The Role of Culture in Implementing Management Contracts within the Hotel Industry in Oman A thesis submitted to the RMIT University in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sharifa Yahya Al Amri Bachelor of Tourism Management, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Master of Tourism Management, Monash University School of Management College of Business RMIT University, Melbourne August 2019 Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Sharifa Al Amri 27 August 2019 ii Acknowledgements Alhamdulillah, I thank my God (Allah) for giving me the strength to finish this thesis and helping me to overcome the struggles I have faced during my study. I would like to thank the following people for their support and help during my research journey: Many thanks to my supervisors Professor John Burgess and Professor Adela McMurray who supervised the thesis at a critical time and who gave continuous support to the submission of this thesis. I also thank them for their guidance, understanding and support when it was most needed. Many thanks to you both for believing in me. Thanks to the staff in the RMIT School of Business for their help and general support. Special thanks to Dr Margaret Heffernan; your words made me confident about my research. Many thanks to Juliet Ye, the Higher Degree Research administrator in the School of Management, RMIT for the constant support and follow-up. In addition, special thanks to staff in the National Centre of Statistics and Information, Sultanate of Oman for supporting me with all needed information and statistics. Thanks to my sponsor, the Ministry of Higher Education, Sultanate of Oman for providing me with the opportunity to achieve a higher education. Special thanks to the staff in the Department of Higher Studies, Ministry of Education for the support related to my scholarship. I am indebted to the officials and staff in the Ministry of Tourism who provided the necessary industry information to support my research journey. Special thanks to Sharifa Al Sabti, my best friend and a great woman working in the field of tourism in Oman fighting for the right practice. Also, a special thanks to Mr Basim Al Belushi, acting Director of Classification, Hotel and Tourism Establishments Department, Ministry of Tourism, for the rich information provided for this thesis. I am also grateful to my friends in the College of Applied Sciences, NiZwa for all the cheerful moments during my PhD journey. Finally, I would like to acknowledge all participants who agreed to be interviewed and who shared their knowledge despite their hectic schedules. This thesis was edited by Elite Editing, and editorial intervention was restricted to Standards D and E of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice. iii Dedication To my late father, my beloved mother and my dear siblings; it would not happen without your unconditional love. To my beloved country, Oman iv Table of Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... x List of Publications ................................................................................................................. xi Refereed Conference Proceedings and Abstracts ................................................................. xi List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. xii Abstract ................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Background ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 The Impacts of Cultural Differences on Strategic Alliances .................................... 1 1.2.2 The Choice of National Cultural Theories ............................................................... 2 1.2.3 The Choice of Management Contract Alliances ....................................................... 4 1.2.4 Choosing the Hotel Industry as the Context for this Thesis ..................................... 5 1.3 Choice of Methodology for this Thesis ........................................................................... 6 1.4 The Purpose of the Thesis ............................................................................................... 7 1.5 Key Concepts Used in the Thesis .................................................................................... 7 1.5.1 National Culture ....................................................................................................... 7 1.5.2 Business Strategic Alliances ..................................................................................... 9 1.6 Research Objectives and Questions ............................................................................... 10 1.7 The Significance and Contribution of the Research ...................................................... 10 1.8 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Study Context ..................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Types, Motivations and Implementation of Strategic Alliances ................................... 13 2.2.1 Motivations behind Forming Strategic Alliances ................................................... 15 2.2.2 Implementation Processes and Types of Alliances ................................................ 17 2.3 Oman Overview ............................................................................................................. 20 2.3.1 Geography of Oman ............................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 History of Oman ..................................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 The People of Oman ............................................................................................... 21 2.3.4 Oman and Islam ...................................................................................................... 21 2.3.5 The Governance of Oman ...................................................................................... 22 2.3.6 The Economy of Oman .......................................................................................... 22 2.4 The Hotel Industry in Oman .......................................................................................... 24 2.4.1 Five- and Four-Star Hotels in Oman ...................................................................... 30 2.4.2 Employment in the Omani Hotel Industry ............................................................. 32 2.4.3 Law and regulations in hotel sector ........................................................................ 32 2.4.4 Omanisation Strategy in the Hotel Industry ........................................................... 33 v 2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 3: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 37 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 37 3.2 Methodology of the Literature Review ......................................................................... 37 3.3 The Concept of National Culture ................................................................................... 39 3.3.1 Core Literature in Cultural Analysis ...................................................................... 40 3.3.2 Criticisms of the Core Literature on National Cultural Systems ............................ 46 3.4 Differences between European and Arab Cultures .......................................................