Theses for Business Management

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The Impact of Institutional Support, Cluster Involvement, and Absorptive Capacity on Innovation and Market Performance in Industry Clusters in the UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-01) ABDULQADER, AHMED IBRAHIM M.; Professor Stephen Wilkins
While industry clusters can enhance a firm’s resources and improve performance, judging the role such clusters play in developing countries, such as the UAE, without assessing the pertinent institutional factors surrounding these firms and their capabilities provides an imperfect portrayal of such clusters. The existing literature regarding industry clusters often overlooks the role of the cluster facilitators in supporting firms through the institutions they create and the knowledge they enrich for their members and further neglects the concept that firms within clusters are heterogeneous in terms of their capabilities; hence, they do not capitalise on the benefits equally. This research explores the effect of institutional support and cluster involvement on the innovation performance of the firms within industry clusters in the UAE while considering a firm’s absorptive capacity as a mediator. This research relied on the institution-based view (IBV), the resource-based view (RBV), and dynamic capabilities theories to develop the conceptual framework and adopts a quantitative approach. Data was collected from 225 companies within various industry clusters in the UAE and analysed using Structured Equation Modelling (SEM). Unexpected findings revealed that the institutional support and cluster involvement are insufficient to improve innovation performance directly. Industry clusters may improve a firm’s innovation performance through the mediation effect of the absorption capacity of firms which partially mediates the relationship between cluster involvement and innovation performance and fully mediates the same relationship with institutional support. This research is among the first attempts to integrate the IBV, RBV, and dynamic capabilities theories to explain how industry clusters can improve clustered firms’ innovation performance. On a practical note, the findings highlight the importance of cluster involvement and the progressive development of organisational learning systems to exploit the benefits of being located in an industry cluster.
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.
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
The Impact of Dynamic Managerial Capabilities on Response Strategies to Disruptive Innovation: The Mediating Role of Unlearning and Moderating Role of Managerial Discretion
(The British University in Dubai, 2023-05) MADI-ODEH, RANA B. S.
This thesis utilizes the upper echelon theory, and dynamic capability view of the firm, to address the impact of dynamic managerial capabilities (i.e., managerial human capital, managerial social capital, and managerial cognition) on response strategies to disruptive innovation (i.e., adaptive, and defiant resistant response strategies) in established professional service firms operating in the Emirate of Dubai. Additionally, it tested the impact of individual and organizational unlearning as serial mediators, and managerial discretion as a moderator, on the above-mentioned relation. Adopting a philosophy inclined to positivism, this deductive and quantitative investigation followed a survey strategy, and employed questionnaire as a data collection tool. The questionnaire was established based on adopted measures from previous literature, pre-tested and piloted, before final data collection commenced to its total count of (491) responses. Utilizing (IBM-SPSS 26.0) and (IBM- Amos 23.0), data were analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modelling technique (SEM). The findings of this investigation revealed interesting, and somehow unexpected insights. Contrary to the expectations, managerial human capital indicators (i.e., experience, education, and training) failed to predict for any of the identified response strategies. However, managerial social capital indicators (i.e., social capital from relations with government and community leaders, and social capital from relations with top managers at other business firms) had contrasting results. While the first indicator was expected to predict adaptive response strategies, it did not. Rather, it predicted for defiant resistant strategy. The second indicator successfully predicted the adaptive response strategy, as hypothesized. Finally, managerial cognition indicators (opportunity, and threat cognitive perceptions) played their hypothesized role in relation to response strategies, where opportunity cognitive perception predicted adaptive strategy adoption, and threat cognitive perception predicted the defiant resistant. Unlearning (individual and organizational) significantly and serially mediated the significant identified relations. Managerial discretion was not moderating it. This study contributes in many ways to theory and practice. Theoretically, new insights have been retrieved on the applicability of the upper echelon theory in the research context. A contribution is made in terms of partially unpacking the relational black box of the theory. The study also provided interesting insights on the somehow taken for granted significance of the dynamic managerial capabilities (i.e., managerial human capital, and managerial social capital) and the role they play in responding to disruptive innovation. It also contributed to the enrichment of the literature on upper echelon theory, dynamic managerial capabilities, and disruptive innovation, by providing an empirical and quantitative evidence which the literature lacks, as it highlighted the role of endogenous factors (i.e., dynamic managerial capabilities) in predicting strategic behaviour of established firms (i.e., response strategies to disruptive innovation). It has also emphasized that established firms do respond to disruptive innovation, contrary to the common argument of established firms’ lack of response. Practically, this study provides important empirically supported insights for managers and practitioners regarding the impact of dynamic managerial capabilities on response strategies to disruptive innovation adopted by established firms. In addition to those responsible for developing and selecting executives in organizations, it provides empirical evidence on which capability might affect adaptive response strategies the most. The findings of this study are of significance to policy makers too, who might need to re-look into their requirements if creative economy and innovation are being pursued.
