Family Business in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

This chapter provides introductory information about the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, their contexts, family business in these countries, and a brief description of the chapters included in this book.

The chapter aims to provide an overview of the family business in Bahrain’s business environment. The first part of the chapter introduces readers to Bahrain by giving general information about the country. The following sections are about the economic outlook where the internal and external performance of the country are emphasized. This general economic outlook is followed by the business ecosystem established in Bahrain. After providing valuable facts about the business ecosystem in the country, the chapter next portrays the family business arena in the Kingdom, their abilities, possibilities, participation, and contribution to the socio-economic development in the country. The final section of this chapter is provided by concluding remarks on the overall economic outlook, business ecosystem, and family business findings in the Kingdom, emphasizing the current status of family businesses and their future perspectives.

The current chapter discusses important characteristics of the family business in Kuwait by looking into the links between entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises, family businesses, and their growth over the years. The authors start by giving a general overview of Kuwait's business ecosystem, which served as a predominant external factor for the development of successful family businesses. One of the key factors in family business development in Kuwait was the country’s economic growth after the oil discovery. This growth drove many family businesses. Besides this, the tribal and family linkages were identified as an important driving force. Lastly, the chapter identifies the most successful family businesses in Kuwait and tries to assert the major common characteristics of these companies.

Family businesses are an integral part of most Gulf Cooperation Council countries. As leading families of these countries dominate the public, private, and third sectors, it is crystal clear that they will lead most socio-economic activities. Qatar is a leading country in terms of managing public and private sectors by families. Thus, it is essential to have a clear insight into its situation. Therefore, this chapter investigates the general business ecosystem of the country and then further discusses the dominant families and family businesses in Qatar. It also provides more details about the dynamics of Qatari family businesses, and the chapter concludes with some remarks for policymakers and practitioners. Besides, it suggests some directions for future research about family businesses in Qatar.

Although the overwhelming majority of the privately owned businesses in Oman are family-owned businesses with an overall GDP contribution of over 60%, yet there appears to be a paucity of academic publications that elaborate on the overall scenario of family businesses in Oman. Other than some regional case studies about Omani family firms, there appears to be a dearth of sufficient finer-grained analysis of what makes Omani family businesses unique. Therefore, this study examines the existing academic literature as well as non-academic publications from dependable sources such as reports from international consulting firms, to compile a nuanced analysis of how Omani family-controlled enterprises are different in many ways because of the idiosyncratic cultural context of Oman. The narrative in this chapter begins with an overall introduction of how family firms differ from non-family ones. Particular focus is laid on the theory of socioemotional wealth, the ability and willingness paradox, and family commitment as a source of competitiveness and organisational resilience. Thereafter, an overview about the Sultanate of Oman and the business ecosystem is presented. The subsequent sections elaborate on the idiosyncrasies of Omani family firms along with anecdotal evidence through examples of a few Omani family-controlled business organisations both large and small. Finally, the chapter ends with concluding remarks that relate the previous discourse about family businesses with the context of Omani family businesses.

This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the dynamics of family business phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. In its introduction, the chapter starts by providing a general information about the main characteristics of the country and its performance in terms of development, growth, and value. In its first part, the chapter presents an overview of the business and entrepreneurial ecosystem of family businesses in Saudi Arabia. In the second part, the chapter deepens the view of the family business phenomenon in Saudi Arabia, its importance, and key success factors in the GCC region. In its third part, the chapter opens new perspectives of the phenomenon by renewing it through fostering entrepreneurship outside the family business and empowering the role of women as leaders in Saudi family business. In the end, the chapter gives certain concluding remarks about how to sustain the family business phenomenon from one generation to another in the country and how to pursue its contribution to its economic development and to achieve the Saudi 2030 vision.

Some of the most famous corporations in the world have roots in family business. Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan, and Walmart are just a few examples of family businesses that became large corporations in the United States. Family businesses are the backbone of many economies, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These businesses create jobs, add economic value to countries, and are pioneers in entrepreneurship and innovation. This chapter examines why the UAE is the premier country that supports family businesses. By closer view of the business ecosystem in the UAE, the chapter provides insight into five main stakeholders that together create the most effective environment for businesses to prosper. Later, the chapter focuses attention on characteristics of Emirati family businesses and offers some insight into succession in family businesses from one generation to another. The chapter ends with some concluding remarks on how family businesses survived during the pandemic.

Family business is still an important component of the GCC economies. It still significantly influences the indicators of these economies by the employment created and value and wealth generated. This chapter highlights the critical weight of the GCC family businesses according to main key observers. After presenting the profile of these businesses and outlining their main characteristics, the chapter sets the main challenges of family businesses in the region and identifies the most important opportunities to seize by them in the future to sustain their businesses. Some perspectives of research are advanced for scholars and practitioners. Since this chapter comes concluding the book on family businesses in the GCC, it is something of a proposal for future research on these businesses in such geographical areas.