The paradox of roots and wings: labor mobility between local firms and MNEs in North Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore employees’ knowledge- and learning-related experiences in moving between local firms and multinational enterprises (MNEs) and to examine the nature of paradoxes of labor mobility that local talents face in their career in the North African country of Algeria. In doing so, this paper explored the multifaceted experiences of employees who left local firms and joined MNEs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a qualitative study, in-depth interviews with 12 employees from various industries, and apply an interpretive phenomenological approach to explain labor mobility between local firms and MNEs in the North African country of Algeria. The authors specifically focus on personal experiences of employees who worked in both local firms and MNEs.FindingsThe findings report a paradoxical situation and suggest that despite talented individuals grow their capabilities in MNEs through reward and personal growth incentives, the grass is not always greener, and they face the paradox of nurturing their capabilities (wings) or empowering their roots by returning local firms to seek stability, security and flexibility.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the research at the intersection of human resource management, knowledge management and the paradox of management in emerging markets. Its value stems from empirically explicating the paradox of roots and wings as a complementary, learning type of paradox that individuals at local firms and MNEs in Algeria experience.

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The Moroccan education system, dilemma of language and think-tanks: the challenges of social development for the North African country

The Journal of North African Studies ◽

10.1080/13629387.2019.1711061 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Omar Ben Haman

Keyword(s):

Social Development ◽

Education System ◽

African Country ◽

Think Tanks ◽

North African ◽

The North ◽

North African Country

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The Search for Citizenship in Bin Ali's Tunisia: Democracy versus Unity

Political Studies ◽

10.1111/1467-9248.00381 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 497-513 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Larbi Sadiki

Keyword(s):

Democratic Transition ◽

African Country ◽

Political Community ◽

North African ◽

National Unity ◽

Political Pluralism ◽

Democratic Development ◽

The North ◽

North African Country ◽

The One

Commitment to unity can hinder democracy, rendering the search for pluralism into an exercise in political singularity. I contest the thesis within the theory of democratic transition that national cohesion and ethnic homogeneity are essential preconditions for democracy. Tunisia is an ethnically homogeneous society, but seems to be unable to seize on the opportunity to transcend the threshold of democracy. The Tunisian example suggests that democracy (that is, an ethos of toleration of difference), should be rethought as one essential precondition for cohesion within democratising polities. The analysis unpacks how ‘fragmented’ politics works in the North African country. Politics becomes ‘fragmented’ when ‘loyalty’ to the state's discourse of ‘citizenship’ and ‘identity’, becomes the one distinguishing feature by which political community is defined and membership within it is determined. National unity is another word for political uniformity. Thus understood the state's imperative of unity and uniformity contradicts political pluralism and demotes rather than promotes democratic development.

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Investigating the moderating role of Export Promotion Programmes using evidence from North-Africa

Critical Perspectives on International Business ◽

10.1108/cpoib-11-2016-0059 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2/3) ◽

pp. 282-308 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mohamed Yacine Haddoud ◽

Adah-Kole Onjewu ◽

Paul Jones ◽

Robert Newbery

Keyword(s):

African Country ◽

Negative Influence ◽

Export Promotion ◽

Empirical Literature ◽

North African ◽

Content Type ◽

North African Country ◽

Export Barriers ◽

Moderating Role

PurposeBased on an institutional approach to explaining firms’ internationalisation, this paper aims to empirically investigate the role of Export Promotion Programmes (EPPs) in moderating the influence of export barriers perceptions on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) propensity to export.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses evidence from Algeria, the largest North-African country. The data were collected using an online questionnaire, targeting SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector. The study considers the influence of procedural, informational, environmental and functional barriers on export propensity, to uncover the moderating role of trade missions, trade shows and export seminars and workshops on such relationships. To examine these links, five main hypotheses are proposed and tested through a non-linear partial least squares structural equation modelling on a sample of 128 Algerian SMEs.FindingsThe results show that while internal barriers decrease firms’ export propensity, EPPs including trade fairs and shows may independently pose either a positive or negative influence on such relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe study confirms the applicability of the institutional perspective to explaining firms’ internationalisation. More importantly, the present study highlights the role of EPPs in moderating the influence of export barriers perceptions on SMEs’ international market entry, a role neglected by the extant empirical literature.Practical implicationsThe current findings hold important implications to export promotion organisations operating in African countries. Notably, the results reveal that some programmes could have a negative influence if they are not delivered appropriately.Originality/valueThis study offers a rare focus on the moderating role of EPPs in the relationship between export barriers and export propensity, within the setting of a North-African country.

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Resistance toward dominant US work practices in emerging markets

Critical Perspectives on International Business ◽

10.1108/cpoib-11-2017-0083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 323-340

Author(s):

Paresha N. Sinha ◽

Dharma Raju Bathini

Keyword(s):

