Management of MENA Family Businesses - Case Study Example

Management of MENA Family Businesses Introduction Across the world, family-owned enterprises have become the backbone of many economies and are considered to be the most prevalent and oldest business organization forms globally. Family businesses globally account for 70-90% of GDP every year, while also representing over 70% of all businesses and employing a significant proportion of the workforce (Lussier & Sonfield, 2010: p420). There are numerous family-owned enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, majority of which began as trading businesses before diversifying into other sectors and becoming conglomerates. Family businesses in the MENA region have capitalized on connections in government and a generally restricted competition regime to generate more profits, particularly through lower taxes and preferential government treatment. According to Pistrui and Fahed-Sreih (2010: p111), typical family enterprises in the MENA region began as merchants or small traders before diversifying into construction, manufacturing, and other traditional industries as the oil boom peaked. This paper will analyze the Sawiris Family in Egypt, the AlShaya Family in Kuwait, and the AlMajdouie Family in Saudi Arabia as three examples of family owned businesses from the MENA region. In addition, the importance of these family businesses to the region’s economy will be analyzed, along with the contemporary challenges faced by these businesses. Family-Owned Businesses in MENA Sawiris Family, Egypt The Sawiris family is one of Egypt’s and MENA’s well known business groups, which was established in 1950 as an agricultural business, Orascom, and later into construction becoming the country’s largest contracting company. Orascom was created as an agricultural construction company in Upper Egypt, and grew from paving roads and digging waterways to being one of Egypt’s biggest general contractors (Sciascia et al, 2013: p433). However, in 1971, Orascom was nationalized into the El Nasr Civil Works Company by the Egyptian government in the early 60’s with Eng. Onsi Sawiris becoming a senior employee at the company. This forced Sawiris to move to Libya, as he was not content being an employee of a company he owned, where he also started a successful contracting business (Sciascia et al, 2013: p433). On his return to Egypt in 1976, Sawiris took advantage of market liberalization and the subsequent construction boom to grow another successful general contracting and trading company. By the 1990’s, Orascom was the leading established private sector contractor in Egypt, partnering with major international companies to undertake infrastructural and construction projects in the country. Eng. Onsi Sawiris transferred control of the business to Nassef Sawiris, his son, who ambitiously embarked on a strategy of diversification, such as investments in complementary industries like building materials and cement. The company was listed on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange in 1999 and expanded its Egyptian Cement Company to Algeria, Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, the UAE, and Spain over the next six years (Sciascia et al, 2013: p433). In 2006, Orascom Construction Industries announced that they were investing in Turkey’s Van Cement plant, Egyptian Sack Company, and Spain’s Grupo GLA, while also beginning a fifth Egyptian Cement Company line. Over the next three years, Orascom also diversified into fertilizer production in Egypt, as well as other cement companies in South Africa, and Saudi Arabia. Onsi Sawiris remains the patriarch of one of Egypt’s two richest families, although he and Nassef Sawiris moved Orascom Construction Industries’ listing to Amsterdam’s Euronext Stock Exchange after the 2011’s uprising in Egypt. As of 2013, Orascom had some 20,000 employees and had revenues of $4.02 billion. Currently, the company is in advanced plans to separate their fertilizers and chemicals business from their construction business, as well as to list Orascom Industries in the UAE in 2015. Collectively, the Sawiris family owns or controls 55% of all outstanding shares in Orascom Construction Industries with Samih Sawiris, Nassef Sawiris, and Onsi Sawiris with 45% of the company’s ownership is in free float (Sciascia et al, 2013: p433). Alshaya Family, Kuwait The Alshaya family business was founded in 1890 as a retailing business initially conducting trade with the British India Company. The company opened the first five star hotels, the Sheraton, in the Middle East South of Beirut in Kuwait City, which was also the first Sheraton operating outside of North America (Koldertsova, 2011: p222). In 1983, Alshaya diversified into franchising of international retail businesses through the acquisition of Mothercare, a UK retailer franchise operating in Kuwait. Alshaya further diversified into the food retail franchising business by partnering with Starbucks in 1999, after which the company expanded to operate and manage multiple food brands, such as Dean & Deluca, Asha’s, Pizza Express, Le Pain Quotidien, Pinkberry, among many others. Moreover, Alshaya also expanded out of the Middle East in 2002, when it acquired Turkey’s Topshop franchise. This was followed by its first foray into Europe in 2005, when the company acquired Mothercare’s franchise rights in Russia, after which they expanded into Eastern and Central Europe in 2007 (Koldertsova, 2011: p222). Prior to that, in 2006, Alshaya also partnered with H&M in launching a franchise in the Middle East before adding Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn, and American Eagle Outfitters in 2010 to its Middle Eastern markets portfolio. Unlike the Sawiris family business in Egypt, the Alshaya family business has mainly focused on franchising western companies in the Middle East, while the Sawiris family acquires companies operating in the Middle East. Moreover, unlike the Sawiris family that has concentrated on two