Tareq Alhousary | Dhofar University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Tareq Alhousary

Chapman and Hall/CRC eBooks, Oct 19, 2022

Knowledge has been realized as an invaluable intangible asset and source of organisations' co... more Knowledge has been realized as an invaluable intangible asset and source of organisations' competitive advantage. Research on knowledge is as long as human civilization history. The knowledge management (KM) field of research has grown steadily reflecting the increased realization of the critical role that knowledge plays in the firm survival and success of organisations in their markets. Virtual teams (VT) have a relatively short span of history in the research field. VT has been widely seen by information systems (IS) researchers as a promising mode of work that exploits the acknowledged readiness of the information and communication technologies (ICT) to support virtual work environment. This research is an aspiring effort to exploit VT mode of work in developing countries particularly where the professional knowledge is much needed to professionally exploit the available organisational resources for building, integrating and creating competitive values. VT is introduced in this study as a promising mechanism to integrate among the various sources of professional knowledge regardless of their geographical dispersion within the same economy or within the whole universe. On the other hand, Sultanate of Oman is one of the developing countries that have wealthy oil-related resources backed by the political will to advance its economy in a fast but steady pace as expressed officially by what is known by the Oman Vision 20/20. This study aimed at exploring the Omani commercial banking sector (OCBS) to smoothly and successfully adopt VT. The objectives that guided achieving this aim are understanding the VT body of knowledge thoroughly, exploring status quo of the OCBS in terms of its information technology infrastructure (ITI), information and communication technology (ICT) utilization, reliance on teamwork approach to achieve various tasks, knowledge sharing practices and last identifying a set of the critical success factors (CSFs) for adopting VT in this sector. Results of this study showed that the OCBS has strong potential to exploit VT mode of work having the basic fact of the wide dispersed geographic nature of Oman as acknowledged by the data collected by this research. The ITI level, the reliance of teamwork for accomplishing organisational tasks, the level of interpersonal trust, and the existence of past 'new mode of work' adoption are found to be positively supporting the successful adoption of VT in the OCBS. On the other hand, the technical support of the ITI, the organisational structure, dynamically exploiting teamwork approach and last the knowledge sharing facilities are found of the major aspects that need considerable attention by the sector's management to successfully adopt VT. Discussions of the research results have lead to conclude that there is a high potential of adopting VT into the OCBS. For successful adoption, the OCBS are proposed a set of factors that are critical to make a risk-free adoption process of this mode of work which have been identified based on the data analysis and results discussions. The CSFs identified include ITI technical support, organisational structure and simplifying the formal communication, knowledge sharing facilities, reward systems to encourage employees' knowledge sharing behaviour, teamwork dynamic utilization, and lastly, designing orientation and training programmes for facilitating risk-free implementation of VT among the traditional modes of work in the sector. Furthermore, the study concluded with introducing a set of recommendations that help the sector to adequately prepare for such adoption. Finally, this research provides an important building block to the VT research by focusing on the VT as a means of professional knowledge inter- and intra-economy integration and transfer. This is through highlighting the potential that VT has for such developing economies and providing a set of key organisational factors that management should examine prior to the adoption of VT in order to ensure smooth and risk-free implementation of this innovative mode of work. An insight to the Omani commercial banking sector (OCBS) has value particularly in terms of the level of realization of the 'knowledge resource', collective work approach, in addition to the modus operandi of the ICT exploitation by this sector

Quality & Quantity, 2021

While the Omani government’s endeavours over two decades to support entrepreneurship, particularl... more While the Omani government’s endeavours over two decades to support entrepreneurship, particularly among women, have been significant, research has not substantiated their impacts; even so, the number of female entrepreneurs has substantially increased. This study aims to contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by investigating this aspect of the Omani government’s entrepreneurship efforts in addition to other factors found in literature that contribute to the success of female entrepreneurship. A comprehensive literature review is conducted using the ‘wildcard operator’ search technique to define the factors affecting success in entrepreneurship; the study tests these factors to understand their applicability in the Omani context in order to build a sound conceptual model. A questionnaire-based survey was employed to collect primary data from 218 successful Omani female entrepreneurs from 2017 to 2020. The data collected were analysed using structured equation modelling. Out of the 12 hypotheses proposed, seven were confirmed by the results, and a hypothetical multifactor success factor model was proposed accordingly. The proposed model can be used as a hands-on indicative tool for assisting Omani policy- and decision makers to implement effective policies in the future that will be able to leverage female entrepreneurship. The generalisability of the model needs further research to determine its fitness for the contexts of other countries.

Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, 2016

The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agi... more The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agility to cope with the fast-paced competition raised by the international alliances in this business. The Omani banking sector in general is one of the infrastructure businesses that has essential role in the realization of the Omani Renaissance. This sector has achieved remarkable improvements in terms of the cutting edge technology it has adopted. To reach the Omani aspiration in its economic renaissance, various soft issues beyond technology are to be tuned well to reach of the required competitiveness. Softer issues such as knowledge management are one of the critical soft issues that forms the aim of the study presented, and in particular, to explore how organizational knowledge is shared and nurtured in the sector. Questionnairebased survey and semi-structured interviews were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from over 300 hundred banking employees from five different banks. Clustered sampling was used for the survey and interviews were selective; targeting senior administrator in the sector. The qualitative data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data. The study found that the sector has built a competitive cutting edge banking technology over relatively short span of time; however there is still vast room for improvement at the administrative side of the work. Among the recommendations, is having a conscious systematic effort by the sector administration to build physical and virtual facilities for exchanging knowledge among its employees and to provide work stability and an effective reward system for knowledge sharing behavior.

Electronic government provides a diversity of services to citizens using website, which include c... more Electronic government provides a diversity of services to citizens using website, which include carrying out a range of transactions that will increases the accessibility of information and government services by citizens. The aim of this study is to determine the critical factors that affect citizen adoption of egovernment services. Constructs from the Trust models and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), were integrated into an insightful model of electronic government adoption. The study was organized by surveying a group of citizens at Dhofar governorate Sultanate of Oman. The results point out that Trust in Internet and Relative Advantage are significant indicators of citizens’ intention to use government services.

New Innovations in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 2

While adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) has become inevitable, the next-l... more While adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) has become inevitable, the next-level challenge to organizations is how well they are utilizing this technology asset. Almost two decades earlier, which is not a noticeable span of time of the human history, the research focus was on how beneficial adopting technology by organizations was. Nowadays, the focus of the research is shifted primarily to how well the technology should be managed and tuned to achieve the business strategic goals and attain its competitive advantage or secure survival at minimum. This study takes the commercial banking sector in Oman as a sample of a highly ICT-infused sector in the service industry. Its aims to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of managing the information systems run by a sector closely linked to its performance. The performance is the determinant of the competitiveness/surviving level of any organization; banks are no exception. The research methodology comprises of a self-administered questionnaire and an interview. The study was conducted over 6 months. The exploratory nature of this research and the relevant type of data collected (categorical and ordinal) has led to use the descriptive statistics including central-tendency measures. The interviews have triangulated and confirmed the quantitative data collected. The study finds that the selected sector has adopted latest ICT infrastructure in conducting both back-office and front-office business which are adopted by common competitors worldwide. However, the study finds that while the IT infrastructure follows the latest technologies in the field, there is still room to optimize the utilization of this infrastructure by improving its administrative as well as technical management of it.

The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agi... more The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agility to cope with the fast-paced competition raised by the international alliances in this business. The Omani banking sector in general is one of the infrastructure businesses that has essential role in the realization of the Omani Renaissance. This sector has achieved remarkable improvements in terms of the cutting edge technology it has adopted. To reach the Omani aspiration in its economic renaissance, various soft issues beyond technology are to be tuned well to reach of the required competitiveness. Softer issues such as knowledge management are one of the critical soft issues that forms the aim of the study presented, and in particular, to explore how organizational knowledge is shared and nurtured in the sector. Questionnaire-based survey and semi-structured interviews were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from over 300 hundred banking employees from five different banks. Clustered sampling was used for the survey and interviews were selective; targeting senior administrator in the sector. The qualitative data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data. The study found that the sector has built a competitive cutting edge banking technology over relatively short span of time; however there is still vast room for improvement at the administrative side of the work. Among the recommendations, is having a conscious systematic effort by the sector administration to build physical and virtual facilities for exchanging knowledge among its employees and to provide work stability and an effective reward system for knowledge sharing behavior.

Chapman and Hall/CRC eBooks, Oct 19, 2022

Quality & Quantity, 2021

Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, 2016

New Innovations in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 2

The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agi... more The banking sector is one that is characterized by the high need of management experience and agility to cope with the fast-paced competition raised by the international alliances in this business. The Omani banking sector in general is one of the infrastructure businesses that has essential role in the realization of the Omani Renaissance. This sector has achieved remarkable improvements in terms of the cutting edge technology it has adopted. To reach the Omani aspiration in its economic renaissance, various soft issues beyond technology are to be tuned well to reach of the required competitiveness. Softer issues such as knowledge management are one of the critical soft issues that forms the aim of the study presented, and in particular, to explore how organizational knowledge is shared and nurtured in the sector. Questionnaire-based survey and semi-structured interviews were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from over 300 hundred banking employees from five different banks. Clustered sampling was used for the survey and interviews were selective; targeting senior administrator in the sector. The qualitative data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data. The study found that the sector has built a competitive cutting edge banking technology over relatively short span of time; however there is still vast room for improvement at the administrative side of the work. Among the recommendations, is having a conscious systematic effort by the sector administration to build physical and virtual facilities for exchanging knowledge among its employees and to provide work stability and an effective reward system for knowledge sharing behavior.