Consumer Culture in Saudi Arabia

337 Pages·2013·4.35 MB·English

Consumer Culture in Saudi Arabia:
A Qualitative Study among Heads of Household.

Submitted by
Theeb Mohammed Al Dossry
to the University of Exeter
as a Thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology
September 2012

This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and
that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.

I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and
that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by
this or any other University.

Signature: ………………………………………

  1
Dedication

I
 dedicate
 this
 thesis
 to
 my
 family
 especially:

 My
 father
 who
 taught
 me,
 how
 ambitious
 I
 should
 be,
 he
 is
 my

inspiration
 for
 everything.

 My
 mother
 who
 surrounded
 me
 with
 her
 love,
 praying
 for
 me
 throughout

the
 time
 I
 spent
 working
 on
 my
 thesis.

 To
 all
 my
 brother
 and
 sisters
 (Noura,
 Hoda,
 Nasser,
 Dr
 Mounera,
 Abdullah

and
 Abdurrahman).

With
 a
 special
 dedication
 to
 my
 lovely
 wife
 (Nawal)
 and
 my
 sons

(Mohammed
 and
 Feras)

  2
Abstract

As Saudi Arabia turns towards modernisation, it faces many tensions and conflicts during
that process. Consumerism is an extremely controversial subject in Saudi society.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes that the opportunities and
constraints of consumerism have brought about in the specific socio-economic and cultural
settings between local traditions, religion, familial networks and institutions, on the one
hand, and the global flow of money, goods, services and information, on the other.
A qualitative method was applied. Focusing on Saudi consumer behaviour, the study was
explorative; open-ended qualitative interviews and observations were considered to be
appropriate methods. The questions covered not only practices of consumption, such as
shopping, tourism, leisure time and managing the budget, etc., but also attitudes to
consumption in general as well as more general views on social change. In this study the
interviews were used and relied upon as the basic method for collecting data. In addition,
observation was used to support and supplement the interview data. The research subjects of
this study are 29 (male) heads of households/families residing in the three cities of Riyadh,
Jeddah, and Dammam. The focus on fathers/husbands is, of course, immediately
recognisable as a limitation of this research.
The results of the study were that the cultural pattern of the Saudi family depends heavily on
the Islamic religion, a religious reference that distinguishes it from other cultures, such as
volunteer work or a desire to give to charity. The existences of other factors that contribute
to the formation of consumer behaviour of the Saudi family were discovered, including the
social background as well as social pressure to apply such behaviour. The results revealed

  3
women have also come to play a major role in influencing the purchasing and selection of
both the quantity and quality of goods.
The principal conclusion was that despite the obvious manifestations of consumer culture
for Saudi families (luxury cars, modern technology, and Western fashion), Saudi society is
still loyal to the Islamic religion as a fundamental doctrine. The acceptance of, and trends in,
Western-consumer Saudi families do not necessarily mean that there is a Western-driven
consumer base depending on the individual. Although Saudi families also enjoy acquiring
Western goods and impressive fashions, these may conflict with Islamic and traditional
values in general.

  4
Table
 of
 Contents

Dedication
 .......................................................................................................................
 2

Abstract
 ...........................................................................................................................
 3

Acknowledgment
 ............................................................................................................
 8

Chapter
 One
 ....................................................................................................................
 9

Introduction
 ....................................................................................................................
 9

Chapter
 Two
 ..................................................................................................................
 15

Section
 1
 ...................................................................................................................................
 15

Geographical,
 historical,
 and
 political
 background
 .....................................................................
 15

Section
 2
 ...................................................................................................................................
 32

The
 Era
 of
 Accelerated
 Development:
 1970-­‐2000
 ......................................................................
 32

Section
 3
 ...................................................................................................................................
 53

Transformations
 in
 family
 and
 gender
 roles
 ..............................................................................
 53

Chapter
 Three
 ...............................................................................................................
 59

Consumerism
 in
 the
 Western
 Societies
 ..........................................................................
 59

Section
 1:
 ..................................................................................................................................
 59

Classical
 theories
 .......................................................................................................................
 59

Thorstein
 Veblen
 ........................................................................................................................
 60

Pierre
 Bourdieu
 ..........................................................................................................................
 66

Georg
 Simmel
 ............................................................................................................................
 71

Section
 2
 ...................................................................................................................................
 77

Literature
 on
 consumerism
 .......................................................................................................
 77

Chapter
 Four
 ...............................................................................................................
 102

Globalisation
 and
 consumer
 culture
 studies
 ................................................................
 102