main industries, which are construction and agriculture, the Alshaya group is one of the Middle East’s most dynamic companies and is prominent in various sectors, including hotel and tourism, automotives, real estate, and retail (Koldertsova, 2011: p222). Alshaya is also a world leading operator of franchises for more than 70 of the most recognized brands in the world, such as H&M, Mothercare, Starbucks, Victoria’s Secret, Pottery Barn, the Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang’s, American Eagle Outfitters, and Kidzania and Boots. Like the Sawiris family, the control and management of Alshaya group remains in the hands of the Alshaya family with Mohammed Alshaya as the executive chairman of the family business. However, unlike the Sawiris family business, the Alshaya group is wholly private owned by the family. Operating in the Middle East and in Europe, the Alshaya group now employs over 40,000 people (Koldertsova, 2011: p222). AlMajdouie Family, Saudi Arabia The AlMajdouie family business group was founded in 1968, which makes it younger than the previous two family businesses, and was founded by Sheikh Ali bin Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Majdouie who was previously a truck owner. Starting off as a land transport company, the company began to diversify during the oil boom, akin to the Alshaya group in Kuwait, and moved into automobile distribution, food products, real estate activities, and manufacturing (Mazaheri, 2013: p140). By broadening its growth in human capital and business activities, the AlMajdouie group has managed to expand its operations into other MENA countries and in Saudi Arabia as well. However, unlike the Alshaya and Sawiris groups, the AlMajdouie group has specialized, rather than continues on its path of diversification, and is currently involved in the logistics business based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The group has become one of the Middle East’s leading project logistics and supply Chain Company, which is renowned for its customer focused high performance and focused delivery. From its beginnings as a humble one truck company, AlMajdouie group underwent major restructuring recently, integrating independent companies under AlMajdouie Logistics Company LLC, including International Projects Development, Continental Freight, AlMajdouie Logistics and Distribution, AlMajdouie Heavylift Transport and Engineering, and AlMajdouie Transport (Mazaheri, 2013: p140). Today, AlMajdouie group operates seven offices in Saudi Arabia, along with other offices in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Japan, Korea, and Canada. Unlike the Alshaya and Sawiris groups, the AlMajdouie group has also undertaken a shift towards being a holding company and away from being a family-run, individual-based business, although this is yet to be fully implemented (Mazaheri, 2013: p141). As such, the company is still under the control of the AlMajdouie family. Still, this move away from being a solely family-owned business has encountered numerous obstacles and resistance from certain members of the family. The board of directors at AlMajdouie group has been restructured to include extra-group and extra-family members, enabling the company to benefit from external ideas and views regarding the family business’ long-term strategies and objectives. As such, the company now seeks specialists for Board of Director committees, including the remuneration, compensation, audit, and finance committees (Mazaheri, 2013: p141). Of all family businesses discussed in this paper, the AlMajdouie family group has embraced change the most since the Alshaya group is wholly family-owned, while the Sawiris group controls 55% of their company with the rest being in free float. However, it also employs the least number of workers at 5,000, compared to 40,000 at Alshaya and 20,000 at Sawiris group. Importance of Family Businesses in MENA The MENA business landscape is widely dominated by family enterprises, such as the ones discussed above with Mian and Hattab (2013: p403) stating that at least 85% of all business in private ownership in MENA are family businesses. Because of the different laws, rules, customs, and cultures in the many countries that comprise the MENA region, as well as country-specific factors like the dynamics and culture of family-owned businesses, comparing family businesses in the region can be difficult. Nevertheless, family businesses across MENA are flourishing, benefiting from improving business conditions, strong economic growth, higher personal income, and a rising class of consumers. Majority of governments in the region have realized the important role played by family businesses in the job market, economy, and investment environment with regulatory agencies like the ministries of finance and commerce establishing programs that encourage the professionalization of family business governance structures (Mian & Hattab, 2013: p403). The importance of these family-owned businesses in the region is best evidenced by the constant message from their governments to develop their corporate and family governance structure, to set up protocols and strategies that govern business-family interactions, and to initiate the process of succession planning. Family businesses are very important to the MENA region for several reasons. Begin with family-owned businesses in the MENA region account for 90% of all companies, while family-owned businesses in the region generate at least 80% of GDP in the entire region, constitute 75% of all economic activity in the private sector, and employ almost half of all workers in the private sector (Mian & Hattab, 2013: p404). Moreover, family-owned businesses employ up to 70% of the entire labor force in the MENA region, which accounts for over 67 million workers. Most importantly, however, is that family-owned businesses control up to 98% of all oil-producing companies in the MENA region, which shows their importance to the economy because oil is