A case study of the Dubai e-commerce market - how cultural impacts within business contexts, and marketing activities should be considered when Swedish businesses seek to enter

Abstract

Previous research provides a range of theories regarding businesses that seek to expand globally both online or physically. Several of them include aspects such as culture, marketing and other factors that needs to be considered, however, there is no evidence of combining them when examining how to enter a foreign market. In addition, that there has not been paid much attention to the Dubai market in general even though the development of their e-commerce has increased. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how cultural impacts within business contexts, and marketing activities should be considered when Swedish businesses seek to enter the Dubai e-commerce market. This has been examined through a qualitative research in form of three interviews with respondents from three stakeholder organisations’; Dubai Airport Freezone, Business Sweden and Yuki Consulting, together with online observations. The findings gave insights of which factors that characterizes the Dubai market in general, the ecommerce market, further it also highlights how cultural impacts in business contexts and marketing activities should be considered when seeking the Dubai e-commerce market. Finally, the authors concluded that, the main factors characterizing the Dubai e-commerce market are; a well-established infrastructure, and a high level of consumer- knowledge and awareness. The cultural impacts that are vital to consider are the cultural differences, especially on an individual level. Furthermore, the importance of building trust and establishing relationships to generate better deals. When considering marketing activities in Dubai it is highly recommended to incorporate local individuals and also the native language, Arabic, in promotions for instance. Lastly, organisations that enter the Dubai e-commerce market should be aware of the current development from traditional- to digital marketing which enables them to decide the most suitable marketing activities.