Mhamed Biygautane is a visiting Associate Researcher/Assistant Professor at Rabdan Academy. He is a Lecturer in Public Policy in the School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Public Policy and Management from Monash University, and was the recipient of numerous prestigious international scholarships such as the Endeavor Scholarships and Fellowships, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Fellowships, and Partnerships for Learning Undergraduate Studies (PLUS) program.
Mhamed’s research interests are located at the interface between public management and organizational theory. He explores how the institutional context affects the implementation of public sector reform initiatives and programs such as public-private partnerships, privatization, knowledge management and downsizing public sector organizations, with particular emphasis on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle Eastern countries. His research has appeared in several Q. 1 (A and A* in ABDC list) international academic journals such as Public Management Review (Impact Factor 6), International Journal of Project Management (Impact Factor 9), Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal (Impact Factor 4.93), Thunderbird International Business Review (Q.1), and Research in the Sociology of Organizations (Q.1), among others.
PhD. Public Policy and Management. Monash University, Australia
Master of Public Policy and Management, Monash University, Australia
Master of International Relations, Aberdeen University, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Kent State University, Ohio, United States
Sole Authored Books:
1. Biygautane, M. (2022). The Institutional Context of Public-Private Partnerships: Empirical Insights from the GCC States. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, United Kingdom.
Articles in Peer-Reviewed International Journals
1. Biygautane, M., Clegg, S. & Al-Yahya, K. (2020). Institutional Work and Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): The Roles of Religious Symbolic Work and Power in Implementing PPP Projects. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 33(5), 1077-1112. [Ranked ‘Q 1’ in SCImago Journal Rank. Impact Factor: 4.11]
2. Biygautane, M., Micelotta, E., Gabbioneta, C. & Cappellaro, G. (2020). In the Land of Sand and Oil: How the Macrofoundations of Tribal Society Shape the Implementation of Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 68(1), 67-96. [Ranked ‘Q 1’ in SCImago Journal Rank]
3 Biygautane, M., Neesham, C. & Al-Yahya, K. (2019). Institutional Entrepreneurship and Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Unpacking the Role of Social Actors in Implementing PPP Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), 192-219. [Ranked ‘Q 1’ in SCImago Journal Rank. Impact Factor: 7.17]
4. Biygautane, M., Hodge, G. & Gerber, P. (2018). The Prospect of Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities. Thunderbird International Business Review, 60(3), 329-346. [Ranked ‘Q 1’ in SCImago Journal Rank]
5. Hodge, G., Greve, C. & Biygautane, M. (2018). Do PPP’s work? What and how Have we Been Learning so far? Public Management Review, 20(8), 1105-1121. [Ranked ‘Q 1’ in SCImago Journal Rank. Impact Factor: 5.89]
6. Biygautane, M. (2017). Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar: Meanings, Rationales, Projects, and the Path Forward. Public Works Management & Policy, 22(2), 85-118. [Ranked ‘Q 2’ in SCImago Journal Rank]
7. Biygautane, M., Gerber, P. & Hodge, G. (2017). The Evolution of Administrative Systems in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar: The Challenge of Implementing Market-Based Reforms. DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies, 26(1), 97-126. [Ranked ‘Q 2’ in SCImago Journal Rank]
Book Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)
1. Biygautane, M. (2022). Public-private partnerships in Saudi Arabia: Institutional frameworks, projects and the path forward, in Clegg, S., Sankaran, S., Ke, Y., & Mangioni, V. (eds.), Infrastructure Development: A Critical International Perspective on Value in Public-Private Partnerships, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
2. Biygautane, M., & Amri, K. Ahermouch, O. (2022). When public and private values collide: Why did the PPP model for Enfidha airport in Tunisia fail? in Clegg, S., Sankaran, S., Ke, Y., & Mangioni, V. (eds.), Infrastructure Development: A Critical International Perspective on Value in Public-Private Partnerships, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
3. Biygautane, M., & Jarrar, Y., Ahermouch, O. (2022). Airport infrastructure development in the Middle East via the PPP route: Lessons from Alia Airport in Jordan. in Clegg, S., Sankaran, S., Ke, Y., & Mangioni, V. (eds.), Infrastructure Development: A Critical International Perspective on Value in Public-Private Partnerships, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
4. Biygautane, M. (2022). The role of individual actors in implementing public-private partnership (PPP) projects: Insights from Madinah Airport in Saudi Arabia, in Hakim, S., Clark, R., & Blackstone, E. (eds.), Handbook on Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation, New York: Springer- Science Publishing, 31-50.
