Alexandre A. Bachkirov and Salem AlAbri
The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how the fundamental Islamic values of Arab Muslim business negotiators influence their views of the negotiation process and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how the fundamental Islamic values of Arab Muslim business negotiators influence their views of the negotiation process and negotiation behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an interpretive qualitative approach. The data were obtained by semi-structured interviews. The participants were managers whose role entails negotiations as an essential component of their job.
Findings
For Arab Muslim negotiators, the use of knowledge is associated with a moral imperative of being truthful and using knowledge responsibly. The virtues of honesty, transparency, trust, integrity, fairness, peace, respect and concern for the counterpart’s negotiation outcomes emerged as important considerations for Arab Muslim negotiators.
Research limitations/implications
All the research participants were from an Arab Islamic country. Empirical data obtained from non-Arab Islamic respondents can provide further insights into how religious beliefs shape negotiation behavior of Muslim negotiators.
Practical implications
The international negotiation practitioners involved in cross-cultural negotiations in the Arabian Gulf should consider their counterpart’s behavioral patterns and expectations shaped by the Islamic faith. Appreciating what matters to an Arab Muslim negotiator will increase the probability of a positive negotiation experience and the likelihood of attaining negotiation goals.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on innovative management practices by emphasizing the need to broaden the knowledge of a cultural perspective of management innovation. Innovative interventions in intercultural negotiations should include a consideration of the counterparts’ religious beliefs in both intra- and inter-firm bargaining situations.
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Alexandre A. Bachkirov, James Rajasekar and Maithe Paula da Silva
The purpose of this study is to explore the key cultural factors that shape the Arab style of buyer-seller negotiations in the industrial goods sector; formulate propositions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the key cultural factors that shape the Arab style of buyer-seller negotiations in the industrial goods sector; formulate propositions predicting behaviors of empowered buyers, avoidant buyers and deciders in an expensive industrial purchase situation; and develop a model of communication structure in an industrial buyer firm in the Arabian Gulf. In addition, the study advances propositions concerned with the bargaining style of Arab industrial buyers and the relationships between industrial sales effectiveness and negotiation tactics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on literature in the domains of industrial buying behavior, influence tactics in industrial buyer-seller negotiations and communication in industrial buyer-seller bargaining interactions.
Findings
The more expensive an industrial purchase is the more empowered buyers will tend to anticipate the wishes of and seek the endorsement of powerful stakeholders, the more avoidant buyers will tend not to take responsibility for the purchase and the more decision makers will tend to rely on unwritten and formal rules and consult with influencers, subordinates and peers. Aggressive bargaining is unlikely to be used by Arab industrial buyers, who prefer a problem-solving approach. Sales effectiveness will be higher when industrial vendors incorporate tactics of ingratiation and inspirational appeal to influence Arab industrial buyers.
Originality/value
The study offers a systematic examination of industrial purchasing characteristics through the lens of Arab culture. It synthesizes several literature streams, develops eight original research propositions and proposes a new conceptual model of the communication structure in an industrial buyer firm in the Arabian Gulf.
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– The purpose of this paper is to investigate decision-processing effects of incidental emotions in managerial decision-making situations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate decision-processing effects of incidental emotions in managerial decision-making situations.
Design/methodology/approach
A complex multi-attribute, multi-alternative decision task related to international human resources management is used as a research vehicle. The data are obtained by means of an electronic information board.
Findings
Happiness and anger cause the decision maker to process less decision-relevant information, whereas fear activates more detail-oriented processing. The results are explained within the valence model and cognitive-appraisal framework.
Research limitations/implications
A boundary condition of the study is the level of induced emotions. Processing effects of extremely high levels of emotions are not examined, which necessarily limits the generalizability of the findings. Also, the experiment focusses on the decision-processing effects of single isolated emotions extracted by manipulations; future research needs to examine decision-making implications of an entire emotion episode, which is likely to contain emotion mixtures.
Practical implications
For managers, this study demonstrates the importance of being mindful of how incidental emotional states can bias choice processing in complex managerial decisions.
Originality/value
This study extends earlier organizational research by focussing on decision-making consequences of emotion, rather than those of mood or stress. It brings together research on incidental emotions and process-tracing methodologies, thereby allowing for more direct assessment of the observed effects. Decision-processing consequences of emotion are shown to persist throughout a content-rich managerial decision task without being neutralized by an intensive cognitive engagement.
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Pierre El Haddad, Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov and Olga Grishina
This study aims to explore the commonalities and differences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions among business leaders in Oman and Lebanon, two Middle Eastern…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the commonalities and differences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions among business leaders in Oman and Lebanon, two Middle Eastern countries forming a comparative dyad with a high level of cultural variance within the Arab cluster.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit qualitative data that were analyzed by means of multilevel analysis.
Findings
The findings provide empirical evidence that CSR is a powerful factor in managerial decision-making in the Middle East with the national cultures of Oman and Lebanon exerting partially differing effects on CSR decision-making.
Practical implications
The study enlightens practicing managers and policymakers in terms of the salience of multiple actors’ influence on CSR decision-making processes and the responses they may receive when developing and implementing CSR initiatives in the Middle East.
Originality/value
The study proposes a seven nodal model, which captures the flow of CSR decision-making in the research contexts.
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Salem Al-Harthi, Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov, Said Al-Riyami and Misida Al-Jahwari
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness in the oil and gas sector of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a conceptual evaluation of literature.
Findings
The extant body of research on both entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness is based on quantitative studies without previous systematic, exhaustive and comprehensive grounded theory-based theorizing processes rooted in qualitative approaches. This accounts for inconsistencies and controversies of findings reported in the field.
