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Within a larger mandate of reviewing the key global trends concerning consumer protection in the electronic commerce (e-commerce) literature, this study aims to study the legal framework concerning e-commerce and consumer protection in the Sultanate of Oman and to analyse the current regulations concerning e-commerce and consumer protection.

This study followed the normative legal research approach and resorted to the desk research process to facilitate content analysis of literature containing consumer protection legislation and regulatory provisions in Oman in particular and the rest of the world in general.

The study reveals that consumer protection initiatives in Oman are well entrenched for offline transactions, but are relatively new and limited for e-commerce. In spite of the promulgation of consumer protection laws, electronic transaction law and cybercrime law, consumer protection measures for e-commerce in Oman do not address a large number of the global concerns necessary to build consumer confidence and trust in the online environment.

There is a dearth of information concerning Oman on this topic in the extant literature. The research also witnessed the lack of empirical data on the issue of consumer protection and e-commerce in Oman that offer a detailed database of consumer complaints and associated outcomes.

The mechanism of consumer protection in electronic transactions is not robust in many countries. Because of the lack of comprehensive and robust legislation, consumers remain vulnerable in the online contractual purchase process. Moving beyond the fragmented legislation, many countries are currently mulling an all-comprehensive e-commerce law, implications of this paper will help the policymakers in identifying the focus areas.

Consumer protection is a burning global issue in this era of consumerism. It is important to build consumer trust, transparency and integrity of transactions to reduce the risk and uncertainties of purchase.

Consumer protection studies conducted in the context of Oman, hitherto, deal more with data protection and dispute resolution mechanisms, and less with legal provisions, regulations and consumer confidence. The study shares newer insights based on a systematic review of legal and business databases. It is the first study of its kind in the context of Oman and the Middle East in general.

The study aims to analyze the development of Omani heritage legislation against the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC), 1972 and WHC Operational Guidelines (WHC-OGs) to predict the possible effects of the recent developments on the management of the World Heritage Site in Oman.

This study discusses the development of the heritage protection legislation in Sultanate of Oman since 1970; it analyses the Omani Cultural Heritage Law 35/2019 against the recommendations of the UNESCO WHC as well as the requirements of the World Heritage Operational Guidelines. Moreover, the research investigates the possible effects of the recent heritage legislation developments on the management of Bahla Fort and Oasis in Oman, which is the first Omani World Heritage Site and the only site with special management regulations.

The paper outlines the effects of both the Omani Cultural Heritage Law 35/2019 and the Special Management Regulations 81/2019 on the implementation of the Bahla Management Plan. Additionally, the research establishes how the customization of heritage legislation as a special heritage management regulation facilitates the implementation of national legislation to solve specific local problems.

The study establishes the significance of developing comprehensive legislation to protect and manage the rich Omani cultural heritage and World Heritage Sites in alignment with the WHC and the WHC-OGs.

The overall significance of tourism's role in the nation's holistic development is now a common phenomenon world over. That is why the Government of various countries are according top-most priority towards tourism development. The luxury tourism is that niche segment which is growing intense day by day and the craving of luxury traveller is uninfluenced by any economic turmoil or the crises. Tourism is now widely acknowledged as the strategic tool for economic diversification in the Sultanate of Oman. The Government is fully geared towards turning Oman into a prime luxury tourism destination by incorporating tourism in its vision 2040 strategy. The Government is actively tapping Oman's luxury tourism potential with improved tourism product development, increased projects funding, thoughtful marketing and brand promotion to reap benefits from tourism investments. Oman's unparalleled beauty, rich historic grandeur and authentic hospitality complement the desire of luxury travellers to seek unique quality and comfort, exclusivity and less ostentation. With the slogan ‘Beauty has an address’, the laudable effort of Oman has placed its tourism offering as an ideal upscale and luxury destination in the Middle East. The chapter explores the prospects of beautiful attractions and various services and facilities offered by Oman to qualify as a luxury destination. It also identifies the challenges faced by Oman in luxury tourism destination development.

The importance of health care is growing world‐wide, and the health sector is receiving a good proportion of public funds. As health‐care costs are increasing, efforts have been made to assess the operational efficiency of hospitals in many countries.

