Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations

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    Essays on Audit Committee Chair Characteristics, Cybersecurity Risk Disclosure, and ESG Disclosure Scores
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alanazi, Musharraf; Thiruvadi, Sheela
    In recent years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have shifted from peripheral concerns to central pillars of corporate governance and reporting. Growing attention to climate risks, sustainability practices, and corporate responsibility has led regulators, investors, and civil society to demand high-quality and comparable ESG information. Audit committees are emerging as key players in this process because their oversight of financial reporting, risk management, and internal controls increasingly intersects with ESG responsibilities. This role has been reinforced by evolving regulatory frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the SEC's climate and cybersecurity disclosure rules. However, despite the rising importance of disclosure, limited evidence exists on how the personal and professional traits of audit committee chairs influence transparency in ESG and cybersecurity reporting. The first essay examines the relationship between audit committee chair characteristics, namely, gender, age, CPA qualification, and prior auditor experience, and ESG disclosure scores, utilizing panel data from S&P 500 firms between 2015 and 2023. Results from ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions show that female chairs are strongly associated with higher ESG disclosure scores, particularly in environmental and social dimensions, while chair age is negatively related to ESG outcomes. CPA credentials have no consistent effect, and prior auditor experience is modestly associated with the level of governance disclosure. Interaction results reveal that younger female chairs drive the strongest ESG disclosure score and that combining gender diversity with prior audit experience further enhances transparency. The second essay examines cybersecurity risk disclosure, employing logistic regression on the same dataset. Findings indicate that demographic traits such as gender, age, and CPA credentials are not significant predictors, while prior auditor experience improves disclosure quality, highlighting the value of technical expertise in addressing IT risks. Firm-level factors also matter: profitability (ROA) is negatively associated with disclosure, while larger firms are more likely to report, reflecting heightened regulatory and investor pressures. This study makes significant contributions to the accounting, auditing, and sustainability literature in several ways. First, it fills an important gap, as no prior research has jointly examined how audit committee chair characteristics influence both ESG disclosure score and cybersecurity risk disclosure. Second, the findings provide new evidence that demographic and professional traits, such as gender, age, and prior audit experience, affect disclosure outcomes, with notable effects on ESG transparency. Third, the study applies Upper Echelons Theory to explain how leadership diversity and experience shape ESG reporting, while highlighting the role of evolving regulatory frameworks in driving cybersecurity disclosure. Together, these insights offer practical implications for boards, regulators, policymakers, and investors seeking to strengthen corporate transparency and accountability. Keywords: Corporate Governance; Audit Committee Chair; ESG disclosure score; Cybersecurity Risk Disclosure; Gender Diversity; CPA Qualification; Prior Auditor Experience
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    Corporate Governance and the Remuneration Committee: Perception and Practice in Saudi Arabian Listed Companies
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alshlhoub, Mshare Abdulaziz; Vicky, Lambert; Bruce, Burton
    This study explores the practices of remuneration committees in Saudi Arabian listed companies. It aims to examine how these practices are shaped by formal governance reforms and informal institutional factors within the Saudi context. Although remuneration committees have become a key part of corporate governance globally, there is limited research on how they operate in developing countries, especially in Saudi Arabia. This study addresses this gap by examining how institutional pressures influence the formation and practices of remuneration committees in Saudi listed companies, with particular attention to the impact of recent corporate governance reforms and how these practices contribute to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The research adopts a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. A questionnaire survey was first distributed to 142 participants from five key stakeholder groups: remuneration committee members, board members, company executives, regulators, and academic experts. This was followed by 27 semi-structured interviews to gain deeper insight into remuneration committee practices and challenges. The study is guided by new institutional theory, using the three types of institutional isomorphism -coercive, mimetic, and normative- as a framework. The findings show that coercive pressures, such as those from the Capital Market Authority, play the most dominant role in shaping remuneration committee practices. Mimetic pressures, such as copying policies from other companies, appear in response to uncertainty. Normative pressures, such as social ties and local customs, also affect committee independence and member selection. While some improvements were observed, several challenges remain, including limited transparency, unclear links between pay and performance, and a need for more independent and qualified committee members. Informal factors such as concentrated ownership and personal relationships also continue to influence how remuneration committees function. The study highlights the importance of understanding the local institutional environment when applying corporate governance reforms. Although some changes have been introduced, the findings suggest that existing corporate governance regulations alone are not enough to ensure effective remuneration committee practices. More targeted reforms and stronger enforcement of these regulations are required to improve transparency, enhance remuneration committee effectiveness, and support the broader aims of Vision 2030.
