Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Vision 2030 Transforms Saudi Capital Markets: Analysis of IPO Performance Revolution(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Murhaf, Rambo; Gallagher, RonanThis study investigates how Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic transformation program affects both Initial Public Offering (IPO) results and capital market efficiency. The study evaluates 148 Saudi IPOs from 2003-2025 through event study analysis by using Vision 2030's January 2017 implementation as a natural experiment to examine market dynamic changes. Vision 2030 implementation led to major enhancements in market efficiency. The IPO underpricing decreased substantially from 75.2% during the pre-Vision period (2003-2016) to 12.9% after Vision 2030 implementation (2017-2025) which resulted in an 82.8% efficiency improvement that aligns Saudi market performance with developed market standards. The long-term analysis demonstrates continuous positive return because 12-month buy-and-hold abnormal returns stay positive while controlling excessive speculative returns. The performance enhancements in the market depend on three main factors which include firm size and sector alignment with Vision 2030 objectives and market demand. The research shows that Vision 2030's complete institutional reforms which included regulatory improvements and market access expansion and transparency enhancements have created fundamental changes in Saudi capital markets. The research demonstrates that systematic economic transformation programs can effectively build efficient capital markets in oil-dependent economies thus providing practical guidance for resource-rich nations that want to diversify their economies through capital market development.9 0Item Restricted Assessment of Wind Power Integration into the Synthetic Electric Grid of Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alonize, Mishal; Li, FangxingSaudi Arabia is working to reduce its dependence on oil and diversify its economy by incorporating renewable energy into its plans, as part of the initiative Vision 2030. A significant challenge in this change is the integration of renewable energy, particularly wind energy, into the existing Saudi Arabian electricity grid. Wind energy offers significant economic and environmental benefits, including reducing carbon emissions and providing a cost-effective energy source. However, integrating wind power presents challenges, particularly in maintaining grid frequency stability during different disturbances and ensuring that wind farms comply with grid codes to operate efficiently within the system. To perform tests for the effectiveness of wind integration, an adaptive synthetic Saudi electric grid model was built based on data of the Saudi power grid collected from open source data, designed to simulate the transient dynamics of a Saudi power grid, in order to enable simulation and assessment of wind energy integration into the electricity system of Saudi Arabia. For higher accuracy and details, the model created by CURENT Large-scale Testbed (LTB) and its ANDES package.12 0Item Restricted Tourism in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the livelihood of local communities(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Zaylaee, Wejdan; Linda, OstiPurpose: This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of rapid tourism development, driven by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, on the livelihood and well-being of local communities in the Kingdom's rural areas. It aims to explore residents' perceptions of the economic, cultural, and quality-of-life changes to inform a more sustainable and community-centric tourism model. Methodology: Employing a qualitative case study design and guided by Social Exchange Theory (SET), this research conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 diverse community members across five rural regions, including youth, artisans, community leaders, and tourism workers. The data was analysed using a thematic approach to identify key patterns in residents' lived experiences. Findings: The findings reveal a profound duality in the impacts of tourism. Economically, the development has created significant new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly for youth and women. However, these benefits are contrasted by a rising cost of living and growing economic disparity, which negatively affects residents not directly involved in the sector. Socio-culturally, a similar paradox emerges: tourism fosters a renewed sense of cultural pride and heritage preservation, yet it concurrently ignites significant concerns among older residents regarding cultural commodification, the loss of authenticity, and the erosion of traditional values, creating a noticeable generational divide. A critical governance gap was also identified; while the government's investment is appreciated, the prevailing top-down development approach is widely perceived as exclusionary, lacking genuine community participation in decision-making. Conclusion: The study concludes that the social exchange of tourism in rural Saudi Arabia is complex and unevenly distributed. For the goals of Vision 2030 to be socially sustainable, a paradigm shift is required towards a more inclusive, participatory governance model. This shift must ensure the benefits of tourism are equitably shared and empower local communities as active partners, rather than passive recipients, in their own development. Keywords: Tourism Development, Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030, Rural Communities, Livelihood, Social Exchange Theory, Qualitative Research, Community Perceptions.23 0Item Restricted Exploring the Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing the Persistence of Traditional Flood Irrigation in Al Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Arafah, Mohammed Ayman M; Ainslie, AndrewThis dissertation examines the socio-cultural factors that contribute to the continued use of traditional flood irrigation among farmers in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, despite rising water scarcity and the existence of more effective options (modern irrigation methods), such as drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. Al Ula's oasis agriculture is heavily dependent on the non-renewable Saq-Ram aquifer, where unsustainable withdrawals and flood irrigation practices have hastened groundwater depletion, salinity building, and nitrate contamination. While Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 emphasises modern irrigation as a national goal, adoption remains low in Al Ula, indicating that technical and economic explanations are insufficient. This study, guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), utilizes a qualitative, exploratory approach to investigate how social norms, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and broader cultural traditions influence irrigation decisions. Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with farmers, which were conducted partly through snowball sampling on participants' farms and partly through an opportunistic approach at the Al Ula Fruit Festival, and complemented with direct field observations. Transcripts were analysed thematically. The study found that dependence on flood irrigation is fuelled by cultural continuity, family heritage, and peer influence, as well as practical views of simplicity, price, and crop quality. Partial modernization, such as installing pipelines to convey water while still flooding basins, reflects common misunderstandings and risk aversion. Although farmers realized groundwater depletion, they prioritized immediate output and profit, revealing an awareness-action gap. Notably, participants stated a conditional willingness to implement modern irrigation if financial, technical, and institutional support were offered. This study contributes to theory by expanding TPB to include social reinforcement and cultural identity, as well as to practice by emphasising the importance of culturally sensitive, farmer-centred policy. Addressing Al Ula's irrigation dilemma necessitates solutions that are solved not only by transferring technology but also interacting with the socio-cultural factors that underpin traditional practices.13 0Item Restricted The Implementation and Impact of Value-Based Healthcare in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and Challenges(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alkhathlan, Ibrahim Saad; Abou Hamdan, OmarThis study examines how Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) is being implemented in Saudi Arabia and what challenges are affecting its progress. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom has committed to shifting its healthcare system toward value-based models that improve outcomes. The research aims to explore the implementation and challenges, with a focus on policies, progress and barriers of VBHC healthcare in Saudi Arabia. A structured literature review was carried out using academic databases and official Saudi health sector sources. Fourteen sources were selected, including studies and government publications from 2020 to 2025. These were analysed thematically based on their focus on policies, barriers and achievements related to VBHC. The findings reveal strong policy support and early progress, such as pilot payment models, digital infrastructure and outcome measurement initiatives. However, several issues are slowing the implementation, including dependence on fee-for-service payments, weak data integration and limited clinical engagement. While early results are promising, the transition is still in early stages. The study highlights the need for improved digital systems, provider autonomy, national performance tracking and larger staff training. Addressing these areas is essential to make VBHC sustainable and ensure that national reforms lead to meaningful change in everyday care.12 0Item Restricted An Exploration of How Talent Management Enhances Employee Performance Management in the Saudi Arabian Workplace(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Bukhari, Firas; Limki, RashneThis study investigates how talent management enhances employee performance management in the Saudi Arabian workplace, with a focus on national programs like Vision 2030 and Saudization. The study focuses on three areas: organised talent identification, talent development integration with performance systems, and policy framework. A qualitative method was used, using semi-structured interviews with HR professionals from various sectors and thematic analysis to find relevant patterns. The findings show that structured talent identification improves worker competency and engagement, whereas combining talent development with performance promotes continuous learning, career growth, and retention. Alignment with national policies improves compliance, reputation, and competitiveness. The study adds to the HRM literature in Saudi Arabia and provides practical guidance for organisations seeking to align policy requirements with global practices. It emphasises the importance of a comprehensive approach that promotes both individual achievement and national economic goals.3 0Item Restricted AN ANALYSIS OF SAUDI WOMEN’S UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE IMPACT OF VISION 2030(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alghamdi, Norah; Gilleylen, JohnnyThis study addresses the problem of high female unemployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data from the General Authority for Statistics indicates that the female unemployment rate has increased significantly from 17.6% in 2000 to 33.8% in 2015, an increase of 16.2 points annually. The highest female unemployment rate was recorded in 2012 at 35.7%, while the lowest rate was in 2001 at 17.3%. Previous studies show that female unemployment negatively impacts women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia, whether in terms of education, social and cultural barriers, economic participation, leadership, or gender discrimination. The Saudi government has taken many comprehensive measures and reforms to mitigate female unemployment and increase their participation in the labor market through Vision 2030 and supporting programs such as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, the Wusool program, the Qara program, the Tamheer program, and the Qiyadat program. The Kingdom's Vision 2030 for national transformation was launched in 2016 by the Saudi Crown Prince. It includes several objectives, including developing human capabilities and reducing unemployment, which is significantly higher among women than men. This study analyzes the role of Vision 2030 reforms in lowering women's unemployment rates. This study uses a quantitative, cross-sectional, and time-series approach to combine trend analyses of the unemployment rate, labor