IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/globus/v27y2026i2p216-236.html

Websites Visits and Financial Performance for GCC Banks: The Moderating Role of Environmental, Social and Governance Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Hamzeh Al Amosh
  • Saleh F. A. Khatib

Abstract

The volume of services provided through websites increases over time, particularly in the banking sector. It is challenging to develop banking services to achieve optimal financial performance. As a result, this article aims to investigate the impact of bank website visits on the financial performance of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banking sector, taking into account the moderating role of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The article is based on an empirical analysis through a content analysis approach based on a sample of 64 GCC banks from 2014 to 2020. The findings showed that the frequency of website visits significantly affects the financial performance measures of banks, such as return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), market value (Tobin’s Q), net interest margin (NIM) and return on investment (ROI). In addition, the ESG performance of banks attracts more website visitors and enhances them with the idea of dealing with banks that enhances financial performance. The findings indicate that banking websites as a tool for public relations attract visitors and thus turn them into customers by changing the behavioural intention of individuals, which affects their decisions to engage in banking transactions and thus raises the level of financial performance of banks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the relationship between website visits and financial performance. Therefore, it bridges the research gap in this field and thus provides a roadmap for more potential research ideas in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamzeh Al Amosh & Saleh F. A. Khatib, 2026. "Websites Visits and Financial Performance for GCC Banks: The Moderating Role of Environmental, Social and Governance Performance," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 27(2), pages 216-236, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:27:y:2026:i:2:p:216-236
    DOI: 10.1177/09721509221109576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09721509221109576
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09721509221109576?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zia Ur Rehman & Muhammad Zahid & Haseeb Ur Rahman & Muhammad Asif & Majed Alharthi & Muhammad Irfan & Adam Glowacz, 2020. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures Improve Financial Performance? A Perspective of the Islamic Banking Industry in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Elena Dobre & Georgiana Oana Stanila & Laura Brad, 2015. "The Influence of Environmental and Social Performance on Financial Performance: Evidence from Romania’s Listed Entities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-41, March.
    3. Nizam, Esma & Ng, Adam & Dewandaru, Ginanjar & Nagayev, Ruslan & Nkoba, Malik Abdulrahman, 2019. "The impact of social and environmental sustainability on financial performance: A global analysis of the banking sector," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-53.
    4. Liem Nguyen & Canh Nguyen, 2020. "Financial constraints, corporate debt maturity and firm performance: the case of firms in Southeast Asian countries," Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 48-59.
    5. Saleh F. A. Khatib & Dewi Fariha Abdullah & Ahmed A. Elamer & Raed Abueid, 2021. "Nudging toward diversity in the boardroom: A systematic literature review of board diversity of financial institutions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 985-1002, February.
    6. Izdihar Abdullah Zamil & Suresh Ramakrishnan & Noriza Mohd Jamal & Majeed Abdulhussein Hatif & Saleh F.A. Khatib, 2021. "Drivers of corporate voluntary disclosure: a systematic review," Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(2), pages 232-267, August.
    7. Mariia Molodchik & Sofiia Paklina & Petr Parshakov, 2018. "Digital relational capital of a company," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 443-462, July.
    8. Qiang Cheng & Fei Du & Xin Wang & Yutao Wang, 2016. "Seeing is believing: analysts’ corporate site visits," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1245-1286, December.
    9. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and leverage: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2344-2350.
    10. Nufazil Altaf & Farooq Ahmad, 2019. "Working capital financing, firm performance and financial constraints," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 464-477, March.
    11. Zattoni, Alessandro & Witt, Michael A. & Judge, William Q. & Talaulicar, Till & Chen, Jean Jinghan & Lewellyn, Krista & Hu, Helen Wei & Gabrielsson, Jonas & Rivas, Jose Luis & Puffer, Sheila & Shukla,, 2017. "Does board independence influence financial performance in IPO firms? The moderating role of the national business system," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 628-639.
    12. repec:osf:socarx:vahtz_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Deger Alper & Adem Anbar, 2011. "Bank Specific and Macroeconomic Determinants of Commercial Bank Profitability: Empirical Evidence from Turkey," Business and Economics Research Journal, Bursa Uludag University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 2(2), pages 139-139.
    14. Tauringana, Venancio & Chithambo, Lyton, 2015. "The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 425-444.
    15. Ali Nazeri & Rahman Soofifard & Mohsen Ebrahimi & Ladan Babayof, 2019. "The effect of the internet banking service quality on customer satisfaction (case study: Refah bank in Tehran)," International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 34(1), pages 65-80.
    16. Hussien, Mohammed Ebrahim & Alam, Md. Mahmudul & Murad, Wahid & , Abu N.M. Wahid, 2019. "The Performance of Islamic Banks during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries," SocArXiv vahtz, Center for Open Science.
    17. Qiang Cheng & Fei Du & Brian Yutao Wang & Xin Wang, 2019. "Do Corporate Site Visits Impact Stock Prices?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 359-388, March.
    18. Harison, Elad & Boonstra, Albert, 2008. "Reaching new altitudes in e-commerce: Assessing the performance of airline websites," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 92-98.
    19. Balachandran, Balasingham & Williams, Barry, 2018. "Effective governance, financial markets, financial institutions & crises," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-15.
    20. Hamzeh Al Amosh & Noorhayati Mansor, 2021. "Disclosure of integrated reporting elements by industrial companies: evidence from Jordan," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 121-145, March.
