An Assessment of Values Concerning Luxury Brand Purchase Intention: A Cross-Culture Comparison

Over the last few decades, the global consumption of luxury brands has rapidly ýincreased. ýThere are many internal and external factors that motivate consumers to buy a ýluxury brand. ýAlthough there is some evidence of the impact of functional, social, and ýindividual values on ýluxury purchase intention, little has been done to compare cultures in ýterms of these values, ýespecially in the Middle East. Thus, the purpose of this research ýwas to compare Western and ýMiddle Eastern culture (individualism and collectivism) ýregarding the consumers’ intention to purchase a luxury brand in terms of ýthree main ývalues (functional, social and individual), while also addressing consumer guilt. ý The data for this study were collected from two countries—the United States and ýSaudi ýArabia. A total of 478 university students participated in this study via an online ýsurvey: 171 ýfrom the United States and 277 from Saudi Arabia. The reliability of research ýscales was ýassessed ýthrough Cronbach’s alpha. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was ýapplied to test the correlations ýbetween the study variables. Data was assessed using ýSEM. Before testing the proposed ýstructural model, the measurement model was tested ýby a confirmatory factor analysis using the ýAMOS 21 program. Model fit was assessed ývia the chi-square statistic. The results revealed that ýFunctional and Social values ýsignificantly predicted Luxury Purchase Intention while Individual ýValue did not. ýCultural Dimension did not moderate the relationship between Functional Value ýand ýLuxury Purchase Intention. Individualism moderated the relationship ýbetween ýConspicuousness and Luxury Purchase Intention. The relationship between ýConspicuousness and ýLuxury Purchase Intention was stronger within the high ýindividualism group. Meanwhile, Guilt ýmoderated the relationship between Uniqueness ýand Luxury Purchase Intention. The relationship ýbetween Uniqueness and Purchase ýIntention was stronger within the high guilt group. However, ýCultural Dimension and ýConsumer Guilt did not moderate the relationship between Individual ýValue and Luxury ýPurchase Intention. Attitude toward Luxury did not mediate the relationship ýbetween ýFunctional and Social Value and Luxury Purchase Intention but it is partially mediated ýby ýthe relationship between Individual Values and Luxury Purchase Intentions. These results ýadd ýto the existing literature by addressing consumer guilt and Middle Eastern culture to ýluxury ýmarketing, which can then be used for marketing purposes and to increase the sales ýof luxury ýbrands. Theoretical and practical implications were provided based on the ýresults.

Women in management : identifying constraints on progression into senior management in the public sector in Saudi Arabia

Within a global context of huge social, political and economic changes, this research explores the phenomenon of female under-representation in senior management in the public sector in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the participation of women in the labour force worldwide has increased and women generally are continuing to gain professional recognition. Nevertheless, they remain under-represented in management, particularly at senior level. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences of a group of female managers in an attempt to identify those factors that either constrain or facilitate their careers. The women are also invited to offer suggestions about how their career opportunities can be improved. The study is qualitative and it is based on a phenomenological/interpretive approach. Data were gathered using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 28 female managers drawn from three organizations in the Saudi public sector in which there is a high concentration of female employees.The study findings reveal that women in Saudi public sector organizations are marginalized and excluded from key senior management positions. This situation is due to the fact that the women face a number of inter-related constraints, beginning with socialization in the religion-influenced family and education systems, which in turn, generates rigidly stereotyped gender role behaviours and expectations. This gender stereotyping is reflected in the structure and culture of organizations and it shapes the personalities and attitudes of the women themselves. Yet in spite of these constraints, the participants also reported a number of positive factors, namely, access to education, strong family networks, including support from male family members, the women’s own competencies, aspirations and improved access to the global world. It emerged that a complex and intertwined relation existed between the constraints and the facilitating factors. In order to illustrate this complexity and to create a greater understanding of the way in which these factors affect women’s access to management level positions, I have proposed a new framework: the social-institutional system, organization and gender. This study also makes a number of suggestions to improve women’s career opportunities. For example, political actions to overcome gender stereotypes and traditional attitudes, which can be achieved through the education system, the media and ‘joined-up thinking’ between various institutions; professional training and development programmes; family-friendly work policies, and proactivity on women’s part to build networks and demonstrate competence

Financing small firms in Saudi Arabia: a study of informal investors' characteristics and decision-making behaviour

Recently, informal venture capital investors have been recognised as an important source of financing small & medium sized enterprises(SMEs). Unfortunately, very little research (if any) has been devoted to understanding how these investors fund particular investments in developing countries. This research study conducts the first-ever, detailed investigation in Saudi Arabia of the informal investor's characteristics, and decision-making behaviour across the full investment process. A theoretical framework, based on the asymmetric information that characterises this market, was used. Five hypotheses were developed to see how informal investors behave to reduce the inefficiencies and risks associated with the asymmetric information problem. Data from 156 Saudi informal investors were compiled. To analyze the data, three statistical methods, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Two-Way ANOVA, were applied. A descriptive picture of the profile and the investment activities of informal investors is presented in Chapter Seven. Research hypotheses related to investors' decision-making were then tested in Chapter Eight. First, the study shows that informal investors in Saudi Arabia depend on personal searches for investment opportunities. This is clearly supports the view that the flow of information between entrepreneurs and informal investors is inefficient. Secondly, in order to select a high quality entrepreneur and venture, investors use specific criteria though clearly the entrepreneur's reputation is the most important criterion. Third, informal investors use staging of finance and involvement in the venture to have access to information and gain better control over the venture. Fourth, informal investors apply the above methods to reduce the risks of the agency problem. However, informal investors in Saudi Arabia prefer to monitor the behaviour of entrepreneurs through outcome-based incentives with moderate use of involvement and behaviour monitoring. In concluding the thesis, recommendations and the possible implications of these findings are discussed. Finally, future research is suggested that may improve the understanding of informal investors but which is beyond the scope of this thesis or which depends on its findings

