Theses for Business Management

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Analysing Factors Influencing AI Implementation Effectiveness in the UAE Public Sector
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-10) ALAWADHI, JASSIM; Professor Stephen Wilkins
This research examines factors influencing AI implementation effectiveness in the public sector. Governments globally compete to advance public sector services and transform public services to digital to fulfil continuous citizens and business demands to reach the expectation of state-of-the-art services. Thus, governments worldwide are racing to utilise advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Hence, governments implement Artificial Intelligence systems to develop cutting-edge platforms, serving as a base for the government's journey to AI-based government transformation. Existing literature reveals that organisations' cognitive technology projects fail to meet their successful implementation. Therefore, the AI-deployed system fails to deliver the expected performance and objective outcome. Further, scholars discuss gaps in AI field literature and reveal the absence of public sector articles since most AI articles are technical. Also, there is a literature gap in empirical quantitative theory-based research and research measuring the effectiveness of AI system implementation. Moreover, scholars reveal that nations' AI strategies are inspirational and lack implementation guidance. Consequently, this research aims to fill the gap in the literature by creating a theory-based, quantitative study to examine factors that influence the implementation effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence in the public sector at the organisational level from a technology, organisation, and environment perspective. Based on the extensive literature review, the thesis formulates a theoretical framework that combines the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), the Institutional Theory (INT), and the Technology – Organisation – Environment Framework (T.O.E) to act as the researcher's lens to view the study world. This study tested hypotheses based on literature and existing theories. Hence, the researcher adopted objectivist worldwide ontology, positivist epistemology, explanatory deductive reasoning, and a quantitative method as study philosophy to examine the relationship between the study factors. The research findings indicate a significant relationship between study factors. However, the results show a lack of significance between technology compatibility, usability, and effectiveness of AI implementation. Further, the study results reveal an insignificant relationship between culture impact and AI implementation effectiveness in the UAE public sector. The research implies that public sector top management is critical to AI system implementation; therefore, public sector top management must have cognitive technology knowledge and understand the Technology – organisation – Environment aspects for implementing AI systems. To effectively implement AI systems, top management should plan strategically to retain organisation data with quality, create a collaborative culture, strategically demonstrate the organisation's competitive advantage, cooperate with human resources to hire AI expertise to lead AI-based projects and adopt an implementation framework.
Arab Women’s Experiences of Careers in Management
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2018-03) CHAYA, SHIREEN N.
This thesis explores the experiences and decisions of young Arab women as they pursue and advance their careers in management or opt out. The main research questions on Arab women’s management careers include how they perceive their experiences in organisations, the key elements that contribute to their decision to leave their management career or stay, how they perceive upward mobility in management careers, and the way in which their experiences are qualitatively changed by the overlapping of multiple layers of identity at particular points of intersection. The thesis draws on discourses of gender, intersectionality, and sustainability situated in the paradoxical context of the region in which Arab women, while young and educated many are not working in management or unemployed. The thesis’s aim and research questions were explored through hermeneutic phenomenology via the semi-structured life world interview drawing on a sample of 56 women from 17 Arab countries, between the ages of 24-40, holding degrees in management, who are currently working or worked a minimum of 3 years before quitting. An Arab woman was defined as someone for whom both parents are Arab, has lived in an Arab country for at least ten years, obtained at least one degree in a higher education institution in an Arab country, and has previously or currently works in an Arab country for a minimum of 3 years. Several themes emerged that described women’s management career experiences specifically from the perspective of their social identities the combination of which produce private and public scripts with multiple intersections qualitatively changing their experiences. Shared among their experiences is the way in which these intersections situated them in what they perceived to be places of “empowerment” or “disempowerment” expressed in the ability to make decisions and seek alternatives as they underwent expected role-performance tensions during daily “power” episodes with multiple actors (especially managers, colleagues, spouses and other family members). Thus, the power framework of Arab women’s management careers tells of an active participant and a knowledgeable agent aware of the importance of balancing multiple arenas of power. Based on this argument and interpretation the thesis makes recommendations on how to transform various elements such that women experience more equitable and empowering decision-making options that encourage them to remain in their careers as well as move upwards facilitated by cultural and policy changes in universities, organizations, and governments.
Big Data Governance and Innovation Performance: The Mediating Role of Big Data Analytics Capabilities, and Organisational Agility
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2024-02) AL KAMZARI, MARYAM ALI; Dr Farzana Asad Mir
Big data governance has become a top consideration in Information Technology and business management due to exponential data growth and its various applications. However, despite the efforts of researchers and practitioners to examine its value, it is still unclear whether and how it drives firm’s innovation performance. To fill this gap, this study draws on the resource-based view, the dynamic capabilities view, and recent literature on big data governance and big data analytics capabilities (BDACs) to examine the relationship between big data governance and innovation performance, while focusing on the mediating roles of BDACs and organisational agility in this relationship. To test the hypotheses presented in the study’s conceptual framework, a partial least squares- structural equation modelling approach was used and the questionnaire responses from 152 enterprises from various industries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were analysed. The study’s main findings are that BDACs fully mediate the big data governance relationships with innovation performance and organisational agility. Evidence of significant serial mediation by BDACs and organisational agility between big data governance and innovation performance was also found. The study highlights the importance of BDACs and organisational agility in enacting the relationship between big data governance and innovation performance. For GCC firms, the ability of management to develop and deploy an appropriate combination of essential resources depends on their resources and capabilities (big data governance, BDACs, and organisational agility), leading towards the improvement of firm innovation performance.
