Significance of attitudes,passion and cultural factors in driver’s speeding behavior in Oman: application of theory of planned behavior

Abstract

Traffic accidents and related fatalities have become a major public health problem in the world. This study aims to identify the significant factors that play an important role in the speeding behavior of drivers. A comprehensive questionnaire was designed and conducted with the students and employees of the University of Nizwa. The questionnaire items were designed considering the theoretical background of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and local socio-cultural aspects of the driving environment. A total of 303 usable samples were obtained. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling technique. The extracted factors of speeding passion and culture, speeding attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant determinants of drivers speeding behavior in Oman. The driver’s speeding attitudes, speeding culture, and passion have positive association with the drivers’ speeding intentions and behavior, and driver’s perceived behavioral control forms negative relationship with the speeding behavior. This study confirms the application of the TPB in predicting the drivers’ speeding behavior in the context of Oman.     

Oman's monetary policy transmission process under the fixed peg: some empirical puzzles

This paper highlights that an open economy, like Oman, could often enjoy partial monetary policy independence despite operating with a fixed peg, which may appear as a clear violation of the ‘macroeconomic trilemma'. While explaining the country-specific factors that create the scope for partial monetary policy independence, the paper underscores that for meaningful use of this partial monetary policy independence to attain domestic goals of inflation and output, the transmission mechanism of monetary policy must work effectively. Empirical analyses presented in this paper for Oman, however, suggest the presence of not only the ‘interest rate puzzle’ but also the ‘IS puzzle’ and the ‘Phillips curve puzzle’, which together signal the presence of significant transmission weaknesses. The paper, thus, concludes that costs stemming from loss of any monetary policy independence because of the fixed peg may not be very significant for Oman, and hence, any alternative exchange rate regime cannot be viewed as appropriate just on the grounds that an alternative regime could deliver greater monetary policy independence.     

Corporate Internet Disclosure in the Arabian Gulf： An Empirical Examination of Determinants and Attributes

This paper investigates and reports on the extent and nature of corporate internet disclosure and the determinants of internet financial disclosure （IFD） by companies listed in three Gulf Corporation Council （GCC） countries. This paper uses data from 207 listed companies in Muscat Securities Market （MSM）, Dubai Financial Market （DFM）, and Qatar Exchange （QE）. Binary logistic regression analysis is used to examine the determinants of IFD. Kruskal-Wallis test is used to examine the differences in disclosure characteristics among the three countries. The results of this study reveal that firm size is the major factor influencing intemet financial reporting in the GCC. The results reveal that the three countries differ significantly in all the disclosure attributes with the exception of the existence of email link. This paper extends the stream of research that confirms the widespread use of internet in disclosing financial information. The results are consistent with previous literature that corporate size is a major determinant of internet financial reporting. This paper provides insights into corporate internet disclosure in the GCC that will benefit all stakeholders with an interest in corporate reporting in this important region of the world.     

Price supply response of vegetable growers in the Sultanate of Oman

Information on supply price elasticities has been acknowledged as being very important for decision makers at the macro and micro levels. This paper presents an empirical investigation of vegetable growers' responses to prices in Oman. It develops a single supply response function incorporating adaptive expectation model for prices. Results indicate that growers adjust relatively fast to changes in expected prices. However, these adjustments tire rather low for some crop in the short-and long-run. Growers' production decisions have also shown a significant response to prices of other products competing for farm space and other production resources. These results will support efforts aimed at market development and crop enhancement programs.     

Monitoring land use and land cover changes in the mountainous cities of Oman using GIS and CA-Markov modelling techniques

As a result of the socioeconomic transformation, the rapid urban expansion of cities and towns in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has predominately led to tremendous pressure on the limited natural resources and loss of productive lands. Indeed, the spatial patterns of urbanisation and their impacts on mountain resources and environment have received little attention, particularly in Oman. Predicting urban growth in the mountainous cities has the potential to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth patterns and the mountain topography. This study aims to analyse spatiotemporal dynamics of land use/land cover (LULC) (2008–2018) and simulate urban expansion (2008–2038) in Nizwa city, Al Dakhliyah governorate, Oman. Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov and geospatial techniques were utilised to assess and project urban growth and land cover changes. The analysis was based on three maps of LULC at equal intervals derived from satellite imageries: Landsat TM for 1998, 2008 and 2018, along with topographic spatial layers (elevation, aspects, and terrain slopes) derived from the ASTER digital elevation model. In addition, other spatial parameters (population density, proximity to urban centres, and proximity to major roads,) were incorporated in the simulation process. The findings revealed that the actual LULC change during 2008–2018 was 12,014 ha of net urban growth (418.5 % change), while the simulated change was expected to be 14,985 ha by 2028, with a total of 37,465 ha increase in the built-up area and urban growth by 2038. Although the topographic variability will control LULC changes, the urban expansion overly will occupy the arable land across the valleys along with the flat areas. During the next two decades, the built-up areas will dominant, with a large percentage of vacant land (net loss 12,813 ha) and vegetation cover (net loss 35 ha) will be gradually converted into residential land use. The output of the simulations in this research could serve not only as spatial guidelines for monitoring future trends of LULC dynamics, but also address the threats and deteriorates of urban sustainability in the Omani mountainous cities. Furthermore, identifying bare soils and vegetation areas that are susceptible to urbanisation is of value for the national strategy of future urban planning in Oman.     