In this paper, the efficiencies of operation of 20 hospitals in the Sultanate of Oman are evaluated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The hospitals selected are Regional and Wilayat hospitals under the Ministry of Health, the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and the hospital of the Royal Oman Police. Four outputs representing out‐patient visits, in‐patient services and surgical operations, and three inputs representing the number of beds and manpower are used in the analysis.

Using data for the year 2000, ten of the 20 hospitals are found to be efficient. A ranking of performance of efficient hospitals has been provided by computing their super‐efficiency scores. The patterns of efficiency changes over the time period 1999‐2000 are studied using the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) approach. It has been found that there is a decline in the efficiencies of hospitals during the period. The (geometric) average MPI of the hospitals during the period has declined, and the average technical efficiency change declined less compared with the average technology change.

This paper is one of the few published studies that evaluates the performance of hospitals in countries of the Middle East.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the customer perception of service quality with respect to the e-Government services in Oman and conduct an investigation in order to determine the key factors that affect the quality of e-Government services in Oman.

Primary data relating to the variables affecting quality of e-Government services and demographic profile data are collected using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed based on literature review and focus groups. Factor analysis method is employed to identify and rank the important factors affecting service quality.

The study found that the four factors listed in the descending order of importance, reliability, responsiveness, efficiency, and security are primary determinants of the quality of e-Government services in Oman.

This research enables government organizations to enhance their understanding of customer perception of e-Government services. The customer preference information can provide useful direction to the design, implementation, and management of e-Government services.

Improved service quality of e-Government systems can enhance public participation in these systems that have been established with huge investments. The improved participation can result in increased levels of efficiency, convenience, public awareness, transparency, engagement, and information for decision-making.

The paper addresses quality of e-Government services for the first time in Oman and in the gulf region using a carefully designed research study. The paper is of value to researchers in the area of service quality of e-Government, Government of Oman, and governments in the gulf region and other developing countries that are involved in designing and managing e-Government service systems.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what is the most important characteristic that leads to effective teaching in the general education schools in Oman, as perceived by the students.

Methodologically, this research is a survey in nature, using questionnaires for data collection. The sample size consists of 2,628 students from the General Education Schools in most of the regions in Oman. To ensure the reliability and construct validity, this research has applied the principal component analysis (PCA) to determine whether the relevant items have been accordingly loaded on their respective construct. For data analysis, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) or the measurement model was employed to determine the indictors and factors as well as the predictor that can positively lead to effective teaching and teachers.

In terms of the findings, this research discovered that, the “community relationships” factor is the most important factor that leads to effective teaching and that it predicts an effective teacher in Oman. This indicates that to have effective teaching in Oman from the students' perspectives, the school must involve the society to participate and support the educational process, while an effective teacher should align his/her teaching service with society needs. Teaching strategies were found to be the second factor and predictor for teaching effectiveness.

This research is timely, as the Omani Ministry of Education is striving to achieve quality education. The study described in the paper is aligned with the Ministry's aims and objectives and will be of benefit to the Omani Ministry of education, educational policy‐makers and planners in terms of setting a standard for effective teaching and has provided a model to follow in becoming an effective teacher, according to General Education students in Oman. This paper has bridged gaps in the existing literature on providing characteristics for effective teaching and teachers in Oman. No other paper or research, based on researchers' best knowledge, has dealt with the issue of teaching effectiveness in Oman and presented criteria to follow in determining an effective teacher. Therefore, this research is unique and has taken a bold step to design a model which the Omani government can use as a standard for effective teaching and teachers in Oman.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between localization (Omanization) practices and financial performance in Oman.

Firms listed in the Muscat Securities Market were surveyed. Data were obtained from 73 firms. Financial performance data (average ratio of market value to book value) were obtained from published records.

Results indicated that localization practices were related to financial performance after controlling for size, type of firm, average price earnings ratio of the industry and Omanization levels.

The measure of localization did not specify the level at which Omanization practices are focused on. This is a limitation of this study, and future research must measure localization practices for different levels in the organization.

