Factors that shape attitudes toward privatization: The case of Saudi Arabia

This dissertation explores the factors that have shaped the attitudes of department heads in the public sector of Saudi Arabia towards privatization. The study assumes that Saudi Arabia's privatization initiative is not ideologically motivated. Therefore, the attitudes of the study sample toward privatization must have been influenced by factors similar or identical to those found in the literature to influence the attitudes of other people outside Saudi Arabia. The results show that the attitudes of the study sample have in fact been influenced by two groups of factors. The first group is related to the private sector. These factors are: The superiority of the private sector's managerial practices, the importance of improving the image of the private sector to draw migrating and foreign investments and reduce international pressures for economic reform, the increases in the capabilities of the private sector, the need to widen the investment base and increase the participation of Saudi citizens in the local economy, the need for a more competitive economy, the need to create new jobs, the need for developed local markets, the need to improve the levels of effectiveness, productivity, and competitiveness in the economy, and the need to strengthen the local economy. The second group is related to the public sector. These factors are: The importance of solving the government's financial difficulties, the need to limit government interventions in the marketplace to give it more time to concentrate on other roles in society, and the need to reduce, or at least limit, the growth of the public sector.