Customer relationship orientation - evolutionary link between market orientation and customer relationship management

Market Orientation continues to evolve and this paper re-visits the concept. Using 20 cases across two countries and many industries, this paper finds that market orientation (MO) is actually a measure of the organizations ability to maintain, develop and build a relationship with its customer base. A surprising finding is that MO actually depends on the emphasis an organization gives to its past, present and future customer bases. Organizations that fail to reap the benefits of MO do so because they have not embraced MO at the right level. This paper encourages practitioners to identify those factors that contribute to the development of a customer relationship orientation to fully experience the benefits of adopting a market orientation. The paper presents several simplified frameworks that contribute to the overall theoretical body of knowledge and practice

Approaches to enter emerging markets: A UAE case study

UAE as a country brand ranks one for resorts & lodging. It is 31st among 134 countries in terms of national competitiveness according to the World Economic Forum. It ranks one in terms of invested sovereign wealth funds according to IMF, is the fifth largest oil producing nation. During this time of recession, it is still expected to have a growth of 2.7% according to Standard Chartered. This paper briefly highlights some important ways for global corporation and international entrepreneurs to succeed in building new businesses within UAE learning from the past experiences. The methodology used in this paper is primarily based on an extensive literature review and some interviews. Further triangulation was achieved looking at grey literatures (non-peer reviewed) and web articles. This paper is exploratory in nature. The study presents a conceptual model at the end that will provide guidelines for new entrants into the UAE market

Abraaj Capital Limited: Celebration of Entrepreneurship (CoE)

© 2011, Company. Title: Abraaj Capital Limited: Celebration of Entrepreneurship (CoE). Subject area: Strategic stakeholder engagement, entrepreneurialism, ecosystem, corporate social responsibility, event management, branding, marketing strategy. Study level/applicability: Post‐graduate level, practitioners interested in MENSA Region, entrepreneurship policy makers and NGOs. Case overview: Abraaj Capital Ltd (Abraaj), a highly reputed private equity investment and management company, strongly believed in corporate social responsibility, strategic stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurship ecosystem development. In November, 2010, Abraaj held the “Celebration of Entrepreneurship” (CoE) a two‐day free entrepreneur event, in Dubai. CoE was attended by more than 2,400 participants. The purpose of CoE was to contribute to building an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East North Africa South Asia region (MENASA). Based on participant feedback, CoE Outcomes and stakeholder feedback, the event was very successful.This case is a good example of community engagement and showcases entrepreneurship ecosystem development. This case also highlights the challenges of putting together a signature event in a very short time frame. The future management dilemmas are also raised on various issues like whether to make this successful event a regular part of their organizational activities, and issues concerning the funding of such events. This case can be used to teach event management, branding, marketing strategy, CSR and entrepreneurship (from the ecosystem point of view). It will appeal to both educationalists and practitioners interested in the MENASA region, policy makers who facilitate entrepreneurship, CSR managers, event management companies and marketing specialist. It can be used to teach both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Expected learning outcomes: Strategy students can focus on marketing and branding strategies; like stakeholder engagement, internal marketing, social media, positioning and brand architecture. Student of event management can learn about prioritizing, adaptability, funding and the complexity of layering a program. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes, videos

Pepsico Amea: The Role Of Packaging In Brand Activation

Hossam Dabbous, Senior Marketing Director of Carbonated Soft Drinks, Middle East & Africa (MEA) region and Asmaa Quorrich, MEA Senior Marketing Manager, Cola & Malt were discussing the role that packaging played in the brand activation strategy for the Pepsi brand. Packaging for PepsiCo is a focus area for sustainability, but more importantly it could also help drive volumes, reinforce brand image and act as an entry point in markets. While packaging and designs take approximately two months from planning to production, labels for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles took longer and the challenges were to determine the objective of packaging, make sure to keep it relevant to local markets and produce the right quantities so that the special packages were consumed in the promotion period. The lead time for these activities was normally six months. The meeting between Hossam and Asmaa was called to understand which stock keeping unit (SKU) PepsiCo thought they could leverage to increase profitability and reinforce brand equity using innovative packaging designs and concepts

Etihad: contributing to the UAE vision through Emiratisation

© 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Subject area: Strategy, Emiratisation (national policy); human resources (recruitment, training and development, organizational culture and values) and marketing (branding, communication), tourism (destination image). Study level/applicability: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Business and Management. Case overview: This case highlights the strategy and initiatives taken by Etihad to attract Emirati employees (local nationals) to join the organization. Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), based in Abu Dhabi, the national capital. Since its inception in 2003, the airline has grown faster than any other in commercial aviation history; it currently flies to more than 60 destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. In the UAE, nationals or Emiratis comprise only 20 per cent of the overall population. According to the UAE 2021 Vision, the government\u27s focus is on building the human capabilities on knowledge and innovation for Emiratis. This vision is reinforced in the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, which aims to boost national participation, encourage women (national women are on average more highly educated than the men) and decrease the education – market demand gap through training. Expected learning outcomes: This case can be used to teach strategy from the point of view of government, human resources and marketing. From the government point of view parallels can be drawn to other nations whose government have focused on policies to create opportunities for and to encourage local employability. An example of a similar programme that was very successful is the “Bumiputra” programme created for indigenous Malaysians in 1971. In the area of human resource strategy, recruitment, training, inculcation of corporate values are some areas that can be reinforced. Form the point of view of marketing; the case can be used to discuss branding from the point of view of people, loyalty building (internal) and communication (internal and external). Destination branding and the role airlines play can also be a discussion point from the strategic point of view with some opportunity for macro-environmental analysis using the PESTLE model. Supplementary materials: A teaching note available upon request

