From east to west and back again: the effects of reverse culture shock on female Saudi Arabian university students studying abroad

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Winkel ◽  
Laura Strachan ◽  
Siddiqua Aamir
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
University Students ◽  
Culture Shock ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Reverse Culture Shock ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Returning Home

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of Saudi Arabian university students returning home after having spent time away studying internationally. The investigation focused exclusively on female students who for diverse reasons were unable to complete their studies abroad. Design/methodology/approach A thematic analysis was applied to analyze the seven in-depth interviews conducted by the authors. By using an open coding method analytic patterns across the entire data set were identified and then analyzed. Findings The findings suggest that the students experienced reverse culture shock reintegrating and assimilating into their former lives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its conservative culture. This was especially surprising considering not one of the participants experienced culture shock when they first traveled to their host country – the USA, Canada or England. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to a small group of seven female undergraduates who are comparatively well educated and come from a middle and upper socioeconomic demographic. As a result, without additional research, the findings cannot be extended to groups outside of this demographic. Practical implications Students who have studied abroad need improved academic and social support networks when they return home, according to the findings. The authors want to raise awareness about the difficulties that students face upon their return. Teachers, counselors, and advisors need to be on the lookout for the symptomatology associated with these types of problems. Social implications Female Saudi students returning home after an extended period of study abroad face a variety of problems. They must fit into a restrictive, partriarchal culture in which they are not legally equal to men. Originality/value To date, there are no studies that shed light on reverse culture shock for students who returned to Saudi Arabia without a degree. Due to the large number of Saudi scholarship holders who study in English-speaking countries with government support, the study is the first attempt in this direction.

Different firm responses to the COVID-19 pandemic shocks: machine-learning evidence on the Vietnamese labor market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lam Hoang Viet Le ◽  
Toan Luu Duc Huynh ◽  
Bryan S. Weber ◽  
Bao Khac Quoc Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Responses

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor markets.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a large-scale survey on 16,000 firms from 82 industries in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and analyze the data set by using different machine-learning methods.FindingsFirst, job loss and reduction in state-owned enterprises have been significantly larger than in other types of organizations. Second, employees of foreign direct investment enterprises suffer a significantly lower labor income than those of other groups. Third, the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market are heterogeneous across industries and geographies. Finally, firms with high revenue in 2019 are more likely to adopt preventive measures, including the reduction of labor forces. The authors also find a significant correlation between firms' revenue and labor reduction as traditional econometrics and machine-learning techniques suggest.Originality/valueThis study has two main policy implications. First, although government support through taxes has been provided, the authors highlight evidence that there may be some additional benefit from targeting firms that have characteristics associated with layoffs or other negative labor responses. Second, the authors provide information that shows which firm characteristics are associated with particular labor market responses such as layoffs, which may help target stimulus packages. Although the COVID-19 pandemic affects most industries and occupations, heterogeneous firm responses suggest that there could be several varieties of targeted policies-targeting firms that are likely to reduce labor forces or firms likely to face reduced revenue. In this paper, the authors outline several industries and firm characteristics which appear to more directly be reducing employee counts or having negative labor responses which may lead to more cost–effect stimulus.

Factors impacting entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Saudi Arabia: testing an integrated model of TPB and EO

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 779-803
Author(s):  
Yaser Hasan Salem Al-Mamary ◽  
Mohammed Abdulrab ◽  
Mohammed A. Alwaheeb ◽  
Naif Ghazi M. Alshammari
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
University Students ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Arabic ◽  
The University

