Abstract
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) aspires to ensure that all residents and citizens can access high-quality services. To achieve this, it is placing increasing emphasis on efficiency and awareness of consumer needs. Succession planning (SP) and the effective identification of critical success factors (CSFs) are essential in this process, resulting in resource and time optimisation. The process of SP implementation is still developing within the UAE. There is a relative lack of published literature regarding effectively implementing SP in the UAE's public higher education (HE) sector. Thus, many theoretical underpinnings are garnered from research conducted in various other regions and cultures. The literature review identifies SP and several common CSFs that may impact effective SP implementation. The present study uses this theoretical underpinning in order to identify CSFs with the most significant impact on SP implementation in the UAE's public HE sector and understand their relevance and criticality. It investigates top management leadership perceptions regarding SP and perspectives on identifying the CSFs of SP.The study adopts a pragmatic research design by using qualitative inquiry. The target population consists of respondents mainly from top management leadership in the HE sector, the Ministry of Higher Education and other ministries and top leaders from public sector organisations. The study utilises primary data obtained through semi-structured interviews and qualitative case study data. While this thesis expands upon the work of other academics, it also operates a distinct methodology to explore the CSFs that have the most direct effect on the UAE's public HE sector. It was explicitly undertaken to identify which CSFs have the most significant influence on effective SP implementation and should therefore serve as a valuable contribution to the theory and add to the existing literature on SP.
This study proposes a conceptual framework for CSFs to support effective SP implementation. It deploys the same framework to achieve its results and draw conclusions. The proposed SP framework thus emphasises the CSFs that are most needed and aims to encourage organisations to give attention to the factors that most
profoundly influence the success or failure of SP implementation: linking organisational strategy and SP, SP process design and integration, top management support and commitment, staff involvement m SP and incentives and motivation associated with SP implementation.
In addition, the research offers a theoretical contribution to the broader academic understanding of how CSFs influence the implementation of SP. Its findings can expand the boundaries of extant theory, allowing organisations to implement SP more efficiently and focus on the most crucial CSFs. The study can also significantly benefit organisations in that it can help reduce the risk of failure in SP implementation and enable top management to understand the areas of concern, and how to use resources to address them. To address gaps in the academic literature, SP is considered in the context of the UAE and the public HE sector. As a study of SP across public HE organisations, the present research will contribute to their knowledge and practices.
Furthermore, it will provide valuable information for local government officials, policymakers and SP researchers. The broader contributions of this thesis regarding SP can be referred to across the region and throughout much of the developing world. However, this depends on the strategic plans of the other regions, as numerous varied challenges affect each region and have to be dealt with by the region's leadership. Moreover, each region's leadership has a considerable role in overcoming such difficulties to implement sustainable strategies.
| Date of Award | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | United Arab Emirates University |
| Supervisor | David Edgar (Supervisor), Peter Duncan (Supervisor) & Anne Chapman (Supervisor) |