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.
The mediating role of Place Brand Image in the relationship between place branding communication strategies and Foreign Direct Investment
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-02) ALANSAARI, MOHAMED EISA
The main aim of this study was to identify and examine the mediating role of place brand image in the relationship between place brand communication strategies and FDI attraction. This quantitative study intended to bridge the gap of research regarding the relationship between place brand image, place branding and FDI attraction. In this regard, this thesis will explore how place branding, place brand image impacts the attraction of FDI. The study develops a novel model to understand the relationship between the concepts. Using the investment path development paradigm (IDP) as a starting point for this study. The thesis will specifically look into the five factors classified as to having an effect on FDI attraction: cost factors, market factors, infrastructure and technological factors, political and legal factors, social and cultural factors and examine how they relate to place branding and place brand image. Noting that the IDP model does not incorporate ‘soft factors’ in the model specifically place brand image this thesis incorporated the theories of corporate branding which developed a place brand communication model that includes three types of place brand communication strategies which effect place brand image and utilised the place brand image scale of past research to understand the relationship of the concepts. This holistic approach is seen to be highly rewarding in having a stronger view on FDI attraction factors and has not been applied by scholars before. One of the main anticipated contributions to knowledge is that it verify that place brand image is an important factor that needs to be incorporated in the FDI attraction model. This study is of importance because it makes several contributions to the place branding literature. First, it will provide significant data on the impact of place brand communication strategies on a place brand image. Moreover, undertaking the research will enable governments to adopt various policies and strategies aimed at creating a positive place brand and ultimately enable countries to understand the dimension and scope of place branding and its relationship to attracting foreign direct investments. Thus, the research will provide a theoretical and practical guide to the best practices place branding communication strategies in a cities’s context. Looking at the past studies in the area, it can be seen that this kind of research is lacking.
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.
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.
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.
Value Co-creation through Social Media Platforms in Hotel Industry: Constructivist Grounded Theory
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-03) MOSA, AMANY ABDELKADER SAAD ABDELAATY
This research is carried out to explore the opportunities for value co-creation and value capture provided by social media, as well as their applicability to strategy development purposes in the context of the hotel industry. For this purpose, a critical review of academic literature is conducted to understand the past research and use the theoretical frameworks of service-dominant logic, absorptive capacity theory, value co-creation, and the use of social media to develop a conceptual framework. The study is aimed at the hotel industry which provides a clear focus to the study and the performed analysis, allowing theory development. The study uses constructivist ground theory methodology to explore value co-creation in the context of the hotel industry. Primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 experts from six luxury hotels in the UAE. The primary data is analyzed through three-stage coding represented by initial line-by-line, focused, and theoretical coding employed in the data analysis process, in line with the postulates of the Constructivist Grounded Theory paradigm. The secondary research is based on qualitative content analysis of secondary data, represented by 960 social media posts from 12 social media accounts of six luxury hotels in the UAE, characterized by extensive social media activity. The findings of the study present evidence of the influence of social media platforms on value co-creation by combining the SDL and ACT perspective. Furthermore, this research has also acknowledged the importance of social media activities and how it has challenged conventional organizations to react to a co-creation experience. The findings of the study also emphasize the interaction of the 3 components - social media platforms, customer engagement and organizational strategy - through the absorptive capacity theory dimensions can only lead to effective value co-creation in the context of service-dominant logic. The findings of the study have both theoretical as well as managerial implications which are discussed. In the hotel industry, the findings of the study present a strong case for use of social media platforms and for value co-creation in hotel industry.
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).
