A destination should work for a future condition of the society with the social-, economic- and ecological sustainability perspectives in mind to be considered as a sustainable destination. We do not intend to explain the impact of the social and economic aspects, but instead we will only examine how Dubai, along with the tourism industry's rapid development, works to maintain environmental sustainability in the destination. The choice of Dubai is based on the fast-growing and productive tourism developmentin the city and its concept of building, including artificial islands and tall luxurious buildings. The new projects and the concept of becoming a leading global tourism destination in the desert not only costs money, but also affect the environment in the community. In this study, we have investigated how these building projects affect the city ecologically, if there is any sustainability thinking in Dubai and how the city actively works for the environment considering the future generations. We have done this by having seven interviews with people who hold relevant qualifications in the field, and then compare the result with what the relevant theories and previous research shows. The final result was a mixture between what the selected respondents said and what previous research concluded, which shows that Dubai still has some work to do when it comes to the environment and its sustainability goal

The thesis is a study of migration and its links to belonging, class, national identity and recognition in United Arab Emirates (UAE) federation. It focuses on Pakistani migrants, especially Pakistani professionals in Dubai, which is the second largest Emirate of the UAE because of its territorial extension and economic production (Davidson, 2008a). It is not only an empirical study but also partly a conceptual and analytical treatise on migration in the GCC countries. By comparing the extant literature on migration in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the findings of my own field research, I argue the need to move beyond concepts such as belonging despite exclusion (Vora, 2013), citizenship as belonging (Vora & Kock, 2015) and nationalism for nationals (Kock, 2015), which have dominated the literature on migration in this region, to better grasp that belonging, class and national identity are contested and situational. Dubai as a transit lounge is an expression used by one of my Pakistani participants to describe the dynamic nature of the city. But more than that, it was used to emphasize that foreign workers life in the emirate is characterized by temporariness. The UAE authorities have categorized people through the citizenship law (no. 17, 1972) in Emiratis and non-Emiratis by conceiving of them as two distinct categories. In my view, this might be interpreted as a fracture between two groups of individuals. In particular, non-Emiratis have been considered and represented in the literature as a monolithic group (Mahdavi, 2011), as disempowered individuals and, especially low-wage migrants, as victims of the market economy over which they cannot wield any control (Kathiravelu, 2016). The extant literature on migration in the GCC countries has portrayed the image of foreign communities in which the role of human agency in the migration experience is underestimated. Starting from the historical evolution of migration in the Arab Gulf region and the links with African and Asian countries, which have contributed towards shaping the ethnic diversity of the UAE and the GCC countries, my research focuses on the presence of Pakistani migrant professionals in Dubai in order to understand the development of migration in the Emirate; the role and importance of the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) in contributing towards determining belonging; and therefore how migration affects the Emirati national identity. This thesis challenges the extant literature on migration in the Arab Gulf region by questioning the dichotomy between nationals and non-nationals as two reciprocally-exclusive categories. Instead, it argues the need to look at inter and intra dynamics that take place in the field between the two groups in order to understand how their relations are constructed. It is thus important to consider social interactions between nationals and non-nationals because individuals occupy contradictory and multi-layered locations, spaces and social categories (Yuval-Davis, 2011; Anthias, 2015). This reasoning stems from my historical analysis of ethnic composition and social stratification in the Gulf port cities, especially Dubai, where the coexistence of different ethnic groups resulted from economic exchanges and intermarriages with people coming from African and Asian countries, which in turn contributed towards shaping the ethnic diversity of the region. For example, the construction of belonging cannot be grasped only by looking at non-nationals as an isolated category (Koch, 2015) but it has to be analysed and discussed in relation to others . As such, it is important to consider the role played by migrants and their ethno-national migrant associations in forging the discourse on the Emirati national identity. Migrants, through civic engagement and their participation in the Emirati public sphere, contribute towards strengthening Emirati national identity via their sense of belonging to the country and their agential capacity (e. g. migrant organizations).

Dubai’s rapid double-digit economic growth was severely challenged by the global financial crisis of 2007, which raised many concerns questioning the sustainability of the Dubai model of economic development and the viability of the emirate’s economic managerial practices. Although the economic landscape of Dubai has experienced a significant transformation over the last two decades, from a basic traditional economy of US $17.9 billion in 2001 to a diversified non-oil dependent economy of US $ 86.7 billion in 2012, there are few convincing empirical academic studies to assess and explain the Dubai model of economic development. This doctoral research provides a crucial assessment of the Dubai model in light of its political and socio-cultural contexts. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary theoretical framework that stems from the literature of economic geography, cultural economy and managerialism, has been designed in order to critically interpret the mechanism of the emirate’s economic practices in today’s global capitalism. This involves a methodological approach based on the study of narratives and performance to explain Dubai’s narratives and macro-economic performance. The multidisciplinary theoretical framework adopted is useful in analysing the Dubai model as an alternative to the discipline of mainstream economics, which ignores cultural and social dimensions and conditions that not only influence but also shape a given economic landscape. The research was undertaken by analysing a wide range of data, including intensive macro-economic statistics, financial and economic reports, international and local press, as well as conducting empirical in-depth elite interviews with fifty-six key stakeholders in the economy of Dubai: senior government officials, representatives of financial institutions, senior managers in the private non-financial sector, and academics. The research findings reveal that although the political and socio-cultural contexts naturally support Dubai's economic model, institutional and managerial problems were also exposed following the global financial crisis and the property shock of 2007. Dubai represents a financialized economy in which the government has adopted a hybrid model of government-driven developments and corporate managerial features within an environment that encourages commercial liberalism and market capitalism. However, despite this financialized economy, tensions remain in Dubai's pursuit of these goals. Finally, the research stresses the need for appropriate government mechanisms to foster oversight over economic performance and long-term sustainable economic development.

