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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 31 December 2010

Marwan N. Al Qur’an

This study looks at drivers of internationalisation and the important location decision factors contributed to the selection of a beneficial country for international expansion…

Abstract

This study looks at drivers of internationalisation and the important location decision factors contributed to the selection of a beneficial country for international expansion. One in‐depth and information‐rich case study of the Arabian premium international professional service firms was purposively undertaken. The results show that both firm and location‐specific factors, firm’s competitive advantage, company’s management attitudes and profit growth were the main drivers of internationalisation. Further, the study reveals that the pre‐development of country qualitative and quantitative location factors was elemental to attain profitable foreign country choice. Accordingly, these findings have significant theoretical and practical implications to the internationalisation and foreign market entry of professional service firms.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 6 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2020

Marwan Al Qur’an

This study aims to explore critical success factors contributing to the selection of beneficial foreign markets by Arabian international firms.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore critical success factors contributing to the selection of beneficial foreign markets by Arabian international firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple case study method was adopted in the study, and thus, two rich-information comparative case studies were purposefully selected from Arabian large firms. Additionally, seven international market selection (IMS) decisions were examined through relying on personal interviews and archival data, and field notes as secondary data resources. Two main stages of analysis were undertaken, i.e. within and cross-case analyses.

Findings

The results showed four critical factors contributing to the selection of beneficial international markets by Arabian firms, i.e. international business experience of the selected management team, the market knowledge about the potential international markets, in-house and external consultations with international business experts and identification of a trustworthy and internationally experienced manager for the international operation.

Practical implications

The results have important implications to business managers by improving their foreign market selection behavior. Further, the research’s findings can assist less-experienced firms, willing to internationalize their businesses, in enhancing their decision-making process to arrive at beneficial country for their international operations.

Originally/value

The research findings provide significant theoretical contribution to literature review on the internationalization process of firms through addressing critical success factors in IMS decision process. Further, it provides significant methodological contributions in relation to the effectiveness of the case study approach in capturing elements of the IMS process.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov

The purpose of this study is to examine, through the lens of the buying center concept, a theorized link between organizational buying behavior (OBB) and a national culture of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine, through the lens of the buying center concept, a theorized link between organizational buying behavior (OBB) and a national culture of collectivism, large power distance, particularism and a wasta practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology was used to gain better understanding of OBB in an under-researched business environment of the Arabian Gulf. The data come from 41 organizational practitioners who reported on the industrial buying processes in their organizations with reference to the buying center framework.

Findings

The study developed a model of the buying center for the emerging markets governed by socio-political institutions.

Research limitations/implications

The data were obtained only from one culturally specific world region.

Practical implications

To attain efficacious results in culturally distant business environments, industrial marketers should complement home country experience with a thorough understanding of how national cultures affect the dynamics of OBB.

Originality/value

The study updates the conceptualization of the buying center’s organizational actors (OAs) for business contexts beyond traditional, mature markets. It reveals the typology of decisional influencers, introduces and defines the role of advisers and clarifies the role of the gatekeeping bureaucracy and differing perceptions thereof by OAs.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2019

Abdullah Al-Yami and Muizz O. Sanni-Anibire

Although there is a boom in the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), it is yet to fully adopt building information modeling (BIM), which has received a lot…

1558

Abstract

Purpose

Although there is a boom in the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), it is yet to fully adopt building information modeling (BIM), which has received a lot of attention in the US, UK and Australian construction industries. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide the current state of the art in BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia, as well as perceived benefits and barriers through a case study.

Design/methodology/approach

A broad overview of BIM, the construction industry in KSA and the research and implementation of BIM in KSA was presented in this study. The research further established the perceived benefits and barriers of BIM implementation through a case study of a local AEC firm. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain lessons learned from the BIM team of the pilot project and was further analyzed using the RII approach.

Findings

The study’s findings include the lack of policy initiatives in KSA to enforce BIM in the construction industry, as well as the lack of sufficient research in the domain of BIM in KSA. Furthermore, the case study also revealed that the most important benefit of BIM adoption is “detection of inter-disciplinary conflicts in the drawings to reduce error, maintain design intent, control quality and speed up communication,” whereas the most important barrier is “the need for re-engineering many construction projects for successful transition towards BIM.”

Originality/value

The study provides a background for enhanced research towards the implementation of BIM in Saudi Arabia and also demonstrates the potential benefits and barriers in BIM implementation.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2017

Kais Baatour, Hakim Ben Othman and Khaled Hussainey

The study aims to examine the effect of multiple directorships on accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management. It analyses whether earnings management practices…

1803

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to examine the effect of multiple directorships on accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management. It analyses whether earnings management practices in the Saudi context increase or decrease with the average number of multiple directorships.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses the approach by Roychowdhury (2006) to capture the level of real earnings management and uses the cross-sectional model by Jones (1991) to measure accrual-based earnings management.

Findings

The paper provides partial evidence supporting the “busyness” hypothesis where earnings management practices increase with the number of multiple directorships. The evidence shows that multiple directorships have a positive and significant effect on real earnings management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, we find no significant impact of multiple directorships on accrual-based earnings management.

Originality/value

This is the first study that empirically investigates the relationship between multiple directorships and earnings management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The paper contributes to the limited literature on multiple directorships in developing countries by examining their impact on opportunistic real earnings management.

Article
Publication date: 17 September 2018

C. Muhammad Siddique

The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational resources that may enhance the performance outcomes of a learning culture; this study was undertaken in the United Arab…

1480

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational resources that may enhance the performance outcomes of a learning culture; this study was undertaken in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an emerging economy in the Arabian Gulf region.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was used to collect data on a sample of 254 firms from the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The target respondents included middle to senior managers working in logistics, operations, finance and general management positions.