Business Engagement and City Branding
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2018-11) AL JOURANI, NAWFAL S. ABDUL GHANI
There is an abundance of literature on consumer engagement, however, little is known as to how engagement is made by organizations. This study addresses this gap by investigating how city brands specifically, (and organizations in general), can make engagement happen. In the academic literature and in business practice there is no universal understanding of how engagement is developed by organizations in a way that adds to the rich and evolved consumer-based thinking (in marketing, branding, advertising, and other relevant activities). This thesis examines the underlying mechanisms of what make organizations have brands that are successful in their attempts to be engaging. The analysis identifies components of the business engagement model and how they operate in creating and managing successful brands in general and in city branding more specifically. This study defines business engagement as the management system in which leadership creates a vision that drives the creation of a collective culture which in turn adopts innovations for the sake of achieving consistent competitive ability to the entity within which it is applied. The thesis addresses another gap in the literature which is city branding. There is an abundance of literature on what it is, but not a lot of consensus on how cities can do it. There is a need for a universal framework that can be relatively generalized in addressing how city branding can be successfully implemented. Dubai is chosen as the subject matter of this research. Informed by the literature on city branding, marketing, branding, innovation diffusion, and leadership, this thesis adopts a qualitative research approach that uses interviews and documents as the major sources of primary and secondary data. 24 Dubai Government organizations participated in the interviews, and the four main findings are: 1. Leadership, vision, collective culture, innovation, and consistent competitive ability are the ingredients of the business engagement model. 2. City branding is not a promotional activity as commonly perceived, but a business management process that precedes promotion. 3. Leadership plays a major role in the process of city branding (and any other branding context), not as a political promotional tool, but as a business management application that makes brands and not only promotes them. 4. The business engagement model is ubiquitous. Business engagement happens organically whenever there is a brand using situation wherein leadership creates a vision that drives all involved to achieve it. This study supports existing literature on engagement and city branding and expands it to provides a conceptual framework for city managers and planners, leadership entities, researchers, and marketing specialists that contributes to managing city branding and other brand making endeavors.
Can Ease of Doing Business Shorten the Distance and Attract Foreign Direct Investment
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-09) AL KHOORI, YOUSUF
Abstract Due to the accelerating pace of globalization, Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) have increasingly employed foreign direct investment (FDI) to enter foreign markets. FDI has played a key role in modernizing the economies of host countries and stimulating economic development. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), FDI has grown worldwide from around $200 Billion in 1990 to $1.4 Trillion in 2019. This magnificent growth has sparked the interest of researchers to explain why multinational corporations prefer to operate overseas rather than exporting with arm’s length agreements? This thesis is based on the theoretical framework of the Dunning OLI Paradigm. The objective of this thesis is to expand on existing research by conducting a more fundamental and detailed analysis of the relationship between four different dimensions of distance (economic, geographic, institutional, and cultural) and foreign direct investment inflow. The scope of the thesis was broadened to include the possible existence of a moderating role of a favorable business environment, for which Ease of Doing Business Index (EODB) was used as a proxy, on the distance determinants and FDI inflow. Four country characteristics (including common border, common language, colonial ties, and free trade agreement) were added to the model as control measures. This research deployed the Structural Gravity Model to examine FDI flows into Singapore from its 30 largest investors for the period from 2006 to 2018. The empirical findings for testing the relationship between four different dimensions of distance and FDI largely confirmed expectations. However, the results of the moderating effect of a favorable business environment are novel and lead to additional insights for the determinants of FDI. Regarding the distance variables, with the exception of geographic distance (GeoDist), all are significant and exhibit their expected signs. The unexpected positive sign for the GeoDist dimension can be attributed to the combination of large FDI inflows from non-Asian countries combined with the close proximity of the Asian countries with Singapore. With regards to its moderating role, the ease of doing business (EODB) is effective in enhancing the positive influence of economic distance on FDI inflow. The empirical result also revealed that there is a significant moderating effect of doing business on the relationship between institutional distance and FDI inflows. In contrast to our theoretical assumptions, we found that the moderating effect of the ease of doing business index on the relationship between geographical distance and FDI is negatively significant. Interestingly, the result further indicates that the ease of doing business scoring does not moderate the relationship between cultural distance and FDI inflow. This research made significant theoretical and practical contributions within the field of FDI literature. The unifying theme of this thesis is the role that a business friendly environment plays as a moderator of the risks associated with four different measures of distance. From a theoretical viewpoint, a novel way to measure the degree to which a country exhibits a favorable business climate was created in order to weight the individual components of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index (EODB) according to their relative importance. Using this measure, our results show that a favorable business climate has a significant moderating effect on the risks that a MNC faces when investing in countries with significantly different wealth levels. In addition, this moderating effect is also evident for the risks associated with operating in countries with different legal and financial systems. Of equal importance for researchers is the contribution that a favorable business climate does not appear to exhibit a moderating effect for the risks associated with the cultural distance to the target country. In order to ensure that these results are reliable, a robust research design based on a structural gravity model using panel data of FDI flows was employed. From a practical viewpoint, this study provides strong evidence to policymakers that improving the business friendliness of a country attracts FDI due to the moderating effect that it has on the risks associated with economic distance and institutional distance.
Conceptual Skills in Leading Change: A Competence Approach to Public Sector Leadership
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-02) JASIM, ARIF FADHEL AHMED
A substantial amount of advice is available on how top management should lead, but less is known about how leaders conceptualise their leadership of change. This study concentrates specifically on conceptual skills involved in leading change in public sector organisations. Leaders’ capacity to think about abstract and complex ideas has long been acknowledged as essential to leadership tasks such as planning and analysis; however, because conceptualisation is often ambiguous and difficult to understand, many frameworks of leadership and change lack clarity on the actual significance of leaders’ conceptual skills when leading change. The challenges of the twenty-first century require public sector leaders to be dynamic and flexible in their thinking, particularly when dealing with strategic change. In this context, the thesis examines four salient areas of public sector leadership competence which are likely to be high priority areas for leadership competence development: these are self-regulation, sensemaking, integrative leadership and innovative leadership. Self-determination Theory (SDT) asserts that autonomy, competence, and relatedness are essential to leaders’ capacity for self-regulation and enhanced performance, persistence, and creativity. Leaders’ experiences of these psychological needs will be influenced by how they conceptualise them. Consistent with humanist thought and positive psychology, leaders who are fully self-functioning and authentic are more likely to make sound choices and decisions. Authentic leaders are people who are very aware of how they think and behave, and also are considered to be so by others. They are more likely to conceptualise public sector change in ways that are sincere and that inspire thoughts that are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character. When dealing with dynamic public sector environments, leaders have to interpret and communicate the change in ways that are meaningful for other employees and government stakeholders. Sensemaking and sensegiving are interpretive cognitive acts that emerge from contexts that possess conceptual complexity. Leaders’ sensemaking involves engaging in the retrospective understanding of events and sharing meanings and emotions to create plausible accounts of what is happening. Sensegiving is required where leaders influence others’ meaning constructions by working productively