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Institutionalisation in the UAE: The Complex Interactions Between Health Policy Context, Actors, and Content in a Health Policy Reform
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-02) AHMAD, MAISS
Innovative technologies are credited with significant improvements in health indicators, but they come at a high financial impact. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a universally established tool to rationally assess the value of health innovations. Despite its acknowledged value, almost one-third of countries have not institutionalised HTA in their systems yet. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a pioneering country in adopting health innovations, this emphasises the importance of exploring when and how the UAE will establish the HTA in its health system to guide the decision-making process of adopting innovative health technologies. This study aims to provide an in-depth health policy analysis of an ongoing, and prospective HTA institutionalisation process. This case study used a hybrid framework combining the Walt-Gilson triangle, the Dunlop and Raedelli framework, stakeholder analysis, and policy participation rules. Data were collected from document reviews and semi-structured interviews and analysed by the codebook thematic analysis. The findings outline multiple interlinked facilitators and challenges in the predicted HTA establishment process. While certain elements were found to be associated with certain phases in the envisioned process, policy learning and policy participation rules were found to be associated with all the phases of the process, and, therefore, require the most political and scientific attention. The originality of this research lies in designing and testing a new hybrid framework to examine health policy reforms. The findings are projected to support global organisations, academics, and HTA policy entrepreneurs in designing more effective HTA policy learning programmes.
Students' Staying and Supportive Intentions at Federal Higher Education Institutions in the United Arab Emirates
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-06) ALHASSANI, AMAL ABDULLA
In a highly competitive higher education environment where institutions aim to meet the student's needs and expectations, quality of service is a key stander for measuring the level of excellence in higher education among institutions. Furthermore, concepts such as student satisfaction, student retention, and the institution's reputation have become a strategic concern for private and public institutions as it has a strong impact on students and thus on the institution's performance and their ability to enhance the better services. The main literature gap of the thesis is to focus on university retention rates, as the majority of student dropouts happen in the first year of their study. The dropout rate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) higher education sector is high and reached 14% in 2017 in the federal institutions, as compared to a global rate of below 10%. The purpose of this research is to examine the factors influencing undergraduate students' retention from the university during their first year by studying two federal institutions in the UAE and how the institution can improve the retention procedures to keep the students till they complete their degree. Moreover, it aims to investigate the mediation impact of student satisfaction on the five antecedents of satisfaction: Perceived Service Quality of Teaching (QTS), Student Life and Support (SLS), Social Identification (SI), Organizational Identification (OI), and Institution Reputation (RE). Additionally, it aims to propose a new and clear conceptual framework to support higher education institutions (HEIs) by examining the literature and analyzing new data to find recommendations to help to increase the retention rate by identifying the factors that influence how students interact with and support their HEIs. The thesis research employs a quantitative method, as data were collected using questionnaires from 444 undergraduate students who were in their first year in two UAE federal institutions. A conceptual model was developed and tested by using SPSS and AMOS, which included an assessment of possible common method bias (CMB) and mediation analysis. To analyze the data, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied where they explored the associations between the eight constructs and, then, utilized the structural equation model (SEM) to test a theoretical model described by a set of basic hypotheses, with the aim of explaining the relationship between perceived quality of the educational services, student satisfaction, student retention, institution reputation and examining the possible effects of these relationships on students’ support or intention to stay in the institution. The findings showed that student satisfaction mostly fully mediates the relationships between the five antecedents’ factors of satisfaction and both Intention to Stay and Supportive Intentions. The institution's reputation, organizational identification, and student life and support are the very strongest predictors of satisfaction among students. Organizational identification is a strong forecaster for student achievement, promise, and fulfillment levels in organizational settings. It is an effective organizational identification that is a strong forecaster of student commitment and gratification for substantiating student-level achievement. Learning is often tangled with social identification of academic level performance. Shared identity is approached as they perceive in-group members to have dissonance in university-level learning. The values in management programs are identified through satisfaction and self-esteem in broader terms. In addition, student life and support can also play a big change in the level of student satisfaction as most students are looking for the high-quality services that should be provided by institutions, especially in facilities like libraries, classrooms, laboratories, restaurants, clubs, accommodation, and so on, where they spend most of their time so the student is always looking for an enjoyable place that the university can provide parallel with an excellent education. The originality of the study emerged from the limited studies that have examined the effect of institution reputation on student satisfaction so It made an important theoretical contribution in that the findings help to articulate that reputation of the institution has not been sufficiently examined in the literature related to higher education or to the marketing of international institutions and quality services. The thesis developed a new concept by paying attention to the role of the institution’s reputation as one of the important factors for students. Furthermore, mediation analysis for the five antecedents of satisfaction on staying and supporting is a new contribution to the literature. On the other hand, the practical implications of the study provide the HEIs with insights and new information on how they can improve their strategies by rising the gap of low rate of retention and improving the level of both student satisfaction. These results will reflect positively on student education and will benefit both academics and practitioners in higher education. This study is one of the first to focus on first-year undergraduate students and how they settle into life in higher education. Furthermore, existing studies have only focused on two or three independent variables, while this study combines more independent variables, to assess how students judge a university’s services and their overall experience in HEI. Finally, retention of the students helps an institution gain a competitive advantage as it indicates the ability to make their students happy and satisfied. If the antecedents of satisfaction offered by the universities are meeting the expectations of the students, it will increase their level of satisfaction. These are steps that follow one after the other and are highly dependent on each other to operate properly. Hence, it can be said that factors such as reputation, quality, identification, and satisfaction are all interrelated and important for all higher education institutions.