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    Corporate Governance and the Remuneration Committee: Perception and Practice in Saudi Arabian Listed Companies
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alshlhoub, Mshare Abdulaziz; Vicky, Lambert; Bruce, Burton
    This study explores the practices of remuneration committees in Saudi Arabian listed companies. It aims to examine how these practices are shaped by formal governance reforms and informal institutional factors within the Saudi context. Although remuneration committees have become a key part of corporate governance globally, there is limited research on how they operate in developing countries, especially in Saudi Arabia. This study addresses this gap by examining how institutional pressures influence the formation and practices of remuneration committees in Saudi listed companies, with particular attention to the impact of recent corporate governance reforms and how these practices contribute to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The research adopts a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. A questionnaire survey was first distributed to 142 participants from five key stakeholder groups: remuneration committee members, board members, company executives, regulators, and academic experts. This was followed by 27 semi-structured interviews to gain deeper insight into remuneration committee practices and challenges. The study is guided by new institutional theory, using the three types of institutional isomorphism -coercive, mimetic, and normative- as a framework. The findings show that coercive pressures, such as those from the Capital Market Authority, play the most dominant role in shaping remuneration committee practices. Mimetic pressures, such as copying policies from other companies, appear in response to uncertainty. Normative pressures, such as social ties and local customs, also affect committee independence and member selection. While some improvements were observed, several challenges remain, including limited transparency, unclear links between pay and performance, and a need for more independent and qualified committee members. Informal factors such as concentrated ownership and personal relationships also continue to influence how remuneration committees function. The study highlights the importance of understanding the local institutional environment when applying corporate governance reforms. Although some changes have been introduced, the findings suggest that existing corporate governance regulations alone are not enough to ensure effective remuneration committee practices. More targeted reforms and stronger enforcement of these regulations are required to improve transparency, enhance remuneration committee effectiveness, and support the broader aims of Vision 2030.
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    Three Essays on Share Repurchases, Trade Credit and Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Brand Capital in the US.
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Aljabr, Jabr Ahmad J; Taylor, Grantley; Eulaiwi, Baban
    This thesis is composed of three essays that investigate how brand capital has influenced share repurchases, trade credit and carbon emissions in US listed firms. Firms in the US have recently invested a substantial amount in advertising expenses to develop sustainable and robust brand capital. These three essays provide empirical insights into how brand capital influences corporate strategies and outcomes across operational, financial and environmental sustainability aspects. Taken together, these essays contribute to the ongoing discussion about the implications of the role of brand capital, highlighting how brand capital enhances shareholder value, strengthens stakeholder relationships and promotes environmental responsibility. This thesis provides valuable implications for corporate managers, policymakers and scholars interested in the intersection of investment planning, financing decision making and environmental sustainability strategy development. Chapter 1 introduces this thesis by providing the motivation, presenting the findings, explaining the contribution behind the research and outlining an overview of the thesis’s structure. Chapter 2 is entitled “Brand Capital and Share Repurchases”. This chapter examines the association between brand capital and share repurchases based on a large sample of publicly listed non-financial US firms over the period 1994–2023. The study found that firms exhibiting higher levels of brand capital show a statistically significant and positive relationship