Mohamed Ahmed Shaker Ahmed, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Abu Dhabi Campus
Biography
Mohamed holds a PhD in Finance from Brunel University, UK. I have an outstanding teaching experience in Egypt, UK, and Bahrain. This experience is inclusive of undergraduate, postgraduate, online, and executive training courses. I am an enthusiastic and committed teacher who holds a fellowship of HEA which is a prestigious teaching qualification. My research interests lie primarily in behavioral finance, corporate finance, labor and finance, sustainable finance, and FinTech. I have published papers in highly ranked journals such as International Review of Financial Analsis, and Review of Qualitative Finance and Accounting, and some others are on their way.
Education
PhD - Economics and Finance (Brunel University London, UK)
M.Sc - Finance (Cairo University, Egypt)
B.Sc - Business (Cairo University, Egypt)
Research Interests
Corporate Finance - Behavioral Finance - Sustainable Finance - Labor & Finance - FinTech
Selected Publications
- Ahmed, M. S. et. al. (2025). “Litigation pressure and pollution: How shareholder lawsuits shape corporate emission strategy”. Journal of Environmental Management. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q1; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127990
- Ahmed, M. S. et. al. (2025). “The power of prestige: How CEO prestige shapes corporate cash strategies”. International Review of Economics and Finance. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q1; ABDC A; ABS 2*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104735
- Ahmed, M. S. et. al. (2025). “Fiscal monitoring policy and corporate carbon emissions in U.S. firms”. Journal of Environmental Management. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q1; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127771
- Ahmed, M. S., Kumar, S. & Ali, S. (2025). “High-profile leadership: Celebrity CEOs and corporate cash reserves”. Journal of Accounting Literature. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q3; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-09-2024-0238
- Ahmed, M. S. et al. (2025). “Does protection of trade secrets matter for firms’ access to external capital”. International Review of Economics and Finance 101 (July), 104221. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q1; ABDC A; ABS 2*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104221
- Ahmed, M. S. & King, T. (2025). “A dark side of intangibles? Organizational capital and corporate investment efficiency”. Journal of Accounting Literature 47 (5), 444-489. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q3; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-06-2024-0120
- Ahmed, M. S., & Mertzanis, C. (2025). Right-to-work laws and firm productivity in U.S. firms. Industrial Relations Journal 56 (4), 301-321. (Scopus Q2; ISI Q3; ABDC A; ABS 3*) Advance online publication. DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irj.12468
- Ahmed, M. S. et al., (2024). “Cryptocurrencies volatility: A review, synthesis and research agenda” Research in International Business and Finance 17 (August), 102472. (Scopus Q1; WoS Q1; ABDC B; ABS 2*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102472
- Ahmed, M. S & Elnahass, M. (2024). “Being famous matters: Evidence from cash flow volatility”. International Review of Financial Analysis 93 (May), 103165. (Scopus Q1; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103165
- Ahmed, M. S. et al., (2024). “CEO media coverage and corporate cash holdings”. International Review of Financial Analysis 91 (January), 103041. (Scopus Q1; ABDC A; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.103041.
- Ahmed, M. S. & Satish, K. (2023). “Are CEO-holding MBA really more riskaverse?”. International Review of Financial Analysis 89 (October), 102804. (Scopus Q1; ABDC A; ABS 3*).DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102804.
- Ahmed, M., & Doukas, J. (2021). Revisiting the momentum and disposition effect: A quantile regression perspective. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 56 (3), 1087-1128. (Scopus Q1; ISI Q2; ABDC B; ABS 3*). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11156-020-00919-4
Teaching Courses
Investments
Math for Business
Corporate Finance
International Finance
Financial Engineering
Banking Management
Islamic Banking and Finance
Financial Markets and Institutions
Insurance and Risk Management
Computer Applications in Finance
Personal Finance
Financial Analysis and Planning
Memberships
American Finance Association
British Accounting and Finance Association
High-profile leadership: celebrity CEOs and corporate cash reserves
Published in: Journal of Accounting Literature
Aug 01, 2025
Purpose Using a hand-collected dataset, this research contributes to the literature on how CEO personal qualities influence company choices and decision-making. To accomplish this, it investigates the relationship between the CEO’s personal celebrity and cash reserves. Design/methodology/approach Our sample includes all non-financial businesses that were listed on the S&P 500 between 2005 and 2020. Employing principal component analysis, we create the CEO celebrity index as a multidimensional index that includes CEO media presence, CEO tenure, internal/external CEO appointments and industry-adjusted performance. We also use a high-dimensional fixed effects model with fixed effects for industry and year to analyze the data. Findings Our findings indicate a positive and significant relationship between the CEO’s personal celebrity and financial reserves. Our findings are consistent with different cash reserve metrics and estimators. Extended investigations show that CEO gender (male), macroeconomic conditions (GDP growth) and corporate diversity all have a negative influence on the association between CEO celebrity and cash reserves, although technology dynamism has a positive impact. Consistent with predictions of upper echelons, agency theory, resource-based theory, and stakeholder theory, this implies that celebrated CEOs tend to reserve more cash than non-celebrated CEOs because celebrated CEOs have more to lose in terms of career prospects and benefits. Originality/value (1) This paper is the first, to our knowledge, to establish empirical and theoretical linkages between CEO celebrity and cash reserve policy. (2) It presents a new explanation for why managers, particularly celebrities, want to keep excessive cash reserves. (3) It combines two independent fields of research on CEO personal celebrity and cash reserves policy.