PurposeThis research intends to contribute to the literature of entrepreneurial intentions through determining the factors impacting the entrepreneurial intentions among students in different academic programs. This is in order to enhance and improve entrepreneurship-related procedures within relevant universities.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted by a structured survey questionnaire on 261 students in the University of Hail. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The proposed hypotheses were tested by the use of the structured equation modeling (SEM) via using Amos software.FindingsThe results of the current study support the theoretical integration of the model as most of the hypotheses have been accepted. The results of the survey also show that attitudes toward behavior, self-efficacy, autonomy, risk-taking, pro-activeness and competitive aggressiveness are expressively related with entrepreneurial intention. Yet, social norms and innovativeness are not considerably connected with entrepreneurial intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study seeks to contribute to the relevant literature by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the entrepreneurial orientation model (EO). This is in order to identify the factors impacting the intention of entrepreneurship among Saudi university students. As the case in many studies, this present study has some limitations. The main limitation lies in that it would not be possible to generalize the study's findings. This is due to the fact the research is the outcome of examining and studying one Saudi university. Therefore, it would be better to conduct similar studies in other Saudi universities in order to generalize the findings of the study.Practical implicationsThe study's results could be of value to policymakers and university administrators in Saudi Arabia universities by which they could be enabled to allocate resources, develop strategies and provide all requirements for the sake of improving entrepreneurial skills among university students. This comprehensive model can be used as a tool for planning and prioritizing resources in bid for providing the required support as this support would reinforce the entrepreneurial opportunity of university students. As such, students would have better thinking about entrepreneurial work and thus would be assisted in achieving their professional goals and the broader goal of nation building.Originality/valueSince today's youth are viewed as the potential future entrepreneurs, they should be encouraged to achieve the Saudi Kingdom's goals through creating suitable employment opportunities for them by supporting entrepreneurship. Therefore, pointing out the factors impacting the entrepreneurial intention of students will contribute to developing the field of entrepreneurship among young people in Saudi Arabic in general. In addition, realized outcomes would create an exciting new knowledge with regard to the entrepreneurial intention among the youth at the university level.

Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Saudi Arabian organisations

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saja Ahmed Albliwi ◽  
Jiju Antony ◽  
Norin Arshed ◽  
Abhijeet Ghadge
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Although the popularity of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology has illustrated many benefits over the years for those organisations who have implemented it, this strategy has received less attention in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the current status of LSS implementation in Saudi Arabian organisations. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a descriptive survey questionnaire which has been derived from two systematic literature reviews. The survey was distributed to 400 organisations in Saudi Arabia using Qualtrics online software. In total, 146 responses were received where 102 responses were completed and analysed. Findings The findings of the survey highlighted that the implementation of LSS is still in the early stages in organisations within Saudi Arabia. This was clearly shown by many factors such as years of deploying LSS, LSS infrastructure, level of awareness of LSS, impact of LSS on business functions and so on. Research limitations/implications The primary limitation of this study is that data has been collected from an online survey and therefore no deeper insights could have been captured from the survey. This calls for future research to be undertaken by executing semi-structured interviews in selective organisations within Saudi Arabia. Originality/value This paper contributes to the current status of LSS in Saudi Arabian organisations. It also gives recommendations to guide the future of LSS in Saudi organisations by comparing LSS literature with best practice.

The impact of public scrutiny on executive compensation

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-323
Author(s):  
Andrew Glen Carrothers
Keyword(s):  
Executive Compensation ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Executive Pay ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
The 2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of public scrutiny on chief executive officer (CEO) compensation at Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 firms. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the unique opportunity provided by the 2008 financial crisis and, in particular, government support and legislated compensation restrictions in the US Department of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). It aggregates monetary and non-monetary executive compensation information from 2006 to 2012, with firm- and manager-level data. It presents univariate summary compensation results and uses multivariate regression analysis to isolate the impact of public scrutiny and legislated compensation restrictions on executive pay. Findings Overall, the results are consistent, with increased public scrutiny having a lasting impact on perks and temporary impact on wage and legislated compensation restrictions having a temporary impact on wage. Changes in specific perk items provide evidence on which perks firms perceive as excessive and which provide common value. Originality/value The paper contributes to the discussion of perks as excess by introducing a novel data set of perk compensation at S&P500 firms and by studying how firms choose to alter levels of specific perk items in response to increased public scrutiny and legislated compensation restrictions. The paper contributes to the literature on executive pay as there has been little inquiry into the impact of public scrutiny on compensation. Public scrutiny could be an important source of external governance if firms change behavior in response to explicit and implicit scrutiny costs.

scholarly journals Audit committees in financial institutions in Saudi Arabia: a dichotomy of perceptions of functional independence and the reporting of financial crime

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Ali Almakhfor ◽  
Simon D. Norton
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Functional Independence ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
Using Data

