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1 – 7 of 7Laurice Alexandre and Radwan Kharabsheh
Bahrain is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is the third smallest country in Asia. Like its neighbours’, Bahrain’s economy is developing fast and the place of…
Abstract
Purpose
Bahrain is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is the third smallest country in Asia. Like its neighbours’, Bahrain’s economy is developing fast and the place of women in the work landscape is evolving. But few papers discuss the situation of women entrepreneurs in this country. The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of women entrepreneurship in Bahrain, a country in the midst of high transition. The research question is: How do Bahraini women cope with the evolution of their environment? And how far are they keen to develop their own businesses?
Design/methodology/approach
After a literature review, a qualitative research was conducted among 12 women entrepreneurs of 19 to 51 years of age.
Findings
The results show a new kind of female entrepreneurship in the Arab region based on the support of the sociocultural environment, which is in contradiction with the literature. Also, it seems that Bahrain women are more in pull, not push situation to entrepreneurship. However, they need a role model to achieve their goals, which is new to the literature about women entrepreneurship in general and that in the developing countries in particular. As regards the obstacles, some Bahraini women seem to suffer from a lack of experience and knowledge in setting a business online. However, the results show that the companies of these women are mostly small and evolving in the service sector, with a trend in online businesses.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the number of persons interviewed, which does not allow the generalization of the results. Also, generalization to the whole region is not possible because each country of the GCC has its own rules and practices towards women. Also, this study has not investigated the attitude towards the risk and the balance between family and profession.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few research studies on female entrepreneurship in Bahrain. The findings are in contradiction with the literature on women entrepreneurship in developing countries and more specifically in the GCC. This study offers many research perspectives and could help governmental and non-governmental institutions to empower and support women in their actions.
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Waed Ensour, Hadeel Al Maaitah and Radwan Kharabsheh
Arab female academics struggle to advance within their universities in both academic and managerial ranks. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the factors hindering Arab…
Abstract
Purpose
Arab female academics struggle to advance within their universities in both academic and managerial ranks. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the factors hindering Arab women’s academic career development through studying the case of Jordanian academic women.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through document analysis (Jordan constitution, Jordanian Labour Law and its amendments, higher education and scientific research law, Jordanian universities’ law and universities’ HR policies and regulations), interviews with 20 female academics and a focus group with 13 female academics (members of the Association of Jordanian Female Academics).
Findings
The results indicate female academics as tokens facing many interconnected and interrelated barriers embodied in cultural, social, economic and legal factors. The findings support the general argument proposed in human resource management (HRM) literature regarding the influence of culture on HRM practices and also propose that the influence of culture extends to having an impact on HR policies’ formulation as well as the formal legal system.
Originality/value
The influence of culture on women’s career development and various HR practices is well established in HR literature. But the findings of this study present a further pressure of culture. HR policies and other regulations were found to be formulated in the crucible of national culture. Legalizing discriminatory issues deepens the stereotypical pictures of women, emphasizing the domestic role of women and making it harder to break the glass ceiling and old-boy network.
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Mark Anthony Farrell, Edward Oczkowski and Radwan Kharabsheh
Despite failure rates of around 30 per cent, international joint ventures (IJVs) continue to grow. It is argued that IJVs provide a platform for organisational learning, which…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite failure rates of around 30 per cent, international joint ventures (IJVs) continue to grow. It is argued that IJVs provide a platform for organisational learning, which facilitates organisational performance. Intuitively, IJVs that are learning oriented should have a positive impact upon organisational performance. However, it is unclear as to whether a firm in an IJV should focus more on being learning oriented, or market oriented. The paper aims to address this question.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 168 senior managers involved in IJVs in Malaysia. Data were analysed using two‐stage least squares estimators for latent variable models.
Findings
Results suggest that for IJVs, a market orientation has a more positive impact on organisational performance than a learning orientation. The non‐linear relationship between market orientation and performance suggest that larger gains in performance are achieved by firms who have low initial levels of market orientation. Thus, in the absence of one or the other, it is preferable for a firm in an IJV to have a strong market orientation.
Practical implications
For managers of IJVs, the study would suggest that firms should concentrate on improving their organisations' overall level of market orientation if they are to improve the level of business performance.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to examine the relative effects of a market orientation and a learning orientation in the context of IJVs.
