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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the change in management accounting and control systems (MACSs) within two large public manufacturing companies in Libya so-called Trucks and Buses Company (TBC) and National Trailers Company (NTC).

The paper is based on semi-structured interviews, an analysis of documents and observations. It draws on New Institutional Sociology (NIS) perspective (DiMaggio and Powell’s 1983) as theoretical framework to provide explanations regarding how the MACS in the two companies were shaped by various factors.

The main factors identified in shaping the operations of the MACS were the need to comply with the political pressures, the Libyan Government’s laws and regulations, the instructions imposed by the management committee in both companies, leading organizations’ pressures (ISO), customer satisfaction (coercive isomorphism), the influence of professional associations (normative isomorphism) and the need to imitate efficient organizations in order to be more legitimate and successful (mimetic isomorphism).

The findings of the study have implications for understanding the operations of MACS in developing countries. Future research could focus on alternative theoretical perspectives for the investigation of the process of change in MACS such as structuration theory, agency theory and actor-network theory.

The proposed theoretical framework provides insights into the process of change by focusing on the interplay between the institutional forces, market forces and intra – organizational power relationships to overcome the criticism of NIS that it downplays the role of market forces and intra – organizational power relations.

This study sets out to explore the impact of organisational culture innovation on the adoption of information systems (IS) in Libya's oil and banking sectors.

Using a structured survey questionnaire based on Cameron and Quinn's Organisational Culture Assessments Instrument (OCAI), 400 questionnaires were administered to middle and top management employees in more than 15 government and public organisations in Libya's oil and banking sectors.

The findings showed that there is a relationship between organisational culture innovations and the adoption of IS. The findings also showed that there are no differences in the organisational culture type between the two sectors covered in this study.

The findings imply that organisational culture innovations are influenced by other factors, which are worthy of investigation. The future implications of this research are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of total quality management (TQM) implementation in Libyan manufacturing companies (LMCs), and its impact on organisational performance (OP). The paper further investigates the impact of TQM implementation on OP, both in the presence or absence, of ISO 9000.

This paper examines the extent of TQM implementation in LMCs, and its impact on OP. The paper further investigates the impact of TQM implementation on OP, both in the presence or absence, of ISO 9000.

The results on the level of TQM implementation in the 56 companies surveyed revealed that Libyan companies are still struggling to embark effectively upon TQM. Data analysis indicated that each TQM element, except supplier quality management, was significantly correlated with at least one of the nine OP improvements. The results of the regression analysis showed that each OP measure was only predicted by one TQM element. However, process management and top management commitment were found to be the most important TQM elements in terms of their impact on OP. This study investigated the impact of TQM implementation on OP in both the presence and absence of ISO 9000 Certification. It was found that there were no significant differences between ISO 9000-certified companies and their non-ISO 9000-certified counterparts in OP, except in exports growth.

This study did not examine OP in relation to how long the company had implemented TQM. Other limitations of this research are related to the unrevealed effect of the type of industry on OP, and also to the limited number of key performance indicators used.

This empirical study is the first to examine the relationship between all the proposed TQM elements and OP in the Libyan Industrial Sector (LIS). It further adds to the TQM literature on the impact of ISO 9000 Certification on various dimensions of OP. This research highlights the implications, and recommendations for LMCs to effectively adopt TQM elements and increase their OP, which in turn, will assist development of the Libyan economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of total quality management (TQM) implementation in Libyan manufacturing companies (LMCs), and evaluates the impact of ISO 9000, and company size on its implementation.

A framework, comprised of six TQM elements is proposed. Data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire distributed to those companies which agreed to participate.

The results are the responses of a comprehensive survey which showed that Libyan companies are still struggling to effectively embark on TQM. The correlations among the six investigated TQM elements were positive and significant. This study also investigated whether the level of TQM implementation is influenced by contextual factors, including company size and ISO 9000 certification. It was found that there were no differences between TQM elements across ISO and non‐ISO certified companies. The findings also revealed that there is no significant difference between small and medium (S&M)‐sized companies (on each of the TQM elements) and those of large companies.

