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The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers to the change management in the public sector of educational institutions such as public schools of the Ministry of Education in the GCC countries. The exploration of the research is based on the ADKAR change management model that consists of five key elements, which are awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement. The ADKAR model was used for many reasons, among these reasons is that it allows management to separate the change process into parts, pinpointing where change is failing and addressing that impact point.

Five public schools and employees from the educational directorate were taken as samples in this study. The unit of analysis was the employees, and data on these change drivers were collected from questionnaires and interviews.

The study findings were articulated through strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were the desire to change and networking. The weaknesses were the knowledge element such as the absence of predetermining guideline for the implementation of the system; another observed weakness was in the leader’s authority, where leaders do not have clear definition of authority and responsibility to take a decision; and finally the deficiency in performance appraisal for not being taken on regular basis and the rewarding system for not being linked to performance appraisal.

The information and feedback collected from the questionnaire may not represent all of the facts of the questionnaire subject; therefore, the researchers may have to use an unstructured interview to enhance the quality of information obtained. Due to the long bureaucratic procedures for issuance of permission from the higher research authorities (Scientific Research Directorate) to apply the questionnaire in the Ministry of Education, this took nearly three weeks, which was long considering the time available to end the research and resulted in a significant change in the project schedule.

This study provides an empirical evidence that gives a deep insight about the elements that act as barriers to change in the public sector of educational institutions, as there are certain elements that are tied to the nature and characteristics of the public sector itself that act as barriers to change.

Knowledge development is an essential part of the public sector development scheme. Effective training programs are the most important means to develop knowledge, considering that it has to be properly designed and delivered. Training programs should also be structured in a way that fills the knowledge gaps that exist between the present state and the future state. One useful technique for filling and assessing the gaps between the current state and future state requirements is by writing new job descriptions for employees, which should include details of knowledge and skills needed to perform that role during and after the transition.

The purpose of this study is to discover the factors related to human resource (HR) digital transformation (DT) in Bahrain during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to analyze the impact of e-human resource management (e-HRM) on organizational performance. These factors are funding, information technology (IT) infrastructure, technical support, digital skills or talents, organizational culture, employee resistance and top management support. These factors were tested to determine whether they affected HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19. There are no findings in the researched literature regarding the proposed factors that affect HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19 in this study.

For data collection, a quantitative method was applied by conducting an online survey and distributing it to HR executives and employees from multiple organizations in Bahrain, both in the private and public sectors.

This study proposes a DT adoption model based on seven factors extracted from the literature review. A questionnaire was deployed, and accurate data were collected, processed and then analyzed. The logit model shows determinants factor to the DT adoption where all variables have a positive effect.

Using technology in an organization’s HR practices, known as e-HRM or HR DT, is becoming more crucial since the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike European countries, the HR sector in Bahrain is not prepared to adopt the e-HRM process. This paper proposes a model that enables the HR sector to adopt digital technologies. This model is based on the key factors that enable an effective transition to the sector’s digitalization (e-HRM). Future research is sought to provide additional insights into the same factors and measure their effect on HR DT during COVID-19 in other countries.

This paper aims to examine the factors affecting the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) sustainably in mobile operators in the kingdom of Bahrain.

The research relies on the existing literature as a secondary data source. The primary data was collected through questionnaires distributed to three leading mobile operators in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The research's population numbered 1,689, and the sample size was 313; the simple random sampling method was used for data collection with a response rate of 87.2% out of a total sample size of 273 respondents. In addition, the responses were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software version 24.0; specifically, Spearman's rank correlation was used to test the hypotheses. The research design was quantitative, so a nonparametric procedure was applied to test the hypotheses.

The research produced positive relationships between the independent variables (economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic and environmental responsibilities) and the dependent variable: CSR implementation by Bahrain mobile operators; therefore, the five proposed hypotheses were accepted; furthermore, the highest positive correlation coefficient was 0.735 for environmental responsibility, and the lowest correlation coefficient was 0.533 for economic responsibility.

The research produced positive relationships between the independent variables (economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, philanthropic responsibility and environmental responsibility) and the dependent variable: CSR implementation by Bahrain mobile operators; therefore, the five proposed hypotheses were accepted; furthermore, the highest positive correlation coefficient was 0.735 for environmental responsibility, and the lowest correlation coefficient was 0.533 for economic responsibility.

The outcomes of the research mainly suggest that mobile operators assign employees who have been working with the company for more than 7 years to implement CSR; due to their engagement to implement CSR as a sustainable practice more than others with less than 3 years or 3-6 years in Bahrain mobile operators. Besides, the research provides a starting point by which other researchers could investigate CSR in other sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The research provided a framework for Bahrain mobile operators to assist them in enhancing the implementation of CSR in a sustainable manner, which are economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic and environmental responsibilities.