with the extent of share repurchases activities. The cross-sectional analyses indicate that the influence of brand capital on share repurchases is more pronounced for firms characterised by strong corporate governance and a good financial position. The results remain consistent with the base model when employing alternative measures of brand capital or share repurchases and by using an alternative depreciation rate to calculate brand capital. Endogeneity and self-selection tests indicate the results are robust. Overall, the study found that more intense brand capital plays a central role in the share repurchasing decisions of firms. This finding has important implications for investors, management, analysts and regulators. Chapter 3 is entitled “Brand Capital and Trade Credit”. This study examines the relationship between brand capital and the use of trade credit among US listed firms. Based on 37,788 firm-year observations spanning from 1994 to 2023, it found that brand capital firms relied more on trade credit provided by suppliers as a source of short-term financing. This finding is more evident among firms exhibiting greater financial constraints, with elevated corporate risk-taking. These findings remain consistent after applying alternative measures of trade credit, brand capital specifications, depreciation rates to estimate brand capital and an alternative regression model. The findings are not driven by omitted variable bias or endogeneity concerns. Overall, the findings underscore the pivotal role that brand capital plays in shaping firms’ short-term financing decisions as a reliable signal of trustworthiness, and provide valuable insights for managers, suppliers and financial stakeholders. Chapter 4 is entitled “Brand Capital and Carbon Emissions”. This study investigates the association between brand capital and carbon emissions of US publicly listed firms from 2003 to 2023. It provides robust evidence that brand capital intensity significantly and negatively affects carbon emissions. The cross-sectional analyses illustrate that this significant and negative association is more pronounced for subsamples with weak corporate governance, greater information asymmetry and higher agency costs. These results remain robust across several additional tests, including those that use alternative specifications of brand capital, varying depreciation rates applied in the measurement of brand capital, different measures of carbon emissions and applying a lagged regression approach. Overall, the findings demonstrate that intensive brand capital has a significant bearing on carbon emissions. These findings may be valuable for environmental policymakers, management, analysts, shareholders and other stakeholders who require action and reporting about climate change and the achievement of greenhouse gas emissions targets. Chapter 5 summarises the findings and suggests potential directions for future research.
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    Governance and Legal Challenges of Remuneration Committees in Saudi-listed Companies: A Comparative Analysis With UK Law
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Almansour, Abdulrahman; Riley, Christopher
    This research investigates the governance and legal challenges facing remuneration committees in Saudi-listed companies and explores how lessons from the UK can inform reforms. The study adopts a comparative legal approach, combining doctrinal analysis of Saudi laws, such as the Companies Law 2022 and the Corporate Governance Regulations, with an examination of UK frameworks, including the Companies Act 2006 and the UK Corporate Governance Code. Findings reveal that Saudi remuneration committees face limitations in independence, transparency, and linking pay to long-term performance, especially in family-owned firms. In contrast, the UK model demonstrates stronger shareholder engagement, disclosure practices, and committee independence, albeit with the challenges of regulatory burden. The study concludes by recommending phased reforms for Saudi Arabia, including the introduction binding and advisory shareholder votes, enhanced disclosure standards, and the empowering committees to appoint independent consultants. These reforms would strengthen governance, align executive pay with sustainable performance, and build investor confidence.
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    How can Saudi Arabia address conflicts of interest arising from controlling shareholders to strengthen board independence, and what lessons can be drawn from the UK corporate governance model to support this reform?’
