Prelims

Half Title

CORPORATE SUCCESS STORIES IN THE UAE

Endorsement Page

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“The book provides trends in business, marketing, and management from 13 case studies in the UAE. Each case study provides the organization profile, the departments, success indicators, drivers of success, and areas of future study. The book provides a unique perspective on how businesses have evolved and become successful in the UAE. This can provide students, teachers, and practitioners with insights into businesses in a region seldom addressed in the business literature.”

Prof Rodrigo Lozano, University of Gavle, Kungsbacksvagen 47, Gavleborg, Sweden

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“The book, very well structured and readable, provides a significant deepening of the intellectual capital of scholars, practitioners and students on how companies can grow in a global market, following sustainability goals and values.

The case studies are very informative and support the reader to understand the main key drivers behind the success of companies.

The literature review contributes to linking the case studies’ results to a scholarly knowledge base.

The teaching notes are rich in content and are very valuable to support the lecturers in imparting knowledge to the students on the important drivers behind the growth of various case organizations and their sustainability values.

Practitioners can grab from the manuscript, exciting ideas to get a breadth of view from the best managerial practices.”

Prof Maria Francesca Renzi, Roma Tre University, Via Silvio D’ Amico 77, Rome, Italy

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“This is an excellent case-based research book in the context of the Middle East that combines the academic rigor with the nuances of the local business practices, leading to a superior business performance in the terms of quality, quantity and efficiency. It’s is indeed beneficial to both professors and professionals.”

Dr Satyendra Singh, Professor, Marketing & International Business, Executive Director, Academy of Business and Emerging Markets (ABEM), University of Winnipeg, Canada

Title Page

CORPORATE SUCCESS STORIES IN THE UAE: THE KEY DRIVERS BEHIND THEIR GROWTH

Edited by

DR PRAKASH VEL

and

DR BOŠTJAN GOMIŠČEK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2021

Copyright © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80043-579-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-578-0 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-580-3 (Epub)

Contents

About the Editors

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Prakash Vel, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). He is backed up with 28 years of teaching and corporate exposure in marketing with experience spread across Bahrain, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the UAE. His areas of research, consulting, and training include Strategic marketing, Consumer behavior, Marketing communications, and Events marketing, and he has offered consultancy for more than 16 multinational corporate clients in different countries including Malaysia, Singapore, India, Finland, Belgium, Kuwait, and the UAE. He is a professionally trained case writer, having more than 50 international research publications to his credit and also serves in the editorial and review committee of international journals. He is also the recipient of the 2020 ‘EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD’ at UOWD.

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Boštjan Gomišček is a Professor of Quality Management who obtained his PhD from Vienna University of Technology (Austria). Prior affiliations of Professor Gomišček were the University of Wollongong in Dubai, University of Maribor and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia; the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Vienna University of Technology in Austria. While holding different roles at the faculty and university level, teaching at the undergraduate, postgraduate and HDR level, his focus was on research, quality issues in higher education, interdisciplinary industry engagement and research projects in Quality Management, Sustainability, Air Quality, Quality of Healthcare, Maintenance Management, and Business Excellence.

Biographies of the Case Writers

Priyanka Lalwani has 15 years of professional experience in research and data analytics. She is a recipient of various highly commended professional and academic awards such as the ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) award. Since 2011, she has been working in a managerial capacity at Dubai Airports. Her key skills include applied and academic research.

Rinad Zuhair A. Alqurashi is a Social Media Influencer and guides on leading a healthy life style, being a clinical dietitian, by education. She has a master degree in healthcare management and is currently pursuing a dual specialization in Finance and Marketing in her second post graduate qualification in business management.

Samby Fready is an aspiring PhD Candidate and is extremely passionate about academic research. He comes with seven years of varied industry experience and currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty teaching Consumer Behaviour and Marketing. He holds a master’s degree in International Business from the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

Latifa Jamal Ahli started her career in Dubai World Trade Centre in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry. She is promoting DWTC to global event organizations and associations across the world. She is as well in charge of Dubai Association Centre, a joint venture between DTWC, Dubai Tourism and Commerce of Marketing and Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which currently has 68 licensed associations under its umbrella. Both roles contribute to the growth of Dubai’s economy and its intellectual capital.

Chahd Ahmad Hani Nadaf is a freelance Graphic Designer that aspires to make a little bit of a difference. She has worked with a range of international clients from various industries over the past five years. Through her business degree, she aims to blend the two professions to offer the best solution for her clients.

Eman Emadeddin Abuelrub is a Post-graduate Student in Quality Management from University of Wollongong in Dubai. She has a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Jordan. She is passionate in Quality Practices research in both organizations and corporate culture. She has participated in several conferences in Academic Integrity as well.

