Search results

The purpose of the current study is to examine the empirical research conducted on the Arab region as reported in the top 46 business journals over the past 23 years (1990-2013). After identifying patterns over time (focal country and methodologies), the identified methodological challenges that scholars have reported in their published research are presented.

The Arab region in this study comprised all 22 member-countries in the Arab League. We also added three other countries that are very much tied to the Arab region and are usually included in the Middle East: Turkey, Israel and Iran. Following the recommendations of previous authors (DuBois and Reeb, 2000; Nicholls-Nixon et al., 2011; Martinez and Kalliny, 2012), published articles are reviewed, but not book chapters, book reviews and dissertation abstracts from our sample, as they do not meet the sample selection criteria (Inkpen and Beamish, 1994; Samiee and Athanassiou, 1998).

As Table I indicates, the Arab region has not received much attention in the top business journals as evidenced by the number of articles published from 1990 to 2013. No papers were published in many of the top management journals such as the Academy of Management Review and Strategic Management Journal. Few found publication in other top management outlets such as the Academy of Management Journal, the Administrative Science Quarterly, the Journal of Management and the Journal of Management Studies. Our sample also revealed a similar result in the field of marketing where there are also no papers published in some of the top marketing journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology and Marketing Science. There was one paper published in the Journal of Marketing and one in the Journal of Retailing. Bearing in mind that this literature review covered a span of 23 years, these results indicate an under-representation of the Arab region as an empirical context. This trend has started to change after the eruption of the Arab Spring. Academic business research on the Arab region has increased significantly since then. Another significant finding is the lack of investigation of the firm and country factors in studying the region.

As the world becomes increasingly connected and the fates of countries and regions become more intertwined, it is imperative that scholars and practitioners acquire a deeper understanding of individual countries and regions, particularly those that have been relatively understudied in the extant academic research (i.e. the Arab region). While there is a substantial body of Asian management research, as well as several comprehensive literature reviews of other regions (Bruton and Lau, 2008), a systematic review of Arab and Middle Eastern business research has not been undertaken. Despite much regional attention in political science research due to the Arab – Israel conflict, management research has lagged behind.

The elimination of economic impediments and dismantling of trade restrictions have increasingly become a common feature in the economic integration across nations in the world. Many countries in several regions in the world have increased their intra-flows of goods and also inputs. The Arab region has experienced an increase in their labour flows, in particular during the period of oil boom. Consequently, the remittances among the Arab countries registered a steady increase; especially remittances from the Arab Gulf countries (Gulf cooperation council region). Using the panel data fixed effects estimation, the study investigates the relationship between remittances and economic integration in the Arab region covering the period 1983–2003. Despite the rising tide in intra-Arab labour flows, we argue, the harmonisation of economic policies and the removal of further obstacles to intra-labour flows are necessary to give a further fillip to economic integration in the Arab world. Moreover, our work shows that a reduction of the gap between per capita gross domestic products of the Arab countries is important for enhancing Arab economic integration.

This study describes the state of the Internet in Arab countries. It reports certain Internet characteristics and e‐commerce issues in the region and brings some of the critical challenges facing the diffusion of the Internet and its applications in Arab countries to the attention of policy makers in these nations. Overall, the review reveals that most Arab countries still have a long way to cover before being able to fully realize the benefits of the Internet.

This chapter focuses on the definition of the Arab World. This is followed by a treatise on the meaning and purpose of comparative education. Next, the origin and development of comparative education in the Arab World is discussed. Trends and progress of comparative education in the region receive significant attention and discussion. Finally, the research methodologies and research interests of comparative educationists are examined.

This paper focuses on the disparity that exists between Arab and non‐Arab trading blocs and the potential that e‐commerce offers in narrowing this gap. The current Arab intra‐trade state of affairs is analyzed, targeting potential trade opportunities. These prospects are evaluated, along with the adoption of technology to render advantages to the Arab world. Many countries have and continue to benefit from the acceptance of e‐commerce; understanding its applicability and effectiveness beyond and within the Arab trading blocs is of vital importance to increase trade. Our analysis presents a perspective on regional trade and utilization of technology within the global community and broadening trade possibilities among Arab countries.