the major export commodity in the Middle East and North Africa. On top of this, family enterprises account for close to 40% of all non-oil GDP in countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (Mian & Hattab, 2013: p404). As such, family-owned businesses in the region are the 2nd largest shareholder in their economies after the government, as well as major shareholders in the biggest financial institutions in the region. Family-owned businesses, as seen during the analysis of Alshaya, Sawiris, and AlMajdouie groups, occupy dominant positions in critical economic sectors like real estate, industrial, construction, and retail and wholesale businesses. In addition, Beck et al (2011: p260) note that the ability of family-owned businesses in the MENA region to incorporate practices that are socially responsible as compared to non-family owned businesses, as well as to emphasize core or family values in their firms’ operations, means that they are not as likely to lay-off workers during economic hardships. This gives such companies an advantage in the MENA market place because of government support seeking to keep their citizens in employment. Family-owned businesses are also important to the MENA region because they have longer-term thinking, as well as a broader perspective of the business and social environment. Indeed, family businesses are able to take a longer-term business approach compared to non-family owned businesses and mostly invest with the future generational needs in mind (Beck et al, 2011: p260). Because majority like the Alshaya group are not listed, they do not face pressure from investors to observe a reporting cycle or make quicker returns. As a result, family-owned businesses play a critical role in enhancing economic stability by taking prudent measures that do not put people’s jobs at risk. The biggest advantage of family businesses in the MENA region is their ability to capture significant growth in the region through international franchises and partnerships across diverse sectors. Family-owned businesses are also able to take more flexible and quicker decision making, which marks them out as having a distinct competitive advantage compared to foreign companies operating in the MENA region (Kellermanns et al, 2012: p95). This presents them with an entrepreneurial mindset that is not common in non-family owned businesses, especially as they are able to reinvent themselves with every generation. Moreover, these businesses show a greater commitment to the community and jobs since they have a stronger sense of responsibility to support the community and employment compared to non-family owned businesses. The family business also has strong commitment community initiatives, such as charitable giving, which has seen many of these businesses giving large sums to the region’s good causes, as well as in Asia and Africa. This makes the family-owned business an asset to MENA countries as they develop strong international relationships on behalf of their countries. Also, the family-owned business is able to cultivate stronger international customer relationships compared to the non-family owned business because they have a management team that lasts for several generations (Kellermanns et al, 2012: p95). This makes it more likely that foreign investors will invest in these companies and their activities. Therefore, there is a lot of evidence that family-owned businesses continue to be the backbone of major MENA economies, especially by acting as incubators for entrepreneurship because of their focus on sustainability for future generations, job creation, competitiveness, and productivity (Kotlar et al, 2014: p603). Not only do family-owned businesses act as natural entrepreneurial culture incubators, they also foster the next generation of MENA region entrepreneurs. Because these businesses are ingrained into the local communities and society, it is more likely that such companies will feel a responsibility to adhere to the values that their societies and communities stand for. These factors were especially important during the financial crisis, ensuring that most businesses in the region had not overstretched their finances and were, therefore, able to recover faster than European and American companies. For example, in Europe, there has been an unprecedented social and economic challenge that is characterized by job losses and bankruptcies, as well as a culture of late payments (Kotlar et al, 2014: p603). The dominance of family-owned businesses in the MENA region has ensured that there are structures in place that are conducive to responsible corporate conduct that values its employees. Challenges facing Family Businesses in the MENA Region Baydoun et al (2013: p13) state that family-owned businesses in the MENA region face a major challenge in achieving sustainability, especially as the businesses face increasing competition from foreign companies in their local markets, challenges related to generational management and leadership transition, and pressure to internationalize businesses. One of the major challenges facing family business is a lack of formalized risk appetite and clear strategic direction. In this case, family businesses in MENA do not have an inclusive and systematic investment portfolio and the development of a clear and strategic direction for the enterprises is poor. Moreover, these businesses lack a clear tradeoff between reward and risk and also lack stringent strategies for investment that result in stakeholder conflict about the right investment strategies. As such, many family businesses in MENA have accumulated assets in their portfolio sans the structural strength related to clear divestment and investment rationale. Family owned businesses in the region also have low visibility of their individual assets’ true performance, as well as the portfolio in general (Baydoun et al, 2013: p14). At present, most of these businesses lack the opportunity to increase systematic visibility and tracking of