design/methodology/approach - The impact of the unexpected changes in exchange rates on firms’ stock returns is examined. In addition, the movements in bilateral, equally weighted (EQW) and trade-weighted and exchange rate indices are considered. The sample is classified according to firm size and the extent of firms’ foreign operations. In addition, structural changes on the relationship between exchange rate changes and individual firms’ stock returns are examined over three sub-periods: before joining the exchange rate mechanism (pre-ERM), during joining the ERM (in-ERM), and after departure from the ERM (post-ERM). Findings - The findings indicate that a higher percentage of UK firms are exposed to contemporaneous exchange rate changes than those reported in previous studies. UK firms’ stock returns are more affected by changes in the EQW, and US

The Exposure of Shipping Firms' Stock Returns to Financial Risks and Oil Prices: A Global Perspective

European currency unit exchange rate, and respond less significantly to the basket of 20 countries’ currencies relative to the UK pound exchange rate. It is found that exchange rate exposure has a more significant impact on stock returns of the large firms compared with the small and medium-sized companies. The evidence is consistent across all specifications using different exchange rate. The results provide evidence that the proportion of significant foreign exchange rate exposure is higher for firms which generate a higher percentage of revenues from abroad. The sensitivities of firms’ stock returns to exchange rate fluctuations are most evident in the pre-ERM and post-ERM periods. Practical implications - This study provides important implications for public policymakers, financial managers and investors on how common stock returns of various sectors react to exchange rate fluctuations. Originality/value - The empirical evidence supports the view that UK firms’ stock returns are affected by foreign exchange rate exposure.

Cultural and religiosity drivers and satisfaction outcomes of consumer perceived deception in online shopping

Shipping is an industry that is highly geared towards international trade and therefore, would seem to be highly susceptible to fluctuations in macroeconomic factors. This article investigates the impact of exchange rates, interest rates and oil prices on stock returns of 143 shipping companies from 16 countries. We also investigate the factors which determine the extent to which firm are sensitive to macroeconomic variables. Our results indicate that the low incidence of significant exposure to exchange rate and interest rates suggests that most shipping firms have utilised reasonably successful hedging strategies to reduce the impact of these macroeconomic risks. Finally, we find that, for the minority of shipping firms significantly affected by oil price increases, the effects have usually been beneficial.

Development and validation of an instrument to measure online retailing ethics: Consumers’ perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that focuses on the cultural and religiosity drivers and satisfaction outcomes of consumer perceptions about online retailers’ deceptive practices. It specifically investigates: the role of cultural orientation and religiosity in forming consumer ethical ideology; the link between the consumer’s ethical ideology and his/her perceptions regarding the deceptive practices of online retailers; and the effect of perceived deception on consumer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a quantitative survey conducted among 468 Egyptian consumers aged 18 and above. These were measured on a five-point Likert scale. To test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs of the model, structural equation modelling was employed. Findings – The study confirmed that power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and religiosity are important in forming idealistic attitudes, while both individualism and masculinity lead to an egoist...