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Attie, Sarah; Cabrelli, David
    Abstract This dissertation examines how Saudi Arabia can address conflicts of interest arising from controlling shareholders in order to strengthen board independence, drawing targeted lessons from the United Kingdom’s corporate governance framework. Concentrated ownership in Saudi Arabia creates horizontal agency conflicts that enable controlling shareholders to influence board composition, related party transactions, and strategic decision making. Although the Companies Law 2022 and the Corporate Governance Regulations introduce formally robust protections, these measures often result in cosmetic compliance rather than substantive governance due to structural imbalances, information asymmetries, and limited enforcement capacity. To analyse these challenges, the study adopts a qualitative comparative method grounded in agency theory, institutional analysis, and functional legal comparison. It evaluates Saudi Arabia’s ownership structures, board dynamics, and regulatory safeguards, and contrasts them with the UK’s integrated system of statutory duties, market based oversight, and historically strong minority protections. The analysis demonstrates that while direct transplantation of UK rules would be ineffective without institutional compatibility, selected mechanisms such as independent shareholder approval for related party transactions, enhanced stewardship expectations, and stronger minority enforcement tools offer valuable guidance. The dissertation proposes a tailored framework for Saudi Arabia focused on improving related party transaction oversight, strengthening institutional investor stewardship, and developing independent enforcement mechanisms capable of constraining dominant shareholder influence. The study concludes that meaningful reform depends not on formal convergence with international standards but on designing governance tools that address the structural realities of concentrated ownership in the Saudi context.
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    Navigating Directors’ Duties and Creditor Protection in the Twilight Zone: A Comparative Study of the Insolvency Frameworks of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Jamal, Yousif; Duncan
    This article examines the legal responses to corporate distress in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, focusing on directors’ duties and creditor protection within the twilight zone. The guiding research question explores how these jurisdictions regulate directors’ conduct, allocate managerial discretion, and enforce creditor-oriented standards. The study implements a doctrinal and comparative methodology, evaluating statutory legislation and judicial precedents. In the United Kingdom, insolvency law has evolved through the Insolvency Act 1986, the Companies Act 2006, and key judicial precedents. Findings reveal that the United Kingdom’s judicially driven framework emphasises directors’ fiduciary duties through case law, with West Mercia and Sequana marking key developments in the redirection of obligations. Accordingly, directors retain business discretion throughout the twilight zone and are required to consider creditor interests only as insolvency becomes foreseeable. Rescue mechanisms such as administration, company voluntary arrangement, schemes of arrangement, and restructuring plan reflect a comprehensive approach in hybridising board control under court supervision. Enforcement mechanisms are primarily compensatory and deterrent, with wrongful trading and clawback provisions addressing misconduct and facilitating creditor confidence, though evidentiary burdens and judicial reluctance limit enforcement. Saudi Arabia’s framework reflects a codified reform driven regime through the Saudi Bankruptcy Law 2018 and the Saudi Companies Law 2022. The policy orientation in Saudi encourages early rescue and proactive action through statutory thresholds and rescue mechanisms. Directors facing significant financial losses within the twilight zone trigger statutory thresholds that limit discretion and require proactive action. Primary rescue tools include the Protective Settlement Procedure and the Financial Restructuring Procedure, both of which facilitate rescue under judicial oversight while embedding strict compliance and cooperation. Enforcement imposes civil or criminal liability for misconduct and may bar entry to rescue altogether. This illustrates a legal regime that integrates enforcement into procedural prerequisites rather than relying on post-insolvency sanctions. The study concludes that the United Kingdom offers flexibility but risks legal delays, while Saudi Arabia offers certainty that may curtail entrepreneurial discretion.
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    Managing Family Businesses Through an Ideal Family Charter
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alismail, Yousef; Banerjee, Nigel
    Family businesses are an important component of the Saudi economy, and they significantly contribute to GDP, employment, and long-term social stability. However, these businesses face serious challenges associated with governance, such as issues related to succession planning, employment policy, and dividend distribution policy, especially during generational transitions. This dissertation uses a doctrinal and comparative legal research methodology, as well as case studies, to examine how an ideal family charter can serve as a governance tool to address those issues and help to maintain business continuity. The paper analyzes relevant regulatory frameworks such as the Saudi Ministry of Commerce's Guiding Charter for Saudi Family Companies (2022) and the Companies Law, international best practices, and case studies of Almarai and Savola Group. The paper demonstrates that establishing an effective family charter in a Saudi family business can turn possible conflicts into stability opportunities. Key elements discussed include succession planning, segregation of ownership and control, internal governance rules, gender-inclusive employment policies, merit-based hiring, and structured dividend frameworks. The analysis emphasizes that while the Saudi Guide Charter provides an important foundation, it lacks enforceability and complete alignment with global governance standards. The paper argues that an effective family charter must be binding, adjusted to family culture and industry, and forward-looking, and it must also integrate long-term strategic goals that align with Saudi Vision 2030. Ultimately, a well-structured family charter can ensure transparency, strengthen family cohesion, and promote sustainable growth across generations.