force, economic participation, and unemployment by educational level and age group for Saudi women across the two periods before and after the implementation of the Vision. The study is based on secondary data from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, covering the period from 2010 to 2023, including the years before and after the implementation of Vision 2030. The results indicated that Vision 2030 expanded the range of economic opportunities available to women, leading to significant progress in reducing the unemployment rate among women and empowering them by increasing their economic participation in the labor market during the post-policy implementation period from 2017 to 2023. At the end, this study provides policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 initiatives and strategies for continued improvement.7 0Item Restricted Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve under Vision 2030 Reforms(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alotaibi, Shihana; Byrne, JosephThis dissertation examines whether the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis holds in Saudi Arabia by analyzing the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, economic growth, energy consumption, and technological innovation over the period 1990–2022. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) econometric framework is employed and carefully estimated, supported by unit root and cointegration testing, using annual national data. Policy and structural shifts are accounted for through two dummy variables capturing the Kyoto Protocol (1997–1999) and the launch of Vision 2030 (post-2016). The results confirm the presence of a long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables. However, there is no evidence of the inverted-U pattern predicted by the EKC. Instead, the estimates indicate a U-shaped relationship, with CO2 emissions increasing alongside economic growth at higher income levels, reflecting the persistent reliance on fossil fuels in the Saudi economy. Energy consumption emerges as the dominant long-run driver of emissions. Innovation, proxied by annual patent counts, exerts only a limited short-run effect, suggesting that the diffusion of green technologies has yet to influence emissions trajectories meaningfully. The findings confirm that economic growth alone will not achieve environmental improvements, requiring targeted reforms. Expanding renewable energy capacity and strengthening the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program across sectors are essential to lower carbon intensity. Developing human capital is equally important, as the transition demands skilled labor and technological capacity. Energy price reform, including cost-reflective pricing and carbon charges, would discourage wasteful consumption. Finally, strong international collaboration is needed to reinforce domestic efforts and align fully with Saudi Arabia’s long-term climate commitments8 0Item Restricted The impact of leadership style on employee motivation and performance in the Saudi financial sector(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alharbi, Meshal; Das, RanjitThis study investigates the impact of four leadership styles—transformational, transactional, authoritarian, and laissez-faire—on employee motivation and performance in the Saudi financial sector, within the broader context of institutional reforms and Vision 2030. A quantitative, positivist approach was adopted, using a structured online questionnaire distributed to a sample of 80 employees from government, semi-government, and commercial financial institutions. The data were analysed using SPSS, applying descriptive and inferential statistical methods such as correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the transactional leadership style was the most successful, exerting a significant beneficial impact on performance and motivation. Although it did not immediately result in better performance, transformational leadership dramatically increased employee motivation, indicating that institutional and regulatory limitations might restrict its usefulness. Laissez-faire leadership was negatively correlated with motivation and did not significantly correlate with performance, whereas authoritarian leadership had no discernible impact on either. Additionally, a strong positive link between motivation and performance was validated, highlighting the essential role of motivation as a mediating component in the dynamics between leadership and performance. Theoretically, this study challenges the notion that transformational leadership is always preferable by providing a comparative analysis of leadership philosophies in a Saudi setting. It offers valuable perspectives for managers, legislators, and human resources specialists, emphasising the importance of fusing the motivating attributes of transformational leadership with the accountability and structural clarity of transactional leadership. The study findings also advise reducing the dependence on authoritarian and laissez-faire methods.17 0Item Restricted Nawa (نوى): From Seed to Strategy — A Sustainability Advisory for Aspiring Entrepreneurs(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alqahtani, Rozan; Ramli, KautsarNawa Consulting helps early-stage founders in Saudi Arabia and the GCC build practical sustainability into their businesses. Year 1 delivers fast audits and 1:1 coaching (Arabic/English, digital-first); Year 2 adds ESG-readiness projects; Year 3 offers strategy, impact KPIs and investor-readiness packs. The model is lean, remote and partner-led, using repeatable toolkits to keep prices accessible and delivery quick. Primary customers are aspiring entrepreneurs and micro-SMEs reached via startup hubs, universities, webinars and referrals. Evidence comes from customer interviews, a simple market scan and live experiments; risks and ethics are addressed with clear consent, data-minimisation and no-greenwashing rules. Financially, break-even is ~70 billable hours/month (reached Jan 2026). Year-1 totals: sales SAR 518k; cash in SAR 546k; cash out SAR 417k; year-end cash SAR 129k, with one early cash dip mitigated by spend controls and part-payments. An SDB loan at month 12 funds conversion to an LLC and a first hire; from Year 2, 10% of net cash supports founder-focused initiatives. The plan sets a 24-month path to a resilient, values-led advisory ready to scale or partner for strategic growth.16 0