scholarly journals The Need for Uniqueness among Gulf Cooperation Council Countries’ Consumers: A Cross-Culture Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Sarah G. Alzahrani ◽  
Lauren Copeland
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Need For Uniqueness ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
Culture Dimensions

Understanding differences among consumers across varying cultures is of great importance to the success of international retailers. Ignoring the influence of culture and centralized marketing has led to a decline in profits for some international companies. Studying the culture of Middle East countries, particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCCC), Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, is essential before marketing in these countries. Additionally, the GCCC is one of the top 10 luxury markets in the world. Hofstede model of national culture is crucial for GCCC due to the fact culture norms regarding dress and appearance are nationally adopted. A sample of 170 participants from the GCCC was collected using an online questionnaire of 45 items measuring national culture dimensions and need for uniqueness when shopping for luxury goods. It was found that power distance in all GCCC countries was a significant predictor of having a need for uniqueness, as well as indulgence. Power distance had a positive relationship with the need for uniqueness while indulgence had a negative relationship with the need for uniqueness. For other dimensions, findings indicated that long term vs short term orientation, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism were not significant predictors leading to uniqueness. Additionally, the important construct for uniqueness among GCCC consumers is unpopular choice followed by avoiding similarity. Creative choice is less important among the three constructs of uniqueness for GCCC participants. 

scholarly journals Reclaiming the heterogeneity of the Arab states

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shihanah Almutairi ◽  
Michael Heller ◽  
Dorothy Yen
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
North African ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
National Cultures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Firms ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Culture Dimensions ◽  
Arab States

PurposeThis paper addresses the clustering of several Arab states on Hofstede's national culture dimensions and its implications for international firms targeting the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. It is imperative to distinguish the region's various national cultures, in order to enable enhanced segmenting strategies. The authors argue that reexamining the Arab states' national cultures can provide interested firms with a better understanding of their differences and similarities, so as to appropriately adjust their products and services to better serve their consumers.Design/methodology/approachHofstede's Values Survey Module 2013 (VSM 13) questionnaire is employed. In total, 1400 surveys were disseminated to all the Arab states, 200 for each country.Findingsfind evidence that national cultural differences do exist for Arab states and discuss implications toward international firms expanding in the region.Originality/valueEmpirical contributions include the dissemination and translation of Hofstede's national culture survey, the VSM 13, on seven Arab states: Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and Egypt. Second, the VSM 13 survey measured the Arab states on two more dimensions which had not been previously measured before the present study's investigation. Last, the theoretical contribution of the present study offers empirical evidence that the MENA region's national culture profiles differ on all dimensions, and as such its findings are seen as an extension and validation of Hofstede's national culture theory.

Employee job satisfaction in engineering firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian W.Y. Tam ◽  
S.X. Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employee Job Satisfaction ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
Engineering Firms ◽  
Opportunities For Promotion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among cultural values, using the dimension of power distance (PD), and employee job satisfaction in engineering firms in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach – A well-known leading survey design, the Value Survey Module 94 developed by Hofstede (1980), is used in measuring PD as a quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire survey in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Findings – Power distance index (PDI) show variation not only at country level, but also at firm level. Consultative is found to be the most preferred manager type by the employees. Employees perceiving their managers to be consultative are the least afraid of disagreement with their managers. “Work”, “co-workers” and “operating procedures” find to be the major job satisfaction facets while “opportunities for promotion” and “reward” are the least attracted to job satisfaction. Age is found positively correlated with “pay”, “work”, “opportunities for promotion” and “benefits”. “Work” and educational qualification of the employees are negatively correlated but no significant correlations appear to exist with other job satisfaction facets. No significant correlation existed between education level and PDI is found. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first studies on PD and job satisfaction in UAE and Saudi Arabia. This can provide significant insight of how the Middle East countries, UAE and Saudi Arabia, react with globalization in the recent years. Recommendations for improving the existing job satisfaction in the Middle East countries are also explored.