A longitudinal and wider research is required to investigate TQM implementation across private manufacturing and other companies.

This analytical study is the first to determine the degree to which TQM has been adopted in the Libyan industrial sector (LIS). The results will contribute to the literature by examining the relationship between the proposed TQM elements, and investigating the impact of contextual factors (ISO 9000, company size) on each element of TQM. This research should prove valuable for the Libyan Government in its stated efforts to motivate companies to embark on a TQM program and improve their business performance which, in turn, will improve the Libyan economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate quality factors that are absolutely essential for successful implementation of total quality management (TQM) in Libyan oil and gas companies (LOGCs).

In all, 11 quality factors with 42 elements were identified to develop a questionnaire to carry out the survey in order to identify the quality factors that are seen by LOGCs to be critical to the success of TQM implementation. In total, 45 questionnaires were provided by hand to quality-related managers from the Libyan oil and gas sector. A total of 42 were returned sufficiently completed, that gave us a response rate of approximately 93.33 per cent.

The empirical analysis demonstrates several key findings: the analysis indicated that 24 quality factors are found to be critical and absolutely essential for successful TQM implementation. These factors classify into three levels of criticality. All of the factors were found to be supported by similar studies and cited literatures.

The research is subject to the normal limitations of survey research. The study is using perceptual data provided by quality managers and engineers which may not provide clear picture. It may be suitable to consider gathering information from various stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers and even competitors. However, this can be overcome using multiple methods to collect data in future studies. Interestingly, the findings here may be generalisable outside Libya, i.e. South Mediterranean countries.

LOGCs should consider TQM as an innovative tool for improving business performance in today's competitive environment. The findings suggest that the TQM critical success factors should be implemented completely as a whole package rather than on a fragmented basis to get the full potential of the TQM.

The study investigate the critical quality factors for successful TQM implementation which will direct an organisation towards business excellence and enhancing success of TQM practices in the oil and gas sector. Very few studies have been performed to investigate and understand this issue. Therefore, the research can make a useful contribution.

This paper aims to investigate the current status of manpower capability, and to identify the key factors that influenced the development of manpower capability within private house building companies in Libya.

The aim and the proposition of the research are set out after a literature review and synthesis. Then a multiple case study approach is adopted to conduct exploratory case studies into joint venture housing projects.

The findings of the study confirm that there should be an interlinked tripartite strategy between the Government, foreign investors and local private house building firms to improve manpower capability so that the Government's housing targets are achieved and sustained. The proposed integrated framework offers a targeted approach to achieve a stepped change in achieving both a quantitative and qualitative growth in housing.

The paper makes an original contribution to the knowledge on joint venture house building in developing countries. The research identifies the current strengths and weaknesses of manpower in professing a stepped change in the area to meet the needs of the Government's housing target, and while the majority of the changes are applicable within the Libyan case study context, opportunities exist to generalise towards other developing countries thereby to gain further value out of this research.

This study distinctively explores the firm-level and national-level determinants of audit committee effectiveness (ACE) in the Libyan banking sector (LBS).

A mixed-methods approach has been employed to enhance the quality of the collected data and reduce the risk of bias. Five groups of actors in the Libyan banking sector were surveyed, including board members, AC members, executive managers, internal auditors and external auditors, further to interviewing a representative sample of these groups. In total, 218 survey responses were gathered, and 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted.

The study results show that AC authority, financial expertise and diligence are positively and significantly attributed to ACE, although AC independence and resources are not significantly related to ACE. The authors find that the legal and regulatory environment, government intervention, and the accounting and auditing environment are perceived as important and associated with ACE regarding national-level factors. These findings are strongly supported by semi-structured interviews and suggest that both firm-level and national-level factors are essential in understanding ACE in Libya's banking sector.

