RELIGION, CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF ISLAM AND SAUDI CULTURE ON HRM PRACTICES OF INDIGENOUS AND FOREIGN OWNED AND MANAGED CORPORATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

This dissertation provides a journey into the world of beliefs and values of Saudi Arabia’s organisations, people and society at large, and how these influence and shape HRM practices and the employment relationship in the country. Designed as a single country case study, the dissertation uses a multi-case research design where two large companies operating in Saudi Arabia (an indigenous and a foreign multinational corporation) are explored and compared through methodological triangulation in data collection methods (interviews, surveys and focus group). The main findings identify that institutional pressures (regulatory and normative) are strong catalysts facilitating the impact of Islamic teachings on the workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The regulative forces represent the organisations’ rules, regulatory constraints (forced by regulatory bodies) and penalties for violations. They are a result of the KSA’s legal system and its political culture. The normative forces identify values and social behavioural norms which define how things should be done within the organisation. They are a result of the wider Saudi culture. Apart from its contribution to knowledge of the HRM practices of Saudi Arabia at micro- and meta- level, the dissertation also provides an analysis at two additional levels. it contributes firstly to the growing knowledge on the influence of Islamic beliefs in the workplace, and secondly, to the enlargement of theory on the subject of religion and its impact in the workplace. Moreover, the dissertation makes a contribution to the literature on HRM practices and approaches in Saudi Arabia. This extends to other countries of the Arab Gulf, holding strong potential to become a source of knowledge and reference for foreign organisations which operate and wish to operate in that region.