Determinants of Corporate Risk Disclosure Practice: The Case of Islamic Banks in Gulf Cooperation Council Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Srairi
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Risk Information ◽  
Rate Of Return ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Risk Disclosure ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Corporate Risk ◽  
Level Of Risk

The paper develops a framework to explore the risk disclosure practices of 29 Islamic banks operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over the period of 2013-2016 and examines the potential factors which might be affecting risk disclosure. To analyze the level of risk disclosure, the paper develops a composite index by using the content analysis technique. We also employ OLS technique to examine factors affecting Islamic banks’ risk disclosure. The results indicate a very high difference in risk disclosure between countries. Only two countries, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have a higher level of risk disclosure. The findings also suggest that reporting on some risk disclosure types especially displaced commercial risk and rate of return risk is very low. The regression results show that Islamic banks with a stronger set of corporate governance mechanisms and an active Shariah board appear to disclose more risk information. Other factors that influence risk disclosure practices of Islamic banks are bank size, leverage, cross-border listings and the level of political and civil regression. The study recommends that Islamic banks have to revise their communication strategies and provide more risk information related to rate of return risk and display commercial risk. In addition, GCC regulators should establish risk disclosure regulations which have to become mandatory for all Islamic banks. To the best of our knowledge, the paper provides the first analysis related to the determinants of corporate risk disclosures of Islamic banks in the Arab Gulf region.

scholarly journals Factors influencing decision making for implementing e-health in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Gulf Cooperation Council countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad M Al-Anezi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Electronic Health ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Abstract Background Electronic health (e-health) approaches such as telemedicine, mobile health, virtual healthcare and electronic health records are considered to be effective in increasing access to healthcare services, reducing operational costs and improving the quality of healthcare services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, a pandemic resulting from the spread of a novel coronavirus discovered in December 2019. In this context, the aim of this study was to identify the most important factors influencing decision making on the implementation of e-health in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), which are in the process of digitizing healthcare services. Methods This study reviewed the literature to identify the important factors influencing decision making on e-health. In addition, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted in order to identify the most important criteria to be considered in decision making on e-health. The survey link was forwarded to 978 healthcare practitioners and 42 experts (purposive sampling), from which a final sample of 892 (864 practitioners and 28 experts) was achieved, reflecting a response rate of 87.45%. Results Of the 44 factors identified under seven themes (strategic, quality, management, technology, function characteristics, economic, sociocultural and demographic factors), 22 factors were identified to be the most important criteria. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest that decision making in relation to e-health is a complex process that requires consideration of various factors. It was also found that attention should be paid to sociocultural and demographic factors, which may need to be considered in increasing healthcare access during the COVID-19 outbreak.

A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship Between Learning Organization and Organizational Performance and Employee Attitudes: Using the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire

2021 ◽  
pp. 153448432098736
Author(s):  
Boreum Ju ◽  
Yunsoo Lee ◽  
Sunyoung Park ◽  
Seung Won Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Learning Organization ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Analytic Review ◽  
Dimensions Of Learning ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this meta-analysis study is to examine the correlations between the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) and frequently examined outcomes including organizational performance and employee attitudes. Positive relationships were found between the DLOQ and organizational performance (e.g., financial, knowledge, and innovative performance) and employee attitudes (e.g., organizational commitment and job satisfaction) and the sub-dimensions (e.g., affective, continuance, and normative commitment), with a notable exception of a negative relationship between the DLOQ and turnover. Because the DLOQ has been used in many countries over the years, this study also examined the influence of national culture on the outcomes. Power distance moderated the relationship between the learning organization and overall organizational performance. Our meta-analytic review makes substantive contributions to the literature on the learning organization concept and the study of national culture as a significant moderator. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals On the misuse of national culture dimensions

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 673-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Brewer ◽  
Sunil Venaik
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Culture Dimensions

Research on the influencing factors of the switching behavior of Chinese social media users: QQ transfer to WeChat

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Yin ◽  
Yujing Zhou ◽  
Peiyu He ◽  
Meng Tu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Switching Behavior ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Relationship ◽  
Transfer Behavior ◽  
Behavior Function