with them in establishing and verifying a map of the way forward. These interpretive cognitive acts of meaning construction by leaders and followers include significant elements of conceptual thinking and explanation. The public sector consists of numerous organisations addressing diverse communities of multiple stakeholders. Integrative leadership is an emerging approach designed to encourage collective action across many boundaries in governments. Integrative approaches argue that leadership is central to the creation and maintenance of cross-sector collaborations that advance the common good. Integrative public leaders work across sector boundaries to develop the relationships and flow of resources necessary to achieve multiple sectoral goals. The thesis argues that leaders’ conceptual skills support their capacity to act on opportunities arising from the integration of divergent practices and structures. They also assist with solving problems based on partially conflicting processes and systems of governance. Innovation in public management has been categorised into three main types: political leadership during crisis, organisational turnaround, and bottom-up leadership. Research on facilitating innovation in these contexts has found that it involves the reconciliation of conflicting interests among senior team members and achieving organisational ambidexterity through exploring new capabilities while exploiting existing ones. The author’s line of argument is that conceptual skills are likely to play a significant role in ambidexterity leadership for innovation. This thesis examines conceptual skills in leading public sector change through interviews and focus groups with a sample of 123 participants based around 18 focal leaders who were all top managers of government organisations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These qualitative research methods are supported by field observations of public leaders at work and primary and secondary documents on public sector change and organisational and individual performance, in addition to a wide range of qualitative methods, totalling 12 distinct forms of data collection. The thesis concludes on the significance of individuals’ conceptual skills in leading public sector change by presenting a framework of conceptual skills relevant to four areas of leadership: self-regulation, sensemaking, integrative leadership and innovative leadership. The results from this phenomenographical research and its qualitative methods indicate that leaders’ conceptual skills influence the quality and extent of productive, self-regulation, sensemaking, integrative leadership, and innovative leadership in the public sector. The research results suggest that these leaders employ high-level conceptual skills in leading public sector change and can be categorised into three levels of utilising conceptual skills. These skills influence the four areas of leadership competence and are ranked in descending order, from the most advanced to the least developed. The top level consists of Expert leaders adopting conceptual skills in a unique and distinct manner, and effectively using these skills in leading change. The second level is the Proficient level including leaders adopting a similar set of conceptual skills, however, they are not consistently clear about the leadership of change or their role in attaining results. In addition to making more conceptual errors than the Expert group, there is insufficient evidence for some specific and elaborated conceptual skills. Finally, the rest of the leaders are categorised as in the Developing level where they adopt some conceptual skills, but several are notably missing. In addition, due to some erroneous ways of conceptual thinking the effectiveness of these skills and their role in change management is reduced. These three levels are distinguished by three principal criteria, skill’s uniqueness, skill’s role in leading change, and conceptual errors. This study presents a model for adopting conceptual skills, which states that the highest level of leading change in the government sector requires a set of conceptual skills that are essential to achieving the desired change. Then, the middle level group of leaders have a lower set of conceptual skills, and progressively fewer skills still at the third level. The highest level of leaders makes fewer conceptual errors, and these errors increase as the levels decrease. Furthermore, just as there are essential conceptual skills to lead change, there are also misconceptions. Erroneous adoption of conceptual skill by change leaders may prevent and inhibit desired change.
Constructing a successful career in the Fourth Industrial Revolution for young graduates in the UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-09) AHMED, AYMAN MOUSTAFA HANAFY
A lifetime career, job security, promotions, and career development in one organization are no longer guaranteed for young graduates. Today, during the fourth industrial revolution, career ambiguity and rapid changes in the nature of work have presented young graduates with many challenges in constructing their careers. For example, globalization, advances in technology, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend towards more information and service-based business have required individuals to have a clear career path and to be adaptable, flexible, and proactive in their career behavior. In recent years, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, young graduates have found it increasingly difficult to secure full-time employment with career prospects, and many individuals have begun questioning the meaning of their jobs and careers (Baruch and Sullivan, 2022; Duffy et al., 2016; Trevor-Roberts et al., 2018). Due to technological advancements, economic changes, and global competition, individuals often have to change employer or retrain for a new career. To respond to changing labor market needs and job opportunities, individuals need to carefully plan and manage their career development, improving both their career competencies and commitment. Career competencies have become important in today’s labor markets (Kong et al., 2012), so that individuals can obtain, retain, and effectively manage their careers (Heijde and Van Der Heijden, 2006). Employees worldwide are experiencing uncontrollable job losses and career interruptions (Ng et al., 2005). Accordingly, individuals are required to pay high attention to managing and shaping their careers to address the complex and unpredictable changes in business. Akkermans et al. (2012) identified three categories of career competencies – namely reflective, communicative and behavioral – which reflect the four perspectives of boundaryless career, protean career, career self-management, and human capital. Few studies have examined the effects of boundaryless and protean career competencies components on young graduates’ subjective career success. To our knowledge, only Eby et al. (2003) have investigated the impact of boundaryless career competencies on young graduates, while other studies investigated boundaryless career competencies in general, with less emphasize on specifying which component significantly impacts career success (e.g., Akkermans and Tims, 2017; Blokker et al., 2019; Cappellen and Janssens 2008; Francis-Smythe et al., 2013; Kuijpers et al., 2006; Park, 2020). To our knowledge, no study has examined the effects of protean career competencies components on young graduates’ career success. Additionally, all the research that has investigated the impacts of career commitment (career planning, career resilience, and career identity) on career success are general and did not specify which component of career commitment has the superior impact on career success (Ballout, 2009; Carson et al., 1999; Day and Allen, 2004; Karavardar, 2014; Najam et al., 2020; Poon, 2004; Sultana et al., 2016). This research aims to assess the significant impacts of the different components of career competencies and career commitment on young graduates’ career success, and how these individuals construct their careers in the fourth industrial revolution. Thus, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: • To what extent do career competencies impact upon the career success of young graduates in the fourth industrial revolution? • To what extent does career commitment impact upon career success of young graduates in the fourth industrial revolution? • How do young graduates build successful careers during the fourth industrial revolution? The study adopted a quantitative, deductive, cross-sectional research method to explain how young graduates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construct their successful careers in the fourth industrial revolution. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the combined impacts of career competencies and career commitment components on recent graduate career success. This research contributes to boundaryless career, protean career, and career construction theory, by improving our understanding of the role of the various components within the related constructs. In addition, it addresses a recent call for more research that investigates aspects of job crafting, whereby individuals make changes to their jobs or job roles to make better use of their skills and abilities and to ensure their career development (Tims et al., 2022). By examining the impacts of career competencies and career commitment components on subjective career success, the study also makes a useful contribution to the career success literature, which contains considerable ambiguity and contradictions. Since existing studies were mostly undertaken in Western countries, this study, which was conducted in an Arab Gulf/Middle Eastern context, allows us to account for the possible influences of economic, political and social factors, such as culture and religion, as well as the composition of labor forces in this region (there are very high proportions of expatriate labor in some Arab Gulf countries).