contributions made by each business to the overall performance of their portfolio. Another challenge that faces family businesses in the MENA region has to do with the complexity of the businesses, especially given the size of families in the region and the number of businesses in the overall portfolio (Baydoun et al, 2013: p15). As seen with the analysis of Alshaya and Sawiris family business groups, most of the family businesses are conglomerates that do business in more than one sector. Such diversification could portend negative impacts on the family business, although some of them like the Sawiris group have been able to successfully manage their portfolio. For some of the other businesses, however, there is a risk that the family could lose focus, while also using funds to support poorly-performing businesses that the family has emotional ties to. Salloum et al (2012: p120) argue that almost 25% of family businesses in the region are value destroyers. The large nature of families in the MENA region, especially of wealthy families, means that there is a high chance of exponential growth related to the number of family members who derive their livelihood from the company, which could end up harming the business. Indeed, the average family business in the region would be required to grow by almost 20% annually in order for future generations to access the same extent of wealth as the current generation (Salloum et al, 2012: p120). Family-owned businesses in the MENA region also face challenges associated with increased economic liberalization due to government policies. As noted earlier, one of the reasons why family businesses like the Sawiris group have been able to expand so significantly is as a result of influential power networks and the closed nature of their economies to competition. However, as economic reform and liberalization take hold in the region, family businesses are facing more competition as various sectors open up to foreign investment, particularly those that enjoyed government protection like construction (Salloum et al, 2012: p120). Moreover, as more MENA countries join and ratify the World Trade Organization and its regulations, the role of government in the market economy has declined, helping to encourage competition, support entrepreneurship, and reduce vested interests. Takeover by third generation family members in some businesses like the AlMajdouie group also pose a unique challenge for these businesses. Indeed, Craig et al (2014: p203) argue that the statistics show that most MENA businesses are not able to make the transition from the second to the third generation of ownership and management. Currently, at least 75% of all family businesses in the region are managed and operated by 2nd generation family members who are now expected to handover to a 3rd generation (Craig et al, 2014: p203). This poses a unique challenge because, whereas the 2nd generation is made up of siblings, the third generation constitutes of cousins with weaker family obligations and ties. Issues of transparency also pose a unique challenge to family businesses in the MENA region, especially as the number of businesses defaulting on their debts continues to rise. As a result, banks in the region, as well as international banks, no longer view family businesses as safe lending partners and have tightened lending to privately owned businesses, particularly those owned by families (Craig et al, 2014: p204). Therefore, unless family-owned businesses in MENA can boost their levels of transparency and disclosure, it will become increasingly difficult for them to obtain loans. Corporate governance issues will also pose challenges to family owned businesses, especially since most family groups do not have holding company structures. Rather, most of these businesses were initially structured as a group or collective of companies, which led to the current situation of continuity problems, inefficient management, and complexity of decision making. This, in turn, has led to conflicts between relatives and family members with unhealthy results with regards to control of profitable and stable businesses within the overall portfolio. Unlike Western family businesses, MENA businesses rarely use the family trust strategy to maintain the family’s stake, as well as to consolidate business control (Kabasakal et al, 2012: p522). Instead, they use holding companies or mother companies to preserve control and, although this simulates the mechanism of trusts, it fails to offer similar tools of control. Conclusion The family-owned business model in the MENA region is the most prevalent form of business ownership, accounting for majority of private company activity, while also accounting for over half of all non-oil GDP in the region. The three family business groups discussed in this paper; the Sawiris Family in Egypt, the AlShaya Family in Kuwait, and the AlMajdouie Family in Saudi Arabia, have several factors in common that are also common to other family businesses in MENA. These include diversification into several sectors, their beginnings from small traders or merchant companies, and advantageous competitive policies and government assistance. The businesses are critical to the economy of MENA as they are the second biggest stakeholders in their national economies after the government, while also being the biggest employers. However, challenges related to portfolio management, increased competition from foreign firms, and succession issues are likely to confront these businesses. References Baydoun, N., Maguire, W., Willett, R., & Ryan, N. (2013). Corporate governance in five Arabian Gulf countries. Managerial Auditing Journal, 28, 1, 7-22. Beck, L., Janssens, W., Debruyne, M., & Lommelen, T. (2011). A Study of the Relationships between Generation, Market Orientation, and Innovation in Family Firms. Family Business Review, 24, 3, 252-272. Craig, J. B., Pohjola, M., Kraus, S., & Jensen, S. H. (2014). 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