PurposeThis research takes the transfer behavior of users from Tencent QQ to WeChat as an example to discuss the wider transfer behavior of social media users on the Internet.Design/methodology/approachThis paper collects data through a combination of offline interviews and online questionnaire surveys, and utilizes data analysis tools to construct structural equation modeling (SEM). Using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) Statistics 22.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 22.0 software with SEM, this study was carried out to provide reasonable statistical support for relevant proposed hypotheses based on 368 effective samples acquired through the questionnaire.FindingsThe findings of this study show that subjective norm, transfer experience, social communication, and knowledge acquisition all have significant associations with transfer intention and switching behavior. To be specific, transfer intention exerts a positive association on switching behavior; function setting, privacy protection and personal innovation have a favorable association with transfer intention; transfer cost has a significantly negative relationship with transfer intention and switching behavior; function setting has no important relationship on switching behavior.Originality/valueThe research results provide a reference for improving the viscosity and loyalty of social media users in the new era and resolving the problem of user churn.

scholarly journals Dimensions of national cultures and organisational behaviour

Kultura ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 323-345
Author(s):  
Gordana Đuretić ◽  
Nevena Krasulja
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Climate ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
National Cultures ◽  
Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
Organisational Behaviour ◽  
Main Support ◽  
Very High

The main goal of this paper is to point out that the dimensions of national cultures have a huge impact on different aspects of organisational behaviour. The main support in the work is Hofstede's five-dimensional cultural model. The authors pay special attention to the dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. When both of indexes are high at the level of national culture, organizational climate will have some special features such as high hierarchical pyramids, centralised decision making, and autocratic behaviour of managers, negative attitudes towards work, stress and lack of entrepreneurial behaviour. Also, special interest in this topic results from the fact that both of these dimensions in Serbia are very high.

scholarly journals E-working: Country Versus Culture Dimension

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Michal Beňo
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Geert Hofstede ◽  
Different Cultures

Globalisation and increasing digitisation mean that companies must increasingly orientate themselves internationally in order to become (more) competitive or to remain competitive. Promoting e-working can revitalise rural development. The issue involved is always interaction between people from different cultures, between people who, according to their cultural backgrounds, feel, think and act differently. When cultural diversity and differences are taken into account, greater creativity, more diverse ideas and faster problem solving are achieved. The cultural dimensions, according to Geert Hofstede, offer a comprehensive model for capturing the various expressions of intercultural values. This paper examines the motives for applying e-working in selected European countries in 2018 according to Hofstede’s six dimensions of national culture. Twenty-eight countries from the Eurostat database were analysed (Finland and the Netherlands were excluded, and software detected them in the e-working variable as outliers). Correlation with e-working is statistically significant at PDI (power distance index - negative: the lower the PDI index, the higher the proportion of e-working) and IVR index (indulgence versus restraint - positive: the higher the IVR index, the higher the proportion of e-working).

scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Related to COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-sectional Study.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina M. Al Marzouqi ◽  
Michael E. Otim ◽  
Heba H. Hijazi ◽  
Leena S. Kehail ◽  
Ramsha A. Kamal
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Abstract Objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a global health pandemic that continues to have an impact on many aspects of everyday life. This study investigates the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) related to COVID-19 among healthcare workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This study uses a cross-sectional study design. The original data were collected using an online questionnaire distributed via a Google Forms link. Participants were healthcare workers currently working in the UAE healthcare facilities and recruited using snowball sampling. The questionnaire collected information on demographic variables and COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice.Results: In total, the sample of 107 healthcare workers completed the survey. About 92% of the participants worked in public institutions, 87% were from Dubai, and 673% were female. The majority were aged 31–40 years (34.6%), and 43% were radiographers. 66.4% held bachelor’s degrees and Indian nationalities were (28%) and the Philippinos were (28%). Most (90.7%) participants knew the absence of fever did not mean that the virus could not transmit from an infected person, and 84.1% agreed that wearing general medical masks prevented one from contracting COVID-19. However, only 36.4% strongly believed that wearing a well-fitting face mask was effective. In addition, only 15.9% reported confidently managing patients with symptoms of COVID-19, and 54.2% reported that they were afraid of contracting the virus from patients. Almost half of the participants avoided patients who had symptoms of COVID-19. Conclusion: Overall, healthcare workers’ COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices for healthcare workers in UAE healthcare facilities was very high. However, we found gaps in awareness regarding the spread of the pandemic. Our study recommends that providing healthcare workers with education programs and counseling services would help increase their confidence in treating patients with COVID-19.

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