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PurposeThis study sheds light on the relation between intellectual capital and firm performance. The study argues that traditional performance measurement based on accounting is still able to explore the relation between intellectual capital and performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted at 198 firms from two Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kingdom of Bahrain for the period 2014–2016. To measure intellectual capital, the value added intellectual coefficient model was adopted along with two measures of performance: accounting-based performance which is return on assets and market-based performance which is Tobin’s Q, in addition to the Random-Effects Regression.FindingsStudy findings came up with evidences that support the relationship between intellectual capital and accounting-based performance, but negates any relation between intellectual capital and market-based performance. The findings also revealed different results, between Saudi Arabia’s and those of Bahrain.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the debate on the validity of relating intellectual capital to the traditional accounting-based performance.

Islamic finance is gaining greater attention in the finance industry, and this paper analyses how Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) are responding to the welfare needs of society. Using interview data with managers and content analysis of the disclosures, this study attempts to understand management perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in IFIs. A thorough understanding of CSR by managers, as evident in the interviews, has not been translated fully into practice. The partial use of IFIs' potential role in social welfare would add further challenges in the era of financialisation.

Purpose Consumers frequently use electronic payments (e-payment) as their first step into formal financial services. The advancement of information and communication technology, on the other hand, has resulted in several achievements for human civilization, altering people’s lives, behaviors and societal measures. This study’s main aim is to investigate issues and identify the factors that are likely to influence customers’ acceptance of implementing e-payment in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was adopted to test the influence of e-payment data security, trust, ease of use, usefulness and accessibility on customers’ acceptance of the service. A questionnaire survey was electronically administered to a purposive sample, and 531 responses were returned, achieving the required sample size for the study. Descriptive statistics analysis was used to ascertain data validity and consistency, and regression analysis was used to test the model’s hypotheses. Findings The findings of this study demonstrated a high influence of the mentioned factors on the e-payment acceptance of the customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The main recommendations are to increase the adoption of e-payment; focus highly on the security factor in e-payment adoption; create a trustworthy e-payment service; strive to make the e-payment services more user-friendly; increase the longevity of the e-payment services by focusing on usefulness; and make e-payment services more accessible. Originality/value This study’s potential contribution is to identify the factors that influence e-payment acceptance by customers in Bahrain and draw attention to issues to be considered in adopting new e-payment services.

Purpose This paper aims to assess the measurement of the Corporate Governance (CG) quality of Islamic Banks (IBs) and its effect on financial performance. Design/methodology/approach In the applied part of this study, a sample of 44 IBs operating in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were investigated according to information provided by the national central bank websites of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. To measure the governance quality, CG-index was constructed based on three sub-indices which are the Board of Directors (BOD), the Audit Committees (AC) and the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) indices. Findings Findings revealed that CG quality of IBs in GCC countries adhere to 74 per cent of the attributes addressed in the CG-index. The results also showed that IBs in GCC countries valued the effectiveness of SSB much more than the conventional CG mechanisms. Using multiple regression models, findings suggested no statistically significant relation between CG quality and financial performance which would imply that good CG had an insignificant association with high performance in GCC IBs. Originality/value The current paper may serve to assist IBs stakeholders to better understand the CG practices of IBs. In addition, the observed insignificant relation between the quality of CG practices and performance should sensitize the IBs regulators in the GCC countries to the necessity of improving the existing CG requirements.

With the steady growth in the data set on the COVID-19 pandemic, empirical works that employ novel and yet appropriate statistical techniques to corroborate previous findings of the pandemic and its consequences on financial markets are necessary. This paper examined the impact of COVID-19 information flow on the Islamic and conventional equities within the short-, mid-, and long-term horizons to assess possible diversification prospects in the era of the pandemic. To the studied equities markets, a novel technique based on a denoised frequency-domain entropy paradigm was applied. The operability of entrenched market dynamics in the long-term horizon of the COVID-19 pandemic period is reinforced by the results. The findings divulge diversification opportunities between Islamic and conventional equities in the short- and mid-term periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. The risks on equities from Japan or Bahrain could be diversified by equities from Jordan in the short-term, while in the intermediate-term stocks from Japan could diversify with the UAE and USA equities. The results imply that it is imperative for investors and fund managers to employ portfolio management techniques that show how to use benefits together with risk prevention and management across distinct time scales.