From a practical perspective, the results of this study suggest that organizations in the Arabian Gulf can enhance their performance by implementing systematic localization human resource management practices. The authors believe that this study makes a significant preliminary contribution to the understanding of localization practices and financial performance in the Arabian Gulf region.

These results are encouraging for managers who argue for integrating locals into the workforce rather than engaging in localization practices for public relations purposes. Sincere localization efforts develop local human capital.

Study was conducted in the Sultanate of Oman, an Arabian Gulf country. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of localization practices and financial performance in the Arabian Gulf. This study therefore contributes to and extends the growing literature on localization practices in the Arabian Gulf in general and Oman in particular.

The recent appointment of a number of women to leading policy making positions in the Arab Gulf State of Oman marks a significant departure from the traditionally exclusive male dominated decision‐making arena, and ushers an end to an era of exclusive patriarchal dominance in leadership positions. This study aims to shed light on this evolving phase of women's empowerment in Oman, and attempts to capture their traits, experiences and challenges as women leaders in conservative, male dominated work environments.

The study analyzes the views of ten Omani women who achieved extraordinary levels of career success. In depth interviews were conducted using an interview guide purposely designed to solicit responses pertaining to their early socialization patterns; personal traits; work/family role conflict and their vision of the challenges facing working and professional women in Omani society.

Contrary to social perceptions and stereotypes, Omani women in leading positions are highly motivated and ambitious. Their successful transition to elevated positions can be attributed to their early socialization experiences which valued education, supportive parents (particularly the father), and equal treatment with their male siblings. They are challenged by the incongruence of their roles as female leaders relative to the prevailing social values and expectations towards women and their traditional role in society.

The study does not investigate the extent to which such appointments may have transformed gender relations in Oman nor its impact on women's roles in Omani organizations.

Empowering women requires policies and human resource programs that support this goal. This paper has implications for gender policy development as well as diversity and leadership training for women.

Given the dearth of research on this topic, the study contributes to understanding the dynamics of female leadership in this increasingly important world region, and raises awareness among women (and men alike) regarding the unique experiences and challenges of Arab women leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a study investigating the association between organizational differences and some aspects relating to the implementation of ISO 9001:2000.

Data required for this study were collected from 42 ISO 9001:2000‐certified organizations of different size and sector type in the Sultanate of Oman. The Kruskal‐Wallis test was adopted for testing 12 research hypotheses.

The results show that there is no strong evidence to suggest that the motives for implementation, the process and cost of achieving certification, the perceived benefits, and the shortcomings differ significantly according to organization size or sector type.

The main outcome of this study is that the issue of organization size or sector type should not be a factor for an organization in deciding certification. This outcome is of value to organizations that are interested investing in ISO certification.

Several studies have been carried out investigating aspects relating to the implementation of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard in organizations operating in different countries. However, the issue of whether these aspects differ according to organization size or sector type has not been sufficiently and appropriately addressed in the literature. This paper reports on the results of a study investigating these issues.

This paper aims to understand the interrelationships between the various factors that affect the use of course Web sites by university students in a developing country. The factors considered for the purpose of studying these interrelationships include perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived Web site credibility and Web site learning acceptance and satisfaction. Furthermore, a comparative study of the potential differences in perceptions between Indian and Omani students with respect to the aforementioned factors is also presented.

A survey instrument was used to collect data from students. Based on an extensive literature review, this paper uses empirical research to analyze student satisfaction in relation to learning through course Websites. Data were analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation modeling and a t-test.

Under the newly proposed construct, Web site credibility was found to be an important predictor of Web site learning acceptance and satisfaction, whereas perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were mediating variables. In the extended study that compared the relative perceptions of Indian and Omani students, a statistically significant difference in Indian and Omani students was observed for Web site learning acceptance and satisfaction.

This study can provide valuable insights for decision-makers that will aid the development of more user-friendly course Web sites for higher education institutions and also promote higher levels of learning, satisfaction and greater course web site usage.

This study is probably the first attempt made to observe students’ perceptions of learning via course Web sites in Oman. Furthermore, the use of perceived Web site credibility as a factor in understanding perceptions regarding course Web site learning is a unique feature presented by this paper that is seldom seen in the existing research literature.