Consumer
 culture
 from
 Western
 to
 developing
 countries
 ........................................................
 104

Developing
 countries
 ..............................................................................................................
 107

Islam
 and
 Arab
 countries
 .........................................................................................................
 111

Gulf
 and
 Saudi
 literature
 .........................................................................................................
 116

Consumer
 culture
 in
 the
 Kingdom
 of
 Saudi
 Arabia
 ...................................................................
 118

Chapter
 Five
 ................................................................................................................
 123

Methodology
 ...............................................................................................................
 123

Theoretical
 framework
 for
 the
 study
 .......................................................................................
 123

The
 sample:
 .............................................................................................................................
 132

Data
 analysis
 ...........................................................................................................................
 134

A
 note
 on
 translation
 ..............................................................................................................
 138

Chapter
 Six
 ..................................................................................................................
 139

Islam
 and
 consumerism
 ...............................................................................................
 139

Section
 1
 .................................................................................................................................
 139

  5
The
 Islamic
 elements
 affect
 consumerism
 in
 Saudi
 Arabia.
 ......................................................
 139

Section
 2
 .................................................................................................................................
 150

Charity
 ....................................................................................................................................
 150

Chapter
 Seven
 .............................................................................................................
 162

Social
 Pressure
 ............................................................................................................
 162

Anti-­‐individualism
 ...................................................................................................................
 162

Conspicuous
 consumption
 .......................................................................................................
 165

Social
 Class
 ..............................................................................................................................
 171

Surrounding
 groups
 .................................................................................................................
 175

Global
 brands
 ..........................................................................................................................
 178

Chapter
 Eight
 ...............................................................................................................
 190

Cultural Background
 .................................................................................................
 190

Bedouin
 Lifestyle
 .....................................................................................................................
 191

Values
 and
 Transmission
 .........................................................................................................
 198

Pride
 .......................................................................................................................................
 202

Loyalty
 ....................................................................................................................................
 205

Chapter
 Nine
 ...............................................................................................................
 208

Financial capability: the availability of credit and the overspent Saudi
 ....................
 208

The
 Function
 of
 Money
 ...........................................................................................................
 209

Banking
 Facility
 .......................................................................................................................
 212

Buying
 on
 credit
 ......................................................................................................................
 216

Management
 of
 a
 Budget
 ........................................................................................................
 222

Awareness
 ..............................................................................................................................
 231

Chapter
 ten
 .................................................................................................................
 233

Celebrations
 ................................................................................................................
 233

Social
 events
 ...........................................................................................................................
 233

Ramadan
 (Fasting
 month)
 .......................................................................................................
 236

Eid
 al-­‐Fitr
 and
 Eid
 al-­‐Adha
 .......................................................................................................
 240

Weddings
 ................................................................................................................................
 242

New
 celebrations
 ....................................................................................................................
 247

Chapter
 eleven
 ............................................................................................................
 250

Rationality
 ..................................................................................................................
 250

Rational
 vs.
 irrational
 behaviour
 .............................................................................................
 250

Women’s
 expenditures
 ...........................................................................................................
 261

Daily
 or
 monthly
 (regular
 shopping)
 ........................................................................................
 269

Chapter
 twelve
 ............................................................................................................
 277

Attitude of Saudi families towards Western consumer culture
 ..................................
 277

Consumerism
 for
 the
 new
 generation
 .....................................................................................
 286

Conclusion
 ...................................................................................................................
 297

  6
Policy
 implications
 ..................................................................................................................
 302

Further
 Research
 .....................................................................................................................
 303

Bibliography
 ................................................................................................................
 305

Appendix
 .....................................................................................................................
 326

Figures

Figure 1 Consumer and Credit loans ................................................................................... 12
Figure 2 The distribution of average household expenditure by major expenditure
groups ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 3 The Annual Health Budget .................................................................................... 51
Figure 4 Education Budget from 2006 to 2010 .................................................................... 51
Figure 5 Annual Government Revenues and Expenditures (actual) ................................ 52

  7
Acknowledgment

First
 and
 foremost
 I
 praise
 and
 glorify
 God
 (Allah)
 the
 most
 gracious
 and
 the
 most
 merciful

who
 has
 provided
 and
 continues
 to
 provide
 me
 with
 health,
 strength
 and
 the
 ability
 to

pursue
 my
 studies.

 It
 would
 not
 have
 been
 possible
 to
 write
 this
 doctoral
 thesis
 without

the
 help
 and
 support
 of
 the
 kind
 people
 around
 me,
 to
 only
 some
 of
 whom
 it
 is
 possible
 to

give
 particular
 mention
 here.