In 2018, global gross domestic product (GDP) was US$86.3 trillion, and almost a quarter of that value was due to international trade with a value of US$19.6 trillion. Air cargo accounts for about 35 percent of that trade value (approximately US$6.86 trillion). Moreover, from the perspective of the airport sector, air cargo revenue contributes between 20 to 70 percent of airport revenue. The global airport revenue for freight in 2018 was US$250 billion. Despite the interest and research activities surrounding competition and competitiveness of airports and specifically among airlines and passengers, it appears scholars have overlooked research concerning the competitiveness of airports when it comes to air cargo. This study attempts to fill the gap in the supply chain and logistics literature by putting forward a framework and ultimately operationalizing the framework highlighting the pivotal role of air cargo in the supply chain domain and within the global economy. Specifically, the framework is operationalized within the freight forwarding air cargo supply chain domain – providing insight into this important yet understudied phenomenon. The population of interest is freight forwarders from the Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates. The Middle East represents 18 percent of the world's air cargo volume and the region's air cargo volume has been growing three times faster than worldwide air cargo making the Dubai International Airport an appropriate and novel setting for the study. A sample frame obtained from the National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL) provided the final sample of 187 respondents. The survey was undertaken during the fourth quarter of 2019. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling. The dissertation contributes to the supply chain and logistics literature by synthesizing and operationalizing a framework that measures freight forwarder satisfaction specific to air cargo. Relying on Porter's theory of industry structure and competitiveness, the results of this study find that freight forwarder satisfaction is composed of three dimensions: infrastructure, operations, and cost. Additionally, the empirical findings reveal that freight forwarder satisfaction has a significant positive effect on both loyalty and airport competitiveness. As well, loyalty partially mediates the relationship between freight forwarder satisfaction and airport competitiveness.

Inefficient processes for innovation implementation can prevent owners of small and medium-sized enterprises from realizing goals and growth potential. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that managers of small and medium-sized enterprises use to implement innovation in their organizations to improve performance. The population for this study consisted of 5 managers from 4 small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Dubai. The resource-based view theory was the conceptual framework of this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and review of companies' documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step process. After transcribing the interviews and coding the resulting transcripts, the key themes that emerged included: the role of the top management in cultivating an innovative culture, the identification of ideas as the starting points for innovation, and the recognition of customers as resources for the company. Managers of small and medium-sized enterprises might benefit from the results of this study by implementing the recommendations and strategies to improve performance. Implications for social change include the potential to create employment opportunities and improve the living conditions of the employees in Dubai through economic growth.

The urban heat island, UHI, is a phenomenon that occurs in all cities. This phenomenon is an effect of us humans and the environments we have built. What happens in cities are that they re-emit the suns heat and other energies trapping them in this heat island.  The re-emitting happens through the pavement of the city, lack of greenery, roads and how the city is built and its geometry. Cities with skycrapers and of high density see a greater impact of the urban heat island where the wind flow is reduced and more heat is trapped and stored. The UHI is worst experienced in places with a very hot climate, such as the arid desert climate with extreme temperatures year round, like in the UAE and Dubai.  It is vital to tackle the UHI effect problem, because it puts people at danger. Many lives are shed each year due to heat strokes, that can be reduced if we take this problem into consideration when we design our cities. The UHI effect can be reduced by simple yet effective steps.

Detta är en studie om affärskulturen i Dubai, ett emirat tillhörande Förenade arabemiraten. Undersökningen har genomförts via intervjuer med det multinationella företaget Gulf Agency Company vilket givit en större kunskap om hur företagets etablering i Dubai gått till och hur de idag bedriver sin verksamhet på marknaden. I denna studie har vi undersökt vilka hinder respektive möjligheter som företaget möter och hur detta skiljer sig från den svenska affärskulturen. Studien har genomförts genom två semistrukturerade intervjuer med två av företagets styrelsemedlemmar, som även är aktiva inom den operationella verksamheten. Undersökningen har också gått på djupet med vilka problem samt möjligheter som kan uppstå då företag väljer att etablera sig på marknaden i Dubai. För att få en större inblick av hur marknaden i Dubai fungerar har ytterligare en intervju gjorts med det halvstatliga svenska företaget Business Sweden som arbetar just med sådana frågor. Resultaten i vår studie tyder på att det finns tydliga fördelar med att vara etablerade i Dubai som multinationellt företag, och att det finns ett fåtal nackdelar. Därmed kan det finnas ett stort värde för företag att etablera sig där.

Managerial characteristics have an important influence on strategy implementation. Previous studies have looked at the alignment of managerial characteristics with strategic type and aspects of performance. In all cases, the focus has been on corporate strategy and, predominantly, in private sector organisations. This study combines these objectives and investigates alignment between managerial characteristics, strategy and perceived performance. It focuses on management at the functional level in a public sector setting and demonstrates that classical upper-echelon theory is also relevant when applied at the functional level of management. The Miles and Snow (1978) typology is applied to the functional strategy for Dubai government organisations, to investigate whether functional units pursuing strategies are led by functional managers with dissimilar attributes, and whether the alignment between managerial characteristics and strategy is related to performance of the functional unit. Based on the extant literature, a research model has been developed, which yields two types of hypothesis. Data was collected by means of interviews and surveys to obtain knowledge of strategy types, and demographic and psychological characteristics for the functional managers. Regression techniques have been used for data analysis rendering support for two types of hypothesis. Consequently, this study supports the view that Upper Echelon theory can also apply at the functional level, emphasising the role of the functional managers, at the lower management levels of the organisations, in strategy implementation.

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