Purpose This study aims to examine, from a legitimacy perspective, the potential influence of board and audit committee (AC) characteristics on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure by listed firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach Throughout a 10-year period (2013–2022), 160 firm-year observations from listed firms in Bahrain are used. Four hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) models are developed to examine the effects of five independent variables and three control variables. Findings HMR model results show that CSR reporting is determined by only two independent variables: board independence and AC independence. Also, the results of this study partially support the argument that legitimacy theory is a key factor in explaining CSR. Research limitations/implications Limitations include a small sample of 160 firm-year observations over a 10-year period (2013–2022) using a small CSR index of 16 items and not considering other board and AC characteristics. Practical implications This study assists policymakers in achieving strategic goals and guiding future environmental, social and governance reporting guidelines. Social implications This study reveals that the CSR practices of Bahraini listed firms are not determined by factors like board size, AC size and AC number of meetings. It offers insights for accounting scholars on the importance of including board and AC features in CSR research. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is among the first to investigate this topic in Bahrain and to use board and AC characteristics as independent variables.

Purpose>This paper aims to analyse whether the practices of Islamic banks in Bahrain are in line with value-based Islamic banking (VBIB) and reporting disclosure in the annual reports towards achieving their fundamental objectives of human-centred economic development and social justice.Design/methodology/approach>Based on Islamic finance, Islamic economic principles and perception of Maqasid al-Shari’ah, this paper examines and assesses the current practices of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in Bahrain through content analysis of financial and annual reports of Islamic banks in Bahrain and interviews of Islamic banking experts.Findings>The findings reveal that value-based banking (VBB) has not been translated fully into practice by the Islamic banks in Bahrain.Research limitations/implications>The data analysis was restricted to Islamic banks in Bahrain.Practical implications>This paper identifies the need for reporting standard development to improve the VBB practice in Bahrain in the future. Looking at the objectives of the IFIs, this paper introduces the concept of VBB in Bahrain, which includes ethical banking, responsible banking and social responsibility. The study adds value not only to the current Islamic finance literature but also helps many stakeholders, including prospective academics, who may conduct comparative studies in different jurisdictions throughout the world.Originality/value>The specific contribution of this paper is the identification of the VBB practices and related disclosure in the Islamic banking industry in Bahrain. The study is useful to harmonise and standardise the practices of VBIB by the contemporary Islamic banks in Bahrain.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the institutional changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Bahraini insurance sector. This study also examines how those changes affected the risk management practices. Design/methodology/approach This study deploys a qualitative methodology with a case study design. The data are collected from multiple sources such as semi-structured interviews, documents and website analyses. Findings The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an institutional change in the Bahraini insurance sector. Pre-COVID-19, the professional logic was the dominant institutional logic. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic and its related uncertainties made the economic logic the most dominant logic. Accordingly, risk officers are currently responding to the crisis by being more risk-averse than risk managers. This study presents an inclusive institutional understanding of risk management as informed by the professional logic and socio-political and economic logics. Practical implications This study has implications for regulators and insurance customers by giving a snapshot of how insurers’ risk officers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can help envisage their plans and actions. Originality/value This study contributes to risk management and institutional logics literature by illustrating how changes in risk management practices in emerging markets are an operational manifestation of sustaining profits and maintaining the positions of risk officers. This extends the risk management literature by bringing early evidence from an emerging market regarding risk officers’ behaviours and control plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study extends the institutional logics literature by exploring the micro-level impacts of logics in an emerging insurance market.

This paper examines the impact of adopting IFRS on economic growth and further development in the Arab Gulf countries, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It, therefore, answers the research question of how IFRS adoption affects financial transparency, regulatory frameworks, and economic stability in general in oil-dependent economies. Using data from 2010 to 2020, the research uses regression models to test the influence of IFRS adoption on several key economic indicators. The results, thus, indicate that the adoption of IFRS considerably increases the level of transparency and, hence, enables the inflow of FDI as well, therefore ensuring economic growth. This result also sheds light on the critical roles that regulatory solid frameworks and political stability play in amplifying the benefits of IFRS adoption. However, family-based and state-owned enterprises' resistance to increased demands for transparency is an issue that would provide a challenge. Implications for policy will be such that comprehensive reforms will be required with the countries' regulatory frameworks, including more transparency and fitting the IFRS guidelines into local business practice and the cultural context. Future studies should also underscore sector-wise impact and go deeper into how cultural and institutional factors impact the effectiveness of implementing IFRS in the Arab Gulf region.