Empirical Essays on Corporate Governance and Corporate Decisions in Emerging Economies - The Case of Oman

Sep 18, 2026

Empirical Essays on Corporate Governance and Corporate Decisions in Emerging Economies - The Case of Oman examines corporate governance (CG) reforms in emerging economies with a focused analysis of Oman. The thesis comprises three related empirical essays assessing whether Omani CG reforms effectively improve corporate policy decisions through measurable CG compliance, disclosure, and governance mechanisms. Findings show positive responses to the 2002 Omani CG Code’s best practice recommendations, significant roles for ownership and board characteristics, and CG-driven effects on capital structure decisions and seasoned equity offerings, as well as on earnings management outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages426

Reading Time17 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Essay 1: Voluntary CG compliance and disclosure

Essay 2: CG measures, agency problems, and capital structure/SEOs

Essay 3: CG index, ownership/board characteristics, and earnings management

n Elghuweel, Mohamed Isa (2015) Empirical essays on corporate governance and corporate decisions in emerging economies: the case of Oman. PhD thesis. [http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6449/](http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6449/) Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Empirical Essays on Corporate Governance and Corporate Decisions in Emerging Economies: The Case of Oman Mohamed Isa Elghuweel BSc Accounting (University of Al Gabal Al Gharbi, Libya) and MA Accounting and Finance (Sheffield Halam University, UK) Submitted to the Department of Accounting and Finance, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy February 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis consists of three essays analysing corporate governance (CG) reforms in emerging economies, with a particular focus on Oman. The three essays focus on three closely related CG topics that quantitatively examine the extent to which Omani CG reforms have been effective in enhancing three main corporate policy decisions. In the first essay, the thesis investigates the level and determinants of voluntary CG compliance and disclosure. The central objective of this essay is to empirically examine two main research questions: First, what is the level of voluntary compliance with, and disclosure of, CG rules contained in the 2002 Omani CG Code for listed firms?; Secondly, what factors determine the level of voluntary compliance with, and disclosure of, CG recommendations contained in the 2002 Omani CG Code for listed firms? Exploring these questions has the capacity of improving current understanding of firms’ willingness to voluntarily engage in and disclose more transparent information about their CG practices. The findings indicate that Omani firms have responded positively to the 2002 CG Code’s best practice recommendations. Relying on insights from agency, legitimacy, resource dependence and signalling/stakeholder theories, the findings also suggest that ownership structure and board characteristics have significant impact on firm-level voluntary CG disclosure. Specifically, the findings suggest that government ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership, board size, the presence of a CG committee, and board diversity on the basis of nationality are positively related to the level of CG compliance and disclosure, whereas block ownership and board diversity on the basis of gender are negatively associated with the level ofCG compliance and disclosure. The second essay investigates how effective the CG measures contained in the 2002 Omani voluntary CG Code and other CG mechanisms proposed by other laws, such as the Companies Law, mitigate agency problems associated with capital structure (CS) decisions. The main purpose of this essay is to empirically examine the extent to which firm-level CG quality, ownership structure and board/audit characteristics influence capital structure, as well as the corporate decision (choice) to issue equity or debt in seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) . This examination has the ability to expand current understanding of Omani firms’ capital structure decisions and the role that CG mechanisms can play with respect to this corporate decision. Informed by insights from tax-driven (e.g., ModiglianiMiller capital structure irrelevance and trade-off) and non-tax-driven (e.g., agency, market timing, pecking order, and sig

FAQs

What is the main focus of the thesis?

The thesis analyzes corporate governance reforms in emerging economies, with a specific focus on Oman, and evaluates how CG affects major corporate policy decisions.

What does the first essay study?

It studies the level and determinants of voluntary CG compliance and disclosure under the 2002 Omani CG Code for listed firms, including how ownership structure and board characteristics relate to disclosure and compliance.

How do CG measures relate to capital structure decisions and seasoned equity offerings?

The second essay finds that CG quality and governance characteristics are significant determinants of capital structure decisions and SEOs, with different ownership and board/audit factors associated with financing choices.

Sep 18, 2026

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