Zayed Al Hussaini Group: the road ahead for the family business in the UAE
Publication date: 18 February 2014
Abstract
Subject area
Corporate strategy and family business management.
Study level/applicability
The case is designed for usage in senior-level undergraduate courses of strategic management and managing family businesses.
Case overview
This case study relates the story of the launch and development of Zayed Al Hussaini Group, a family business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The business had been established a year after the unionization of the different Emirates by the founder, Zayed Al Hussaini, in partnership with his brother. Following a series of strategic moves, such as acquisitions and divestures, and adverse family-related events, the Group was led solely by the founder himself. Over the years, Zayed Al Hussaini Group has grown to become a successful family business in various industries of its operation, but following the death of the founder's son, the company activities have been struck with chaos. Zayed's nephew, Ahmed, who had left the family business to continue his studies and work at McKinsey & Company in London, has been called back home after eight years to take the lead of the entire Group. However, he is faced with several challenges, such as dealing with the family gap he has developed over time and balancing family and business priorities. Will Ahmed be able to make the right decisions in the role and responsibilities that have been bestowed upon him?
Expected learning outcomes
To analyse the process of launching a family business and making strategic decisions for managing its development over time.
To assess the potential difficulties and challenges which are associated with managing a family-run organization.
To evaluate the effectiveness of decisions with regards to the company's growth and succession management planning.
To apply relevant theoretical concepts to the analysis of complex situations in the specific context of family businesses.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The initial stages of this project have benefited from research funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of the UAE (Grant Agreement No. 0516/2011) as part of the Research and Scholarship Awards (RSA) 2009 Competition (Project No. RSA-1108-00466). The case presentation and analysis reflect only the authors' views and the NRF is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The final stages of this research project were conducted while Dr Bodolica and Dr Spraggon were on a Visiting Faculty Fellowship at the London School of Economics and Political Science Middle East Center. Drs Bodolica and Spraggon would like to acknowledge with many thanks the support of the fellowship and are particularly grateful to Dr Robert Lowe, the Manager of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, for his support and encouragement.
Citation
Shahid, A., Bodolica, V. and Spraggon, M. (2014), "Zayed Al Hussaini Group: the road ahead for the family business in the UAE", , Vol. 4 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-06-2013-0098
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited