Developing a Framework to Create an Organisational Culture that Facilitates Continuous Improvement in the Service Sector: The Case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Continuous improvement in Saudi Arabia has become important since the country’s government introduced the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to transform the existing business, economic, and social environment so that it can facilitate diversification. For the service sector, this means significant changes as organisations seek to maintain quality, meet rising demands for accountability, and demonstrate their social and economic role. The increase in accreditation and quality audits required of the service sector by government bodies and external entities is a manifestation of the push for quality management and quality assurance. For the Saudi service sector to transform and meet the expectations of the Saudi Vision 2030 and other standards, it is vital to study how organisational culture can be leveraged to promote continuous improvement in Saudi Arabia's service sector. This exploratory and interpretive study seeks to fill the existing gap in research relating to the influence of organisational culture, specifically on the Saudi Arabian service sector, using the qualitative grounded theory approach. The study employed two main data collection methods: in-person open-ended interviews and focus group discussions. It identified a number of themes that influence the implementation of CI in the Saudi service sector and develops a framework of interventions that will assist in leveraging the organisational cultures of Saudi Arabian service sector organisations to facilitate continuous improvement.