Purpose Audit committees (ACs) have an important role to play in banks in Saudi Arabia in detecting and reporting weaknesses which may make financial crime possible. The Saudi Arabian Corporate Governance Code of 2016 comprises recommendations for ensuring the effectiveness of these committees, but cultural and behavioural factors can constitute impediments. This paper aims to explore these factors and makes recommendations. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is qualitative, using data derived from responses to a questionnaire administered to 180 current and former members of internal and external audit teams of Saudi Arabian banks. Findings ACs in Saudi financial institutions enjoy a high degree of functional independence of boards. Boards tend to regard ACs as part of the organisation: in contrast, AC members perceive their first duty as being owed to stakeholders. Disagreements between boards and ACs regarding disclosure of findings of systemic weaknesses which facilitate money laundering (ML) are made publicly available; this engenders transparency and avoidance of collusion. Professional qualifications and experience of AC members have improved substantially in recent years, equipping them to better discharge statutory duties regarding the detection and reporting of suspected ML. Research limitations/implications The regulatory body, the Saudi Arabian Markets Authority, should be diligent in ensuring the presence of non-executive directors in sufficient numbers to counterbalance influence by boards. Disagreements between boards and ACs regarding internal systemic changes to prevent ML and other financial crimes should be formally recorded in minutes and made public as a matter of record. Originality/value Questionnaire responses by past and present members of ACs are unique and contribute to the literature.

scholarly journals Revisiting the corporate image through service quality and relationship marketing: an empirical evidence from Malaysian and Saudi Arabian Takaful customers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsin Abdur Rehman ◽  
Sadaf Khan ◽  
Ismah Osman ◽  
Khurram Aziz ◽  
Ghazal Shams
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Relationship Marketing ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to test a proposed model based on a combination of the relationship marketing and service quality dimensions as predictors of corporate image and customer loyalty via corporate reputation in the Takaful context. More importantly, this study compares the Takaful operators’ services with the perceived service quality and the relationship marketing from the Malaysian and Saudi Arabian customers’ viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach A survey-based study was conducted through a questionnaire, and the data was collected from Takaful customers (362 Saudi Arabian and 350 Malaysian customers) through an online survey. Structural equation modelling is used to test the proposed model. Besides, the perception of Takaful customers between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia is compared through a multi-group analysis. Findings The results from the Malaysian context reveal that positive perceptions of service quality PAKSERV dimensions (personalization, reliability and tangibility) and positive perceptions of relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behaviour and structural bonds) have a significant influence on the corporate image. Alternatively, in the Saudi Arabian context, results have shown that the positive perceptions of service quality PAKSERV dimensions (assurance and reliability) of service quality and the positive perceptions of the relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behaviour, structural bonds and financial bonds) have a significant influence on the corporate image. The differences in both countries’ results can also enhance the corporate image on corporate reputation, merely in Malaysia. By contrast, corporate reputation is deemed a significant predictor of customer loyalty, represented as valid for both contexts. Research limitations/implications The proposed research model tested in Takaful Malaysian and Saudi Arabian can be replicated in other contexts – in terms of country and industry. Moreover, the current study reveals the crucial role of corporate image in forming corporate reputation. Future research could be focussed on the importance of other emotional or affective variables that may be involved in determining corporate reputation. Finally, future studies can be carried with another cultural perspective to have more diversified socio-economic implications. Practical implications It is suggested that Takaful operators from both Malaysia and Saudi Arabia need to put maximum effort towards customer loyalty by bringing both the dimensions of service quality and the relationship marketing in compliance with the principles of Islamic business transaction. The findings of the specific dimensions of service quality and relationship marketing will contribute to customers’ perceptions of corporate image and reputation in the Takaful industry. Originality/value The present study tested a blended facet of customer’s overall experience through service quality (PAKSERV) and customer service provider connectivity (relationship marketing) to predict the corporate image of the highly growing financial marketplace (Takaful). Contextually, this study contributes to delineating the factors (corporate reputation) affecting customer loyalty rather than a customer satisfaction tradition. Significantly, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were chosen for this study, as they are currently the two fast-growing markets for Islamic financial services, especially with regards to the Takaful products and offerings.

Implementing IFRS in Saudi Arabia: evidence from publicly traded companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nurunnabi ◽  
Eva K. Jermakowicz ◽  
Han Donker
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ifrs Implementation