Practical implications
The grounded theory-based approach advocated by this paper is likely to generate a more precise estimation of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, competitive aggressiveness and firm performance. Consequently, an accurate understanding of the interplay between these factors can empower managers to make finely-tuned strategic decisions, achieve sustainable competitive advantage and optimally adapt to dynamic and unforeseen environments.
Originality/value
The paper reports on important limitations of the existing literature indicating that current findings may be an artifact of studying a small number of industries.
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Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov
The purpose of this study is to examine, through the lens of the buying center concept, a theorized link between organizational buying behavior (OBB) and a national culture of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine, through the lens of the buying center concept, a theorized link between organizational buying behavior (OBB) and a national culture of collectivism, large power distance, particularism and a wasta practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology was used to gain better understanding of OBB in an under-researched business environment of the Arabian Gulf. The data come from 41 organizational practitioners who reported on the industrial buying processes in their organizations with reference to the buying center framework.
Findings
The study developed a model of the buying center for the emerging markets governed by socio-political institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The data were obtained only from one culturally specific world region.
Practical implications
To attain efficacious results in culturally distant business environments, industrial marketers should complement home country experience with a thorough understanding of how national cultures affect the dynamics of OBB.
Originality/value
The study updates the conceptualization of the buying center’s organizational actors (OAs) for business contexts beyond traditional, mature markets. It reveals the typology of decisional influencers, introduces and defines the role of advisers and clarifies the role of the gatekeeping bureaucracy and differing perceptions thereof by OAs.
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Matteo Cristofaro, Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov, Nicholas Burton, Oana Fodor, Christian Julmi and Francesca Loia
Mohammad Rezaur Razzak and Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov
Drawing on mindfulness theory, this study attempts to gain insights into whether leader-mindfulness (LM) influences workplace cynicism (WPC) among non-family employees (NFEs…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on mindfulness theory, this study attempts to gain insights into whether leader-mindfulness (LM) influences workplace cynicism (WPC) among non-family employees (NFEs) working in small and medium-sized private family firms. Furthermore, the study leverages the self-determination theory to examine if the above relationship is mediated by the belongingness of the NFEs to the organization and leader–member exchange quality (LMXQ).
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework with a set of hypotheses is developed. Using cross-sectional survey data collected from 376 NFEs working in small and medium-sized private family firms in Oman, the hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling that was analyzed through PLS-SEM.
Findings
The results indicate that LM influences WPC both directly and through the mediating effect of LMXQ. The findings also suggest that, while LM influences belongingness, and that belongingness also mediates the relationship between LM and LMXQ. However, belongingness does not mediate the relationship between LM and WPC, either by itself or serially.
Practical implications
The prevalence of WPC among NFEs in family firms hinders the ability of such organizations to retain talented employees that are outside the family circle. Hence, this study presents nuanced insights to those who manage such organizations, as it reveals that leading the family business mindfully can markedly reduce WPC among NFEs, particularly when LM enhances LMXQ.
Originality/value
The study makes four novel contributions. First, this appears to be the first study at the crossroads of the family business and organizational behavior literature to investigate the under-researched topic of WPC among NFEs in family firms. Second, the study provides insights into the relationship between LM and WPC by developing a conceptual framework that draws on mindfulness theory and self-determination theory. Third, it identifies the mediating role of LMXQ in the link between LM and WPC. Finally, it reveals that, although the belongingness of NFEs to their organization is influenced by LM, it does not automatically influence WPC.
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Waheed Ali Umrani, Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov, Asif Nawaz, Umair Ahmed and Munwar Hussain Pahi
This study examines the impact of inclusive leadership on two important work outcomes, i.e., employee performance and well-being. In order to better understand the above…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the impact of inclusive leadership on two important work outcomes, i.e., employee performance and well-being. In order to better understand the above relationships, this study theorizes that employee psychological capital is a mediating mechanism and family motivation is a moderating mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected 370 responses in three different time waves with an interval of one week. All the constructs of the study were rated by employees except for the supervisor’s family motivation, which was rated by their supervisors. Given the predictive nature of the study, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.
Findings
The authors' findings confirm the mediating role of employee psychological capital in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee performance and in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee well-being. The moderating effects of supervisor family motivation in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee performance were also significant; however, the authors did not find empirical support for the moderating effects of family motivation in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee well-being.
Originality/value
Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the present study extends the authors' understanding of the unique ways in which inclusive leadership improves employee performance and benefits their well-being.
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Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov
The paper presents an empirical account of self-fulfilling prophecy in a multicultural expatriate context of the Arabian Gulf (Sultanate of Oman). The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper presents an empirical account of self-fulfilling prophecy in a multicultural expatriate context of the Arabian Gulf (Sultanate of Oman). The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between managerial expectations of the effects of cultural diversity and workgroup performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study uses a qualitative interpretive approach based on the data collected through semi-structured interviews. The participants were Omani managers in charge of multicultural expatriate workgroups.
Findings
Managerial expectations of the effects of multiculturalism on workgroup dynamics are linked to three dimensions of performance effectiveness, including the production function, the member support function and the group wellbeing function. The Pygmalion process, as applied to the multicultural expatriate context of this study, emerged as an integral part of positive organizational scholarship.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected in one country only, which limits the conclusions about the universal applicability of the Pygmalion theory. The boundary conditions were defined by the cultural characteristics of the research setting: collectivism, high power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, moderate masculinity/femininity.
Practical implications
For managers in charge of multicultural workgroups, the study provides motivation to project positive and affirmative expectations of multiculturalism, which is likely to lead to enhanced workgroup performance.
Originality/value
In examining the self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon, this study transcends Western educational, military and industrial research contexts to investigate the Pygmalion process in a non-Western multicultural expatriate environment. The study contributes to unraveling the inconsistencies in findings on the relationship between cultural diversity and workgroup performance by highlighting the role of managerial expectations of multiculturalism.