It
 is
 difficult
 to
 overstate
 my
 gratitude
 to
 my
 Ph.D.
 supervisor.
 Dr
 Matthias
 Varul,
 with
 his

enthusiasm,
 his
 inspiration,
 and
 his
 great
 efforts
 to
 explain
 things
 clearly
 and
 simply,

whose
 encouragement,
 guidance
 and
 support
 from
 the
 initial
 to
 the
 final
 level
 enabled
 me

to
 develop
 an
 understanding
 of
 the
 subject.

I
 would
 like
 to
 show
 my
 gratitude
 to
 all
 my
 most
 beloved
 my
 sisters
 and
 brothers,
 with

special
 thanks
 to
 my
 cousin,
 Ajab,
 for
 providing
 me
 with
 most
 of
 the
 government
 statistics

and
 helping
 me
 to
 find
 the
 interviewees.
 Also
 thanks
 for
 my
 cousin,
 Mohammed,
 for
 taking

responsibility
 for
 all
 my
 personal
 work
 in
 Saudi
 Arabia.

 I
 also
 extend
 my
 gratitude
 to
 all
 my

colleagues
 and
 friends
 in
 Saudi
 Arabia
 and
 Exeter
 University.

Lastly,
 I
 offer
 my
 regards
 and
 blessings
 to
 all
 of
 those
 who
 supported
 me
 in
 any
 respect

during
 the
 completion
 of
 the
 thesis.

  8
Chapter
 One

Introduction

Saudi Arabia is a developing country, but one which has experienced rapid and dramatic
changes in terms of economic and social development. During the last four decades, in the
wake of the oil boom and facilitated by political reforms, Saudi Arabia has been
transformed from a mainly agricultural economy to a service economy with a fast
developing consumer culture. The advent of consumerism posits a major challenge to social
relations informed by traditional and religious values, but while the economic development
has been studied extensively, there are, so far, no deeper investigations into the behaviour
and mentalities of contemporary Saudi consumers.
At the same time, the study of consumer culture has become a central issue in the social
sciences. Sociologists and others have begun to take the implications of consumerism for all
areas of social life very seriously. There is now a body of research that can be brought to
bear on the analysis of social changes in non-Western societies, such as that of Saudi
Arabia. However, we must be clear from the outset that the results of the study of consumer
culture produced in a Western context may inspire and inform the study of social change in
Saudi Arabia, but they cannot be easily transferred.
While in Western societies there has been a long and parallel development of industrial
production and mass consumption, leading over into the development of a service economy
and postmodern consumerism, in developing countries consumerism has been grafted on
widely still traditional cultural values. However, some developing societies have moved
swiftly on the way to entering an age of mass consumption, especially where, as in the Gulf
Region, there has been a massive increase of national income owed to the exploitation of
natural resources.

  9
Although consumer culture is pervasive in the West, even here we find nationally distinct
consumer cultures (e.g. Kroen 2006), so we can expect even greater differences between
those and developing economies. The assertion of globalising tendencies, like that of
consumerism, does not dispense with the need to study local contexts (Appadurai, 1988 and
2001; Robertson, 1994). For the purposes of research, it is not possible to simply take
studies of consumerism in the west and transfer the results to the developing societies, as
surely there are many distinct differences between the countries in the expression of their
identities. I will therefore begin with an outline of the specific conditions in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia was consolidated as a unified nation state only in the 1930s. After a longer
phase of steady but slow development radical changes were triggered by the rise in oil
prices in the Seventies, which led to the building of an infrastructure and the development of
the Saudi state as a modern country on the back of the exploitation of natural resources,
rather than industrial development. Oil wealth offered the Saudi government the opportunity
to build new economic institutions, to expand services, and to facilitate major social and
economic changes; the government targeted the oil revenues to improve the people’s
standard of living and raised the wages and salaries of all Saudi workers. They also began to
improve free education, health, and other services (Mohaimeed, 1994). The second
significant period of change began with the microelectronic revolution and the availability
of improved means of communication, such as satellite television, mobile phones and the
Internet beginning around the year 2000. Since its founding, the social structure of Saudi
Arabia had not changed significantly; however, we are now witnessing social changes
which are faster and deeper than have happened at any time previously. These were due,
among other things, to the mentioned technological revolution and new media, but also an
increased spatial mobility within the country and beyond borders (Aldouges, 1996:65).

  10