The Gendered Complexities of Promoting Female Entrepreneurship in the Gulf

This paper explores women’s entrepreneurial activities in the Oman and Qatar in light of the state attention given to promoting entrepreneurship in the region over the past decade. In the Gulf Arab countries, like in many rapidly developing economies, neoliberal growth discourse abounds. Along with this, the promotion of entrepreneurship and embrace of individual enterprise is paramount. Despite the dominance of the state in political and economic spaces, Gulf governments have embraced the rhetoric of the market and entrepreneurship. Drawing from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation conducted between 2011 and 2015, this paper examines this phenomenon. In a region stereotyped with weak gender development outcomes, female entrepreneurship is largely cast as a positive development aimed at liberating and empowering women through individual enterprise. In contrast, this paper finds that the same forces that are meant to empower women often reproduce or reinforce certain gender norms while introducing new forms of dependency. Gulf female entrepreneurs confront competing tensions within three intersecting political economy logics: the structural logic of the economy, the logic of development narratives, and the logic of socio-economic organisation.     

Board of directors’ quality and firms’ debt financing: the moderating effect of insider ownership – evidence from Omani firms

This study aims to examine the direct effects of board of directors’ quality and insider ownership on firms’ capital structure and the moderating effect of insider ownership on the relationship between board of directors’ quality and firms’ capital structure. The sample of this study consists of the time period 2005–2011. The final sample consists of 535 firm-year observations of public nonfinancial firms listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The hypotheses are tested using a random effects model. The results reveal that the coefficient sign on the board of directors’ quality is as predicted, but the coefficient sign is insignificant. Further, the results show that insider ownership is positively associated with leverage at the significant level of 10%, suggesting that the inside substantial shareholders employ higher leverage. With regard to the moderating effect of insider ownership, the findings show that the effect of the board of directors’ quality-leverage relationship becomes negative and stronger with increasing insider ownership.     

Is Ulrich's model useful in understanding HR practitioners' roles in non-western developing countries? An exploratory investigation across private and public sector organizations in the Sultanate Kingdom of Oman

This study set out to explore whether Ulrich's model is useful in understanding HR roles in non-western developing countries such as Oman. The study surveyed a random sample of 780 HR practitioners, line managers and employees from public and private sector organizations. In addition 12 HR practitioners and managers were interviewed to supplement the data collected from the survey. The findings indicate that HR practitioners in Oman perform all the roles. However, ‘strategic partner’ is the least performed role. The findings also indicate that HR practitioners in the private sector are more likely to perform all the five roles to a greater extent than their counterparts in the public sector. We also found partial support for our proposition that HR practitioners in the public sector would play more ‘operational’ roles (e.g. employee advocate or functional expert) than ‘strategic’ roles (i.e. strategic partner or HR leader). The study revealed that Ulrich's model is robust enough to help in the understanding of HR roles in a non-western, developing country context. The findings are discussed within the context of institutional and cultural frameworks. The paper argues for more research to improve the understanding of how socio-economic and cultural factors influence HR roles and how they are performed.     

Determinants of Fish Export Performance in Oman

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the key variables affecting export performance at the firm level and draw the policy implications necessary to enhance Oman fish exports. The methodology adopted is inspired from the international marketing literature, which postulates that export performance is determined by both internal factors, under the control of the firm, and external factors. Empirically, the study used an econometric model and a firm survey data to investigate the link between export intensity, defined as the proportion of export sale to total sale and 4 sets of firm-level specific factors: (1) firm size and competencies, (2) management characteristics, (3) management perceptions and attitude, and (4) marketing strategy. Results show that both the age and firm size, measured by the number of years in business and the number of employees, had no significant effect on export performance. Managers' education level, previous work experience, commitment to exporting activities, diversification, and availability of information on foreign markets are all significant variables, positively affecting export performance. These results underscore a role of the private sector in upgrading their human and physical capital and the role of a government as a public good provider in securing information and providing financial incentives to reduce risk associated with diversifying export