Managing the Spin-off Process: Multiple Cases from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

A corporate "spin-off" is a new phenomenon in United Arab Emirates (UAE) markets with potential for increased profit generation and market penetration. However, most empirical studies of spin-off businesses simply focus on the economic benefits and overlook other factors that may play a significant role in the spin-off creation processes and their long-term development. Although literature exists on the financial rewards, little attention is given to the importance of the parent company and the spin-off team during the spin-off creation process, which raises the questions of how related factors may affect the spin-off creation process. This dissertation seeks to examine the role of two specific factors: the spin-off team’s managerial skills and knowledge and the parent company’s support during the process of spin-off creation and development. Multiple case studies set in the UAE were investigated. Three cases were selected of companies that demonstrate contrasting institutional contexts and the growing UAE economy. A qualitative methodology was used to understand the aforementioned factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parent company management personnel and spin-off team members to collect data from different angles and to achieve a robust analysis. Template analysis (TA) and cross-case analysis methods were used to gain deep understanding of the data by identifying correlations among cases and studying the spin-off phenomena across the three sample cases in relation to the factors that were the object of the study.