Do corporate governance mechanisms matter to the reputation of financial firms? : evidence of emerging markets

The primary aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive measure of corporate reputation and examine the impact of corporate governance on the reputation of listed financial firms in the countries of MENA region. Using a sample of 96 financial companies listed on the stock exchanges of four countries in the MENA region: Jordan, Palestine, Qatar, and Kuwait over a period of five years (2016-2020), the study developed a quantitative index of a multidimensional corporate reputation through the use of principal component analysis (PCA) techniques. The study applies the dynamic panel system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to estimate the dynamic corporate reputation model. The study finds that audit committee independence improves corporate reputation. Furthermore, findings show that ownership concentration negatively affects corporate reputation. This study contributes to filling the research gap on corporate reputation within the MENA region. Furthermore, the study findings provide interesting insights for policy makers, managers, and other stakeholders about what can determine a company's reputation in the case of developing countries.