    21. Muni Sekhar Amba & Fayza Almukharreq, 2013. "Impact of the Financial Crisis on Profitability of the Islamic Banks vs Conventional Banks- Evidence from GCC," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(3), pages 83-93, July.
    22. Abhishek Parikh & Jayesh D. Patel & Anand Kumar Jaiswal, 2021. "Managing job applications online: integrating website informativeness and compatibility in theory of planned behaviour and technology acceptance model," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 48(1), pages 97-113, March.
    23. Saeed Al-Muharrami, 2008. "An examination of technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies in GCC banking," American Journal of Finance and Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(2), pages 152-166.
    24. Zhou, Guangyou & Sun, Yongkun & Luo, Sumei & Liao, Jiayi, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and bank financial performance in China: The moderating role of green credit," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    25. Ozili, Peterson K & Uadiale, Olayinka, 2017. "Ownership Concentration and Bank Profitability," MPRA Paper 102571, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    26. Samar Rahi & Mazuri Abd Ghani & Abdul Hafaz Ngah, 2020. "Factors propelling the adoption of internet banking: the role of e-customer service, website design, brand image and customer satisfaction," International Journal of Business Information Systems, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 33(4), pages 549-569.
    27. Hyunju Shin & Alexander E. Ellinger & Helenka Hopkins Nolan & Tyler D. DeCoster & Forrest Lane, 2018. "An Assessment of the Association Between Renewable Energy Utilization and Firm Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1121-1138, September.
    28. Cheng, Hsiu-Hua & Huang, Shih-Wei, 2013. "Exploring antecedents and consequence of online group-buying intention: An extended perspective on theory of planned behavior," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 185-198.
    29. Fortune Ganda & Khazamula Samson Milondzo, 2018. "The Impact of Carbon Emissions on Corporate Financial Performance: Evidence from the South African Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    30. Hong, Xin & Zhuang, Zhuang & Kang, Di & Wang, Zhibin, 2019. "Do corporate site visits impact hedge fund performance?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 113-128.
    31. Nufazil Altaf & Farooq Ahmad, 2019. "Working capital financing, firm performance and financial constraints," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 464-477, March.
    32. Mariia Molodchik & Sofiia Paklina & Petr Parshakov, 2018. "Digital relational capital of a company," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(3), pages 443-462, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Jinyu & Dong, Dayong & Liang, Chao, 2025. "Sequential questioning and structured responses: Enhancing the information effectiveness of corporate site visits," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Wu, Fang & Cao, June & Zhang, Xiaosan, 2023. "Do non-executive employees matter in curbing corporate financial fraud?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    3. Jiaxin Duan & Lei Lu & Yixin Wei & Fangyi Yin, 2025. "The leaders' shadow: Excessive information spillover in the Chinese stock market," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 65(3), pages 2454-2486, September.
    4. Yang, Xia & Ma, Zhong, 2022. "Institutional investors’ corporate site visits and dividend payouts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 697-716.
    5. Li, Mengjia & Ding, Wenjie & Li, Hao & Wang, Qingwei & Xiao, Jason Zezhong, 2025. "Sell-side financial analyst social network and forecast accuracy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    6. He Xiao, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate investment efficiency," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 359-392, June.
    7. Minhang Deng & Yunyi Wang & Gaoliang Tian & Bozhi Xu & Yuyan Tang, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and resource extraction: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 5211-5243, December.
    8. Yanan Li & Wenjun Wang, 2022. "Company visits and mutual fund performance: new evidence on managerial skills," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 504-521, October.
    9. Hao, Han & Liu, Chun & Pang, Shunzhi, 2025. "Geographical proximity, cultural familiarity and financial information production," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Cao, Jerry & Wang, Hanyang & Zhou, Sili, 2022. "Soft activism and corporate dividend policy: Evidence from institutional investors site visits," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Li, Yi & Zhang, Wei & Wang, Pengfei, 2021. "Working online or offline: Which is more effective?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    12. Partha Mohanram & Wei Sun & Baohua Xin & Jigao Zhu, 2025. "Does financial information presentation format matter? Evidence from Chinese firms’ reporting of research and development expense," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 1638-1682, June.
    13. Wang, Maobin & Ye, Tao & Chen, Yaxin, 2025. "Do firms opportunistically manipulate their responses to fake news on social media? Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    14. Cai, Huan & Qi, Zhen, 2021. "Private conversation matters: Evidence from sell-side analyst reports after private meetings," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    15. Ryan P. McDonough, 2023. "Corporate communication and shareholder base retention: evidence from spin-offs," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1283-1327, May.
    16. Cahill, Daniel & Ho, Choy Yeing (Chloe) & Yang, Joey W., 2022. "The COVID-19 pandemic: How important is face-to-face interaction for information dissemination?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Lei Zheng & Xuemeng Guo & Libin Zhao, 2021. "How Does Transportation Infrastructure Improve Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from High-Speed Railway Openings in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, June.
    18. Jiang, Yahan & Wang, Cai & Li, Sha & Wan, Jing, 2022. "Do institutional investors' corporate site visits improve ESG performance? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    19. Li, Haoyang & Sun, Yanqi & Cai, Wei & Chen, Jingwei, 2025. "Do investors' site visits affect the price of bond issues?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Nianhang Xu & Nian Li & Rongrong Xie & Kam C. Chan, 2022. "The power of the market over government officials: Evidence from an anticorruption campaign in China," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(4), pages 995-1030, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:27:y:2026:i:2:p:216-236. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.imi.edu/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.