Right-to-Work Laws and Firm Productivity in U.S. Firms
Published in: Industrial Relations Journal
Jul 01, 2025
We investigate the impact of Right-to-Work (RTW) laws on firm-level total factor productivity (TFP) in U.S. firms. We find that RTW laws, which reduce union bargaining power, are associated with a decrease in firm-level TFP, particularly for firms adopting innovation-driven strategies or facing financial constraints. These effects are robust across various models and endogeneity treatments, emphasising the importance of internal and external factors in assessing labour policy impacts. Weakening labour protection and limiting union influence may reduce worker engagement, weaken bargaining power, and ultimately hinder productivity. The study contributes to the literature by empirically linking RTW adoption with TFP and expanding the discussion on labour market policies as determinants of productivity. It also highlights the roles of business strategy, market dynamism, and financial constraints in mitigating the corporate effects of RTW laws. The research provides insights for policymakers and business leaders, emphasising the need for balanced labour market policies that support both corporate flexibility and worker engagement to sustain productivity.
The dark side of intangibles? Organizational capital and corporate investment efficiency
Published in: Journal of Accounting Literature
May 01, 2025
Purpose Organizational capital (OK) represents an important intangible productive firm asset, yet one subject to agency problems. This paper provides a first examination of how OK impacts corporate investment inefficiency using an unbalanced panel of listed US companies from 2009 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach We utilize fixed-effect regressions to explore the relationship between OK and investment efficiency. Additionally, we implement a battery of robustness tests of the main study findings based on a variety of panel data techniques, including firm fixed effects, alternative measures of investment efficiency, estimators, including Newey–West as well as additional steps to address endogeneity concerns using system-GMM, two-stage least-squares and entropy balancing analyses. Findings OK is associated with reduced investment efficiency (underinvestment and overinvestment). A one-standard deviation increase in OK to total assets is associated with a 4.42% decrease in investment efficiency. Based on average firm investment, this represents a $390.88 million decrease in investment. CEO gender and career concerns as well as R&D intensity, positively moderate this relationship, while CEOs’ age, power, tenure and connections as well as corporate governance and disclosure quality, negatively moderate it. The findings can be understood from the perspective of agency theory, whereby informational asymmetries surrounding OK make it challenging for firm outsiders to monitor and evaluate managerial investment choices. Originality/value We lack understanding as to how it impacts the efficiency of corporate investment. We contribute the first evidence in this regard by demonstrating that OK is associated with lower investment efficiency.
Being famous matters: Evidence from cash flow volatility
Published in: International Review of Financial Analysis
Sep 04, 2024
Corporate reputation is a paramount driver of value creation and competitive advantage in the 21st century. Motivated by the importance of cash flows and the under-researched nature of their volatility in the corporate finance literature, we investigate the impact of corporate reputation on cash flow volatility. We developed unique hand-collected data from the Fortune world's most admired companies for a sample of U.S. companies from 2014 through 2020. The findings show that there is a negative relationship between corporate reputation and cash flow volatility. Our additional analyses demonstrate that the negative relationship between corporation reputation and cash flow volatility is stronger for firms with a higher company beta, higher earnings, and lower short-term liquidity. Our findings imply that improving corporate reputation can decrease the risk levels associated with operating performance.
Are MBA CEOs really more risk-averse?
Published in: International Review of Financial Analysis
Sep 01, 2024
This paper extends the literature on upper echelons theory that emphasizes the impact of top executives' personal characteristics on their choices by examining the relationship between CEOs holding MBAs and the riskiness of corporate policies, including investment and financial policies. To do so, data belonging to all stocks listed on the S&P 500 is collected to cover the period from 2005 to 2020 and analyzed using a panel regression model. The findings show that CEOs holding MBAs tend to undertake less risky investments compared to others, but this negative relationship is induced by unobservable heterogeneities across firms and time-varying heterogeneity across industries. Moreover, the findings failed to find any relationship between CEO-holding MBAs and financial leverage, while the relationship is negative between CEO-holding MBAs and corporate liquidity. These findings strongly deny the well-documented risk-aversion behavior of CEO-holding MBAs and support their belief in “profit-first” and self-interest” principles.
Cryptocurrency volatility: A review, synthesis, and research agenda
Published in: Research in International Business and Finance
Aug 01, 2024
This paper takes part in the ongoing debate on the newly emerging field of financial technology by systematically reviewing 164 articles on cryptocurrency volatility during the period from 2016 to December 2022. This paper also aims to enlighten academics and practitioners about the beneficial insights gained from cryptocurrency volatility research, identify existing research gaps, and propose a new research agenda in the subject of study. To this end, realized volatility, almost all stylized facts, implied volatility, stochastic volatility, and drivers of volatility are discussed. Finally, we propose that future researchers concentrate on high-frequency data (i.e., hourly, minutely, and secondly), the use of machine learning models, crypto derivatives, crypto individual investor behavior, the impact of the new existence of institutional investors, stablecoins, and the evaluation of the forecasts of cryptocurrency volatility.
CEO media coverage and cash holdings
Published in: International Review of Financial Analysis
Jan 01, 2024
Utilising a unique hand-collected dataset, this paper examines the relationship between media coverage of chief executive officers (CEOs) and cash holding. Using a sample of all stocks listed on the S&P 500 over the period 2005–2020, we find a positive and significant relationship between CEO media coverage and cash holdings. Our additional analyses demonstrate that CEO mobility and firm age positively moderate the relationship between CEO media coverage and corporate cash holdings, whereas CEO reputational capital and CEO tenure negatively moderate this relationship. This implies that CEOs with intensive media coverage tend to hold more cash than those with non-intensive media coverage because the media pays more attention to covering reputed CEOs who are characterised by great potential. Therefore, those with intensive media coverage hold more cash because they have more to lose in terms of future career outlook and financial incentives, especially since their reputations are fragile and easily damaged.