Al-Rasheedi, Sultan (2012) Influence of national culture on employee commitment forms : a case study of Saudi-Western IJVs vs. Saudi domestic companies. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

Text WRAP_THESIS_Al-Rasheedi_2012.pdf - Submitted Version Download (3405Kb) | Preview

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is experiencing a transformative period in its economic history, as its market has been opened up for foreign investment. The last 5 years have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of foreign investment into Saudi Arabia particularly through International Joint Ventures. The managers in these IJVs come from various cultures that can be categorised as collectivist or individualist societies. This study to investigate the relationship between national culture and employee commitment within Western-Saudi IJV environments in contrast to the commitment forms found within domestic (monoculture) organisations. In this study, Western and Saudi managers were compared as to their levels of organisational commitment and professional commitment, while a second survey focused on individualism/collectivism among respondents. This study found that Western managers working in Saudi IJVs had significantly higher levels of professional commitment than did their Saudi counterparts. Similarly, Saudi managers working in Saudi IJVs had significantly higher levels of organisational commitment than did their Western counterparts. This study also found that Saudi managers working in Saudi IJVs experienced higher levels of professional commitment than did their Saudi counterparts working in purely Saudi firms, and that Western managers who had previously worked in collectivist cultures had higher levels of organisational commitment than did Western managers who had not previously worked in collectivist cultures. In addition, significant differences were found between respondent groups with regard to individualism/collectivism. The results support a correlation between individualism and professional commitment, as well as between collectivism and organisational commitment. The results found that an employee’s cultural orientation can be modified through exposure to employees from other cultures. The knowledge contributed from the study findings will enrich the existing scholarly theories of employee commitment and individualism/collectivism values within IJVs setting in Saudi Arabia. Also, this knowledge will contribute to facilitate foreign investors and HRM practitioners in developing strategies to maximise the benefits from different forms of employee commitment.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Joint ventures -- Saudi Arabia, Business enterprises -- Management -- Saudi Arabia, Employee loyalty -- Saudi Arabia, Corporate culture -- Saudi Arabia, Diversity in the workplace -- Saudi Arabia
Date:	May 2012
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Manufacturing Group
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Neailey, Kevin
Extent:	xvi, 358 leaves : charts
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/50810

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item