The Role of Multinational Companies in the Middle East
The Role of Multinational Companies in the Middle East

Author: Mamarinta P. Mababaya

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 1581121725

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This study investigated whether known economic and international business theories available in the literature are meaningful enough to explain the nature, existence and role of multinational companies (MNCs) in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Two sets of questionnaires were distributed in major cities of Saudi Arabia -- one set for 100 multinational managers and another for 280 multinational customers. 234 questionnaires were collected -- 45 from multinational managers and 189 from customers. This represents a total response rate of 62 percent, which is adequate for this study.The empirical results, supported with comprehensive secondary data, confirmed virtually all of the research hypotheses. The study found that joint ventures are the dominant form of multinational business in Saudi Arabia, both in manufacturing and service industries. The core roles of MNCs in the Saudi-foreign ventures are evident in the cross-border value-adding activities of marketing, trading, manufacturing, consulting, contracting, project management, insurance, hotel operation and banking. Likewise, MNCs provide licensing, franchising, financing services and various auxiliary roles in the Kingdom. Therefore, the multinationality of a firm or a group of firms operating across national boundaries is not necessarily synonymous with international production -- the main subject of contemporary multinational theories.The respondents generally perceived the competitiveness of MNCs operating in Saudi Arabia as a function of a number of economic, management, marketing, technological and other variables. They also perceived the contributions of MNCs to the KingdomÍs socio-economic developments as significant and positive.The study also found that understanding Islamic values and ethics is important for MNCs. In this regard, the researcher looked at some objective indicators of business success and related them to selected measures of MNCsÍ local cultural awareness and responsiveness. The results indicate that the business success of multinationals operating in Saudi Arabia is positively related to their local cultural awareness and responsiveness. Along this line, this study covers some vital elements of Islamic culture, which will help MNCs understand further the cultural needs, values and sensitivities of the Saudi people and Muslims in general.

Business Politics in the Middle East
Business Politics in the Middle East

Author: Steffen Hertog

Publisher: Hurst Publishers

Published: 2013-04-25

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1849042357

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Although most Arab countries remain authoritarian, many have undergone a restructuring of state-society relations in which lower- and middle-class interest groups have lost ground while big business has benefited in terms of its integration into policy-making and the opening of economic sectors that used to be state-dominated. Arab businesses have also started taking on aspects of public service provision in health, media and education that used to be the domain of the state; they have also become increasingly active in philanthropy. The ‘Arab Spring,’ which is likely to lead to a more pluralistic political order, makes it all the more important to understand business interests in the Middle East, a segment of society that on the one hand has often been close to the ancien regime, but on the other will play a pivotal role in a future social contract. Among the topics addressed by the authors are the role of business in recent regime change; the political outlook of businessmen; the consequences of economic liberalisation on the composition of business elites in the Middle East; the role of the private sector in orienting government policies; lobbying of government by business interests and the mechanisms by which governments seek to keep businesses dependent on them.

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa
Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Mr.Hamid R Davoodi

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2003-09-05

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 9781589062290

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

State-Owned Enterprises in Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia: Size, Costs, and Challenges
State-Owned Enterprises in Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia: Size, Costs, and Challenges

Author: Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1513594087

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Prior to the COVID-19 shock, the key challenge facing policymakers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia region was how to generate strong, sustainable, job-rich, inclusive growth. Post-COVID-19, this challenge has only grown given the additional reduction in fiscal space due to the crisis and the increased need to support the recovery. The sizable state-owned enterprise (SOE) footprint in the region, together with its cost to the government, call for revisiting the SOE sector to help open fiscal space and look for growth opportunities.

International Business in the Middle East
International Business in the Middle East

Author: Erdener Kaynak

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-10-16

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 3110852179

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16.5 Within Western Countries -- 16.6 Between the Two Groups -- 16.7 Future Market Scenarios in the Middle East -- References -- The Editor -- The Authors -- Author Index -- Subject Index

Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia
Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia

Author: Abbas Ali

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-02-11

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 113569589X

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For the last 60 years, Saudi Arabia has assumed a vital economic role and has been situated on the center stage of the global economic and political scene. While the market was once dominated by American and British firms, and later Japanese corporations, Korean and Chinese companies have now aggressively entered the market and have posed serious challenges to entrenched multinational corporations. The Saudi market has newly become an arena for unbridled competition. As companies must adapt and embark on creative means to sustain their positions in dynamic markets, multinational corporations must also find a comprehensive approach to dealing with cultural and political developments. Having a competitive edge demands familiarity with market nuances and peculiarities in addition to providing quality product and service. Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia is not primarily about how to conduct business in the region, but rather it provides insightful information to optimally guide western managers in conducting their operations in Saudi Arabia. The book offers essential information to engage effectively, manage business activities, resolve cultural understandings, and tackle appropriate issues of group dynamics, human resource management, managing change, and development and relations with the government and the general public. As such, it is required reading for both business leaders and academics alike.