5. El-Massnaoui, K. & Biygautane, M. (2021). Downsizing the Public Sector: Re-evaluating the Achievements and Performance of Morocco’s Voluntary Retirement Program, in Beschel, R., & Yousef, T. (eds.), Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons of Experience for a Region in Transition. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1-24.
6. Biygautane, M. & Ahermouch, O. (2018). The Mismatch between Institutional and Educational Systems and Entrepreneurship Requirements: Lessons and Recommendations for the GCC States, in Clerc, P., Guerraoui, D., & Richet, X. (eds.), La Nouvelle Economie Mondiale Transformations Structurelles, Impacts et Réponses des Acteurs Comparaisons Internationales. Paris: L’Harmattan, 131-148.
7. Biygautane, M. (2016). Analysis of the Impact of Cultural and Institutional Characteristics of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s States on Entrepreneurship: Opportunities and Challenges, in Shams, R. & Kaufmann, H. (eds.), Entrepreneurial Challenges in the 21st Century: Creating Stakeholder Value Co-Creation. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 222-234.
8. Biygautane, M. (2016). The Gulf Cooperation Council’s Public Sector Executive Education: Importance, Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, in Lepeley, M., von Kimakowitz, E. & Bardy, R. (eds.), Human-Centered Management in Executive Education Global Imperatives, Innovation and New Directions. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 61-81.
9. Biygautane, M. (2016). Japan’s Immigration Policies Towards Muslims: Trends and Realities, in Nagy, S. (ed.), Japan’s Demographic Revival: Rethinking Migration, Identity and Socio-Cultural Norms. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co, 113-144.
10. Biygautane, M. (2015). Anti-corruption Strategies in the Gulf Cooperation Council’s States: Lessons Learnt and the Path Forward, in Zhang, Y. & Lavena, C. (eds.), Government Anti-Corruption Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 187-214.
11. Biygautane, M. & Al-Taee, M. (2015). The Use of e-Government and Social Media for Government Services’ Delivery and Citizen Engagement: Examples from Dubai’s Case, in Nepal, S., Paris, C. & Georgakopoulos, D. (eds.), Social Media for Government Services. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 75-96.
12. Biygautane, M. & Dargin, J. (2015). In Search of Sustainable Development: Economic, Environmental and Social Achievements and Challenges Facing the United Arab Emirates, in Bryde, D., Mouzughi, Y. & Al Rasheed, T. (eds.), Sustainable Development Challenges in the Arab States of the Gulf. Berlin & London: Gerlach Press, 30-49.
13. Biygautane, M. & Al-Yahya, K. (2014). Talent Management in the MENA and GCC Regions: Challenges and Opportunities, in Al Ariss, A. (ed.), Global Talent Management Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 197-215.
14. Al-Yahya, K. & Biygautane, M. (2014). Innovation for Integrated Government by Network: The Case of SADAD in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Beschel, R., Yousef, T. & Al-Yahya, K. (eds.), Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons of Experience for a Region in Transition. New York: World Bank Publications, 186-216.
15. Al-Nuseirat, A. & Biygautane, M. (2014). Managing Training Budgets During Times of Financial Crises: The Experience of Dubai’s Government, in Charles, V. & Kumar, M. (eds.), Business Performance Measurement and Management. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 174-198.
16. Biygautane, M. & Depetris, N. (2013). South-South Cooperation and the Experiences of Africa and the Maghreb Region: Missed Opportunities and the Way Forward in Dargin, J. (ed.), The Rise of the Global South: Philosophical, Geopolitical and Economic Trends of the 21st Century. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific Publishing Co, 175-212.
17. Biygautane, M. & Lahouel, M. (2012). The Political Economy of Privatization in the Maghreb Region: How Domestic and External Factors have Shaped the Privatization Process and Outcomes, in Costa, T. (ed.), Europe and Mediterranean Economy. London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 135-149.
Murphy, D. & Biygautane, M. (2011). Economic and Territorial Intelligence: Lessons from Dubai, in Guerraoui, D. & Clerc, P. (eds.), Intelligence Territoriale et Développement Régional par L'Entreprise: Expériences Internationales Comparées. Actes de la Rencontre Internationale de Dakhla. Paris: L'Harmattan, 113-139.
Strategic Management; Strategic Planning; Public Policy Analysis, Public Management, Governance.
Public sector reform; public-private partnerships; knowledge management; privatization; sustainable development.
Visiting Associate Researcher - Assistant Professor at Research & Innovation Centers