Findings

The data revealed a positive relationship between learning organization (LO) initiatives and four measures of firm performance considered in the study: employee skills development, product/service innovation, cost-effectiveness and growth in revenues. This relationship was moderated by strategic orientation of the human resource management function and perceived organizational support. Effective HRM strategies and organizational support systems were identified as critical resources that can add substantial value to the performance outcomes of an LO culture. These findings suggest that investing in the development of an LO culture makes a good business sense.

Research limitations/implications

Use of perceptual measures was one of the major limitations of the present study.

Practical implications

The largely positive impact of LO-related programs underscores the strategic importance of the LO concept to maintain superior performance outcomes in the emerging knowledge economy of UAE.

Originality/value

The paper represents an initial effort at making a business case for the LO concept in a non-western context. It brings into focus the role of organizational support and strategically oriented human resource management initiatives in optimizing the performance impact an LO culture.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 April 2014

Fiona Patrick

Education and human capital development are seen by the government of Saudi Arabia as vital to the aim of gaining knowledge economy status. Although financial investment has been…

Abstract

Education and human capital development are seen by the government of Saudi Arabia as vital to the aim of gaining knowledge economy status. Although financial investment has been evident in education and human capital development in Saudi Arabia for many years, knowledge acquisition, production, and diffusion remain problematic. The strategy that underpins the shift to a knowledge economy is based on the assumption drawn from human capital theory that education can transform individual productivity and therefore promote economic development. However, the links between education and economic growth are not as linear as this framing of education suggests, but depend on complex social processes. Within these processes, individual understandings of knowledge and knowledge creation are crucial. The implications of this for Saudi Arabia are discussed with reference to the work of Knorr Cetina (2007) on knowledge cultures and David and Foray (2002) on knowledge communities. A transition to a knowledge economy is more likely to occur when cultural and social conditions enable the development of knowledge cultures and knowledge communities.

Details

Education for a Knowledge Society in Arabian Gulf Countries
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-834-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2023

Mohammad S. Al-Mohammad, Ahmad Tarmizi Haron, Rahimi A. Rahman and Yasir Alhammadi

This study examines the underlying relationships between the critical factors of building information modeling (BIM) implementation and the factors' groupings among architecture…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the underlying relationships between the critical factors of building information modeling (BIM) implementation and the factors' groupings among architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) organizations in Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the study are to (1) identify the critical factors for BIM implementation, (2) analyze the interrelationships between the critical factors and (3) compare the critical factors between the different organizational characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

First, potential factors were identified through a systematic literature review and interviews with AEC professionals. Then, a questionnaire survey was sent to AEC professionals and the collected data were analyzed using the following techniques and tests: mean score ranking, standard deviation, normalized value, factor analysis (FA), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc Tukey test.

Findings

The analyses show that 14 factors are critical for BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia. The top critical factors include the existence of standard contracts on data security and user confidentiality, consistent views on BIM among stakeholders and the availability of guidelines for implementing BIM. Of the 14 critical factors, 9 can be grouped into 4 underlying factors: environmental, governmental, legal and organizational. The analysis shows that the criticality of the most critical factors grouped by the FA varies between different levels of BIM competency. Finally, the presence of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in realizing BIM projects is a new and emerging critical factor for BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia.

Originality/value

This study differs from prior works on BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia by using FA to explore the underlying relationships among factors of BIM implementation and the factors' groupings. Based on the FA results, a roadmap for implementing the BIM was developed. These findings will help to purposefully and efficiently customize BIM implementation strategies and initiatives to ensure successful BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 August 2022

Fawaz Baddar ALHussan and Faten Baddar AL-Husan

Interpersonal and informal ties and networks, known as wasta in the Arab Middle East region, remain a major force in Middle Eastern societies, determining most economic, social…

Abstract

Interpersonal and informal ties and networks, known as wasta in the Arab Middle East region, remain a major force in Middle Eastern societies, determining most economic, social and political outcomes. Yet the literature on informal ties and networks is largely characterized by a lack of contributions from the Arab world, despite the adverse effect that lack of understanding of the wasta phenomenon is having on the effectiveness of expatriate managers and subsequently on business performance. This chapter therefore aims to shed light on the meaning, characteristics, structure, and role of wasta in establishing and maintaining successful business relationships. It ends with recommendations for foreign investors and international managers who wish to establish and maintain successful business relationships in the Middle East on how to capitalize on interpersonal networks within this process.

Details

Informal Networks in International Business
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-878-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2011

Thorsten Gruber, Ibrahim Abosag, Alexander E. Reppel and Isabelle Szmigin

This paper seeks to use the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions…

4189

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to use the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions. Previous research revealed that excitement factors deteriorate to basic factors over time. This research aims to investigate whether the same phenomenon holds true for attributes of service employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using Kano questionnaires from 272 respondents with complaining experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, these being two countries at different stages of service sector development.

Findings

The analysis of the Kano questionnaires for the UK reveals that complaining customers take the contact employee's ability to listen carefully for granted. The Kano results for Saudi Arabia clearly indicate that complaining customers are (still) easier to delight than their UK counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

Even though the study has a sample size similar to several existing Kano studies, future research studies could still use larger probability samples that represent the broader (complaining) consumer population in the selected countries.

Practical implications

If companies know what complaining customers expect, frontline employees may be trained to adapt their behaviour to their customers' underlying expectations. For this purpose, the paper gives several suggestions to managers to improve active complaint handling and management.

Originality/value

The study adds to the understanding of effective complaint handling. The findings are the first to show that employee factors that are performance factors in a highly developed service economy can still delight customers in a less developed service economy.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

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