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Yeslam Al‐Saggaf, Kenneth Einar Himma and Radwan Kharabsheh
The purpose of this paper is to explore the major players operating on Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia online community, which is by far the most widely spread political online community in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the major players operating on Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia online community, which is by far the most widely spread political online community in Saudi Arabia receiving 20 million page views per month.
Design/methodology/approach
In addition to using “focused” silent observation to observe Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia over a period of three months (May‐July 2007) and thematic content analysis to examine 2,000 topics (and their replies) posted to Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia during the period of May‐June 2007, semi‐structured interviews were conducted (in Arabic) with 15 key informants to report their perceptions regarding Islamic fundamentalists, extremists and liberals, etc. on their forum.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that there are three main players operating in Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia: Islamic fundamentalists, extremists, and liberals. Islamic fundamentalists who are the vast majority on this community use the forum as a medium to promote their image and defend their way of practising the religion. Extremists on the other hand, although their numbers in the forum are very small, use the forum as a medium to establish their credibility and the grounds for their actions. Finally, the liberals use the forum to communicate with the public, and advocate their plans for social reform, invite people to adopt a less strict version of Islam and adopt secularism as a way of life.
Originality/value
This paper continues the first comprehensive descriptive study of the size and influence of the Islamic fundamentalists, extremists, and liberals in their activities as online communities.
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Ihab Khaled Magableh and Radwan Kharabsheh
The purpose of this paper is to investigate antecedents of households' local demand for domestic tourism in Jordan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate antecedents of households' local demand for domestic tourism in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 600 households is surveyed and a two‐stage demand model is estimated. Stage 1 identifies the antecedents of the probability of entering the domestic tourism market. Stage 2 identifies the antecedents of households' expenditures on domestic tourism. The Heckit method is used to estimate the first stage and the OLS is used to estimate the second stage.
Findings
Certain socio‐economic factors (household characteristics, individual characteristics and ability variables) impact the local demand for domestic tourism, as do price and income variables.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of results to other countries is limited.
Practical implications
Identification of antecedents of local demand for domestic tourism helps governments to formulate and modify future tourism strategies.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by including socio‐economic variables in the domestic tourism demand model. Further, there is a dearth of studies in Jordan in general and regarding domestic tourism in particular.
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Nupur Kuhar and V. Shunmugasundaram
This study aims to investigate the effect of push, pull, balanced, and emotional factors on the motivational level of female entrepreneurship in Haryana state, India.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of push, pull, balanced, and emotional factors on the motivational level of female entrepreneurship in Haryana state, India.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was conducted in Haryana's five districts among 384 women entrepreneurs using a convenience sampling method with a structured questionnaire. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study found that Push, Emotional Factors, and Challenges have a significant impact on the motivational level of women’s entrepreneurship and Challenges only mediate with the Push and Pull factors.
Research limitations/implications
Generalization of results based on data from a few districts of Haryana state in India. A cross-sectional study was performed as a Longitudinal study helps in analyzing the changing character of women entrepreneurs and the prime reasons behind their success. Non-probability sampling technique was used in the study whereas probability sampling technique promotes reliability and reduces systematic error and sampling bias.
Practical implications
Pull factors can be promoted through mentoring, counseling, and entrepreneurship training programs. Creating a conducive external environment with job security and financial support from external agencies is essential. The Government of India should take the necessary steps to reduce the hindrances faced by women entrepreneurship while raising funds through banks and financial institutions.
Originality/value
The study employed a mediating variable, challenges, to investigate the impact of factors on the motivational levels of women entrepreneurs. To the best of our knowledge, this approach has not been utilized in previous research, making the current study a novel contribution to the field.
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The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it proposes a definition of Muslim entrepreneurship and second, it synthesizes existing literature on Muslim entrepreneurship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it proposes a definition of Muslim entrepreneurship and second, it synthesizes existing literature on Muslim entrepreneurship published in the past decade.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review technique has been used to identify and analyse the literature for a period between 2009 and 2019.
Findings
Results of the study suggest that there is a dearth of literature conceptualizing and operationalizing the concept of Muslim entrepreneurship in the management literature. Further, studies examining the factors which affect Muslim entrepreneurship practices are limited.
Research limitations/implications
The study has analysed only peer-reviewed articles from management literature.
Originality/value
A synthesis of the literature on Islamic entrepreneurship is missing. Also, literature proposing a comprehensive definition of the concept and summarizing the factors which affect Muslim entrepreneurship practices are absent.
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