The impact of organisational culture on WiMax adoption by Saudi SMEs

Although there is some research that examines Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMax) adoption, the role of the organisational culture by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has not been studied in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This paper presents the outcome of a study carried out to examine the impact of organisational culture on the WiMax adoption by SMEs in the KSA. Based on Cameron and Quinn's Organisational Culture Assessments Instrument (OCAI), 63 questionnaires were distributed to different SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The results showed that there is a relatively low level of WiMax adoption by Saudi SMEs. Findings stated that Saudi SMEs are dominated by the clan culture where people are less innovative than the people in adhocracy culture

Examining the impact of Internet electronic commerce on commercial organizations in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is undergoing tremendous change in both infrastructure and economics, which is helping the Internet to flourish in the region. Although growth of electronic commerce (EC) is slow, it is becoming increasingly global. Businesses worldwide are engaging in this commercial evolution. The purpose of this study was to provide consumers and commercial organizations in Saudi Arabia with practical information regarding electronic commerce. It attempted to explore the perspectives of Internet users, information technology (IT) professionals, business owners, and managers of online businesses in Saudi Arabia. Two survey instruments were used to gather data for this study. The first survey instrument consisted of 37 questions and was sent to 80 randomly selected Internet users in Saudi Arabia. A total of 45 (56.25%) questionnaires were returned. The second survey consisted of 21 questions and was sent to 80 randomly selected IT professionals, managers, and business owners. A total of 49 (61.22%) questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire was posted on the Web, http://www. geocities.com/ksaecommerce/ Surveys/default.htm, and e-mails were sent to the study group after the review of the pilot study. Consistent with the statistical analyses discussed in chapter III, analysis of the data was undertaken using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program. The results of the study indicated that, the awareness, perceptions, and attitudes of the consumers, IT professionals, managers, and business owners\u27 toward shopping on-line depended on such factors as level of security and fraud. There appears to be a positive relationship between the level of security and attitude toward using the Internet for shopping. In addition, the research revealed some barriers related to electronic commerce from the consumer\u27s point of view: Although online transactions are convenient, timely delivery in Saudi Arabia is costly and inefficient. Improvements in Internet and EC technologies will continue to increase productivity, providing that commercial organizations in Saudi Arabia are willing to adapt new business models to capture advances in technology. The major recommendations of this study are as follows: (a) The private sector and universities should take a roles in educating people to benefit from the Internet; (b) financial sector must coordinate with information technology companies to increase customers confidence in electronic commerce; (c) an updated telecommunication infrastructure is needed in Saudi Arabia; and (d) the Saudi government, represented by the Ministry of Commerce and other competent bodies, should be committed to introducing and widely using electronic commerce. At the same time, the government should take necessary procedures to prevent the misuse of electronic commerce

Digital Inclusion: Analyzing Social Media Accessibility Features for Students with Visual Impairments

The present research endeavors to investigate the efficacy and user-friendliness of accessibility functionalities on widely used social media platforms, with a specific focus on their impact on visually impaired students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research endeavor undertakes a comprehensive quantitative analysis encompassing a sample size of 150 individuals. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions surrounding the accessibility of three prominent social media platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The results of the study unveil notable disparities in the perceived efficacy ratings, with Facebook emerging as the frontrunner, closely trailed by Instagram, while Twitter falls behind in comparison. The aforementioned disparities serve to highlight the significance of conducting personalized accessibility assessments and implementing ongoing enhancements to foster a more inclusive digital environment. In light of the burgeoning progress in digital inclusion endeavors, this research endeavor serves as a commendable contribution by offering invaluable perspectives to augment the accessibility of social media platforms for individuals with visual impairments

Developing and Assessing a Social Networking Framework for Universities in Saudi Arabia

The interactive capacities of social networking have unleashed the potential for enhancing teaching and learning in the higher education sector. This research focuses on Saudi Arabia in order to determine the factors that must be considered for developing a social networking framework for the use in universities. The main research outcome is a social networking framework for higher education in Saudi Arabia which can be used by a range of stakeholders within higher educatio

International law and women’s participation in the workforce : a Saudi perspective

In Saudi Arabia, women suffer from gender inequality due to a combination of multiple factors. These include the misunderstanding and misinterpretation on religious principles, discriminatory cultural traditions, discriminatory laws, and social issues, as well as history. The Islamic teachings are misapplied to favour men over women. With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia having a discriminatory culture towards women, it is not surprising to note that the country is lagging behind both the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in terms of the provision of women’s rights. Both the UAE and Kuwait perform better than the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of education for the girl child, female labour force participation, participation of women in decision-making process, as well as based on legal provisions relating to the rights of women and gender equality. In legal terms, it would appear that the laws that Saudi Arabia uses to govern gender relations are not compatible with international law. Going forward, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs to invest in the education of the girl child, incorporate women into the decision-making processes, and eradicate laws that prohibit women from joining professions that are traditionally dominated by men. The leadership of the Kingdom should work collaboratively with the other stakeholders of the Saudi society to raise the status of women by encouraging customs, cultural norms, and religious beliefs that uphold the woman as an individual deserving equal rights as men. With this understanding, the current thesis presents an analysis of the plight of working women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The thesis also offers recommendations on how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can improve the status of working women in line with the international law and uphold international conventions and treaties

An Adoption of the TAM Model to Determine Factors Affecting Students' Acceptance of e-Learning in Institutions of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of psychological, social, technical, cultural and institutional factors on the students' acceptance of E-learning in institutions of higher education in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected from 480 students at five universities in Saudi Arabia by using multi stage stratified random sampling. The questionnaire for this study was adapted from Pituch and Lee (2006), Curtis and Payne (2008), and IVgai, Poon and Chan (2007). Several statistical techniques were used including t-tests, one-way ANOVA, bivariate correlation, and multiple regression analyses. The t-test results showed statistically significant differences in students' E-learning acceptance based on their major and internet experience while students' gender, computer and E-learning experience did not indicate any significant differences. The correlation analysis indicated that the relationships between the psychological, social, technological, cultural and institutional factors were significant. The simple linear regression revealed that, technological, social and psychological factors significantly contributed to the students' acceptance of E-learning while the cultural factor did not. The results of the stepwise regression showed that the variables related to the psychological factor all significantly contributed to the students' E-learning acceptance. As for the social factors, only image and self-identity significantly contributed to students' E-learning acceptance. With regards to the technological factor, three variables namely system response, system functionality and system interactivity significantly contributed to students' E-learning acceptance while system performance did not. Finally, all the institutional factor variables significantly contributed to students' E-learning acceptance. Hierarchical regression results indicated that attitude significantly mediated the relationship between the TAM main constructs and the students' Elearning acceptance. Based on the findings, it is suggested that, among others, higher educational institutions should take into consideration the influence of technological, institutional, social and psychological factors in the process of implementing Elearning

Social media adoption and employability performance of Universities

This paper is part of series of papers of ongoing research proposing social media advancement in value creation in higher education institutions with a focus on the employability of students as well as employability performance of the Higher Education Institutions. The main purpose of the study was to explore the state of art practices concerning social media adoption in higher education and employability performance of universities. The study used a traditional literature review approach to conduct the exploratory study, where the literal sources selected were representative of the elements under investigation. The study established that social media is a tool that has been used in Higher Education Institutions to build the employability attributes of students. The social media adoption practices were categorized under three themes, that is, student-instructor level, faculty level, and holistic level practices. It was further identified that social media cannot be utilized solely owing to its constraining features. The study provides an argument for the advancement of social media through integration with more advanced strategic tools. The implications of these findings as well as directions of future studies are also mentioned