EL DESARROLLO DE UNA ESFERA PÚBLICA ISLÁMICA.

As mentioned in Section 1.3 (the need for the research), there is a relatively poor Libyan global experience in business relationship development, and hence there is a genuine shortage of research on business relationship development in Libya. Libya has been politically and economically isolated for several years because of its previous foreign policy, and more recently, after a period of relative stability and its re-emergence in international relations, the country has undergone a regime change consequent upon civilian war in many cities in Libya (BBC, 2011). Again, these historical events have placed Libya in a difficult position in terms of its international trading ability, but the country is now beginning to calm down and the interim government has started to establish a new plan for Libya, to include elections have been held in July/2012 (Reuters, 2012).

It is appropriate, therefore, to ensure that Libyan businesses are able to carry on from where they were before the civilian unrest, and in order to provide support for this aim, the literature relating to business relationships is an important building block. However, whilst the literature reports many studies showing

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variables and stages in business relationship development and maintenance (as shown in appendix 1), it cannot be said to be wholly applicable to the Libyan situation, since all the studies mentioned have been undertaken in developed countries, in which business relationships have reached a level of sophistication that is not currently present in Libya.

It is important, therefore, for Libyan businesses to quickly advance, and indeed the researcher believes that Libyan businesses are making a major effort to become highly recognisable in the global market and that they want to develop key partnerships internationally. Indeed, this is an aim that that was mentioned by many of the interviewees in the current study, in particular interviewee 6 stating quite strongly:

“… we are trying to do our best just to be active internationally”.

However, interviewee 9 pointed out that:

“… we are not very active globally but we are trying to be more global”.

Also, interviewee 12 mentioned that:

“… my company plan is to try to attracting overseas partners to Libya….. that is of course given advantages to both parties”.

It can be seen that 90% of the participating companies associated the first stage with some kind of research process, the main objectives being to discover information that would help them in identifying a prospective and suitable business partner. These findings corresponded closely with the information found in the literature review (on pages 55-56) and in particular with the model proposed by Hallén and Wiedersheim-Paul (1984), containing four stages in the development of a business relationship. The stages which Hallén and Wiedersheim-Paul(1984) consider most important are the pre-contact stage, the initial interaction phase, the developmental period, and the maturity stage. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the organisations that participated took the appropriate time and effort to answer questions about the first four stages, but

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stages five and six generated only limited responses since these were not identified as being present in the majority of organisations participating. The first stage, according to Hallén and Wiedersheim-Paul (1984), is the pre-contact stage, and in accordance with the literature review (on page 55) the 17 interviewees discussed conducting the appropriate research to find a new business partner. The findings demonstrated that the companies’ key ideals in this search were cultural awareness, trust, and quality of job.

Stage Two is the one in which initial interaction takes place, according to the Hallén and Wiedersheim-Paul (1984) model. From the literature review (on page 56), it can be seen that this is considered to be the time when communication begins to occur on a more routine basis, and this must continue if the partnership is to enjoy lasting success. All the 17 interviewees in the research sample believed that during this stage, initial contact was important in fostering a healthy partnership. They also felt that throughout this stage, the business partners were concerned with discussing ideas about goals, objectives, plans, and commitment. Similarly, all the 17 businesses stated that they look for partners that have the characteristics of likeability, trustworthiness, and that also have a strong understanding of culture from multiple perspectives.

Stages Three is the development component of the business relationship. The literature review (on page 58-59) reveals the developmental stage as the time when problems begin to occur between the partners. Indeed, 100% of the research sample described this phase as a time of improvement, development, and fostering relationships through the building process. Also during this stage many of the 17 businesses cited trust, cultural awareness, commitment, and quality of job as important components in developing a business relationship. Ninety per cent (90%) of the interviewees were of the opinion that business partners should be culturally aware, trustworthy, and produce job quality, more than all other ideals mentioned.

Stages four to six received fewer comments from interviewees. Stage four attracted comments from 85% of the sample, stage five from only 36%, and there was only one respondent who suggested a sixth stage. These low levels of response make it difficult to analyse the empirical data collected. Stage Four is

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time when a business partnership begins to reach maturity, and according to the literature review (on page 55) this is the point where partners have developed some mutual affinity and a sense of one another’s wants and needs. Over half the businesses described the maturation stage as one that was satisfying and a time when partnerships were extended, although 20% of the businesses mentioned a decline or a complete ending of the partnership. The general theme throughout Stages Four, Five, and Six was that the key components for successful partnerships were once again cultural awareness, trust, and quality of job amongst partners.

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Chapter 6: Research Conclusion and Recommendation