Autonomous Vehicles: A Value Proposition for Emerging Markets—The Case of Kuwait

The advancements in autonomous driving technology are triggering a worldwide disruption to the transportation industry. In the state of Kuwait where people enjoy high financial power, there is a market for introducing a wide range of high-tech vehicles with various levels of autonomous driving. This study follows a qualitative approach based on focus groups and semi-structured interviews with individual and corporate customers, including mainly taxi, food, parcel and cargo companies. It explores the most appealing autonomous features to those segments based on Osterwalder’s Value Proposition Canvas. Results indicate that individual drivers, taxi companies and domestic cargo delivery companies perceive potential values in buying level-3 autonomous vehicles (AVs), which provide conditional automation that enables the vehicle to drive itself under the supervision of the human driver. On the other hand, respondents see appealing market opportunities for level-4 driverless vehicles in controlled areas belonging to the oil sector, as well as those at marine ports and airports

Do Individual Factors Affect the Relationship between Faculty Intrapreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Orientation of Their Organizations?

Several colleges and universities in the Middle East have been undertaking significant initiatives to forge and foster corporate entrepreneurship. The viability and success of those initiatives rest upon the input of faculty, possessing to various degrees an entrepreneurial orientation that revolves around innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactivity. This study investigates the extent to which individual-level factors moderate the influence of faculty entrepreneurial behavior on the entrepreneurial orientation of higher education institutions in Kuwait. These factors include gender, academic qualifications, teaching experience, school affiliation, scientific productivity, industrial experience, and professional certification. Data were collected using questionnaires filled by 291 faculty members, and the model was analyzed using structural equation modelling. The differences for each faculty characteristic in the structural path coefficients were tested using the Z-score statistics. The eight hypotheses that were partially validated as the most notable findings indicate that entrepreneurial orientation among male or business faculty has a greater impact on their institutions’ organizational, entrepreneurial orientation. In contrast, the differences for the rest of the moderating characteristics were insignificant. The originality of this study pertains to the fact that the scope of faculty intrapreneurship does not seem to be strongly affected by any individual-level characteristic

Relationship between faculty characteristics and their entrepreneurial orientation in higher education institutions in Kuwait

Considering intrapreneurship theory, this study aims to examine the extent to which the entrepreneurial orientation of faculty employed at Kuwaiti higher education institutions differ across their individual-level attributes. Faculty entrepreneurial orientation will be assessed at three levels, i.e., innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactivity. For this purpose, we surveyed a sample of 291 faculty from Kuwaiti colleges and universities. The core constructs were operationalized using scales validated in previous studies. The hypothesized relationships were tested using the structural equation modeling method. Our findings indicate that while female faculty are more proactive than men, males are innovative and risk-takers to some extent. Moreover, Ph.D. holders are more proactive and innovative than Master's degree holders. The relationship between specialization and both innovativeness and risk-taking is significant only for business, but not for engineering. Teaching experience is more positively correlated with faculty proactivity. The number of scientific publications is negatively associated with faculty risk-taking propensity. Additionally, faculty who cumulated significant industry experience are proactive in identifying long-term opportunities and threats for their institutions. Having earned professional certifications is positively related to some aspects of innovativeness and proactivity. Finally, faculty who received their latest degree from a non-accredited institution are more active in realizing ideas at work

Do Individual Factors Affect the Relationship between Faculty Intrapreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Orientation of Their Organizations?

Several colleges and universities in the Middle East have been undertaking significant initiatives to forge and foster corporate entrepreneurship. The viability and success of those initiatives rest upon the input of faculty, possessing to various degrees an entrepreneurial orientation that revolves around innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactivity. This study investigates the extent to which individual-level factors moderate the influence of faculty entrepreneurial behavior on the entrepreneurial orientation of higher education institutions in Kuwait. These factors include gender, academic qualifications, teaching experience, school affiliation, scientific productivity, industrial experience, and professional certification. Data were collected using questionnaires filled by 291 faculty members, and the model was analyzed using structural equation modelling. The differences for each faculty characteristic in the structural path coefficients were tested using the Z-score statistics. The eight hypotheses that were partially validated as the most notable findings indicate that entrepreneurial orientation among male or business faculty has a greater impact on their institutions’ organizational, entrepreneurial orientation. In contrast, the differences for the rest of the moderating characteristics were insignificant. The originality of this study pertains to the fact that the scope of faculty intrapreneurship does not seem to be strongly affected by any individual-level characteristic

Do faculty members matter in corporate entrepreneurship in Kuwaiti higher education institutions?

