How Trust Factors Affect Business Relationships in Saudi-Arabian Companies Almetni Ben Mansur ...

268 Pages·2013·2 MB·English

How Trust Factors Affect Business Relationships
in Saudi-Arabian Companies

Almetni Ben Mansur

Ph.D. Thesis 2013
How Trust Factors Affect Business Relationships
in Saudi-Arabian Companies

By

Almetni Ben Mansur

Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Swift

Salford Business School, College of Business and Law
University of Salford, Salford, UK

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor
Philosophy, October 2013
Table of Contents

Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………I
Declaration…………………………………………………………………………...............II
Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................III
Abstract...................................................................................................................................IV

Chapter One
1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 The Need for Research ..................................................................................................... 2
1.3 The Aim of the Research .................................................................................................. 3
1.3.1 Research Objectives.................................................................................................3
..
1.4 Research Questions........................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Expected Contribution to Knowledge .............................................................................. 3

Chapter Two
Literature Review.....................................................................................................................5
2.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................5
..
2.1 Business Relationships ..................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Commitment.............................................................................................................8
2.1.2 Cooperation..............................................................................................................8
..
2.1.3 Communication........................................................................................................9
..
2.2 How Trust Works within Business Relationship Development ....................................... 9
2.3 Business Contracts within the Saudi Economy .............................................................. 11
2.4 Trust ................................................................................................................................ 13
2.4.1 Individual Trust......................................................................................................14
.
2.4.2 Organisational Trust...............................................................................................15
.
2.4.3 National Trust.........................................................................................................18
2.5 Why Trust is an Important Factor in Business Relationships ........................................ 18
2.6 The Significance of Trust ............................................................................................... 20
2.7 Conceptualisation of Trust .............................................................................................. 21
2.8 Dimensions of Trust ....................................................................................................... 22
2.9 Antecedents of Trust ....................................................................................................... 23
2.10 Consequences of Trust.................................................................................................. 23
2.11 Determination of Trust ................................................................................................. 24
2.12 The Influence of Saudi Cultural Behaviour .................................................................. 24
2.13 Theoretical Propositions for each Interview Question ................................................. 27
2.13.1 Trust at the General Level..................................................................................27
.
2.13.2 Trust at the National Level.................................................................................28
2.13.3 Trust at the Organisational Level.......................................................................30
.
2.13.4 Trust at the Individual Level..............................................................................31
..
2.14 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 33

Chapter Three
Research Methodology...........................................................................................................35
3.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 35
3.1 Research Philosophy....................................................................................................... 35
3.2 Qualitative Data .............................................................................................................. 37
I
3.3 Quantitative Data ............................................................................................................ 37
3.4 Justification for Choosing the Qualitative Approach ..................................................... 37
3.5 The Positivism Process versus the Interpretivism Process ............................................. 38
3.6 Research Approach ......................................................................................................... 38
3.6.1 Justification for the Choice of Research Approach................................................40
3.7 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................... 40
3.7.1 Justification for the Choice of Research Strategy..................................................41
..
3.8 Ethical Approval ............................................................................................................. 42
3.9 Pilot Study ...................................................................................................................... 42
3.9.1 Conducted Pilot Study............................................................................................43
3.10 Case Study Research .................................................................................................... 44
3.10.1 Justification for Choosing the Multiple-Interview Approach............................44
..
3.11 Data Collection Methods .............................................................................................. 46
3.12 Interviews ..................................................................................................................... 48
3.12.1 Justification for Choosing the Semi-structured Interview..................................50
3.13 Justification for Selecting the Sampled Companies ..................................................... 51
3.13.1 Sample Companies and Demographic Details of Interviews.............................52
3.14 Ontology and Epistemology ......................................................................................... 53
3.15 Validity ......................................................................................................................... 55
3.15.1 Internal Validity.................................................................................................56
...
3.15.2 External Validity................................................................................................56
..
3.15.3 Reliability...........................................................................................................57
.
3.15.4 Validity and Reliability......................................................................................60
..
3.16 Qualitative Data Analysis Methods..............................................................................61
...
3.17 Chapter Summary..........................................................................................................64
.