Purpose The Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) requires that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as endorsed in Saudi Arabia, be used by all listed and unlisted companies. This study aims to provide insight into IFRS implementation problems, based on a survey sent to Saudi Arabian companies listed on Tadawul, the Saudi stock market (i.e. financial hub in the Middle East). Design/methodology/approach The survey focused on the impact that IFRS conversion has had on companies, their accounting and their finance strategies. The benefits and challenges of the adoption of IFRS are analyzed, including matters pertaining to the level of understanding and experience with IFRS, perceptions about the quality of IFRS and the impact of adoption of IFRS on consolidated equity and net income. Findings The survey had a response rate of 72 per cent. The results indicate a majority of respondents support conversion to IFRS as it results in higher quality financial reporting; the most important expected benefits of adopting IFRS include greater reporting transparency and improved comparability with other businesses; other expected benefits include harmonization of internal and external reporting, and increased cross-border investment opportunities; the IFRS process is costly and ties up resources because of its complexity and training needed and companies expect increased volatility in reported financial results that will impact share option plans and/or other incentive plans tied to profits. However, the authors find strong support among preparers of the financial statements for IFRS, as evidenced by higher agreement among respondents to the survey on the benefits of adopting IFRS, rather than on the costs of its adoption. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the likelihood of Saudi Arabian firms that are in favor of adopting IFRS decreases if the audit firm is one of the Big 4. The reason for this negative relationship could be that the cost of transition toward IFRS will be high. Therefore, Saudi Arabian firms will not favor a transition toward IFRS when their audit firm belongs to the Big 4. Most difficult to implement IFRS, as listed by respondents, include those on financial instruments, revenue, leases and employee benefits. Originality/value The authors show how economic and environmental factors play a critical role in the IFRS implementation process. This study should be important to all countries worldwide that are in the process of adopting IFRS.

Cross-country evidence of Islamic portfolio diversification: are there opportunities in Saudi Arabia?

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Hakim Ali ◽  
Md Akther Uddin ◽  
Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury ◽  
Mansur Masih
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Portfolio Diversification ◽  
Discrete Wavelet ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Portfolio Diversification ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
Cross Country

Purpose On the backdrop of growing importance of Shariah compliant equity markets, the purpose of this paper is to study cross-country portfolio diversification benefits for investors with major trading partners of Saudi Arabia, namely, USA, China, Japan, Germany and India, who have already invested or tend to invest in Saudi Arabian stock market. Design/methodology/approach The authors have investigated time invariant, dynamic correlations at different investments horizons of the investors among Islamic asset classes by applying relevant econometric techniques like multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic –DCC and continuous wavelet transforms. For robustness, this study also applied maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform. Findings The findings tend to indicate that the Saudi Arabian investors have portfolio diversification benefits with all major trading partners in the short-term investment horizon. Interestingly, Saudi Arabian market has the least portfolio diversification benefits with the Chinese market. However, in the long run, all markets are correlated, yielding minimum portfolio diversification benefits and most importantly Saudi Arabian investors have portfolio diversification benefits with the Indian Islamic equity market in almost all investment horizons. The findings are highly consistent across different econometric technique estimations. Research limitations/implications The authors are only considering five major trading partners of Saudi Arabia. Also, the authors are using S&P and FTSE shari’ah index. Moreover, the time period of the study is constrained by the availability of shari’ah indices. Econometric limitations are also well documented in the literature. Practical implications The results could be beneficial for the investors, portfolio managers, hedge fund managers and institutional investors and also could be useful for the policy makers in their policy-making decisions. Originality/value Only very few studies have looked into the benefits of international portfolio diversification from the perspective of local investors as well as the portfolio diversification benefits with the major trading partners of Saudi Arabia. One of the novelties of the method is to make the stock investors, practitioners and policy makers aware of the portfolio diversification benefits available at different time scales such as 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 256 trading days as investment holding periods to unveil the true dynamics of co-movement between those different assets.

scholarly journals Saudi Arabian university students’ perceptions of health risk behaviours

2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-308
Author(s):  
Saad Zafir Alshehri ◽  
Jenny Byrne ◽  
Marcus Grace
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Risk Behaviours ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Risk Behaviours ◽  
Saudi Arabian Students ◽  
Specific Health

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why Saudi Arabian students engage in specific health risk behaviours (HRBs), and if there are gender differences. Design/methodology/approach In order to find out the situation regarding university students in Saudi Arabia, quantitative data were collected by administering questionnaires to 722 respondents, and qualitative data were collected using a series of interviews with 17 students. Findings The findings of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study suggest that lifestyle and personal factors, as well as economic, social, policy and other aspects of the environment played a significant role in influencing students’ HRBs. Recommendations for mitigating HRBs among these students and other youth in the Saudi Arabian context are provided. Originality/value This paper addresses an important gap in the research on HRBs among university students from the perspectives of students.

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