The study aims to develop an integrated model for three-dimensional (3D) printing adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) context to form a baseline for more theoretical and empirical debate from emerging markets.

A qualitative approach with a convenience sample is adopted since there is no formal body that has accurate data about the number of companies, governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, labs, etc. that already have adopted 3D printing.

The results indicate that the technological usefulness of 3D printing and its ease-of-use factor were found to be lacking among community members and governmental officials. Yet, these factors were the most influential factor affecting the spread of 3D printing technology adoption in the GCC countries. Nevertheless, the adaptation of 3D printing is not yet at the level of its global markets, nor is it used within leading companies’ assembly lines. In addition, the 3D printing awareness and use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the adaptation rate is still below expectations due to several challenges that face the growth of the 3D printing market in the GCC countries. The most vital challenge facing 3D printing growth is manifested in governmental policies and regulations.

Companies’ managers can benefit from the current study results by focusing on the factors that facilitate 3D adoption and avoiding bottle-neck factors that hinder the speed of the 3D adoption. 3D providers can also benefit by understanding the factors that affect 3D adoption and designing their machine and marketing strategy in a way that helps the intended companies to easily adopt 3D printing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explored 3D printing adoption on the GCC countries’ level. It also adds a new flavor to the literature by exploring 3D adoption during the COVID-19 crisis.

This research aims at investigating the role of certain factors in organizational culture in the success of knowledge sharing. Such factors as interpersonal trust, communication between staff, information systems, rewards and organization structure play an important role in defining the relationships between staff and in turn, providing possibilities to break obstacles to knowledge sharing. This research is intended to contribute in helping businesses understand the essential role of organizational culture in nourishing knowledge and spreading it in order to become leaders in utilizing their know‐how and enjoying prosperity thereafter.

The conclusions of this study are based on interpreting the results of a survey and a number of interviews with staff from various organizations in Bahrain from the public and private sectors.

The research findings indicate that trust, communication, information systems, rewards and organization structure are positively related to knowledge sharing in organizations.

The authors believe that further research is required to address governmental sector institutions, where organizational politics dominate a role in hoarding knowledge, through such methods as case studies and observation.

Previous research indicated that the Bahraini society is influenced by traditions of household, tribe, and especially religion of the Arab and Islamic world. These factors define people's beliefs and behaviours, and thus exercise strong influence in the performance of business organizations. This study is motivated by the desire to explore the role of the national organizational culture on knowledge sharing, which may be different from previous studies conducted abroad.

The purpose of this paper is to draw a map of the general features of epistemological and critical concerns in contemporary Islamic philosophy. This study will not be confined to the domain of academic philosophy or to those who are professionals in the field of philosophy.

The paper adopted the critical rational approach in dealing with contemporary Islamic philosophy in the Arab world. The scope will include scholars from different fields of epistemology who tried to present a “vision” of the attitude that should be adopted in facing the challenges of the age and the problems of the nation on the epistemological level or the political, economic and social levels.

There is a need for a philosophy of action and progress rather than a philosophy that is based on abstract ideas and theories and of words/rhetoric. The ethics required to accomplish this ought to identify the attributes of the citizen who can reach self-actualization through legitimate means based on a progress agenda with theoretical and philosophical foundations.

Because a critical rational approach can be dealt with from different perspectives, this paper will adopt the classification of the principal intellectual trends: the reformist, secular and liberal.

This paper covers a long time span to determine whether the philosophical projects have been effective.

This paper, which criticizes the philosophic projects that are theoretically unsound and that do not address real social problems (like poverty), argues the need for a philosophy of progress and action. This will lead to devising an agenda that addresses the challenges the society is facing and to finding alternative and creative solutions resulting in development.

Manufacturing sectors are identified to be of the foremost importance expected to increase Malaysia's GDP contribution to the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11th MP). The present study aims to examine the effects of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on knowledge sharing in manufacturing SMEs. The impact of intellectual capital and EO on firms' innovation performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is accordingly investigated by considering knowledge sharing as the mediator.

The data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of the owners or top managers of 121 manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Partial least square (PLS) was used to analyze the obtained data.

Results indicated that human capital, as well as external relational capital, has a positive correlation with both knowledge sharing and innovation performance mediated by knowledge sharing. It was also shown that knowledge sharing has a significant impact on firm innovation performance. Interestingly, structural capital, internal relational capital and (EO) did not significantly impact knowledge sharing and innovation performance. However, all of these elements are important to influence the firm's innovation performance.

The study contributes to the literature on intellectual capital, entrepreneurial orientation, knowledge sharing and innovation through developing and testing the possible connections among them. The finding of this study will provide owners and top managers in manufacturing SMEs insight into the variables improving firm innovation performance.

This study provides a basis for researchers to reach more mounting evidence about the practice of knowledge sharing and innovation performance among manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia.