Corporate management of productivity in private sector firms across Saudi Arabia

This is an empirical study that replicates McInnes' study of 1984 in the context of Saudi Arabia and includes other areas such as relationship of human resource management to development of productivity. The literature review identifies issues that impact managerial perceptions of productivity and a questionnaire survey administered online to Saudi Arabian private sector companies. An observation is that the context and time create a difference in managerial perception of productivity. McInnes' study of 1984 on US, British and Japanese firms came to different conclusions in many cases as the present one does in the case of Saudi Arabian private sector companies. It is evident from the research findings that managers in dissimilar cultural contexts, at different times, operating in different types of business environment may have differing perceptions about various issues related to productivity. The paper focuses on the Saudi Arabian context that has generally been neglected in academic research.