This study examines the entrepreneurial competencies of non-resident entrepreneurs in the Middle East region, specifically focusing on the Al Dahirah region of Oman. Through a case study approach and surveys of 150 entrepreneurs, the study analyzes the profile and competency levels of the entrepreneurs. It identifies six key competency factors and finds relationships between competency levels and factors like age, education, and experience. The study recommends a focus on networking competencies and support from policymakers, researchers, and associations to promote entrepreneurship in foreign environments.

1. A Study of Entrepreneurial Competencies of
Non-Resident Entrepreneurs in the MiddleEast Region- A Case Study Approach
S.Balaji Shri Kamalakannan
Under the Supervision of
Dr.R.Jayaraman, M Sc, M.B.A, PhD

2. Why the study?
 Self-Made Impact making entrepreneurs.
 A Study by EDII Ahmedabad was the inspiration
for this study
 The entrepreneurs in the middle-east are
perceived to be of people going for jobs in the
labor category only and it seemed like there were
no white collar jobs available there. In this
background the exploration about this breed of
entrepreneurs in the Middle-East was taken up

3. Inspiration
 “Self- Made Impact Making Entrepreneurs”
 The Pointer given by the Honourable Guide in
this direction was a timely motivation
 The path prior to it….
 The clarity on objectives….
 The Inspiration….

4. The Challenges to the candidate
Posed by the Guide
 New Environment for the Study
 Case Study Methodology given to challenge the
candidate also because of the background of the
“Mentor” relationship right from being a member
of the selection committee for the MBA program
 Subsequent Post-graduate Advertising Project
(1995) was evaluated by the Honorable
supervisor- Uniqueness- That project had more
than four qualitative techniques

5. Scope of the study
 Started off the study with an ambitious scope of
covering the entire Middle-east region, this was
further narrowed down to the GCC region.
 A representative sample of the GCC namely
Sultanate of Oman was taken for the study
 The reachable sample of the Al Dahirah region
was taken for the study
 The total universe in the area of study consisted
of

6. Where in the world is Oman?

7. Objectives of the study
 To discuss the various concepts and theories of
entrepreneurial competencies
 To study the profile of the selected NRI
entrepreneurs
 To measure the level of competencies and the
association between personal background factors
and level of competence
 To draw lessons for existing as well as potential
entrepreneurs in potential entrepreneurs in an
International Environment and offer suitable
suggestions based on the study

8. The Research Strategy
 An Exploratory study was deemed fit for the
Phase I of the study and the same was
maintained for the Phase II of the study
 Case Studies were used in Phase II of the study
to as an alternative research strategy to
experiment, history or simulation
 Exploratory case studies were depended upon for
the research questions in the study. These were
best addressed by case studies as an approach
since these addressed explaination rather than
incidence questions.
 For examples these case studies were not about
enumeration but about how the entrepreneurs did
such and such a thing.

9. Phase I & II
 Data collected for the study during Aug 2007 &
June 2008
 Phase I: This phase of the study elicited
information about the entrepreneurs based on the
Ministry of National Economy (MONE)
classification of below 5000 OMR (Omani Riyal)
three star companies.
 Phase II : Exploratory case studies that gave a
thick description of how the entrepreneurs did
such and such a thing

10. Data Collection Method used in the study
Sl. No.
Data Collection Method
Tools Used
Stage of Study
1.
Field Work
* Self Administered
Questionnaire (Appendix
II)
* Personal Profile
(Appendix III)
Phase I
2.
Ethnography - Participants Observation
Semi structured
questionnaire
Phase II
3.
Verbal Reports – of friends and sponsors
Semi structured
questionnaire
Phase II

11. Area Profile
 The GCC or the Gulf Co-operation Council
countries consists of
 Oman
 Qatar
 Saudi Arabia
 United Arab Emirates
 Bahrain
 Kuwait
 Libya (Ex-member – Voluntarily withdrew due to political
reasons)
 Iraq (Ex-Member after the attack on Kuwait)

12. Area Profile
 The GCC countries have similar characteristics
as opposed to a little more divergent culture in
the Middle-East and because of this reason the
geographical scope of the study had to be limited
to the GCC countries and further focused on
Oman

13. Common Characteristics of the Gulf
Countries
 Hereditary Monarchical regimes
 Vast Resources of Oil
 Foreign nationals are not permitted to own any




business or immovable property
They are required to make a local citizen or entity
a majority even if sleeping partner in their
enterprises
This has facilitated that the wealth generated has
been very profitably invested in the development
of world-class infrastructure
Entire region is sparsely populated
Skills shortage for all levels of workers

14. NRI s in Oman
 Data of the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (Govt.






Of Oman) Table 1.2
&
The Data collected by the Ministry of External Affairs
(Govt of India) though the embassy point to figure of 3
million NRIs in 99-2000
Socio-Economic profile now changing to more white
collar workers moving in to the region
People to people contact as early as 15th century –
Indo-Oman
That time –essentially traders and financiers from the
Kutch – Still these people control the financial
dealings in the capital
Oldest Indian Family has been here for at least eight
generations

15. Sample Design
 150 Sample entrepreneurs
 Population size as per 2005 data available in
2007 was 404
 The sample size covered more than 35% of the
universe and was more than sufficient to validate
the results
 A proportionate random sample was applied to
the four main classifications of the Ministry of
National Economy
 For the Phase II of the study a total of 21
entrepreneurs were selected (14% each from the
three levels of competencies)

16. Al Dhahirah Region
 Consists of Five Willayats (District)
 Al Buraymi (after 2006 a separate region)
 Ibri
 Mahadha
 Yanqul
 Dank
Main Town here- Ibri
Approx-350 km from Muscat