This chapter offers a survey of education development in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), and how the different crises have changed the global dynamics in education. This chapter first gives an overview of the regional context and the history of education in the region, followed by a discussion of the education developments in the region as shaped by the economic growth of high-income countries and the political upheavals in low-income countries. MENA states have made huge investments in their educational systems through implementing major changes in the education policies and introducing initiatives to improve the quality of education in their countries. However, the educational system in the region has not reaped the benefits of these reforms as it has not met the desired goals. The quality of students’ learning is very low as reflected in the poor rating by international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. Structural educational reforms to foster citizenship and civic responsibility are urgently needed. Good governance of the education systems of the MENA countries, a critical thinking skills-based curriculum and strong market-oriented skills and vocational training programs are necessary for MENA to become economically competitive and reliably democratic.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of large business corporations, particularly media corporations, such as television (e.g. satellite networks), newspapers and social media (e.g. Facebook), on institutional change in the Arab world, which directly impact political and civil liberties in the region.

Although there are several methods to measure institutional change, this paper relied on Kaufmann et al. (2010)’s governance indicators that capture, historically, how authority is exercised in a nation state. As the focus of this paper is on how information flows have empowered citizens in the Arab world, we built a panel database around one relevant governance indicator: “Voice and Accountability”. As a measure of governance, “Voice and Accountability” summarizes the condition of political, civil and human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of association in a given country. This indicator takes scores ranging from 2.5, corresponding to strong governance, to −2.5, corresponding to weak governance.

As predicted, the information flows variable has a positive and significant effect on institutional change. Table II also suggests that political globalization has a positive and significant effect on institutional change in the Arab world. In contrast, the variables for cultural proximity and human capital are associated with negative effects on institutional change.

This paper is unique in the sense that it tackles a growing trend in the Arab world, namely, the impact of media on institutions.

This study investigates whether there are relationships between the characteristics of the boards of trustees of universities in the Arab region, higher education quality assurance and the output of scientific research.

The descriptive analytical approach was used in this study. The study was conducted on the universities of the Arab region that are included in the classification of the British Institution for the Arab Region: QS Arab Region University.

The findings show that there is an effect of the characteristics of the trustees combined in the universities of the Arab region on ensuring the quality of higher education, other than the output of scientific research. The findings also indicate when measuring the characteristics individually that the trustee system is not effective in the Arab region and it is only formal for nominal purposes.

Most universities in the Arab region do not disclose the data of boards of trustees, their roles, committees, rules of procedure and the nature of their work. A large number of universities also do not operate under the trustee system because the regulations and instructions do not allow this in the country.

This study seeks to improve practitioners knowledge, including boards of trustees, in ensuring the quality of higher education and the output of scientific research.

The research projected the governance model through the characteristics of the boards of directors of for-profit companies on the boards of trustees of universities in the Arab region. The study examines the nature of the characteristics of the boards of trustees that are compatible with its responsibilities, the most important of which is the supervision of the strategy to ensure the quality of higher education research.

The intellectual capital of a nation (or a region of nations) requires the articulation of a system of variables that helps to uncover and manage the invisible wealth of a country. Most importantly, an emphasis on human capital allows for a better understanding of the hidden values, individuals, enterprises, institutions, and communities that are both current and potential future sources of intellectual wealth. This paper endeavours to address the five research questions. The main outcomes of this paper are the development of a national intellectual capital measurement methodology and index. The NICI is also used within a structural equation model to test several hypotheses related to national intellectual capital development.

The purpose of this paper is to provide preliminary efficiency assessment of Arab microfinance institutions (MFIs) within the period 2002–2012. Microfinance is defined as the provision of financial services to poor and low-income households and their microenterprises on a sustainable basis.

The authors first present the main features of microfinance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Second, based on a simple of 72 microfinance institutions issued from ten countries of the region, they develop a bootstrap–data envelopment analysis (bootstrap–DEA) framework to measure Arab MFIs’ efficiency. Finally, they apply parametric and non-parametric tests to compare the performance and identify factors that contribute to the efficiency of Arab Islamic microfinance institutions.

Efficiency scores of the MENA region exhibit high variability, both across time and countries. Significant difference in efficiency was found due to MFI age or regulation. Results also reveal the ability of Arab MFIs to combine social and financial performance and their solidity in time of crisis.

In this paper, the authors apply DEA–bootstrap method on a large sample of Arab MFI with special look at the peer group differences. Unlike most previous relevant studies, the paper overcomes many of the drawbacks of the DEA method by using, in addition to the DEA–bootstrap approach, a test of return to scale and a combination of three procedures to detect outliers. Furthermore, this paper analyses the efficiency of MFI in the MENA region in the light of financial crises and Arab Spring.