CEO Narcissism in Arab Equity Markets and Its Repercussions

The study investigates the narcissism of the CEO in Arab equity markets. The study concern Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. Due to the period from 2016 to 2020, the investigation sampled 197 non-financial firms with 985 observations. Inferential statistical techniques including the ANOVA test and cross-sectional analysis were employed in this study. The study findings that The Arabic language presents challenges for the validity of the standard measures of CEO narcissism through signature. Under ignoring the previous conclusion, there a significant difference in the levels of narcissism according to the sector also the country; both were significant at (1%). On the other side, the results revealed that there is a positive impact of measured narcissism on the corporate's ROA, the common stock's return, and the total risks of common stocks. The study uses the disparities between English and Arabic signature patterns to explain the negative impact of measured narcissism has on a corporation's return on equity, financial risk, and the systematic risk of common stocks. The study recommends investigates with other measures of narcissism, such as imagery, compensation, and press release. The findings of this study contributes to understanding of the unique cultural and financial context in which CEO narcissism operates in Arab equity markets.