Developing a Framework for Guiding Blockchain Implementation in UAE Public Sector Based on Structuration and Actor Network Theories: A Qualitative Case Study Examination
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-02) ALROB, ALLAM MOHAMMAD
Blockchain is recognised as a radical technological innovation that will influence most sectors in the coming years as it is designed to exchange tangible and intangible assets in a secure distributed ledger. Focusing on the public sector, this study aimed to explore how the public sector can incorporate Blockchain to improve the quality of public sector services while considering the organisational and institutional structure. The research outcome is developing a framework to guide decentralised public sector e-services delivery. The study adopted subjectivist and interpretive philosophical stances and is based on two in-depth case studies of Blockchain implementation in two public sector entities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Data was collected through 38 semi-structured interviews in the two public sector entities. The data was gathered with relevance to implementing Distributed Ledgers Technology (Blockchain) applications. The study relied on seven conceptual propositions informed by two supporting theoretical frameworks: Actor-Network Theory (ANT) combined with Structuration Theory (ST), which allows researchers to achieve a better understanding of the socio-technical factors and aspects that are associated with and have an impact on the adoption process for Blockchain in public sector organizations.. The analysis of captured data in the two case studies was conducted using NVivo software and was underpinned by the seven conceptual propositions. The study’s findings make several contributions to the Information Technology Management field of study. This study has a theoretical contribution that is founded on the examination of how to combine Structuration and Actor-Network Theories in analysing the adoption of new technology. The study integrated both theories to develop a framework to guide decentralised public sector e-services delivery and help decision-makers in the public sector to appropriately determining how Blockchain implementation could be achieved in both sustainable and scalable manners. A practical contribution is found in increasing our understanding of how and why the public sector can adopt Blockchain to change the service delivery approach.
Director Engagement with Corporate Purpose: The Contribution and Potential of Institutional Investors
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-09) Neri, Selina
This thesis develops an improved conceptual understanding of when and how directors, as key corporate governance actors, engage with corporate purpose as a company’s raison d’être, and how institutional investors contribute to their engagement. There is a gap in the corporate governance academic literature as to how corporations and investors can enable director engagement, as a condition for corporations to create value for society as well as for investors. The thesis examines how institutional investors, through the exercise of their stewardship duties via the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions and a form of activism known as ‘engagement’, contribute to the way directors engage with purpose. I argue that director engagement is an initial, important step in enabling corporations to create value for society as well as for investors, and for directors to make a difference to their companies. Based on a unified definition of director engagement, and applying strategic cognition as an organising framework to study its dynamics, director engagement can be seen as the extent to which directors commit their affective, cognitive and behavioural resources to corporate purpose. The initial components of the director engagement with corporate purpose model are identified and presented as predicated along a continuum, rather than an engaged/ disengaged dichotomy. Engagement is understood as affected by a set of contingencies at governance, organisational and directorial level. Using a case study approach, I collected data through a combination of 38 semi‐structured interviews with directors, investors and other participants, two participant observations, and documentary sources. The main findings are: 1. Corporate purpose emerges as sustainable value creation, entailing financial, social and environmental dimensions. Purpose is neither about the social role of corporations, nor about moral obligations, but rather is strategic in nature. 2. Director engagement emerges as an affective-cognitive-behavioural mechanism predicated along a continuum where engagement moves between two ends, conformity and compliance, and corporate development. The continuum sees directors at and moving between both sides. The greatest benefit to corporations, society and investors is derived from directors moving towards the furthest end of the continuum (corporate development), however the transitory nature of engagement means that it is neither a linear progression nor is ever ‘done’, ‘complete’ or ‘achieved’, with important consequences for decision-making at directorial and board level. 3. Institutional investors shape director engagement through the exercise of their stewardship duties via behavioural integrity, in-depth knowledge of the investee companies, strategic relationships with directors (chairs in particular), and an investment time horizon aligned with corporate purpose. Investor and investment size do not appear to play a role, as small investors are also able to demand director attention if the above conditions are met. Proxy advisors support director engagement as conformity and compliance, and are not conducive to the movement towards engagement as corporate development. 4. Director engagement towards the corporate development side of the continuum is viewed as possible both in public and private ownership, as long as the chair leads strategic relationships with investors to ensure alignment about purpose and the trade-offs it entails. 5. Perspectives defining ESG factors as ‘non-financial’, the lack of globally accepted ESG standards, and the debate on integrated reporting emerge as potentially detrimental to engagement beyond conformity and compliance, as ESG factors should be viewed as strategic in nature, may impact the bottom line and ability to create value, and are financially relevant and important. I offer an original contribution to knowledge in the area of strategic cognition and corporate governance by presenting an initial model of director engagement as a strategic cognition process of knowing and understanding corporate purpose. I also offer a set of recommendations for policy-makers and governance practitioners as to how to enable director engagement, as an initial step for corporations to add value to society as well as to investors, and for directors to make a difference to their companies.
THE EFFECT OF PAY EQUITY and TRUST ON ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT: DOES LOVE OF MONEY MATTER?