Sabreen Yousef Wahbeh is a Post-graduate Student in Quality Management from the University of Wollongong Dubai. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratories from the University of Jordan. She is passionate about research and has contributed to many research projects during her study journey. She has participated in several conferences in Academic Integrity.

Luma Subhi Yousef is a Digital Marketing Consultant and Trainer with nine years of experience with some of the biggest regional and international E-commerce businesses like Namshi.com, Clarins, Mama & Papas, Armani Exchange, and Victoria’s Secret. She currently works with E-commerce startups to scale their digital marketing activities as well as being a certified Google Trainer and conducts regular training as part of the Maharat Min Google Program in the Middle East.

Raida Rashid Nasser Al Lamki is a Business Advisor and a Marketing Consultant with a passion for improving organization’s business model using “out of the box” tools and approaches to unleash their latent power in an ever changing and dynamic world. Helping her to achieve this is her experience of nearly 20 years working with major global brands and various industries across Asia, North America, Africa, and Europe.

Ismail Hasan Syed Farook is a PhD Aspirant. He is currently working as an E-commerce Executive at Stanley Black & Decker, Dubai. He has co-authored a conference paper in the field of education that was presented at an international conference at Hong Kong. He has also received a research grant on education from the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

Qassim Mahmoud Ahmed Al-hayek is a Training Manager, Registered Nurse, American Heart Association and European Resuscitation Council Medical Training Instructor. He holds a BSC degree in Nursing from Jordan University of Science and Technology with more than 22 years’ experience in clinical field, serving in a multitude of roles. His areas of interest are health care, marketing, and customer response.

Rana Mohammad Ass’ad Alzaben is a motivated Registered Nurse and a Lactation Consultant, she holds a BSC degree in Nursing from Jordanian University, with experience in the clinical field for more than 16 years. She served in a multitude of roles, currently is working in health awareness programs, aiming to enhance community health and quality of life.

Danish Muneef Qureshi has 14 years’ experience of leading Regional Sales, Operations, and Supply Chain departments in Unilever and Reynolds consumer products based in the Middle East. He has extensive experience in large-scale reorganization and change management and has a keen interest in organizational behavior, change management, and E-commerce strategy building for startups.

Saadia Danish has an MPhil in Computer Science and is working with the University of Wollongong in Dubai, teaching at Foundation Studies Program and Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences. With a keen interest in research, her main areas of interest are applications of information systems in organizations, e-Health, and the Internet of Things.

Jamal Mohamed Kiyasudeen heads a media production company in the UAE. He is a Media Engineering Post-Graduate and a certified EFQM Professional contributing to DQA and SKEA in assessing organizations. He has 20 years of multi-fold experience working in Germany, UK, India, and UAE. His research interests include Business-Management, Digital-Marketing, and Startup Ecosystem.

Mohamed Ali Abdul Hameed Maricar has 20 years of experience in managing multiple businesses. He is certified in EFQM model and assesses Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award and Dubai Quality Award. He facilitates SMEs in their strategy formulation. He is a Doctoral Candidate and his research interests include: Strategic Management and Operational excellence.

Preface

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is renowned globally for the towering list of superlatives associated with it – the tallest building, the world’s busiest airport, the fastest roller coaster, the largest 3D printed building, and other similar achievements. Flanked by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, this young country was founded in 1971 and from its humble beginnings of pearl trade and fishing, the UAE has since then evolved into an economic powerhouse for tourism and trade. As per Gulf News dated October 24, 2019, UAE leads in the Middle East at the 16th place for the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 ranking among 190 countries. With this viable mix of demographics, geography, and pro-business environment, it is not surprising that UAE is the favored location for numerous organizations’ regional offices and 138 of the top 500 largest companies in the world have their Middle East and Africa (MEA) headquarters in the UAE according to The National dated March 21, 2017. UAE is further poised to shine on the world stage as it hosts the World Expo in 2021 with confirmed participation of 192 countries as reported by Khaleej times on February 4, 2020.

The idea for this book was birthed as an outcome of the IAIC (Industry Academia Interface in Classroom) initiative, inducted by Dr K Prakash Vel, Associate Professor, at University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), in 2015, to foster industry–academia collaboration. In the present contemporary market, business milieu has dramatically changed in different regions of the world, throwing greater levels of uncertainty, perceived risk, costs and decision-making implications for managers. It is therefore essential, that education for different levels of students, the managers of tomorrow, must be adapted as much as possible to give the learners an inner and contextualized view of the business environment they are meant to function in. Tools are required to facilitate such learning processes, and in this regard, cases pertaining to a region, used as interventions, become quintessential to enhance business acumen. This book is an endeavor to fill this very vacuum in terms of regional cases being available for understanding the corporate sector in this part of the world.