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.
NON-WORK-RELATED FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE WORK COMMITMENT OF GENERATION Y UAE NATIONALS
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-07) ALHEFEITI, KHOLOUD SAEED
The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of non-work-related factors on organisational commitment among Generation Y UAE nationals. The three non-work-related factors that were investigated included family influence, neighbourhood influence, as well as religiosity. Organisational commitment is conceptualised into affective commitment, continu-ance commitment, and normative commitment based on existing literature for greater under-standing of how it is manifested by Generation Y UAE nationals within the organisational environment. Based on the purpose of the study, it was determined that Generation Y UAE nationals are individuals aged 21 to 40 years in 2020 and mainly considered those who work in the public sector. To effectively explore the influence of non-work-related factors on organ-isational commitment among Generation Y employees, the qualitative methodology was ap-plied. Both convenience and purposive sampling were used to get the appropriate respondents to take part in the study. With the application of the qualitative methodology, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 30 Generation Y UAE nationals working in different areas of the public sector. Data was analysed using NVIVO and was structured into themes that emerged for easier understanding of the perspective of Generation Y UAE nation-als on non-work-related factors that influence their organisational commitment. From the data that was collected, the results were based on three key non-work-related factors that influence work commitment among Generation Y employees in the UAE. Results were collected in re-gard to each of the three non-work-related factors of family influence, neighbourhood influ-ence, and religiosity. The first result revealed that family influence plays a role in leading to organisational commitment among Generation Y employees in the UAE through of the encour-agement from family members. More so, because of the financial support that family members offer, there is increased commitment to the organisation. The second result indicate that neigh-bourhood influence leads to increased commitment to the organisation. Increased commitment comes about as a consequence of the modern cultures that have been adopted in the neighbour-hood allowing everyone to undertake different roles without being discriminated because of their gender. More so, the fact that neighbours appreciate roles that Generation Y play in the society increases commitment. Lastly, religiosity leads to greater commitment among Genera-tion Y to their organisations especially if the work matches their religious values. Additionally, religiosity advances adherence to the desired ethical standards by Generation Y employees. Generally, it was established in this study that non-work-related factors including family influ-ence, neighbourhood influence, and religiosity lead to increased organisational commitment among Generation Y UAE nationals.
The Influence of Supply Chain Collaboration Strategies on Innovation Performance in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Role of Supply Chain Competence and Absorptive Capacity on the Relationship
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-01) ALZAABI, NOURA MOHAMED
Embedded under the theory of dynamic capabilities, this study aims to identify how the pharmaceutical industry can achieve innovation performance using supply chain collaboration strategies, and how this relationship is affected by factors such as supply chain competence and absorptive capacity. The present study is underpinned by the dynamic capabilities’ theory as its primary guiding framework. Drawing on dynamic capabilities’ theory, the researcher embedded the present research under a positivist paradigm and adopted a deductive approach. In other words, the research was carried out using quantitative methodology whereby survey responses were collected from 351 pharmaceutical manufacturing industry members. Analysis of the data was carried out using Structured Equation Modelling (SEM) and revealed several key insights. The present research identifies that strategic relationship with supply chain partner is positively linked to innovation performance. In addition, supply chain competence mediates the relationship between supply chain collaboration strategies (strategic relationship with supply chain partner and supplier involvement in NPD) and innovation performance of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. It was also noted that supply chain competence was found to have a positive association with innovation performance. Furthermore, it was noted that the absorptive capacity does not impact the the relationship strength between supply chain collaboration strategies (strategic relationship with supply chain partner and supplier involvement in NPD) and innovation performance of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry The study has bridged an essential gap in the theoretical field of dynamic capabilities theory as only few studies have been conducted linking supply chain and dynamic capabilities. Secondly, the research generates essential knowledge by identifying the indirect link between supply chain collaboration strategies, supply chain competence and innovation performance. Furthermore, the research makes a novel contribution in the field of supply chain competence. The research enables managers in the pharmaceutical industry to obtain a deeper understanding of the advantages of adopting certain beneficial supply chain collaboration strategies to improve innovation performance, through supply chain competence.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN UAE’S PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-01) AL SHEHHI, KHALED
