Does ownership matter in publicly listed tourism firms? Evidence from Jordan

Abstract

This paper aims to provide new evidence on the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance. Unlike the previous empirical studies in the area of firm performance, we examine this relationship within a unique setting of publicly listed tourism firms. Our contribution is extended by investigating this relationship in Jordan as an emerging market and a famous tourist destination in the region. This is an interesting setting since ownership is more concentrated in the investigated firms. Our results show that institutional investors are self-opportunistic and negatively affect firm performance. In addition, we report a negative relationship between foreign ownership and firm performance. Furthermore, we detect that mutual funds have a positive impact on firm performance. Finally, the findings of this paper provide interesting empirical implications to academics and policy makers.

Ownership structure and firm performance of listed tourism firms

“…Empirical studies on corporate governance in the tourism sector focus on a variety of aspects. Aspects examined frequently include board composition, CEO duality, managerial ownership, and foreign institutional investors (Al‐Najjar, , ; M. H. Chen, Hou, & Lee, ; M. H. Chen, Kim, & Liao, ; Ozdemir & Upneja, ; C. M. Yeh, ; C. M. Yeh & Trejos, ).…”

“…Leung and Lee () investigated listed tourism firms in the United States and found that the relationship between the level of institutional ownership and Monday stock return was positive. On the other hand, Al‐Najjar () used a sample of Jordanian listed tourism firms. He discovered a negative association between the presence of institutional shareholders and either return on asset (ROA) or return on equity.…”

“…In the tourism sector, although some studies focus on ownership structure of tourism firms (Al‐Najjar, ; C. M. Yeh, ; C. M. Yeh & Trejos, ), the issue of ownership discrepancy has attracted relatively little research attention. However, there are a number of empirical studies on the influence of ownership discrepancy in the general business sector.…”

“…The ultimate ownership allows shareholders to have voting rights to elect a board of directors and to decide critical issues. With ownership, shareholders are able to claim dividends through shares they hold (Al‐Najjar, ; Guillet & Mattila, ; C. M. Yeh & Trejos, ).…”

Measuring Customer Satisfaction with the Influence of Islamic Attributes of Destination in Jordan

“…The aim of previous economic research conducted in 2013 by The World Travel and Tourism Council was to highlight the importance of the tourism industry in Jordan (Jordan, Vogt, Kruger, & Grewe, 2013). The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Jordan claimed that the industry's beneficence was USD6.6 trillion in GDP and represented 9% of the overall GDP (Al-Najjar, 2015).…”