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This study aims to explore the challenges faced by foreign banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It is important to explore the challenges as extant literature provides limited guidelines about this issue.

A mixed-method approach was used by canvassing 71 questionnaires and 36 semi-structured interviews. The sample included senior managers of foreign bank branches working in the Saudi market by the end of 2019. The quantitative data were analyzed using the distribution fitting algorithmic approach, and it is supported by the qualitative data analyzed using the thematic analysis method.

Results indicate that foreign banks encounter various challenges including government policies and regulations, the Saudi legal system, high “Saudization” ratio of the workforce, technological advances, high competition and overall economic change (oil price change). It seems that these challenges represent the KSA’s specific business environment.

This study will advance the extant literature on foreign bank entry with evidence from a unique context. This study could also help regulators, policymakers and bankers to better understand foreign banks’ entry into emerging and developing markets.

To study the consumption pattern, attitude and knowledge of the general population about dietary supplements (DS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data on knowledge, attitude and consumption pattern related to the use of DS. Participants aged = 18 years were asked to complete a self-administered online questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, health and lifestyle information, consumption patterns, attitudes and knowledge levels regarding the use of DS.

A total of 207 individuals participated in the study, and 117 (56.5%) participants reported using DS products as influenced by the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), of which 63 (53.8%) participants had been using DS for more than one month but less than one year. The majority of the participants was females (64.7%), non-UAE nationals (60.9%) and employed (51.7%). Multivitamins (77.8%) were the most commonly used DS. Use of DS was more prevalent among older participants (n = 78 (61.9%), p = 0.006), non-UAE nationals (n = 79 (62.7%), p = 0.025) and employed (n = 69 (64.5%), p = 0.023). Improving general health (76.1%) and immune booster (47%) were the most frequently identified reasons for using DS, which is relatable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of study participants (72.12%) reported knowing relatively little about the use of DS. About 154 participants (74.4%) did not know that DS products do not treat diseases.

Further studies with a larger sample size need to be conducted to examine the association between gender or chronic disease and the consumption and type of DS products used to fill the gap in the literature and overcome the limitations identified in this study.

This study highlights the need for community education programs and strategies that can raise awareness of the health benefits and risks of using DS. Further studies with a larger sample size need to be conducted to examine the association between gender or chronic disease and the consumption and type of DS products used to fill the gap in the literature and overcome the limitations identified in this study.