Purpose: Consistent with the board of directors and top executive management’s role in ensuring and promoting investments for economic development, this paper aims to examine Omani executive management’s role in helping goals achievement in firms. This paper examines the relationships among the study variables, which are top executive management characteristics and corporate performance in the context of Omani listed firms, with the help of two control variables.Design/methodology/approach: The study focused on a unique context, a developing nation, Oman and its exchange market for the past seven years (2011-2017). In addition, the data were collected from annual report according to board of directors and top executive management variables, and the financial data were obtained from DataStream. The study used the panel data approach to test the relationships characteristics of board of directors, top executive management and corporate performance.Findings: Based on the obtained results, showed positive and significant positive relationships between some characteristics of top executive management and corporate performance, and significant negative relationships between others and the same. Specifically, board size, non-executive directors, general experience and account experience were in the former category, while board meeting was in the latter category. Finally, size and professional certificate of top executive management did not have a significant relationship with corporate performance.Research limitations/implications: This study, like previous studies has some limitations such as sample, country, variables and years; therefore, at the end of this study, many limitations and suggestions for future research studies are provided. Moreover, the study findings can be used by the market to assist managers to enhance corporate weaknesses.Originality/value: The focus of the study was placed on the top executive management and corporate governance of Omani listed firms that has implications for practitioners particularly concerning the top executive management role. Added to this, the study conducted an investigation of the integration between board of directors and top executive management, with corporate governance among Omani listed firms. The study also provided information that has implications to academics when it comes to board of directors and top executive management strategies to encourage consideration of the relationship to develop best practices.

In recent years, discussions on green purchasing have increased; most studies were concentrated in developed countries, with limited studies conducted in developing countries. This study aims to systematically analyze studies that have discussed green purchasing. Using the Scopus database, 142 studies from 61 journals published during the period 1998 to 2021 were analyzed. Our analysis focused on three fundamental aspects: the determinants, the effect of green purchasing, and exploring the theoretical foundations and the most common theories that the studies relied on. The analysis results focused on researchers’ demographic and physiological determinants based on the theory of planned behavior. There has been a development in discussing the determinants related to products and marketing and social and environmental determinants in recent years. The analysis results of the studies that addressed green purchasing show that green purchasing contributes to sustainable development. This study contributes to decision-makers by identifying the mechanisms of persuasion that motivate consumers to buy green products and provides a clear picture of the contribution of green purchasing to improving company performance and thus achieving sustainability, which encourages stakeholders to devise policies, promotional, and marketing strategies through which they can attract consumers.

On a global scale, the Fintech sector has become increasingly important for keeping abreast of developments and progressions in the financial field. This study aimed to examine the impact of Fintech on the financial sector of Saudi Arabia and the role of Fintech in the relationship between the board of directors and corporate performance among Saudi financial firms listed on the stock market. Data were obtained from financial sector firms, covering banks and insurance firms from 2014 to 2020. The results revealed that board size, board independence, board meeting, board experience, and Fintech have a significant relationship with corporate performance. In relation to additional analyses, this study found that the board of directors’ score has a significant association with performance. Moreover, this study found that Fintech does not moderate the relationship between the board of directors’ score and corporate performance. This study sheds light on the effect of Fintech on the financial sector of Saudi Arabia, contributing new information to the literature. The study results are expected to have implications for several stakeholder groups. First, the study findings can be beneficial to academics, in terms of new knowledge and understanding of Fintech in the context of Saudi Arabia, a country that represents the Gulf region and the Arab World. The findings also have implications for policy-makers and practitioners in the Saudi and Middle-Eastern countries, Asia, and developing nations that have a similar culture, socio-economic institutions, or socio-economic environments.

Purpose: In recent years, mandatory rules and regulations were issued to stress the importance of increasing gender diversity in companies, assuming that gender diversity would enhance financial performance. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review recent research concerning board gender diversity and its impact on financial performance for the period of 2002 to 2022. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, 152 studies were analyzed, out of 91 high-impact journals. The analysis focuses on discussing the moderating, mediating and controlling variables and exploring the theories and theoretical foundations that are most prevalent in the literature. Findings: The findings indicated an incompatibility between the results of the studies on the impact of gender diversity on financial performance. In addition, results showed the majority of studies focused on discussing the controlling variables associated with the company compared to the variables related to employees or the surrounding environment. On the other hand, the results also showed widespread use of the theoretical basis with the development of new theories in the recent period in parallel with the increase in the literature. Originality/value: The results of this study help to reconcile the findings of the different and conflicting literature by presenting the perception that the efficacy of the positive impact of gender diversity on financial performance is related to several organizational and environmental factors that companies have to consider.

The purpose of this study is to review the field of internal audit (IA) in the Chinese context and provide insights into how the literature of IA has evolved by clarifying criticism of the research published until 2020. Following the structured literature review (SLR) technique, forty-seven (47) studies were identified from two databases. The results show that the IA literature did not contribute significantly to the knowledge of IA functions in the form specified by the Institute of Internal Auditors. The study also revealed that there is more to be explored so as to fully understand the IA aspects and their impact on Chinese institutions. Descriptive research was prevalent, depending on the review of the traditional literature and the historical analysis. On the other hand, the results show that the interpretative research that relied on the case study, questionnaire, and interviews were scarce. The private sector has been little studied compared to that of the public sector. This study highlighted the real IA’s practice and identified literature gaps related to the Chinese context. This study is the first comprehensive review that analyse IA research in China. It also contributes to the literature by providing a road map for future studies by interested researchers and academicians, including the Institute of Internal Auditors.