Migrant Workers ◽

Fast Food ◽

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Working Environment ◽

Work Practices ◽

Content Type ◽

Study Approach ◽

Effect Theory ◽

Local Firms

Purpose The purpose of this study is to apply the dominance effect theory and postcolonial notions of “otherness” to critically study the enactment of mimicry at IndianBread, an Indian fast-food chain that has adopted work practices typically found in US fast-food multinational enterprises (MNEs). Design/methodology/approach The authors used an interpretive sensemaking case study approach and collected qualitative data drawing on observations, notes from the company policy manual and in-depth interviews with eight staff at an IndianBread outlet. Data were also collected during informal interactions with staff at three other IndianBread outlets. The analysis focused on the enactment of mimicry and studied the postcolonial dynamics between managers and migrant workers to explain their resistance to the adoption of US work practices. Findings Work practices of US fast-food MNEs such as the standardization of workers’ appearance and basic “Englishization” such as greeting customers in English had been adopted at the IndianBread outlet. However, migrant workers resisted enforcement by contesting the superiority and relevance of these US work practices. The workers’ resistance was accommodated by local managers to pacify and retain them. Research limitations/implications The analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of resistance to the dominant influence of US work practices in emerging market firms. It expands current notions of “otherness” by presenting the perspective of “local” managers and migrant workers. The authors show how worker resistance embedded in their “identity work” involves contesting notions of “inferiority” of local work practices and selves. In the case of managers, accommodating resistance maintains their “legitimacy of dominance”. To that end, the study explains how the need to mimic US work practices is enforced, contested and ultimately diluted in competitive local firms in rising India. Practical implications The organizationally grounded data show how managerial accommodation of workers’ resistance to US practices creates a more flexible working environment that dilutes migrant workers’ sensitivity to their exploitation at the fast-food outlet. Social implications The findings identify the link between mimicry and resistance by the “other,” the ambivalence of the colonizing agent and the ongoing material exploitation within emerging economies. Originality/value To that end, the study explains how the need to mimic the US work practices is enforced, contested and ultimately diluted in the context of the competitive local firms in India.

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The UAE’s Disruptive Policy in Libya

Insight Turkey ◽

10.25253/99.2020224.10 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 157-177

Author(s):

Ali Bakir

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Middle East ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

African Country ◽

Abu Dhabi ◽

North African ◽

North African Country ◽

Power And Control ◽

Gulf Country ◽

And Control

In the last decade, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as a leading counter-revolutionary force in the Middle East. Feeling the heat of change in the region, the small, oil-rich Gulf country adopted an aggressive foreign policy that defined the UAE as a disruptive force that aims to reverse the fledgling democratic trend in the Middle East. After succeeding in Egypt in 2013, Abu Dhabi decided to support field marshal and warlord Khalifa Haftar in Libya to overthrow the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, take over power, and control Libya by force. To that end, the UAE offered massive military, financial, and diplomatic support to Haftar. In this context, the present paper aims to discuss the UAE’s interventions in Libya in terms of their nature, extent, motives, goals and repercussions. It highlights the UAE’s efforts to weave regional and international alliances to support Haftar and tries to answer the questions why Abu Dhabi has been able to act with impunity in Libya despite being the top foreign player fueling the war there for many years, and whether it will be able to achieve its goals and continue its interventions in the oil-rich North African country or not.

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Algeria may lose out from US Maghreb policy

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db259669 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

North African ◽

Content Type ◽

Western Sahara ◽

The North ◽

Global Challenges ◽

African Context ◽

Us Hegemony

Significance Biden looks set to renounce the previous administration's isolationism and confront global challenges, which in the North African context risk exacerbating long-standing problematic security trends. Impacts De facto division of Libya into Turkish and Russian spheres will be another indication of waning US hegemony in the area. Rescinding Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s claim on Western Sahara would trigger the greatest crisis ever in US-Moroccan relations. Washington could face difficulties coordinating with Algiers on key counterterrorism issues.

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FP32-WE-02 Management of intractable epilepsy in a North African country, Tunisia: present and future therapeutic challenges

Journal of the Neurological Sciences ◽

10.1016/s0022-510x(09)70434-4 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 285 ◽

pp. S107 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Mrabet ◽

H. Mrabet-Khiari ◽

D. Parain ◽

F. Proust

Keyword(s):

African Country ◽

Intractable Epilepsy ◽

North African ◽

North African Country

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Community college minority female administrators as mentors of minority female students

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education ◽

10.1108/ijmce-05-2017-0039 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 87-106

Author(s):

Maureen Fonts

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Community Colleges ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Female Students ◽

Content Type ◽

Female Administrators ◽

Mentoring Practices ◽

Qualitative Phenomenological

Purpose Minority female students are increasingly faced with issues such as financial instability, work-family imbalance, and few growth opportunities in their careers. Within the context of community colleges, the presence of minority female administrators may serve as a venue for the empowerment and attainment of academic and professional goals for minority female students through administrators’ mentoring practices. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of community college minority female administrators in their role as informal mentors to community college minority female students. Design/methodology/approach The author used a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore community college minority female administrators’ experiences as mentors of female minority students. Mullen’s (2009) alternative mentoring model guided the study as well as a feminist lens. The purposive sample included six minority female administrators from two Florida community colleges, with individual interviews based on 18 open-ended questions. Data were analyzed with Atlas.ti™ qualitative software. Findings The findings uncovered four common themes and seven subthemes regarding the experience of informal mentoring as a minority female administrator: facilitating empowerment with two subthemes – modeling and coaching; administrator-student relationship with three subthemes – encouragement, life experiences, and past mentors; personal growth; and formalized mentoring with two subthemes – create a support system and access to information. Research limitations/implications In any study, phenomenological or otherwise, the researcher’s biases may cloud the data analysis process, and the researcher may code the data incorrectly or leave out crucial information during the transcription of the interview. It was essential for the author to understand the concept of epochè to bracket the author’s own experiences as a minority female (Bloomberg and Volpe, 2012). The purposeful sample was small and only focused on one region in the US, and the study’s findings may not be transferable to other contexts. Originality/value Minority female administrators’ experiences mentoring minority female students have not been comprehensively explored in the scholarly realm; hence, their mentoring journey is unknown. The study sought to shatter that silence and create a dialogue that will hopefully continue in the field of mentoring.

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