Immunohistochemical evaluation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast carcinoma in Jordan

INTRODUCTION: Although breast carcinoma (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting Jordanian females and the affected population in Jordan is younger than that in the West, no information is available on its biological characteristics. Our aims in this study are to evaluate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu overexpression in BC in Jordan, and to compare the expression of these with other prognostic parameters for BC such as histological type, histological grade, tumor size, patients' age, and number of lymph node metastases. METHOD: This is a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology at Jordan University of Science and Technology. A confirmed 91 cases of BC diagnosed in the period 1995 to 1998 were reviewed and graded. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and Her-2. Immunohistochemical findings were correlated with age, tumor size, grade and axillary lymph node status. RESULTS: Her-2 was overexpressed in 24% of the cases. The mean age of Her-2 positive cases was 42 years as opposed to 53 years among Her-2 negative cases (p = 0.0001). Her-2 expression was inversely related to ER and PR expression. Her-2 positive tumors tended to be larger than Her-2 negative tumors with 35% overexpression among T3 tumors as opposed to 22% among T2 tumors (p = 0.13). Her-2 positive cases tended to have higher rates of axillary metastases, but this did not reach statistical significance. ER and PR positive cases were seen in older patients with smaller tumor sizes. CONCLUSION: Her-2 overexpression was seen in 24% of BC affecting Jordanian females. Her-2 overexpression was associated with young age at presentation, larger tumor size, and was inversely related to ER and PR expression. One-fifth of the carcinomas were Her-2 positive and ER negative. This group appears to represent an aggressive form of BC presenting at a young age with large primary tumors and a high rate of four or more axillary lymph node metastases

Selected Dietary Nutrients and the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Adult Males and Females in Saudi Arabia: A Pilot Study

published_or_final_versio

Cyberactivism in a non-democratic context : social campaigning in Saudi Arabia

There has been a growing literature concerning the role of online technologies in fostering collective action in democratic countries (Bennett and Segerberg, 2012, 2013; Bimber et al., 2005). However, studies in non-democratic settings have tended to focus on high profile but often relatively short-term mobilisations. Longer-term online activism and campaigns outside democratic settings have remained relatively under-researched and difficult to analyse. This thesis, therefore, seeks to examine some of the existing assumptions around collective action, derived largely from experiences in democratic countries, by focusing on a country with no tradition of collective activism. It draws on Bennett and Segerberg’s (2013) framework of connective action logic, to analyse two case studies from Saudi Arabia:the Women’s Right to Drive Campaign (October 26th campaign), and the Teachers’ Rights campaign. In particular, this study examines the role of the Internet in three areas: (a) mobilising support for campaigns; (b) shaping the organisational structure of collective action; and (c) challenging the systemic environment. In order to address these issues, the thesis draws on two types of data: firstly, extensive interviews with campaigners and international journalists and secondly, social network analysis. Final results indicate that Internet technologies have help to create a new space, allowing social campaigners to express themselves without significant disruption and to achieve some of their goals, although the social and political context plays an equally important role in shaping campaigns as technology does. It has also proved a useful tool for countering media hostility and negative coverage. The Internet did not affect the organisational structure of either of these campaigns, which still followed a hierarchal structure even though some started as ‘connective action’

Understanding the effective use of health information systems from multiple stakeholders perspectives

During the last three decades, health organisations started to widely adopt information system (IS) to manage healthcare limitations and challenges. Lately, the spending on health information system (HIS) has continued to increase, and there has been a significant increase in the use of mobile technology, social media, wearables and online communities. Telemedicine is a subset of telehealth, specifically the provision of clinical and medical services to patients through technology such as audio, video conferencing, and text messaging. Hence, healthcare organisations have attempted to generate the maximum value out of the system by utilising it effectively. However, we have a limited understanding of the effective use of telemedicine applications from healthcare providers’ and patients’ perspectives. Previous studies have focused on the implication of HIS use and its impacts on entire healthcare organisations’ performances or users’ satisfaction. Also, these studies have been restricted to focus on the healthcare providers’ perspectives, neglecting other perspectives (such as the patients’). Therefore, this paper seeks to explore what the effective use of telemedicine applications is and what it constitutes from the healthcare providers’ and patients’ perspectives. This research is in progress; both qualitative and quantitative data will be analysed to conceptualise a holistic notion on the effective use of telemedicin