Mahmaod Alrawad

The impact of advertising and sales promotion on firm value and sales performance within the Jordanian manufacturing sector was examined, recognizing the significant role of advertising in enhancing competitive market outcomes. The study aimed to investigate the effect of advertising and sales promotion on firm value within the manufacturing Jordanian firms that holds a benefit for deciphering several challenges and opportunities that firms face within an emerging market context. Data from 64 Jordanian manufacturing firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange between 2014 and 2022 were analyzed. Regression analysis was applied across two models: one focused on the relationship between advertising expenditures and firm value, while the other assessed sales performance. Firm size and return on equity served as control variables across both models.
The results revealed that advertising and sales promotion expenses had a significant and positive effect on both firm value and sales performance. Specifically, advertising’s impact on firm value was characterized by a coefficient of 0.107 and a t-value of 3.640, while its effect on sales performance yielded a coefficient of 0.321 and a t-value of 9.372, both with p-values of 0.00, highlighting a strong statistical significance. Additionally, firm size demonstrated a robust positive effect on both outcomes, underscoring its role as a critical control factor. Return on equity, however, did not yield a significant effect. These findings underscore the importance of advertising as a driver of firm growth and market position, particularly in larger firms. Investment in advertising appears to foster sustainable value and performance enhancements, offering firms in competitive sectors a strategic path for growth.

Acknowledgment
This research was funded through the annual funding track by the Deanship of Scientific Research, from the vice presidency for graduate studies and scientific research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [Grant no. KFU250963].

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The global growth of Islamic finance and the recurrence of systemic financial crises have intensified scholarly interest in whether Shariah-compliant investment structures offer measurable performance advantages over conventional counterparts, yet operational efficiency comparisons using non-parametric frontier methods remain scarce. This study aims to evaluate the operational efficiency of Islamic versus conventional mutual funds in Malaysia during the period 2015–2022, with a special focus on efficiency behavior during the COVID-19 crisis (2020–2021), using a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis framework. A sample of 108 Malaysian mutual funds (52 Islamic and 56 conventional) was analyzed using output-oriented constant-returns-to-scale DEA with annualized return volatility and fund turnover ratio as inputs and the Sharpe ratio as the output, followed by second-stage ordinary least squares regression to identify contextual efficiency determinants. Islamic funds achieved a mean efficiency score of 0.6545 compared to 0.5967 for conventional funds, a statistically significant difference of 5.78 percentage points (t = 2.549, p = 0.012). During the COVID-19 crisis, this gap widened to 14.93 percentage points, with Islamic fund efficiency rising to 0.7281 and conventional fund efficiency declining to 0.5788 (t = 3.519, p = 0.002). Regression analysis confirmed that higher return volatility consistently reduces efficiency (β = −0.043, p < 0.001), while the Islamic×Crisis interaction term indicates a crisis-specific efficiency premium (β = 0.026, p = 0.071). The structural constraints of Islamic finance – prohibiting leverage, speculation, and synthetic instruments – function as resilience mechanisms under macroeconomic pressure, supporting differentiated regulatory consideration for Shariah-compliant funds within dual financial systems.

Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [KFU263216].