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    The impact of SWF ownership on firm performance in pre- and post-COVID-19
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alqumaizi, Ashwaq; Antonios, Kallias
    This study investigates the impact of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) ownership on firm performance during stable periods and the COVID-19 crisis. Employing a quantitative methodology, a global sample of 1,360 non-financial firms over the period 2018 to 2022 is analysed using difference-in-differences and high-dimensional fixed effects regressions. Active SWFs, such as New Zealand’s Super Fund, are compared with passive SWFs, like Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global. We find that that SWF ownership generally stabilises firms but active ownership significantly improves profitability and market valuation, whereas passive ownership provides limited benefits. These effects hold across both periods of stability and crisis. The findings support stewardship theory for active SWFs and align with agency theory for passive SWFs. The study underscores that active engagement is key to enhancing long-term firm resilience and value.
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    Corporate Taxation, Income Shifting, and Behavioural Outcomes: Implications for Financial Decision-Making and Reporting
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2025-07-25) Almohaimeed, Ahmed Abdullah A; Grantley, Taylor; Lien, Duong
    This thesis consists of three essays that examine the effects of the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on corporate behavior and outcomes, focusing on income shifting, investment decisions, and accounting reporting design. The TCJA, one of the largest tax reforms in U.S. history, fundamentally altered the U.S. tax system which transitioned from a worldwide to a territorial system. These essays provide empirical evidence as to how this landmark reform influenced corporate financial strategies, tax practices, and reporting behavior. Together, these essays contribute to the ongoing discussion on the effectiveness and impacts of the TCJA, shedding light on how tax reform influences corporate debt strategies, investment behavior and tax compliance. This thesis offers valuable insights for policymakers and academics interested in the intersection of tax policy, corporate governance, and financial decision-making. Chapter 1 documents the purpose and objectives of this research and provides an overview of each of the main sections of the thesis. Chapter 2 entitled “The impact of the Tax Cut Jobs Act and income shifting on the cost of bank loans”, investigates whether changes in income shifting incentives following the TCJA are associated with a shift in the cost of bank loans for U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs). The study finds that the TCJA reduced bank loan costs and altered the relationship between income shifting incentives and loan pricing, particularly in environments characterized by weak information transparency, lower IRS audit probability, stronger corporate governance, higher R&D investments, and greater liquidity. Chapter 3 entitled “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation and corporate behavioral outcomes”, examines the broader effects of the TCJA on corporate behavior, including changes in investment decisions, cash holdings, and payout policies for both U.S. MNCs and domestic firms. The findings reveal distinct post-TCJA patterns: U.S. MNCs reduced capital expenditures, increased cash reserves, and raised dividend payouts and share repurchases, while domestic firms primarily increased cash holdings and share repurchases. The study highlights the shift toward more domestic investment by MNCs and provides critical insights into how the TCJA reshaped corporate financial strategies. Chapter 4 entitled “Income-shifting arrangements of U.S. multinational corporations and accounting reporting design”, focuses on the role of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) tags in reducing aggressive income-shifting practices among U.S. MNCs. Using a large sample of firm-year observations, the study demonstrates a significant negative association between income shifting and the design of accounting reports, as measured by the number of XBRL tags. This association is particularly pronounced for firms with tax haven subsidiaries, multiple offshore subsidiaries, and lower ESG scores. The results suggest that the adoption of XBRL reporting enhances the efficiency of IRS audits, thereby mitigating income-shifting incentives. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis and outlines directions for future research.
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