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-08) JARRAR, MOHAMMAD KHAIR GHAZI
The robust role of organisational commitment through effecting employees’ outcomes leads managers and social scientist to pay close attention to this concept, but to gain and retain employees still represents a big challenge for both. Despite extensive studies concerning organisational commitment (OC), there is still no answer concerning the main factors influencing OC. Previous studies either focused on the antecedents or consequences and not individual differences, particularly inequity or unfairness of distributive justice. This study combines the psychology of money and the love of money (LoM) constructs together with pay equity, trust in leadership and distributive justice to find the key factors that affect OC. However, LoM as an individual difference cannot be overlooked. The need to identify the key factors that could affect OC has been confirmed by the existing literature and many studies have been conducted to find those factors but have failed to focus on individual differences. This study expands on the literature and uses commitment theory to find the major factors that influence organisational commitment A mong 505 locals and expatriate employees working in different public and private organisations with different types of businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study examines the moderating effect of the LoM on the relationships between pay equity, trust in leadership and OC. This study adopted a positivist philosophy and a quantitative deductive approach. Data were collected by using both an online survey and a self-administered hard copy survey questionnaire that was completed by locals and expat employees. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and structural equation modelling (AMOS) using multiple regression, path and moderation and mediation analysis. It was found that LoM moderates the relationship between pay equity and both affective and continuance commitment, and moderates the relationship between trust in leadership and affective and continuance commitment, whereas, LoM did not moderate relationships with normative commitment. Both relationships between inequity and injustice with OC are based on the level of the LoM. Therefore, LoM plays a crucial role by affecting employees’ reactions and their decisions to leave or stay in the workplace. The role of LoM influences the second path when it combines with distributive justice and how it influences trust. Based on the importance of pay equity in explaining distributive justice it could be a cornerstone of the model and control employees’ relationships in the workplace. To my knowledge, this is the first empirical study that examines the moderating effect of the LoM on the relationships between pay equity, trust in leadership and OC by using the psychology of money theory represented to investigate the major factors affecting OC. Most previous studies have used pay equity, trust and distributive justice theories separately to find these effects without accounting for the individual factors that may influence OC or affect employee decisions to stay or leave the organisation. Most LoM studies have also focused on the relationships with pay level with lack of studies in regards to employee leaving decision. This study examined whether LoM affects employees’ decisions to stay or leave, which affects OC. This study contributes to knowledge by presenting a conceptual model, which builds on and improves the existing models of pay equity, trust in leadership and OC models, by introducing LoM as a moderator. It explains the importance of the LoM on these relationships. This study proposes a simple explanation that organisational commitment has not stimulated or motivated employees to commit to their work. In other word pay equity or trust in leadership can have some effect on OC, but it can do more by combining LoM. The study recommends that combining LoM into pay equity and trust paths will ensure strong policies for pay equity to heighten OC. The trust in leadership effect cannot work as an effective factor unless the leader adopts equity with their employees, especially if they have employees with high levels of LoM. The effective role of trust will be exposed to the moderating effect of LoM and diminish the effective role of trust. Finally, the process of changing human behaviour is difficult, but adopting equity and distributive justice will retain employees and heighten OC. Therefore, management should identify employees’ LoM levels before implementing any equity systems to ensure that employees are satisfied. Thus, a decision-maker needs to pay attention to the LoM level of their employees and consider it in their future planning and strategies. Further implications of the findings and future research guidelines are also presented.
The Effects of New Public Management on Managers’ Work-Life Balance and Behavior
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-09) AL HEBSI, AHMED
Through delivery and coordination of citizen services and government operations, the public sector plays a crucial economic role in most emerging and developed nations. In this context, the study aims to evaluate the outcome of new public management (NPM) on managers’ work-life balance (WLB) and behaviours. NPM is a critical approach adopted by government and public service institutions in the running of public service organisations. This study is inspired by the establishment of a centralised NPM in Abu Dhabi in 2010, which aimed to ensure that all services are delivered in a timely manner and within the expectations of all citizens. To date, only limited research has evaluated the impact of NPM on managers’ work-life balance and behaviours, which provides the rationale for this research. In order to achieve the aims of the study, data were collected through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 21 managers employed in Abu Dhabi’s public sector. These data were supplemented with secondary data sources, which included journals and industry reports. The factors identified in this study include how WLB, organisation citizenship behaviours (OCB) and loyalty are influenced by NPM. It was found that the public sector has shifted its framework towards greater customer satisfaction, which has led to an increase in the workload of the managers. In addition, the results identified that two-thirds of the participants did not suffer from poor WLB due to NPM, although the remaining one-third did. While several participants agreed that this management style has affected their work and personal life, the attitudes of several managers remained positive. One of the primary reasons for this result was identified as being the extent of the NPM implemented in the organisation. For instance, participants who did not depict poor WLB were employed in organisations that did not report an extensive use of the private sector. In addition, the participants maintained positive attitudes to the increase in job responsibility, often stating that an increased scope of work was a natural phenomenon that came with the job. Moreover, where the organisations removed a level of hierarchy, this was often viewed as being beneficial as it reduced the number of reports. Several participants believed that while this management style resulted in a greater workload, it was towards achieving greater outcomes, and it enhanced their productivity, accountability and autonomy. One of the reasons for the limited impact of NPM on the WLB of managers could be the high levels of OCB that they displayed. In addition, the majority of the participants also depicted strong loyalty to the organisation that they worked with. However, the results do indicate that some of the participants suffered from poor WLB and that this negatively influenced their loyalty, but not their OCB. Age, sex, and nationality did not appear to have an influence on any of the proposed relationships. Participants with poor WLB depicted several key differences from their counterparts who had good WLB. The main differing factors included the manner in which NPM was implemented and the negative attitude of the participants when faced with an increasing workload. The key significance of the present study lies in its difference from prior research carried out in other contexts. Prior research has outlined that NPM leads to poor WLB in other countries. However, in the context of the UAE, as the findings have depicted, the link between NPM and poor WLB does not always hold true. One of the reasons could be the level and the innovative manner in which NPM has been applied in the organisations. Furthermore, the context of the UAE can also be attributed to the difference in the results. For instance, the general cultural attitude of the workforce in the UAE is geared towards achieving career success which could lead to them viewing additional responsibilities as part of their success. In addition, contributing to the success and prosperity of the nation could also be a factor.