Purpose: The adoption of an entrepreneurial posture supports higher education institutions (HEIs) in their quest for growth. The present study examines the role faculty members play in adopting an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in HEIs within the Kuwaiti academic context and aims to assess whether this orientation contributes to fostering corporate entrepreneurship in their institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected to study the relationship between faculty EO and the EO of their respective HEI. Empirical research was conducted based on a questionnaire completed by 341 engineering and business faculty members employed at Kuwaiti universities and colleges. The research model was tested and validated using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings: The results show a positive relationship between the faculty EO and corporate entrepreneurship in HEIs, which was negatively moderated by human resource management (HRM) practices. These findings emphasise the need for HEIs in Kuwait to evolve their HRM practices towards enhancing innovation, proactiveness and risk-taking amongst faculty. Originality/value: This study highlights the strategic renewal perspective in HEI-EO and how faculty initiatives can support it

Economic Anxiety and the Performance of SMEs during COVID-19: A Cross-National Study in Kuwait

The focal aim of the project was to assess the economic anxiety (EA) and the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during partial and full lockdowns in Kuwait. The challenges facing the SMEs during COVID-19 and the potential solutions were also explored. The call for this vital investigation was due to the global economic fallout and the shocking drop within the marketplace caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive approach was used for online survey design to collect datasets from 147 SMEs spanning all governorates of Kuwait in the period between March and June 2021. It included sociodemographic data, economic anxiety perception, potential challenges and solutions to SMEs, and SMEs’ performance. The data analysis using SPSS 25 showed that 78.2% of the SMEs were affected directly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 83% were affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison, only 12.2% experienced a positive impact, mainly medical, technology, social media, food supplies, and delivery or logistics industries. With great concerns of SMEs for all dimensions related to economic anxiety (with an average of around 3.95), the greatest concerns were the financial and cash flow, followed by labor shortage (an average between 4.51 and 5.00). The results also showed that most of the performance indicators for the SMEs were low (with an average of less than or equal to 2.5), and more than 66% of them worked fewer hours during the pandemic; the number of operating hours was dropped dramatically. More than 74% of the SMEs used technology in more than 20% of their activities, representing an increase in using technologies of about 44%, and about 25.2% used social networks in more than 80% of their activities. The performance of SMEs is also found to be significantly and positively correlated with the economic anxiety levels, with a correlation coefficient of 0.186. The findings revealed significant and crucial outcomes for policymaking, decision-makers, and governmental agencies to build recovery plans and proper actions needed to manage the consequences caused by the disaster against the economic and other developments within the context of SMEs. Overall, there is a clear need to find ways and customize operations to adapt to the new work modes that require social distancing, online operations, and site management. In addition, new alternative modes of SMEs work follow to compensate for the lower working hours from the office and increased online working from home

Economic Anxiety and the Performance of SMEs during COVID-19: A Cross-National Study in Kuwait

The focal aim of the project was to assess the economic anxiety (EA) and the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during partial and full lockdowns in Kuwait. The challenges facing the SMEs during COVID-19 and the potential solutions were also explored. The call for this vital investigation was due to the global economic fallout and the shocking drop within the marketplace caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive approach was used for online survey design to collect datasets from 147 SMEs spanning all governorates of Kuwait in the period between March and June 2021. It included sociodemographic data, economic anxiety perception, potential challenges and solutions to SMEs, and SMEs’ performance. The data analysis using SPSS 25 showed that 78.2% of the SMEs were affected directly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 83% were affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison, only 12.2% experienced a positive impact, mainly medical, technology, social media, food supplies, and delivery or logistics industries. With great concerns of SMEs for all dimensions related to economic anxiety (with an average of around 3.95), the greatest concerns were the financial and cash flow, followed by labor shortage (an average between 4.51 and 5.00). The results also showed that most of the performance indicators for the SMEs were low (with an average of less than or equal to 2.5), and more than 66% of them worked fewer hours during the pandemic; the number of operating hours was dropped dramatically. More than 74% of the SMEs used technology in more than 20% of their activities, representing an increase in using technologies of about 44%, and about 25.2% used social networks in more than 80% of their activities. The performance of SMEs is also found to be significantly and positively correlated with the economic anxiety levels, with a correlation coefficient of 0.186. The findings revealed significant and crucial outcomes for policymaking, decision-makers, and governmental agencies to build recovery plans and proper actions needed to manage the consequences caused by the disaster against the economic and other developments within the context of SMEs. Overall, there is a clear need to find ways and customize operations to adapt to the new work modes that require social distancing, online operations, and site management. In addition, new alternative modes of SMEs work follow to compensate for the lower working hours from the office and increased online working from home