International Business in the Middle East (de Gruyter Studies in Organization)

While paratexts – among them headnotes, footnotes, or endnotes – have never been absent from American literature, the last two decades have seen an explosion of the phenomenon, including (mock) scholarly footnotes, to an extent that they seem to take over the text itself. In this Special Focus we shall attempt to find the reasons for this astonishing development. In our first (diachronic) section we shall explore such texts as might have fostered the present boom, from fictions by Edgar Allan Poe to Vladimir Nabokov to Mark Z. Danielewski. The second (synchronic) section, will concentrate on paratexts by David Foster Wallace, perhaps the "father" of the post-postmodern footnote, as well as those to be found in novels by Bennett Sims, Jennifer Egan and Junot Diaz, among others. It appears that, while paratexts definitely point to a high degree of self-reflexivity in the author, they equally draw attention to the textual and authorial functions of the works in which they exist. They can thus cause a reflection on the boundaries between genres like fiction, faction, and autobiography, as well as serving to highlight a host of pedagogical and social concerns that exist in the interstices between fiction and reality. Part One International Business Concepts in the Middle East Chapter 1. International Business in the Middle East 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Socio-Economic and Government Profile of the Region 1.3 Economic Development Plans 1.4 International Business Concepts in the Middle East 1.5 Management Practices in the Middle East 1.6 Marketing Practices in the Middle East Chapter 2. Comparative Study of Marketing and Management Systems in the Middle East 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Socio-Economic Profile of the Region 2.3 The Cultural and Political Context of Business Operations in the Middle East 2.4 The Potential of Arab Markets for Western Firms 2.5 Stages of Market Development 2.6 Segmenting the Arab Market 2.7 Implications Chapter 3. Managerial Gap Analysis: A Frame of Reference for Improving International Business Relations with the Middle East 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Managerial Gaps 3.3 Negotiations 3.4 Planning 3.5 Organization 3.6 Decision Making 3.7 Communication 3.8 Production 3.9 Marketing 3.10 Financing 3.11 Conclusions Chapter 4. Political Risk Assessment by Multinationals in the Middle East: Past Research, Current Methods, and a New Framework 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Political Risk Research 4.3 Macro and micro Risks 4.4 Political Risk Assessment 4.5 Approaches to Political Risk Assessment 4.6 Operationalization of the Political Risk Assessment Function 4.7 The Need For Institutionalization 4.8 Managerial Challenges 4.9 Integrating Political Risk Management into the Corporate Planning Function of the Firm 4.10 Conclusions Chapter 5. International Diversification and Investments in the Middle East 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Data and Methods 5.3 Empirical Results 5.4 Conclusions Chapter 6. International Technology Transfer in the Middle East 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Increasing Importance of International Technology Transfer 6.3 The Problems in Conceptualising International Technology Transfer 6.4 The Channels of International Technology Transfer 6.5 International Technology Transfer in the Middle East Part Two Management Practices Chapter 7. International Business and the Middle East: Recent Developments and Prospects 7.1 Industrialization, Modernity and Social Change: A Major Issue of Concern 7.2 Inflow of Foreign Workers and Technicians 7.3 Subcontracting: A Mode for the Development of Local Enterprise 7.4 Third World Linkages 7.5 Conclusion Chapter 8. Managerial Practices in the Middle East 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Theoretical Explanation of Management Styles 8.3 Empirical Analysis 8.4 Research Method 8.5 Findings 8.6 Conclusions and Policy Implications Chapter 9. The Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) and Saudi Society: A Study in Interaction 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Purpose of the Study 9.3 Research Focus and Methods 9.4 Results and Discussion Chapter 10. The Relationship Between Managerial Decision Styles and Work Satisfaction in Saudi Arabia 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Research Propositions 10.3 Research Methodology 10.4 Research Results 10.5 Managerial Implications 10.6 Conclusions 10.7 Suggestions For Future Research Chapter 11. Cultural Marginality in the Arab World: Implications for Western Marketers 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The Nature and Origin of Arab Marginality 11.3 Arab Ambivalence: A Love/Hate Relationship 11.4 Implications for International Marketers of the West 11.5 Conclusions Part Three Marketing Practices Chapter 12. Consumer Market Environment in the Middle East 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Environmental Factors 12.3 Market Commonalities 12.4 Conclusions Chapter 13. An Analysis of the Current Status of Marketing in the Middle East 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The Egyptian Economy - Historical Background 13.3 Wholesale Nationalisation of the 1960s 13.4 The New ‘Open-Door’ Policy 13.5 The Industrial Picture 13.6 Marketing in Egyptian Industry 13.7 Methodology 13.8 Management’s Concept of Marketing in Egypt 13.9 Attitudes Towards the Marketing Concept 13.10 Marketing Polices and Practices 13.11 Factors Deterring Marketing Development 13.12 Implications of the Study for Business Scholars 13.13 Implications of the Study for Western Businessmen 13.14 Directions of Research on Marketing in the Middle East Chapter 14. An Export Marketing Model for Developing Middle Eastern Countries: What Lessons Countries of the Region Learn from Each Other 14.1 Introduction 14.2 An Overview of Turkish Export Marketing 14.3 Current Status of Turkish Exports 14.4 New Developments in the Theory of International Trade 14.5 Export Marketing Implications of Experience Curves 14.6 Japanese Export Marketing 14.7 A Turkish Export Marketing Model 14.8 Market Identification in the Middle East and North Africa 14.9 Estimating Market Potentials 14.10 Conclusion Chapter 15. The Prospects for Export Marketing to Egypt 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Economic Problems and Market Opportunities in Egypt 15.3 The Marketing Infrastructure 15.4 Cultural Influences on the Marketing Effort 15.5 Conclusion Part Four The Future of International Business in the Middle East Chapter 16. Future Directions for Marketing and Management in the Middle East 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Various Patterns of Development 16.3 Business Policy Guidelines 16.4 Within Arab Countries 16.5 Within Western Countries 16.6 Between the Two Groups 16.7 Future Market Scenarios in the Middle East References The Editor The Authors Author Index Subject Index