Mahmoud Odat

The financial challenges facing the Jordanian economy require careful attention and strategic responses. Addressing these challenges may necessitate increased investment. This study explores the relationship between intellectual capital efficiency and firms’ dividend policies and the potential impact of CEO characteristics on this relationship. An analysis was based on data from 90 Jordanian service and manufacturing companies from 2015 to 2019. The study employs the value-added intellectual capital coefficient (VAIC) to measure intellectual capital efficiency and uses the dividend payout ratio to represent dividend policy. The findings indicate a positive relationship between VAIC and dividend policy, suggesting that companies with higher intellectual capital efficiency tend to distribute higher dividends. However, CEO characteristics, such as age, tenure, and educational background, do not significantly affect this relationship. These results imply that strong corporate governance mechanisms are likely in place, ensuring effective decision-making processes and protecting stakeholders’ interests. By focusing on intellectual capital, firms can enhance their operational performance and attractiveness to investors, indirectly supporting economic stability.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between firms’ top management’s demographic attributes and intellectual capital efficiency among service and manufacturing firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. The analysis focuses on six personal and professional characteristics of the chief executive officer, including age, educational level, work experience, share ownership, duality, and tenure. Intellectual capital efficiency is determined using the value-added intellectual coefficient. Panel data for a sample of 90 service and manufacturing companies for the period 2015–2023 are analyzed using multiple regression techniques. The findings reveal that the educational level and share ownership have a statistically significant positive effect on intellectual capital efficiency (p < 0.05). This suggests that executives with higher qualifications and financial stakes in their firms are more effective at leveraging intellectual capital. In contrast, there is no statistically significant association between age, work experience, role duality, and tenure and the efficiency of intellectual capital. This suggests that these demographic and structural characteristics of firm leadership do not meaningfully influence how effectively intellectual capital is utilized.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Interest paid by companies on the debt acquired to finance their operations is a major factor that influences their financial performance and long-term growth opportunities. This paper aims to examine whether Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) personal and professional characteristics, including age, academic qualification, managerial experience, stock ownership, duality, and tenure, impact companies’ cost of debt using a sample of service and manufacturing firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange during the period 2015–2023. The cost of debt is represented by the effective interest rate paid by a company on its debts, which is determined by dividing the firm’s interest expense at the end of the year by the firm’s average total debts. Based on fixed effect regression analysis, the results indicate that firms’ cost of debt exhibits significant negative relationships with both CEO academic qualifications and practical experience (p < 0.05), while the relationships between the cost of debt and CEO age, stock ownership, duality, and tenure are insignificant (p > 0.10). These results suggest that highly educated and experienced CEOs tend to make more efficient financial decisions, which enhances creditors’ trust in the company and is reflected in a reduced cost of debt.