The authors have searched for the pearls of wisdom from successful organizations across multiple industries in the UAE and crystalized them into succinct learnings for the academic audience and industry practitioners. This case book comprises both companies that originated from the UAE and MNCs that have successful operations in the UAE. Based on interviews with junior, middle and senior management executives of these companies as the primary source, duly supplanted by data from relevant secondary sources, insights have been gathered to identify the success indicators of these companies and their strategic drivers. A review of literature has then been carried out to analyze the extent to which the observations align or deviate from academic findings, with suggestions for future research.

This book comprises of 13 chapters, each being a full-fledged case chapter, shedding light on the distinct aspects of a specific company belonging to a particular industry. The chapters have been meticulously drafted to systematically take the reader from the history of the organization, to the indicators of success, to factors influencing the success, followed by the review of academic literature, ending with suggested areas of future research. All the case writers were provided intensive training on case writing methodologies by Dr K. Prakash Vel, who is a trained case writer and has many published cases to his credit. The industries in the UAE represented in this book include Beauty, Cosmetics & Personal care, FMCG distribution, Online Retailing, Non-profit professional association, Events & Exhibitions, Marine sustainability, Dental care, Fire and safety, Retail industry, General tools & household appliances, Health care, Fintech and Energy Logistics (Oil & Gas).

The book is meant for two distinct audiences, one being the organizations, industry professionals, and firms that could leverage the content of this book as a training resource for value addition to their employees and the other being the academic fraternity that include university professors and students.

Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to the Creator for his grace and blessings to take this book project to fruition. This work would not have been possible without the whole hearted and unwavering support of my wife, Mrs P. Raja Padma, my daughter, Dr Sankhya Prakash, my parents and my in-laws. Most importantly, my sincere gratitude goes to my grandfather, a mentor and guru for me, late Dr Dhanvanthri Velayutham, for the medical service he did for the community and that which inspired me to follow his footsteps, in aspiring to render a similar service for the academic community and society. My grandmother, late Mrs Jegathambal, was a pivotal force for me in learning ethics and social values from her, that greatly influence my thoughts and actions till date.

– Dr Prakash Vel

Thank you Dr Prakash Vel for every single passionate instant we spent during the preparation of this book – it was deeply inspiring and gratifying. I wish to thank my spouse, Tanja, for bearing with me and supporting every one of my crazy ideas during the last 40 years. Thank you for your endless loving encouragement.

– Dr Boštjan Gomišček

We take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to our colleagues and friends who supported this project both directly and indirectly. We are greatly indebted to the support and inspiration given by the President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai, Prof Dr Mohamed Salem and the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Prof Dr Payyazhi Jayashree. We also extend our thanks to Dr Munyaradzi Nyadzayo, Associate Dean (Research), for his constant motivation extended to successfully complete the book and Ms Anne-Marie Amato, Academic Advisor, UOWD College for her grammatical inputs on the book title.

Our special thanks to the Emerald team behind this book, Mr Andrew Peart – Publisher, Mr David Jack Mulvaney – Content Development Editor, Ms Aishwarya Mahatma Suritha – Book Project Editor, Ms Fiona Allison – Publisher and Ms Rajachitra, Senior Project Manager, KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

Our special token of thanks and appreciation are given herewith to the various case writers who have given their dedication and commitment to prepare their respective case chapters. They have been able to shoulder multiple responsibilities professionally and personally while preparing the cases with utmost involvement. A separate section is maintained in the book to present the biographies of each of the case writers.

We place on records our deepest appreciation for the time, effort and involvement shown during the interview process, by the following executives of the contributing case organizations:

• AJMAL PERFUME MANUFACTURING AND OUDH PROCESSING INDUSTRY (L.L.C) – Beauty, Cosmetic & Personal care