The study’s evidence reiterates the vital need for more concentrated work to integrate governance, legislative and regulatory reforms to ensure the effectiveness of ACs as a key corporate governance (CG) mechanism in developing economies.

This study extends the literature relating measures of AC inputs and outputs by examining the perception of stakeholders to understand both the firm-level and national-level factors that affect ACE in a single institutional setting. Additionally, this work adds to the limited number of recent studies examining the role of ACs in the banking sector in developing economies.

The paper aims to investigate disclosure practices in the annual reports of Libyan banks in the run‐up to the opening of the nation's first stock exchange. Banks dominate this embryonic market but very little research has examined the extent (or determinants) of transparency achieved by these firms, an issue argued by Stiglitz and others to be crucial in the post‐crisis era. Currently, no detailed evidence of disclosure practices prior to the launch of the exchange exists, making an accurate assessment of the market's impact in this area impossible; the present study therefore contributes in this regard as well.

The study employs two main methods: a disclosure index‐based analysis of mandatory and overall disclosure levels; and panel regression analysis of the determinants of the overall disclosure levels.

The results suggest that while many items are disclosed on a regular basis, on average barely more than half of all possible items appear in the annual reports. As regards compliance with mandatory requirements, the figures are higher but, worryingly, begin to fall as the launch of the market neared. The results of panel‐data analysis suggest that the overall extent of disclosure is non‐random, instead reflecting the profits achieved by the banks concerned.

This paper is the first detailed analysis of disclosure practices in Libyan banks and the results suggest that market authorities should be looking for an improvement in the figures, in particular the reversal of a downward trend in compliance with mandatory requirements. The paper reports a link between profit level and disclosure propensity; this evidence might be of use to regulators charged with increasing disclosure levels in the future. More generally, the results provide a comparative basis on which to assess the effect of the market's launch on disclosure practices in Libya.

Considering the importance of current Libyan business environment, this paper aims to understand the influence of culture on perceived service quality that leads to customer satisfaction in the Libyan banking industry. In addition, it would be interesting to explore which type of banks, e.g. public or private banks, moderate the relationship between perceived service quality and customer satisfaction.

The data were collected from the customers who are receiving services from the top three private and top three public banks in the cities of Tripoli and Misurata, Libya. About 329 samples were obtained and Smart PLS was used for the statistical analysis.

The results show that perceived service quality is strongly predicted by collectivism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Perceived service quality also leads to customer satisfaction among the Libyan banking customers. Further, public bank is more concerned on customer satisfaction compared to private banks.

The research has greater implication for the Middle-Eastern bank managers who are pursuing possibilities of newer business strategies.

The study provides an interesting viewpoint of the banking service in Libya, especially in the economic uncertainty post-war and political instability. Its focus on culture as a strong influence to the delivery of service quality in such context is admirable especially in relation with the embedded Islamic culture.

Results of the empirical studies on Libyan management practice generally, and MTD in particular, indicate that the administrative functions are practised and operated without effective methods, and away from acceptable standards. Libyan public companies have difficulty in identifying the training required for their employees, which has led to a common feeling among employees that they do not have enough training to enable them to perform their job properly. Furthermore, the decisions related to MTD activity are still dependent on personal relations, family ties, tribalism, etc. rather than on an established procedure. Focuses on the assessment of MTD needs and selection for MTDPs in Libyan industrial companies by finding out how these companies select their employees for MTDPs and the main ways and techniques used by the companies to perform this activity. Reveals that the approaches and techniques used by companies for selecting their employees for MTDPs and for assessing MTD needs depend mostly on indications of performance reports and on bosses’ and supervisors’ views. At the same time, surveyed and interviewed managers did not indicate any communication with the employees who are the basic ground for MTDPs. Identifies the difficulties and problems in MTD needs assessment and, therefore, allows readers to contrast Libyan management training and development practices with their own local counterparts.