The effects of Organisational Ambidexterity and New Public Management on Public Sector Service Quality through Service Innovation
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-11) ALKAABI, SEEMA SAADY
Public sector organisations in the Sultanate of Oman are still perceived to lag behind the private sector and are facing intense pressure to deliver the needed quality service. This sector is inflexible and lacks the dynamism to serve at its full extent. Moreover, the bureaucratic structure of the public sector hinders any initiative to improve, meet the demand for better products and services and operate without necessarily increasing its expenditures and disbursements. Hence, the need to reduce bureaucracy may give rise to the increasing demand for service innovation to attain service quality and enhance performance. Actual research and empirical studies testing service quality through service innovation combining organisational ambidexterity and new public management (NPM) within the context of the public sector in the Middle-East remains a gap in literature. This is because the government structure in the Middle East is fundamentally stemmed from highly bureaucratic institutions where decentralisation is highly questionable and can be subjected to numerous challenges. This research examines the influence of organisational ambidexterity and NPM on service quality through service innovation. The study follows a positivistic philosophy and focused on a deductive quantitative method. The survey questionnaire is based on pre-validated scales from literature and one self-developed scale for NPM as there is no such scale that has been found in literature. Non-probability sampling was used to recruit participants. One hundred and fifty-seven questionnaires were collected from twenty-two government service organisations using a self-administered online survey questionnaire that was completed by managers. By means of structural equation modelling, it was found that exploration, exploitation and NPM relate positively and significantly to service innovation. Also, the findings illustrate that exploitation and service innovation have a positive and significant correlation on service quality. However, this relationship was not significant with exploration and NPM. Furthermore, the post hoc analysis revealed that service innovation fully mediates the relationship between exploration, NPM and service quality. However, service innovation partly mediates the relationship between exploitation and service quality. This research has three main theoretical and empirical contributions. First, it contributes to the development of a measurement scale of NPM that relates specifically to the services provided by the government organisations those might be achieved through innovation. The services offered in the public service organisations can be achieved via innovation, although limited evidence exists about the ways to measure public performance. Specifically, it provides empirical support of the NPM-service innovation and NPM-service quality relationships. Second, this research advanced the understanding of the organisational ambidexterity theory by empirically testing the influence of both exploration and exploitation on service quality through service innovation in the public sector context. Several studies state that organisational ambidexterity applies to private organisations (e.g. industry and firm-level) to create positive outcomes for service quality. The thesis extends the previous literature on the organisational ambidexterity concept as this thesis focused on organisational level mainly operational and functional service unit in public service organisation. Third, this study contributes to the innovation literature by providing theoretical insight and empirical evidence that service innovation is important for public sector organisations. This research is one of a limited number of researches that have studied service innovation in the public sector organisation. The findings contribute to previous research literature about the mediating role of service innovation in government organisations. Overall, this thesis offers a new conceptualisation about the mediation role of service innovation in the relationship between organisational ambidexterity and NPM in the public sector to improve service quality. The thesis findings provide evidence to highlight the importance of ensuring that the customer gets the quality services they demand the organisation to convert their efforts to reflect organisation performance. Previous studies state that service innovation offers a perspective that facilitates the development of new services and refinement of existing services to improve the quality of service. A comparison of previous literature and thesis findings confirm that the delivery of quality service needs customer-oriented practices to improve the service quality domain in public service organisations.
Envisioning Workforce Agility Through Embracing A Dynamic Capabilities Model
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-12) SHAKHOUR, NOUR
This empirical research study investigates how dynamic talent management capabilities as a strategic asset contribute to employee agility as a necessary organizational outcome. Through the mediating effects of absorptive capacity and strategic agility as robust dynamic capabilities, under the moderation effect of adaptive organizational culture. The research context is knowledge workers, which has not been a very popular research context in relation to the examined constructs compared to information technology companies, including Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Ajgaonkar, Neelam & Wieman, 2022) and manufacturing (Gunasekaran, 1999). The finding is based on a deductive quantitative research design using a positivist approach and a cross-sectional survey collected from knowledge workers holding managerial roles working within the UAE with a sample size of 406 at a 95% confidence interval. The data was analyzed through a covariance-based approach to structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) using IBM SPSS-AMOS version 26. The finding indicates a statistically significant positive relationship between dynamic talent management capabilities and employee agility, both direct and sequential, through the mediating effect of absorptive capacity and strategic agility. Unlike the traditional human resources practices that were widely accepted, it hardly leads to a direct impact on organizational performance.
Exploring the Impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Implementation at the Individual and Team Levels_
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-05) AL ALI, AISHA Jr
The public sector is under increasing pressure to deliver efficient services, attain high levels of customer satisfaction, and meeting the pressing societal needs. Consequently, there is need for the implementation of technology to ensure efficiency within the public sector organizations. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the useful technologies available for organizations to enhance efficiency and deliver quality and satisfactory services to customers. The purpose of this dissertation was to carry out an assessment of AI technology implementation in the operational workplace processes and its impact at the individual and team level. The study is qualitative and involved in depth exploration of AI technology implementation in two governmental entities, referred to as Organization X and Organization Z. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants from Organization X and 16 from Organization Z. The participants were involved in AI technology implementation within their operational workplace processes and were highly informative about the impact of AI implementation at the individual and team levels. The textual data collected through the interviews was thematically analyzed using traditional thematic analysis. The findings underlined the impact of AI in enhancing employee autonomy through independent decision-making. AI also enhances competence through learning how to apply complex technologies in delivering services to citizen. In addition, AI enhance employee relatedness through increased connectedness emanating from data sharing across departments. AI implementation also leads to increased team integration through cooperative working. Finally, AI implementation advances creativity and innovativeness through the discovery of new ideas to improve the organization by employees. The study specifically contributes to the research question, the SDT theory, team effectiveness theory, and AI technology research. The first contribution of the research is that it enhanced the comprehension of how the autonomy of employees in the use of AI could be manipulated to achieve greater levels of innovation through AI. Second, the study contributed to the understanding of how both the SDT theory and the team effectiveness theories could be used in the implementation of AI at the individual and team level by emphasizing how employees could complement each other’s skills, collaborate, and solve problems while using high technological capacities such as AI. Keywords: AI, autonomy, competence, team integration, creativity, Dubai, relatedness
Exploring the Influence of Expatriation on Individual Identities and Shopping Behaviours in the UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-01) Serap, Emik
With the arrival of globalization, the amount of expatriation is constantly increasing. While adjustment of expatriates to a new environment has gained great attention in literature, few studies are available on expatriate shopping behaviour. Particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the expatriate population is much higher than the local population, studies on expatriation remain limited and tend to be descriptive in nature. Furthermore, a basic tenet of existing literature state that expatriates go through certain changes in identity when moving to a new social environment. Identity is recognized as a highly important factor in an expatriate’s psychosocial adjustment and health. The thesis’s questions include how expatriation influences individual identities and shopping behaviours to change, and why individuals go through changes in their identities and shopping behaviours when moving abroad and living an expatriate life? To answer these questions, this research explores the shopping behaviour of expatriate consumers, influenced by various factors in association with their shift in identity towards a new shopping behaviour. Hence, the output of this research developed a conceptual framework which identifies the factors that cause expatriate identity and shopping behaviour changes. This research explored the aims and questions through semi-structured interviews, gathering stories and experiences of 40 expatriate workers from various nationalities, between 21 to 65 years of age, that have been residing in the UAE up to five years. While the present research was conducted in the UAE, its applications may extend to all expatriates around the world. Findings of this research aim to help businesses further understand possible changes in expatriate shopping behaviour. Based on the type of products, findings of this research can be linked to marketing communications, advertising communications, product development, and relationship management. The main form of data collection was through interviewing participants. Overall, ten themes emerged from the gathered data describing expatriates’ general shopping habits, specifically from the aspect of their identities after moving abroad. The findings of this research shed light upon the fact that expatriation has a multi-dimensional impact on individuals’ shopping behaviour and identity. These impacts include, Social Environment and Peer Pressure, Social Media Usage, Changing Identity, Hedonic Shopping Factors, The Retail Therapy- Feelings of Loneliness, Stress and Boredom, Variety Festivals and Sales, First Impressions, Use of Luxury Products, Brands and Brand Engagement, Shopping as a Means of Socialization. Thus, this research explores and conceptualizes the influences of expatriation in change of individual identity and purchasing behaviour.