17. MAP
AL DHAHIRA REGION - THE AREA OF STUDY

18. Entrepreneurs in the Al Dhahirah
Region
Sl. No
Classification Type
Total Number of
Entrepreneurs
Sample NRI
Entrepreneurs
1.
Multi-Economic Activities
316
117
2.
Manufacturing
27
10
3.
Construction
19
7
4.
Restaurants
42
16
404
150

19. The Omani-Expatriate population
comparison
Years
Governorate
/Region
2005
2004
2003
Expatriate
Omani
Expatriate
Omani
Expatriate
Omani
Adh –
Dhahirah
Region
Al Buraymi
70,662
152,811
64,963
149,498
59,326
147,689
41,102
34,615
37,787
33,865
34,508
33,455
Ibri
19,285
84,055
17,729
82,233
16,191
81,238
Mahdah
5,022
4,821
4,617
4,716
4,216
4,659
Yanqul
2,215
14,894
2,037
14,571
1,860
14,395
Dank
3,038
14,426
2,793
14,113
2,551
13,942

20. The Omani Context
 The Ministry of National Economy put the
statistics of the expatriates at 24% of the
population. This has been maintained steadily by
the policy makers.
 The substantial contribution of this expatriates
population are from the Asian community
 Members of the Asian community specifically the
Malayalis have been dominant in the chosen
focus area of the study of below 5000 OMR

21. Economic Development & Skills
Shortage
 The Socio-political circumstances combined with
lack of education facilities Led to import of labor in the 1970s
 Continuous efforts of the Gov. to reduce
dependence on the Oil reserves and there has
been privatization & Omanisation
 Entrepreneurship could be a career option for
skilled immigrants

22. Entrepreneurship and
Entrepreneurial Competenices
 Summary of the review of literature on
Entrepreneur Vague definitions
 Few studies that employed the same definitions
 Lack of basic agreement on “who an entrepreneur
is?” & lack of homogenous samples in the selection
 A startling number of traits & characteristic that
either make a larger than life image or a generic
“Everyman”

23. Entrepreneurship better suited
 From Entrepreneur to Entrepreneurship
 Behavioral & Traits approach
 Entrepreneurship as the creation of organisation

24. Competency Characteristics Generic
 Motives
 Traits
 Self-Concept
 Knowledge
 Skill

25. Competence in Simple terms
 Describes what people need to be able to do or
need to be capable of doing or have, to do a job
well to achieve results
 This includes what has to be done and to what
standard
 Competencies identified through various
techniques
 Focus groups, panel & subject groups experts
 Critical behavior event interviews with superior
performers
 Use of Generic Competency terminologies and
definitions (Employed for the study)
 Clustering of Competencies, common in

26. The Three Levels of Competence
 Level of Competence defined by the 23 statements
administered to the entrepreneurs
 Simple Arithmetic Mean & Standard Deviation calculated
for these scores level competencies
X+S.D. (= 75.57 + 16.12) 91.69 – 92 and above –
High level

X – S.D. (= 75.51 – 16.12) = 59.45 - 59 and above –
Low level.

(X- S.D.) to (X + S.D.) = 59 to 92 – Medium level.


27. Level of competence of NRI
Entrepreneurs
Sl.No.
Level of Competence
Number of NRI
Entrepreneurs
35
Percentage
1.
High
2.
Medium
86
57.33
3.
Low
29
19.34
150
100
Total
23.33

28. Relationship between personal
background factors & Competence
 Age & Literacy Level- exists relationship
 Marital Status – no relationship
 Caste Community – no relationship
 Experience- exists relationship
 Type of family- No relationship
 Technical knowledge- there exists relationship
 No relationship between type of enterprise &
competence

29. The Competencies dimensions
revealed
 23 statements
 Rotated factor Matrix
 The principal factors with orthogonal varimax
rotation has been used to extract the factors

30. The Factors
 F1- Opportunity recognition competencies
 F2- Conceptual Competencies
 F3- Network Competencies
 F4- Organizing Competencies
 F5- Strategic Competencies
 F6- Commitment Competencies

31. Broader Findings
 The study of competency, a HR area can be fully




adapted to the multi-disciplinary research in
entrepreneurship
No unique models available to represent the
phenomenon of entrepreneurship in countries
where there are 100% ownership not possible
Element of insecurity has been good to better
behavior
Same member of the community contribute more
in a host country
Hygiene factors of Herzberg in action in the new
environment

32. Broader Findings
 Employment has been important for venture start





up
Age a deciding factor in the venture initiation
Network & peer support plays a key role
Considerable variation among entrepreneurs in
the same industry
No specific personal background factor that
would lead to better competence
This proves the theory that competencies are
independent of personal attributes and
competencies are trainable
This area of study requires unique competencies

33. Recommendations based on the
findings
 For policy makers




Need to promote employment in a foreign environment
Identify liaison office
Enumerate NRI entrepreneurs
List the associations
 For researchers & trainers
 Provide BOG & information about the environment
 Focus on competencies so that major learning can be
replicated in newer environments
 BOG Guidance for everybody
 Educate the NRI entrepreneurs
 Not just sociological dimension but all dimension of the
Diaspora

34. Recommendations based on the
findings
 Learning for the potential and existing
entrepreneurs
 Focus on the networking competencies
 Explore Chambers of Commerce – Embassy Links
 Enlist Active associations with the Ministry of
Overseas India Affairs
 Ensure continuity for family environment by
supporting initiatives of representation for higher
education institution in the host country

35. A Study of Entrepreneurial Competencies of
Non-Resident Entrepreneurs in the MiddleEast Region- A Case Study Approach
S.Balaji Shri Kamalakannan
Under the Supervision of
Dr.R.Jayaraman, M Sc, M.B.A, PhD