Several government agencies, ministries, and public organisations have adopted transformational leadership in order for the UAE to position itself as an international business hub and tourist destination. Empirical research suggests that transformational leadership is positively related to job satisfaction, job performance, organisational commitment, and survival. Although the concept of transformational leadership has been implemented in a variety of organisations, little research has been conducted on the challenges of implementing such approaches in the UAE public sector, including key barriers, sources of resistance, compliance strategies, factors that contribute to the successful implementation of transformational leadership and levels of success of the new style. Moreover, these studies have not contextually explained each construct, what exactly hinders and causes resistance to the implementation of transformational leadership, and how organisations respond to obstacles with appropriate compliance behaviours and strategies. Therefore, this study aims to examine these interrelated constructs in more detail in order to develop a theoretical and practical framework that is useful to both scholars and practitioners. Data were obtained from literature reviews, content analyses, thematic analyses and semi-structured interviews with managers and staff in three ministries, including the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, using the grounded theory principles for data analysis and Nvivo 12 plus software. Starting with the first interview, open, axial and selective coding methods were used to analyse the data. In addition, the frequencies of occurrence of the coding generated by grounded theory were counted to identify the essential elements and categories until the final theory was developed. The results showed that the most critical barriers were cultural barriers, leadership issues and characteristics, organisational structure and management issues, leader-employee relationship, implementation challenges, and employee psychology and motivation. In addition, an analysis of the participants revealed that the new leadership style is met with resistance from both employees and leaders. The causes include inadequate resources and time for implementation, employee cynicism, leadership cynicism, and structural and managerial issues. It was concluded that several strategies could be used in organisations, including employee corrective actions, corrective leadership actions, formulation of appropriate compliance strategies and policies that include several specific strategies and tactics that help management reduce resistance at each level. Additionally, the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of transformational leadership, such as robust and clear vision, idealized influence, inspirational motivation and communication, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, were explicated in more detail. Finally, the study found that each dimension of transformational leadership is positive and acceptable; however, additional efforts are needed to achieve the final stages of implementation while the UAE organisations are still in the middle stages of implementation. Ultimately, the assessments of successful implementation of transformational leadership so far show a medium level. This study has theoretical and practical implications that contribute to the literature by providing a comprehensive contextual framework that fills the void in the existing literature and offers guidance to managers in these organisations with appropriate and rigorously addressing implementation issues.
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.
The Relationship between Middle Manager Innovative Self-Efficacy and Innovation: The Case of the UAE Government Entities
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-04) BIN-MANA, ALFADHEL
Middle managers continue to be essential for organizations around the world. These are managers who are tasked with overseeing the day-to-day activities of organizations. Additionally, these are also the managers who contribute towards the innovation of organizations. This takes place because of their innovative self-efficacy. Therefore, middle managers have proven instrumental in helping organizations not to overlook innovation which has been a long running problem for many of them. the situation is even more so dire for government-based organizations in the UAE. For this reason, it remains instrumental to gain insight into the contribution of middle managers towards fostering innovation in public organizations. This study examined the impact of the innovative self-efficacy of middle managers on their innovative work behavior. Middle managers continue to be overlooked in the organizational environment and this significantly hampers their contribution to innovations in their respective companies. Hence, it was important, through this research, to examine the innovative self-efficacy of middle managers and how it influences their innovative work behavior. To measure innovative self-efficacy, three key constructs including self-efficacy towards guiding groups, self-efficacy towards influencing employees, and self-efficacy towards using innovations were taken into consideration. Innovative work behavior was measured using idea generation, idea promotion, and idea realization. Previous studies have highlighted the plight of middle managers in the organizational environment and the challenges that they continue to face in terms of role recognition. Despite the invaluable services they deliver to their organizations through identification of new opportunities, overseeing daily operations of the organization, and implementation of change, their roles continue to be overlooked. To understand how the innovative self-efficacy of middle managers influences their innovative work behavior, this research utilized the quantitative research design. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 151 middle managers in different government departments in the UAE. Ordinal least squares (OLS) were applied to the regression analysis. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between middle managers’ innovative self-efficacy and their innovative work behavior. Second, self-efficacy towards guiding groups is related to the innovative work behavior of middle managers. Third, it was established that self-efficacy towards influencing employees is positively related to innovative work behavior. Further, the findings revealed that self-efficacy towards using innovations is positively related to innovative work behavior of middle managers. It was also noted that there is no significant difference in the mean innovative behavior between male and female middle managers. The results support all the developed hypotheses. Most importantly, with a greater level of self-efficacy, middle managers become more innovative. This study contributes to the understanding of the significant role that middle managers play in the organization. Notably, this study provides a platform that would enable organizations to understand who middle managers are, their roles, and their contribution to innovations if given a chance to work without overlooking their roles. Overall, based on the findings of this study, middle managers will be more appreciated in the organizational context in the UAE government departments. Keywords: Middle managers, innovative self-efficacy, innovative work behavior, role.
