Mohammed Al-Habib

Beliefs about work in the Middle East and the convergence versus divergence of values

In this paper, 365 managers and employees from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman are queried about their work-related beliefs to determine the extent to which any of these countries may be experiencing a shift in cultural values. Results from the testing of various convergence versus divergence based hypotheses suggest that Saudi Arabia is more steadfast in its work beliefs while Kuwait and Oman appear to be more susceptible to influences by external forces.

Sales Training Practices: A Cross‐national Comparison

The aftermath of the 1990 Middle East war and the region′s subsequent exposure to Western technologies and lifestyles has contributed to an accelerated opening up of Arabic culture to Western ideas. Often relegated to a secondary role in the Arab culture, changing market conditions have helped increase the importance of many marketing functions and, in particular, personal selling. Given the increased importance of personal selling in a high context culture, such as that of Saudi Arabia, the development of a qualified salesforce should significantly improve a firm′s competitive position. This exploratory study examined the extent to which sales training philosophies and practices differ between Saudi Arabia and the United States. Findings reveal the limited extent of Saudi sales training programmes and offer insight into the future development of marketing and sales training in this Arab culture as well as implications for both Arab and foreign businesses.

Sustainability and carbon management practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Sustainable and carbon management practices are becoming prominent considerations in international business, particularly in developing economies that are still forming their economic foundations. Saudi Arabia is one such an economy and is pivotal because of its key position in international petroleum production. This study analysed secondary and primary data pertaining to sustainability and carbon management practices in Saudi Arabia and its business enterprises. A questionnaire was distributed to approximately 150 Saudi Arabian middle-managers. Surveyed Saudi enterprise managers reported a desire to see the Saudi government take an active role and establish well-defined carbon management policies in the country. The Saudi Arabian government has been serious in tackling the environmental problems, but the current governmental position is based on a distributive justice philosophy and pursuit of national interest. Primary data revealed private sector enterprises were better prepared to deal with sustainability and carbon management problems compared to public sector enterprises. Surveyed Saudi mangers reported hope that their employers would start rewarding positive carbon management actions and focus on educating managers about carbon management practices. Findings from this study can assist Saudi Arabian policy makers and leadership of public and private sector enterprises to formulate future sustainability and carbon management policies.

Challenges to sales force transformation in emerging markets

The changing business sales environment is compelling firms to transform their sales organizations and this need is becoming more pronounced in emerging markets. Unfortunately, there are no theoretical frameworks that may guide the sales force transformation activity in emerging markets. This article uses qualitative methodology and depth interview data collected from 58 sales and marketing managers in an emerging market (Saudi Arabia) to bring forth a nuanced picture of the challenges inherent within each of the major pillars of the sales force transformation process. Findings highlight how the centralization of power in top managements hands, and lack of clear role definition and strategic authority for sales and marketing may challenge the transformation process. Further, explication of the transformation process in emerging markets not only expands the theoretical boundaries of this phenomenon but also helps identify at the micro level, the crucial, yet potentially non-apparent element(s) that may prevent firms from achieving customer-based outcomes.

The Ethical Profile of Global Marketing Negotiators

As international trade and business opportunities grow globally, insight into trading partners’ strategies is essential. One of the major strategies that impact trading partners’ relationships is negotiation strategy employed by each partner. These strategies assume even greater importance when these strategies have ethical content. This study examines the effects of marketing executives’ preferred ethical ideologies (relativism and idealism), opportunism and Machiavellianism on their perceived appropriateness of unethical negotiation tactics. Utilizing a sample of 995 marketing executives from six countries, cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of variance revealed two types of marketing negotiators: principled and corrupt negotiators. Corrupt negotiators tend to be more Machiavellian, more relativist, more opportunistic and less idealistic than their principled counterparts. Principled negotiators tend to perceive unethical negotiation tactics less favorably than their corrupt counterparts. Implications of these results for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.

Strategic Importance of Marketing Planning Capability: A Perspective from Saudi Arabia

Marketing planning is an important capability in that it helps firms to methodically organize the processes needed to develop marketing strategy and direct marketing activities (Lee et al. 2013). Slotegraff and Dickson (2004) consider marketing planning as an essential strategic routine that “can cultivate an organizational capability through the integration, combination, and reconfiguration of a firm’s resources” (p. 371). The stronger the marketing planning capability, the more the firm exhibits all-encompassing approach to strategic planning. We draw on this assertion to suggest that firms with stronger marketing planning capability are likely to develop marketing ambidexterity—namely the ability to improvise marketing strategies as well as the ability develop comprehensive marketing strategies (Slotegraaf and Dickson 2004).