Exploring the role of co-production in enhancing happiness and well-being in the UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-01) ALYAMMAHI, ABDULLA JUMAH
The aim of this research is to discover the views, practices and advice of experienced employees and citizens on how co-production can enhance happiness and well-being. The global challenges led governments all over the world to believe in the role of co-production in providing effective public services for citizens to increase their happiness and well-being. However, the literature of co-production as a factor for happiness and well-being has not been given much attention and remains limited or confined to certain factors such as wealth, health, and employment. The study applied a qualitative method utilising semi-structured interviews with 35 participants. The sample was divided into two groups. The first group consisted of the employees from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) who already managed some co-production practices. The second group was the citizens who have already experienced the co-production process with the (MOI). The data analysis was accomplished using Nvivo. The research found that there is a strong belief in the role of co-production in enhancing the levels of happiness and well-being. In addition, the findings revealed that there is a need for a comprehensive strategy for co-production with a set of skills that co-producers should have. The thesis also sheds light on the benefits of co-production, such as enhancing innovation and maintaining sustainability. Moreover, the thesis identified some challenges and barriers that can limit co-production. This thesis can contribute to knowledge by presenting a conceptual framework for co-production and suggest a practical set of required skills of co-production to be considered by public organizations.
Factors Affecting Internal Audit Effectiveness: Evidence from GCC Region
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-05) ABDELRAHIM, AYMAN ABDELLATIF; Professor Husam Al-Malkawi
The role of the internal audit (IA) function in companies has evolved dramatically over the last two decades, and has become increasingly important to support audit committees and senior management. An effective IA provides audit committees and senior management with insights, assurance, and opportunities to improve the company’s internal control, risk management, and governance processes. However, IA effectiveness is influenced by many factors. This study aimed to examine factors that influenced the effectiveness of the IA function in publicly listed companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and examine the moderating effect of senior management support. Specifically, the factors that examined in this study were IA independence, IA size, IA staff competence, the relationship between IA and the audit committee, adopting a risk-based audit by IA, adopting a quality assurance and improvement program by IA, the role of IA in leading combined assurance implementation, cooperation between IA and external auditor, and senior management support. Existing literature emphasizes the need for research to examine factors that influence the effectiveness of the IA function, especially as few studies have been conducted on this topic. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first empirical academic study in this area that covered all the GCC countries. This study contributes to the IA literature in different ways. First, by testing the relationship between the role of IA in leading combined assurance implementation and IA effectiveness. Second, by examining the moderating role of senior management support in the relationships between the aforesaid factors and IA effectiveness. Third, by testing new relationships, to the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines the relationship between IA role in leading combined assurance implementation and IA effectiveness, also this is the first study that examines the moderating role of senior management support between the relationship of IA effectiveness and the following factors: IA size; IA relationship with audit committee; adopting risk-based audit by IA; adopting a quality assurance and improvement program by IA; IA role in leading combined assurance implementation. In addition, this study expands the application of agency theory and institutional theory, also expands the literature and provides new insights into the factors that affect IA effectiveness and the moderating role of senior management support. This study employed a quantitative deductive approach. Data were collected by using a web-based questionnaire that was completed by 207 chief audit executives working in the GCC publicly listed companies. The results revealed that IA independence, IA size, IA staff competence, adopting a quality assurance and improvement program by IA, and the role of IA in leading combined assurance implementation were factors that positively and significantly affected IA effectiveness. Whereas, the relationship between IA and the audit committee, adopting a risk-based audit by IA, cooperation between IA and external auditor, and senior management support were factors that did not significantly affect IA effectiveness. Moreover, the results showed that senior management support, as a moderator between the examined factors and IA effectiveness, strengthened the relationships between IA effectiveness and IA independence, IA staff competence, and adopting a risk-based audit by IA. However, the results showed that senior management support as a moderator dampened the relationships between IA effectiveness and the relationship between IA and the audit committee, adopting a quality assurance and improvement program by IA, and the role of IA in leading combined assurance implementation. In addition, the findings suggested that senior management support did not play a moderating role in the relationships between IA effectiveness and IA size and cooperation between IA and external auditor. Furthermore, this study drew on the agency and institutional theories, and contributed to the internal auditing knowledge by applying these two different theories to identify factors that affect IA effectiveness and determine the importance of these factors in shaping IA effectiveness. Moreover, this study applies agency theory to explain the relationship between senior management and IA and explain the moderating role of senior management in reducing information asymmetry between senior management and the board through the support provided by senior management to IA function and interactions with factors that influenced IA effectiveness. In addition, this study contributes to institutional theory by emphasizing the isomorphic behavior of IA functions in companies and considering a broad set of factors and their influence on IA effectiveness. Finally, this study offered several policy implications for IA practitioners, audit committees, senior management, and external auditor, also offer policy implications for policy-makers, and regulators in the GCC countries that may help them to enhance corporate governance legislations.