Chapter Four
Research Findings..................................................................................................................65
4.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................65
......
4.1 Findings from the interviews.........................................................................................65
......
4.2 Demographic Data Analysis...........................................................................................69
...
4.3 Summary of Analysis of Findings from the Respondents..............................................70
4.4 Summary of Analysis of the Three Levels of Trust......................................................109
4.4.1 Analysis of Trust at the National Level...............................................................109
.
4.4.2 Analysis of Trust at the Organisational Level.....................................................110
..
4.4.3 Analysis of Trust at the Individual Level............................................................112
..
4.5 Chapter Summary.........................................................................................................113
...

Chapter Five
.
Discussion.............................................................................................................................115
.
5.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................115
5.1 The Link between Trust and the Value of Saudi Arabian Companies.........................117
.
5.2 Discussion of Trust in Business Relationship Development.......................................118
...
5.3 Discussion of Trust at an Organisational Level...........................................................118
...
5.3.1 Organisational Trust in Saudi Arabian Companies ............................................119
....
5.3.2 The Effects of the Saudi Culture on Organisational Trust..................................120
.
5.4 Discussion of Trust at the National Level....................................................................122
.
5.4.1 The Evaluation of National-Level Trust in Saudi Arabia...................................123
..
5.4.2 Indicators of Trust at the National Level in Saudi Companies...........................125
.
5.5 Development and Improvement of the Sub-Factors of Trust.......................................126
II
5.6 Discussion of Trust at the Individual Level within Organisations in Saudi Arabia...128
...
5.7 Chapter Summary........................................................................................................130

Chapter Six
Conclusion and Recommendations...................................................................................131
6.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................131
6.1 Conclusion...................................................................................................................131
.
6.2 Findings Related to the Research Questions...............................................................133
.
6.3 Contribution to Knowledge.........................................................................................134
6.4 Limitations................................................................................................................. 136
.
...
6.5 Implications.................................................................................................................137

6.6 Recommendations for Further Research.....................................................................138
.

References............................................................................................................................139
Reference from Website.....................................................................................................154
.

Appendices
Appendix (1).........................................................................................................................155
Appendix (2).........................................................................................................................158
Appendix (3).........................................................................................................................159
Appendix (4).........................................................................................................................163
Appendix (5).........................................................................................................................168
Appendix (6).........................................................................................................................173
Appendix (7).........................................................................................................................176
Appendix (8).........................................................................................................................180
Appendix (9).........................................................................................................................184
Appendix (10).......................................................................................................................188
Appendix (11).......................................................................................................................192
Appendix (12).......................................................................................................................196
Appendix (13).......................................................................................................................200
Appendix (14).......................................................................................................................204
Appendix (15).......................................................................................................................208
Appendix (16).......................................................................................................................212
Appendix (17).......................................................................................................................216
Appendix (18).......................................................................................................................220
Appendix (19).......................................................................................................................224
Appendix (20).......................................................................................................................228
Appendix (21).......................................................................................................................232
Appendix (22).......................................................................................................................236
Appendix (23).......................................................................................................................240
Appendix (24).......................................................................................................................244
Appendix (25).......................................................................................................................248
Appendix (26).......................................................................................................................252
Appendix (27).......................................................................................................................256

III
List of Figures

Figures Page Number

Figure (2.0) Map Showing Saudi Arabia’s position in the Middle-East (Dec-2012)….…...6
.

Figure (3.11) The flow of research methods………………………………………………………....46

List of Tables
Tables Page Number

Table (2.13) Theoretical Propositions for each Interview Question..……………………..27
Table (2.13.1) Trust at the General Level…………………………………………...….27
Table (2.13.2) Trust at the National Level………………………………………….......28
Table (2.13.3) Trust at the Organisational Level……………………………………….30
Table (2.13.4) Trust at the Individual Level……………………………………………31

Table (3.1) The differences between the two paradigms of Interpretivism and
Positivism……………………………………………………………………………….....36
.