  • Mr Abdulla Ajmal – Deputy COO

  • Mr Shapoor Bhathela – General Manager

  • Mr Evarist Rego – Deputy General Manager

• ABDUL SAMAD AL QURASHI (ASQ) – Retail Industry

  • Mr Zuhair Abdulsamad Alqurashi – Vice president/Co-owner

  • Mr Ahmad Zuhair Alqurashi – Vice president/Deputy CEO

  • Mr Rami Mostafa Boulad – CMO

• AL SEER GROUP – FMCG distribution

  • Mr Fouad Touckly – Chief Executive Officer

  • Mr R. Krishnamoorthy – General Manager, Corporate Services

  • Mr Joseph Abraham – General Manager, Fine Fair Division

  • Mr Aji Varghese – Trade Marketing Manager

  • Mr Beno Yohannan – Sales Manager

  • Ms Binu George – Head – Human Resources

  • Mr Denzil Netto – Supply Chain Manager

  • Mr Jude D’Silva – Consultant

  • Mr Kannappan Ramanathan – Head – Logistics

  • Mr Lal V R – IT Integration Manager

  • Ms Noella D’Souza – Finance Manager

  • Mr CB Shankar – Senior Divisional Manager

• DUBAI ASSOCIATION CENTER – Non-profit professional association

  • Ms Karen Smith – Ex-Senior Director – DAC

  • Ms Alaa Al Boali – Director of MEFMA

  • Mr Steen Jakobsen – Assistant Vice President

• DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE – Events & Exhibitions

  • Mr James Elston – Ex-Director – Association and Conference

  • Mrs Olga Shults – Ex-Senior Manager – Association and Conference

  • Mr Kunji PV – Ex-Food and Beverage Manager – MICE

• ECOCOAST HOLDINGS LIMITED – Marine sustainability

  • Ms Dana Liparts – Director

  • Mr Lachlan Jackson – Director

  • Ms Tamara Deprez – Head of Marketing

  • Ms Maribellejoy Basilio – HR Coordinator

• LIBERY MEDICAL GROUP – Dental care

  • Dr Majd Naji – Chairman and Owner of Liberty Medical Group

  • Dr Mohamed Naji – Executive director of Liberty Dental Clinic

  • Dr Fatima Almousa – Clinic Manager

  • Ms Hala Alassi – Receptionist

  • Ms Noor Alhuda – Patient

  • Ms Liezel Glen – Head of Nurses

  • Mr Andres Bacani – Head of Auxiliaries

• MAJID AL FUTTAIM RETAIL Executives – Online Retailing

• NAFFCO – Fire and safety

  • Eng. Khalid Al Khatib – NAFFCO Group – CEO

  • Mr Imad Al Khatib – Executive Manager – CEO Representative

  • Mr Adnan Naveed – Customer Service Manager

  • Mr Syed Umar Ali – Business Analyst

• STANLEY BLACK & DECKER, MIDDLE EAST – Tools and Household Appliances

  • Mr Mark Woor - Marketing Manager, Professional/Industrial Channel

  • Mr Rahul Chandra – Commercial Product Manager, Consumer

  • Mr Ershad Abdul Gulam – Regional E-Commerce Manager

• THE HEALTH MEDICAL SERVICES – Health care

  • Dr Ahmed Al Haje – Chairman

  • Dr Mamoun Theyabat – CEO

  • Dr Mohammed Ehsan - Quality Manager

  • Mrs Safeena Kamal – HR Manager

• TPS – Fintech

  • Mr Ovais Habib Khan, COO, TPS

  • Mr Ali Abdullah Tariq, Regional Manager Business Development

• TRISTAR GROUP LLC – Energy Logistics (Oil & Gas)

  • Mr Eugene Mayne – Group Chief Executive Officer

  • Mr Balaji Nagabhushan – Group Chief Administrative Officer

  • Mr Mohan Dharmarajan – Business Excellence Manager

  • Mr Arthur Los Banos – Corporate Communications Manager

  • Ms Ashwatha Mahesh – Asst. Manager, CSR & Sustainability

Chapter-Wise Key Words

• CHAPTER 1:

  Transformational leadership; customer centricity; intrapreneurial behavior; total quality management; innovation success; absorptive capacity; corporate social responsibility

• CHAPTER 2:

  Brand image; customer satisfaction; product quality; training; unique market offerings; market research

• CHAPTER 3:

  Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), distributor, brand-building behavior, people strategy, data-driven culture, processes-based operations, strategic orientation

• CHAPTER 4:

  Managerial efficiency; inter-unit integration; intellectual capital; service orientation; social marketing efficiency; voluntary involvement

• CHAPTER 5:

  Customer-centric; participatory leadership; strategic partnership; holistic value proposition; training orientation; empowering leaders; dynamic planning and management

• CHAPTER 6:

  Customer centricity; transformational leadership; research orientation; adaptive culture; corporate transparency; cross-functional specialization; sustainable corporate thinking

• CHAPTER 7:

  Leadership; quality management; risk management; corporate social responsibility; sustainability; marketing strategy; technology; innovation; artificial intelligence

• CHAPTER 8:

  Data-driven; customer-obsessed; employees-centric; continuous innovation; digital transformation; e-commerce; online retail

• CHAPTER 9:

  Situational leadership; innovation; Kaizen; quality; R&D; knowledge spillover; esprit de corps; corporate citizenship

• CHAPTER 10:

  Agility; change management; innovation as corporate culture; customer engagement; effective channel management; brand leveraging

• CHAPTER 11:

  Customers relationship management (CRM); leadership style; employee engagement; market orientation; quality circles (QCs); patient-centric care; service innovation

• CHAPTER 12:

  Market orientation; customer relationship; innovation; digital payments; fintech; employee orientation; agility; customer orientation

• CHAPTER 13:

  Strategic agility; responsible leadership; safety thinking; integrative growth strategy; employee engagement; CSR and sustainability