The Globalization Of Business And The Middle East

The globalization of world markets has had its impact on the Middle East as on the rest of the world. In the last quarter century, non-oil international business activities in the region have increased significantly. The Middle East is now properly poised, with the necessary elements in place, to develop into an industrial region similar to the more developed West. International firms will need to pay greater attention and develop a deeper understanding of this region so vital to the economic and industrial well-being of Western, industrialized, and emerging nations. This book examines the development of the region's business environment and the conditions that uniquely impact its growth. It offers a unique perspective on select issues such as regional integration among Arab states on the Persian Gulf or within the Economic Cooperation Organization surrounding the Caspian Sea. It includes a look at Islamic management, human resource, banking, marketing, and advertising practices. Islam is no longer considered to be incompatible with technology and modernity. It remains, along with its traditions, a primary organizing principle in the region. Outside investors and firms need to be informed about the connection and Islam's internal tensions and variations in order to operate effectively in the region. This book offers the reader a firm understanding of these issues. It also points out areas that need to be further explored. Designed for scholars of international business, this book will also appeal to practitioners seeking a better understanding of this increasingly vital area of world business.

Printed on Demand. Limited stock is held for this title. If you would like to order 30 copies or more please contact [email protected] Contact [email protected], if currently unavailable. Globalization has increased competitive pressures on firms. Together with rapid technological change, it has altered the environment in which firms operate. While globalization offers unprecedented opportunities for firms to act successfully, it simultaneously heightens the risks for firms lagging behind. In an open and liberalized world, increasing firm competitiveness has become a major challenge. This volume provides a thorough analysis of the competitiveness of firms in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). It is organized into four parts which detail the different issues related to firm competitiveness from global rules for business, regional business environment, corporate governance, and the key economic sectors of small/medium size enterprises and tourism. This volume addresses key issues for the future of the region including the real challenges facing firms? operations and efficiency, the ability of MENA firms to compete in global markets, the impact of small and medium size enterprises on the stimulation of growth, and the economic potential of the tourism sector.

In this 2010 edition of their book on the economic development of the Middle East and North Africa, Clement Henry and Robert Springborg reflect on what has happened to the region's economy since 2001. How have the various countries in the Middle East responded to the challenges of globalization and to the rise of political Islam, and what changes, for better or for worse, have occurred? Utilizing the country categories they applied in the previous book and further elaborating the significance of the structural power of capital and Islamic finance, they demonstrate how over the past decade the monarchies (as exemplified by Jordan, Morocco and those of the Gulf Cooperation Council) and the conditional democracies (Israel, Turkey and Lebanon) continue to do better than the military dictatorships or 'bullies' (Egypt, Tunisia and now Iran) and 'the bunker states' (Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen).

Offering a unique insight into the dynamics driving economic development in the Arab world, this authoritative work shows how the Middle East can ensure its future prosperity by harnessing the business globalization process that is so rapidly transforming the world economic order. With contributions from leading international academics, professional companies and consultants, the book provides strategic advice for international and Arab corporations and their advisors working in the region. It offers first the global perspective, with discussion of such issues as IT and strategic business planning, international franchising and globalization through alliances, and then the Arab perspective, in which coverage ranges from thought and literature to the future role of Gulf oil, management development and finance initiatives. Grounded in experience but full of vision, it is a book that will fascinate both practitioners and postgraduate students.

This book discusses the effectiveness of Western organizations’ social media strategies in the Middle East. Social media has changed the rules of doing business, but the exact impacts vary across regions. In the context of Middle Eastern societies, social media is seen as a way for individuals and communities to communicate with each other and is generally not viewed as a means for brands to interact with individuals. Examining how the use of social media in the Middle East is shaped by the region’s culture, authors discuss the factors that businesses need to consider when creating digital marketing strategies targeted there. Including case studies of Middle Eastern companies, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the rise of social media in the MENA region and the often-neglected role of culture in research in this area. It will provide researchers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of conducting business in the Middle East through the effective and efficient use of social media.

Can production for global markets help business groups to mobilize collectively? Under what conditions does globalization enable the private sector to develop independent organizational bases and create effective relationships with the state? Focusing on varied Moroccan and Tunisian responses to trade liberalization in the 1990s, Melani Cammett argues that two constitutive dimensions of business-government relations shape business responses to global economic opening: the balance of power between business and the state before economic opening and the preexisting business class structure. These two dimensions combine to form different configurations of business-government relations, including 'distant' and 'close' linkages, leading to divergent interests and, hence, strategic behavior by industrialists. The book also extends the analysis to additional country cases, including India, Turkey, and Taiwan, and examines how different patterns of business-government relations affect processes of industrial upgrading.

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

For centuries, the Arabian Gulf has been a crossroads where seafaring people and Bedouins alike travelled great distances transacting business. Events of the past few years, both good and bad, have directed the world’s attention to the Arabian Peninsula, where a rich cultural tradition is rapidly incorporating the latest innovations from around the world. This is the process of globalization. New economies create enormous potential, but it will require great care for the people of the region to steer through a period of profound change. Political and economic interests intent on maintaining the flow of petroleum products on one hand, and people in the Gulf region who assess their won interests from quite a different perspective, on the other, exert pressures from conflicting directions. Reconciling these interests in a time of rapid globalization poses enormous challenges. This timely volume brings together the work of scholars from both the Middle East and the West who have the expertise to evaluate the interaction of new ideas, new technologies and new economies. Brought together by the American University of Sharjah and the Sociological Association of the UAE, the contributors reflect on both the process of globalism and on the traditions of Gulf society and culture, offering views on how these trends interact within the global system.