Trade Flow and Nation Brand Distance: A Structural Gravity Model Approach
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-04) AL BESHER, HUDA ISMAIL
ABSTRACT In today’s fierce global competition, nations are aiming to improve their country’s standing in the international trade market to sustain their economic vitality and growth. A progeny of this global milieu, the ‘nation brand’ concept has captured the growing attention of policy makers, practitioners, and scholars. Similar to corporations, countries are competing to improve their nation brand which represent the whole image of a country including economic, political, cultural, historical and social aspects to stimulate the trade flows. Despite the plethora of researches that is interested in studying this area, the concept of nation brand is divergent and fragmented as the field is still developing and lacking a coherent theoretical base and a solid reliable measurement. In response, this thesis will build on the existence literature to synthesize, analyze, examine and discuss the multifaced nation brand concept that is backed by the theorical background of New Trade Theory (NTT), OLI Eclectic Paradigm and the Country-of-Origin effect (COO). The purpose of this study is to examine the moderation impact of nation brand distance (NBD) on the relationship between geographical distance, trade agreements and both export and import flow. The Nation brand distance (NBD) is a distance type that is firstly introduced in this thesis and can be defined as the degree to which nation brand scores differ from the target county to another country. The NBD is calculated based on Country Brand Strength Index (CBSI) which consists of relative values per capita of the statistical data for five different areas that composite the index, which includes the dimensions of exports, tourism, foreign direct investment, immigration, and government environment. Using a quantitative research method, this thesis has investigated both export and import flow between United States and its 36 major trading partners from 1993 to 2016. To test the panel data, the structural gravity model of international trade was employed using a first-order Taylor approximation of multilateral resistance terms and estimated by Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Poisson-Pseudo-Masimum Likelihood (PPML). The empirical findings shows that NBD influence both export and import volume in which less distant countries in term of nation brands are able to overcome the negative effect of geographical distance which can stimulates the export mainly and import flow to some extent. The results on the impact of NBD on FTA and trade flows provides some interesting insights as the there is a negative and significant moderation impact of NBD on the relationship between FTA and both export and import volume which suggest that a decrease of NBD will increase the effect of FTA on trade flow. Overall, the results supported most of the study expectations and found evidence that less nation brand distance between two trading partners will have a positive moderation impact export volume mainly and import volume to some extent. The theoretical contribution of the research is that it extends the New Trade Theory by focusing on countries, rather than companies. It also extends the monopolistic competition concept of the theory to show how nation brand of a country can explain importing products that is similarly produced in the local market due to consumer perception on the producing country image which drives the product demand. Further, economies-of-scale explains trade among countries like the US and other developed countries where they have similar technologies, similar production costs, and to some extent similar nation brand aspects. This thesis also extends the OLI theory by highlighting that it is a key variable for countries as well as firms for the decision to enter new markets. On the practical contribution, governments and public policymakers can improve their trade flow by improving the nation brand strategy. Thus, reducing the gap in nation brand distance between the trading partners will overcome the geographical distance negative affects and will lead to more trade agreements in place. Further, for multinational businesses, this study will motivate them to use the nation brand distance to study the feasible target market abroad. The originality of the study exists as it is the first to explore nation brand distance impact on trade flow. It contributes to the existing literature that studied nation brand based on aggregate effects on conjecture and anecdotal evidence. Further, future studies is recommended to use this research outcome to build on the concept of NBD for more regerous value added to the field that will help many nations to develop better branding strategies and may contribute to stimulate trade flow by billions of dollars.

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