Handbook of Human Resource Management in the Middle East
Handbook of Human Resource Management in the Middle East

Author: Pawan S. Budhwar

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2016-11-25

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1784719528

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This Handbook provides evidence-based information to the reader regarding the dynamics of HRM in this important region. The book is developed into three parts – contextual and functional issues such as societal and cultural perspectives, performance management and talent management; country-specific HRM covering the GCC, Levant and North African nations; and emerging themes such as HR issues related to domestic workers, labour localisation, expatriate management, CSR, Wasta, foreign and public sector firms. Covered under 23 chapters, the systematic analysis highlights the main forces determining HRM systems in the region.

Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East
Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East

Author: Hossein Askari

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1483144615

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Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East evaluates the general role that tax policies have played in the economic development of the Middle East since 1945 and proposes some recommendations on how fiscal tools could be better used to promote further advancement in this region. This book is divided into six parts. Part I contains the purpose and outline of the study, while Part II discusses the economic aspects of the major categories of taxes used in most developing countries. The fiscal history and categorical breakdown of the tax profiles of 16 Middle Eastern countries are reviewed in Part III. Part IV analyzes the literature on econometric models that explain differences among countries in tax effort. In Part V, the differences in relative tax efforts across 16 countries with considerations in Islamic history, culture, and natural resource endowment are elaborated. The last part summarizes the entire study. This publication is a good reference for economists and specialists concerned with the taxation and tax policies in the Middle East.

The international politics of the Middle East
The international politics of the Middle East

Author: Raymond Hinnebusch

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2013-07-19

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1847795226

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This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. This text aims to fill a gap in the field of Middle Eastern political studies by combining international relations theory with concrete case studies. It begins with an overview of the rules and features of the Middle East regional system—the arena in which the local states, including Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Israel and the Arab states of Syria, Jordan and Iraq, operate. The book goes on to analyse foreign-policy-making in key states, illustrating how systemic determinants constrain this policy-making, and how these constraints are dealt with in distinctive ways depending on the particular domestic features of the individual states. Finally, it goes on to look at the outcomes of state policies by examining several major conflicts including the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf War, and the system of regional alignment. The study assesses the impact of international penetration in the region, including the historic reasons behind the formation of the regional state system. It also analyses the continued role of external great powers, such as the United States and the former Soviet Union, and explains the process by which the region has become incorporated into the global capitalist market.

The Geopolitics of the Middle East
The Geopolitics of the Middle East

Author: International Institute for Strategic Studies

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9780415398664

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Complete set Since 1961 the Adelphi Papers have provided some of the most informed accounts of international and strategic relations. Produced by the world renowned International Institute of Strategic Studies, each paper provides a short account of a subject of topical interest by a leading military figure, policy maker or academic. The project reprints the first forty years of papers, arranged into thematic sets. The collection as a whole provides a rich and insightful account of international affairs during a period which spans the second half of the Cold War, the fall of the communist bloc and the emergence of a new regime with the United States as the sole superpower. There is a wealth of global coverage: Four volumes on east and southeast Asia as well as individual volumes on China, Japan and Korea Particular attention is given to the Middle East, with volumes addressing internal sources of instability; geo-politics and the role of the superpowers; the Israel-Palestine conflict; and the Iran-Iraq War and the first Gulf War. There is also a volume on oil and insecurity There are also two volumes on Africa, the site of most of the world's wars during the period. The IISS has obviously made a particular contribution to the understanding of military strategy, and this is reflected with material on topics such as urban and guerrilla warfare, nuclear deterrence and the role of information in modern warfare. Volumes on military strategy are complemented by approaches from other disciplines, such as defence economics. Key selling points: Early papers were only distributed by the IISS and will have achieved limited penetration of the academic market A host of major authors on a range of different subjects (eg Gerald Segal on China, Michael Leifer on Southeast Asia, Sir Lawrence Freidman on the revolution in military affairs, Raymond Vernon on multinationals and defence economics) Individual volumes will have a strong appeal to different markets (eg the volume on defence economics for economists, various volumes for Asian Studies etc)