Factors Determining SMEs Intention to Access Alternative Financing in Emerging Markets: Evidence from the UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-11) SHAH, SHAZIA; Professor Husam Aldin Al-Malkawi
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and creating employment opportunities in the UAE. Despite their significance, SMEs often face a persistent challenge namely the funding gap. The realm of alternative finance presents a valuable opportunity for SMEs in the UAE to address their funding gaps. However, there seems to be a gap in SMEs' understanding of the viability of alternative finance mechanisms and their willingness to explore such funding sources. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors that may shape SMEs' inclination to adopt alternative finance in emerging markets, with a particular emphasis on the UAE market. Previous research has primarily focused on SMEs' access to bank finance, leaving alternativefinance underexplored, particularly in the context of the UAE. This study addresses this research gap by providing empirical evidence, proper measurement, and conclusive findings. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing SMEs' intention to access alternative finance in the UAE such as level of complexity in using alternative finance mechanisms, SME owner/manager perceived trust and risk towards alternative finance, credit terms of alternative finance sources, visibility of alternative finance in the UAE, social/peer influence on SME, innovativeness, and financial literacy of SME owner/ manager. This study examines variety of factors simultaneously to assess SMEs intention to access non-bank financing and to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no systematic study in the UAE is conducted to test such robust relationship till date. The study employed a convenience sampling and purposive sampling techniques to target 40x0 SMEs from various dominant business sectors in the UAE. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, which was then analyzed using binary logistic regression to bridge the gap between theory and practice and enhance existing theories. A total of 430 samples were gathered over a duration of 6 months for the purpose of data analysis, thereby culminating the research process. The collected sample was larger than the target sample. This study represents one of the earliest investigations in the UAE and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region to identify strong predictors enabling SMEs willingness to access alternative finance. The study has theoretical as well as practical contribution. The theoretical framework of the research study is based on the technology-organization-environment framework, also known as the TOE framework, that explains technology adoption in organizations and describes how the process of adopting and implementing technological innovations are influenced by the technological context, organizational context, and environmental context (Tornatzky and Fleischer 1990). This study not only tested the TOE framework in the UAE context but extended the framework of the theory by adding individual context testing the relationship between financial literacy of owner/manager of SME and their intention to access alternative finance. The research findings strongly support the significance of innovation, credit terms of alternative finance, visibility of alternative finance, and SME owner/manager financial literacy within the TOE framework in predicting the intention of SME owners/managers to utilize alternative finance. However, complexity, perceived trust, and perceived risk associated with alternative finance have been found to be insignificant as there is no relationship found of these variables with SMEs intention to access alternative financing. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers, regulators, and SME owners/managers on the theoretical and practical benefits of alternative finance for driving the growth and development of SMEs in emerging markets, particularly in the UAE.
Factors Impacting Patient Loyalty in the Government Hospitals of Dubai: How can we Reduce Patient Attrition?
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2024-01) NASSIR, ABDULRAHMAN HASSAN; Dr Abdelmounaim Lahrech
Abstract Patient attrition in the government hospitals of Dubai has emerged as a critical concern in recent years, highlighting the need for comprehensive research to address this issue. This quantitative research study aims to unravel the intricate interplay between integrated care, patient safety measures, doctor quality, and patient attrition within the context of government healthcare facilities in Dubai. Patient attrition, often referred to as patient turnover or the loss of patients from a healthcare facility's care continuum, has been a growing challenge faced by government hospitals in Dubai. Factors contributing to patient attrition include patients seeking care outside the government healthcare system, discontinuing treatment prematurely, or experiencing dissatisfaction with the care they receive. Understanding the underlying causes and relationships between various healthcare variables is crucial to mitigate patient attrition and improve the overall quality of care in government hospitals. The research questions encompass a broad spectrum of factors influencing patient attrition and healthcare performance in the unique healthcare landscape of Dubai. The study delves into the extent of integrated care provided to patients, the correlation between patient safety measures and patient attrition, the impact of patients' perceptions of doctor quality on their healthcare-seeking behaviour and the specific aspects of integrated care influencing patient safety. Additionally, it investigates how the integration of patient care affects doctors' performance and development, and how doctor quality impacts the implementation of safety protocols in patient care. To achieve these objectives, this study employs both Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Partial Least Sqaure Method for a comprehensive quantitative analysis tailored to the context of government hospitals in Dubai. The research hypotheses guide the investigation, positing the positive significant effects of integrated care, patient safety, and doctor quality on patient attrition. Furthermore, the research explores the mediating roles of patient safety and doctor quality between integrated care and patient attrition, as well as their combined mediating effect. This research aims to provide valuable insights into optimising healthcare delivery within government hospitals in Dubai by shedding light on the relationships and mechanisms underlying patient attrition, patient safety, doctor quality, and integrated care. The findings will be essential for healthcare administrators, policymakers, and practitioners, offering evidence-based strategies to enhance patient satisfaction, safety, and the overall experience in the government healthcare system of Dubai. Key words: Customer Attrition Patient Attrition Integrated care of patient Patient safety Quality of doctor
Financial Technology, Customer Experience, Behaviour and Banks Financial Performance: The Case of United Arab Emirates
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-11) ALMASAFRI, AMAL HAZEEM SAEED HAZEEM
The primary aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the experiences of users towards Fintech on the banks' financial performance, testing the intermediation role of confirmation, familiarity and customer satisfaction, in light of Expectation Confirmation Theory. In the study, a quantitative approach is used to study the hypothetical associations on the conceptual framework. This thesis collected data from primary and secondary sources, utilizing surveys and bank financial reports. The data was collected from 590 valid surveys and 11 banks' financial reports during Covid-19 pandemic. The research shows how Fintech enhances banks’ profitability. The results reveal that economic, perceived service quality, security risk, operational risk, financial risk are the main factors that met customer expectations after Fintech was experienced. Furthermore, confirmation also has a positive effect on customer satisfaction – moderated by familiarity - and customer satisfaction has a significant relationship with customer intentions and loyalty. In addition, customer loyalty has a positive relationship with a bank’s financial performance. This research identifies the key factors based on customer evaluation of Fintech services in the banking sector and the moderating effect of user familiarity with Fintech. The results advance the area of knowledge on understanding customer perception of Fintech based on actual usage, which also has practical contributions and theoretical implications. The results reveal that economic benefit and service quality are together positively associated with confirmation, while security, operational and financial risks are significantly associated with confirmation. Both convenience and seamless transaction processing results show that they are not significantly associated with confirmation. The positive effect that confirmation leads further to user satisfaction, loyalty and continuous intention to use Fintech are confirmed, and user’s familiarity is found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between confirmation and satisfaction. There is a significant relationship between confirmation, satisfaction and loyalty, which is related to bank financial performance. This study focuses on the United Arab Emirates bank customers which limit its generalisability to other banks globally, however, banks adopt common standards in the application of financial instruments. The empirical study contributes to advancing the understanding of the benefit and risk factors that have useful implications in users’ experience of Fintech. Based on the fact that bank managers, in general, can benefit from this study’s finding to capitalize on the positive factors, to improve Fintech platforms to meet user’s expectations and remove barriers arising from the risks that ultimately improve financial performance. The finding of not confirming convenience and seamless transaction processing as benefit factors on Fintech bank platform requires serious consideration by the bank managers to develop users’ friendly Fintech platforms in the banks. The results inform the bank managers to develop marketing strategies to consider customers’ level of familiarity with Fintech.

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