The determinants of foreign direct investment in the Middle East North Africa region

– The purpose of this paper is to test the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) into countries of the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. – The research is based on an econometric model that includes factors that potentially drive FDI flows into countries in the MENA region. – Energy endowments have a negative impact on FDI flows into a country. GDP per capita, openness to trade and oil prices have a positive impact on FDI inflows, while aggregate measures of environmental risk are not a differentiating factor among countries in the region. – This paper demonstrates that the “Dutch disease” concept applies to FDI in resource rich countries in the MENA region. Countries with large amounts of oil and gas have are more likely to have policies and institutions that inhibit FDI. Countries that value the spillover effects from FDI need to reconsider legislative and institutional hurdles that remain. © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limite

Gea Group Aktiengesellschaft: Doing Business In The Middle East

GEA Westfalia Separator Group, a subsidiary of international GEA Group, has come a long way in its 119 year history. In May 1893, Franz Ramesohl and Franz Schmidt applied under No. 14625 for a design patent for a drive arrangement for milk centrifuges to the Imperial Patent Office. Since those days the company strove to produce better products and offer better services than the competition. The aim of the organization from the word \u27go\u27 was to produce superior work under the \u27Made in Germany\u27 label. Steffen Bersch, Vice President Service International, reinforced this status as he confirmed \u27basically what is key for us, is that our companies in the group have a very detailed knowledge of our customers, products and processes and hence 90 per cent of our products today are market leading\u27. The company had become an international brand, and well on its way to becoming a global operating company, it had built new manufacturing facilities in Wuqing, China and Bengaluru, India in addition to the already existing European sites. With such megatrends like \u27steady growth in global population\u27, \u27urbanization and the growth of the middle-class\u27, and \u27rising energy cost and environmental regulations\u27, the company had seen these as growth drivers for its food and energy sector of business, which made up more than 70 per cent of its sales in the world. Sunil Kumar, General Manager GEA Middle East FZE, pondered as to how the company could seize such opportunities in the high-growth Middle East markets? GEA had always been steadfast in its objectives of product innovation and fast and reliable customer service. Service lead times continued to be between 4 and 48 hours. This customer focus leads to a 90 per cent rate of reputational (word-of-mouth) business in the Middle East region. The company has faced challenges like lower cost competitors from Italy, India and China whose products were priced between 20 per cent and 50 per cent lower than GEA. The other challenge faced by GEA pertained to their Middle East markets with countries such as Syria and Iran that almost shut down for business. In the 1970s and 1980s, Iran used to be the company\u27s leading market in this region. How can GEA executives cope with these macro-environmental opportunities and challenges

Assessing student satisfaction in transnational higher education

Purpose: Given that there exists in the literature relatively little research into student experiences in transnational higher education, the purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of student satisfaction at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach: This quantitative study involved 247 undergraduate and postgraduate students at branch campuses in the UAE who completed a questionnaire using either hard copies or an online version. Findings: It was found that levels of student satisfaction at UAE branch campuses were generally high. The factors that were most influential in determining whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution were quality of lecturers, quality and availability of resources, and effective use of technology. Research limitations/implications: Given that cultures, customs, traditions and social contexts vary considerably in different locations, the findings of this study are not generalisable across all international branch campuses globally. Practical implications: The findings indicate that there remains scope for UAE branch campuses to further increase levels of student satisfaction. Managers might use the findings to review their own institution\u27s performance, so that areas for improvement can be identified. Originality/value: Given that the logit model developed had an 87.4 per cent success rate in predicting whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution, this research has demonstrated the potential usefulness of logistic regression as a predictive and explanatory tool in education management. Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Student satisfaction and student perceptions of quality at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates

The international branch campus has emerged as a popular form of transnational higher education but to date little research has been undertaken on student perceptions and experiences, other than the student feedback evaluations conducted by institutions. This research employed a survey questionnaire to investigate student perceptions of study at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country which hosts the largest number of branch campuses globally. Across the seven dimensions examined - programme effectiveness, quality of lecturers and teaching, student learning, assessment and feedback, learning resources, use of technology, and facilities/social life - it was found that students are largely satisfied. The findings refute many of the criticisms of international branch campuses in the literature, regarding quality, political or ideological issues

Student choice in higher education: Motivations for choosing to study at an international branch campus

The international branch campus has emerged as a prominent feature on the international higher education landscape. Although there exists a fairly substantial body of literature that has sought to identify the motivations or choice criteria used by international students to select countries and institutions, there has to date been little research on student motivations for studying at an international branch campus. This quantitative study, using the push-pull model of international student destination choice as its theoretical framework, involved 320 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was found that the main motivations of students who choose to study at an international branch campus are different to those students who choose to study at home campuses. Thus, we propose a revised model of international student destination choice, which incorporates two distinct sets of push and pull factors-one that applies to the home campuses of Western universities and one that applies to international branch campuses. In addition to developing the theory on international student choice, our findings may be used by higher education institutions to better understand both their existing and potential students, with the view to applying segmentation techniques in their marketing activities