Title: The effect of governance attributes on corporate dividend payouts policy: evidence from Jordan

Authors: Amneh Alkurdi; Yasean Tahat; Hamzah Al-mawali

Addresses: Accounting Department, Aqaba University for Technology, Aqaba, Amman, 11191, Jordan ' Accounting and MIS Department, Gulf University for Science and Technology, P.O. Box 7207, Hawally, 32093, Kuwait ' Accounting Department, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan

Abstract: We investigate the effect of some corporate governance (CG) variables (including the Board size, independency, separation and managerial ownership) on corporate dividend payouts; using a sample of 72 Jordanian listed companies for the period of 2007-2013. The findings indicate that CG attributes examined have a strong impact on corporate dividend decisions. In particular, the board size, independency and separation variables have had significant associations with dividend payouts variable indicating that the composition of CG matters when determining on dividends and this may help to mitigate the conflicts between stockholders' and managers' interest. Finally, the findings illustrate that firm size and profitability have had statistically positive associations with dividend payouts, while this was not the case for firm leverage and growth. The current study provides some insights for stakeholders (especially policy makers and stockholders) in emerging economies along with suggestions for future research.

Keywords: corporate governance; dividends payouts policy; Jordan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2017.089817

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2017 Vol.8 No.3/4, pp.313 - 334

Received: 16 May 2017
Accepted: 11 Nov 2017
Published online: 12 Feb 2018 *

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