Table (3.5) Comparison of Positivism and Interpretivism………………………...….......38
...

Table (3.6.1) The major differences between the indiuctive and deductive
research approaches………………………………………………………………….........40
...

Table (3.7) The five main research strategies in social sciences research...........................41
..

Table (3.11) Strengths and weaknesses of the six sources of evidence...............................47
.

Table (3.13.1) Sample Companies and Demographic Details of Interviews……………...52

Table (3.14) Illustrates the research philosophy of a qualitative research study………….54

Table (3.15.3) Improving internal validity and reliability in ontological and epistemological
techniques…………………………………………………………………………………58
...

Table (3.15.4) Recommended case study tactics used to ensure validity and reliability….60
.

Table (4.3) Summary of Analysis of Findings from the Respondents……………………70
.

IV
Abbreviations

 BR Business Relationship
 BRD Business Relationship Development
 B2B Business to Business
 B2C Business to Consumer
 GDP Gross Domestic Product
 IFC International Finance Corporation
 KSA King of Saudi Arabia
 SR Saudi riyal
 UAE United Arab of Emirate
 UK United Kingdom
 USA United State of America
 WTO World Trade Organisation

I
Declaration

The author declared that this thesis is completely -by my own work and without any help
or assistance from anyone except where the researcher have consulted various books,
journal articles, interviews (Questions and Answers), and websites. This is fully
acknowledged and attributed with any direct quotations indicated by use of quotation
marks. The author is fully aware of the university regulations including plagiarism. In
addition the researcher mindful of the severity of the penalties imposed by the University
on those found responsible of plagiarism.

Signed ……………………………………………………………..…………………..

II
Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank God (Allah) for granting me the ability and determination
to undertake this PhD course, and accomplishing of this thesis. Moreover, I would like to
take this valuable opportunity to thank many individuals who without their assistances, this
research would not have been completed:

 My supervisor; Doctor Jonathan Swift for his encouragement, guidance, and willingness
to assist me throughout this thesis.
 My parents (Mohamed Ben Mansur and Wafa Al-Nagami); my great thankful and
support, encouragement, and patience during my all time at University of Salford.

This thesis is also dedicated to my wife, Audrone, my daughter, Noura, my brother and my
sisters. They have given me encouragement and love which have influenced my work
during the period of this study in the United-Kingdom. Furthermore, the appreciation for the
key people in Saudi Arabia who are working in Saudi companies and all the individuals
were assistance within commitment and as they provided me with the valuable information,
which directed me to reach the answer of my research questions and objectives.

III
Abstract

This study investigates how to develop a better understanding of successful business
relationships in the context of Saudi Arabia. The main objectives of this research are to
explore how trust factors affect business relationship in Saudi Arabian companies. Primary
and secondary methods of data collection are explored and the methods used to conduct
qualitative data analysis are discussed and justified. Semi-structured interviews were
employed to fulfil the study’s aims and objectives. The researcher interviewed 25 Saudi
Arabian employees regarding how trust factors affect business relationships in Saudi Arabian
companies.

This thesis identifies and analyses the barriers to trust in business relationship that can exist
in Saudi companies, using a multiple interview approach. The research required in-depth
understanding to enable the development of trust factors (individual trust, organisational trust
and national trust). The result is the discovery that a lack of skills, knowledge and experience
of business relationship development and the correct approach to business and management
can affect trust factors in the context of Saudi Arabian companies. This research study also
found culture to be a unique type of behaviour that influences the creation of profitable
relationships in Saudi companies. This study can be used in further research in other
organisations, whether in Saudi Arabia or other countries.

Finally, the researcher considers the whole experience of conducting this study to have
been revealing, and has confirmed that strong potential exists within Saudi Arabian
companies that have been completely suppressed in past years by the involvement of the
social and business level. Relationships are necessary at the individual, organisational,
and national levels in order for foreign companies to build trust with Saudi Arabian
ones.

IV