Ahlem Najah

Purpose: This study aims to explain how family-based coordination resources support post-crisis change by distinguishing organizational resilience from post-crisis reinvention. It tests whether family embeddedness, family labour reliance and informal family governance predict later resilience and whether digitalization strengthens the resilience−reinvention relationship in Saudi micro and small family enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: A two-wave survey with an exact 70-day individual lag produced an analytic sample of 318 firms. Time 1 measured family resources, digitalization, COVID shock severity and baseline outcomes; Time 2 measured resilience and reinvention. Primary models in Mplus 8.10 used MLR, FIML and autoregressive controls. Indirect-effect intervals came from a separate 5,000-replication ML bootstrap, and the latent resilience x digitalization interaction was estimated separately under TYPE = RANDOM. Findings: All three family resources were positively associated with Time 2 resilience, but their direct paths to reinvention were small and nonsignificant. Their indirect associations through resilience were significant. Resilience and digitalization were positively associated with reinvention, and the resilience−reinvention relationship strengthened as digitalization increased. Because resilience and reinvention were contemporaneous at Time 2, the conditional indirect pattern is interpreted associationally. Originality/value: This study develops a staged conditional-process explanation: family resources supply coordination capacity for continuity, while digitalization strengthens the conversion of preserved capacity into renewal. The Saudi setting makes this mechanism theoretically salient because kin-based coordination and informal governance coexist with institutional modernization and rapid SME digitalization.

This study examines whether firm-level digital transformation capability (DTC) is associated with stronger operational resilience and whether governance structures condition this relationship. Operational resilience is treated here as a business-sustainability dimension based on continuity and stability of operating outcomes, not as a broad measure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), environmental, or social sustainability performance. Using an international firm-year panel that combines standardized financial data with disclosure-based measures of implemented digital practices and governance architecture, the analysis provides observational evidence on the role of DTC in strengthening firm adaptability. In the controlled fixed-effects models, DTC is positively associated with the sales resilience ratio (SRR) (β = 0.071) and the cash-flow stability index (CFSI) (β = 0.058); an interquartile increase in DTC corresponds to approximately 0.024 in SRR and 0.019 in CFSI, or roughly 16% and 10% of their sample standard deviations. The association is stronger in firms with stronger internal oversight, auditable review mechanisms, and external ecosystem monitoring. Mechanism analyses point to supply flexibility and data visibility as plausible transmission paths, while additional tests address reproducibility, disclosure-intensity bias, construct validity, alternative governance specifications, placebo timing, restricted-shock logic, and measurement boundaries. Overall, the findings provide evidence consistent with a contingent and observational association between DTC and operational resilience when digital capabilities are embedded within accountable governance frameworks.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between trading volume and stock returns in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) for 2018-2024. Method: Using a sample of 84 monthly observations for both markets from Investing.com, the research employs advanced econometric techniques, including cointegration analysis, linear regression, Granger causality testing, and Vector Autoregression (VAR) models. Results: Results exhibit a weak positive association between returns and trading volume in both markets, slightly more in Dubai. Cointegration tests identify a strong long-run equilibrium in the Saudi market, while Dubai displays several complex relationships prone to external impacts. Granger causality tests reveal no significant predictive causality in either direction, indicating that past values of returns and volume do not effectively forecast future movement. VAR analysis highlights that trading volumes are largely determined by their previous values. Originality: This study offers new insights into the dynamics of GCC markets by comparing the oil economy of Saudi Arabia with the diverse financial hub of Dubai. The findings challenge conventional volume-return models seen in developed economies, suggesting that regional structural forces dominate informational efficiency.

In this paper, we are interested in the impact of CSR and social reporting on consumer behavior and thus on the value creation. To enrich the literature and to better understand how CSR reputation can create value for the company, we empirically study the effect of social reporting on the ROS (Return on sales), the variation of turnover and Profit margin through the study of "responsible" behavior of consumers in France. Results show that there is a positive but not significant relationship between social reporting and the change in turnover and profit margins. But there was a significantly positive impact of non-financial disclosure on the return on sales.