@phdthesis{oai:osu.repo.nii.ac.jp:00002519,
 author = {ALMALOY, Yasser and アルマルイ, ヤ－セル and Almaloy,, Y.},
 month = {2023-05-29, 2023-05-29},
 note = {2022年度, The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between leadership and organizational innovation in Saudi and Japanese Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The study analysis the effect of Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) as a tool to be used to generate Disruptive Innovation. Although many studies in the literature have shown the importance of LMX and Disruptive Innovation, only a few studies have examined the correlational relationship between LMX and Disruptive Innovation. The main question of this thesis is: what is the effect that LMX has on Disruptive Innovation when applied in tourism SMEs? A quantitative methodology has been utilized to answer the research questions. Structured interviews were conducted with Saudi and Japanese tourism SMEs. Our analysis shows a strong correlation between LMX and Disruptive Innovation. companies that used LMX were able to produce Disruptive Innovation in their products and services. However, there are some limitations such as the limited number of companies that have been selected for analysis. Future research may increase the number of companies and use mixed methodology to analyze the relationship between LMX and Disruptive Innovation.

＜Abstract of Doctoral Dissertation＞

A Study on Leader-Member Exchange and Disruptive Innovation in the Age of Industry 4.0: With a Special Reference to the Saudi and Japanese Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises

Name：ALMALOY Yasser
Ⅰ Background/ Objectives and Goals
The relationship between The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan date back to 1955. Since that time, the two countries have developed strong relationship based on respect and cooperation. Economically Saudi Arabia and Japan have strong and old partnership. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supply Japan with oil and chemical products, and on the other hand Saudi Arabia import cars, excavator machines and electricity products. In April 2016, the kingdom has announced the implementation of “Vision 2030” which considered one of the biggest and most ambitious projects in the world. The vision is a roadmap for The Kingdom to achieve economic and social stability, and to be a much more effective player in the development of the global economy. From “Vision 2030” the “Saudi Japan Vison 2030” was born, which was announced in September 2019 when Crown Prince “Mohamed Bin Salman” visited Japan. One of the main goals of the “Saudi Japan Vision 2030” is to develop and assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the tourism sector. 
This research is comparative research between tourism SMEs in Saudi Arabia and Japan, and it aims to support the vision by doing research in the tourism industry. This paper aims to address the changes that are happening to organizations around the world due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These changes have made the competition between organizations more sever, and new changes always bring new challenges. When there is a new challenge or task, a new solution is required to overcome that challenge. That is why in this paper the role that innovation plays in the Saudi and Japanese tourism Small and Medium Enterprises will be investigated.
 Ignoring innovation means that organizations will decrease their chances of overcoming the new challenges and opportunities that is caused by changes caused by the Forth Industrial Revolution. In this research I will examine the effect of Leader and Member Exchange Theory (LMX), on Disruptive Innovation (DI) in the Saudi and Japanese tourism Small and Medium Enterprises. In this paper the effect of the fourth Industrial Revolution technologies on both Leader and Member Exchange Theory (LMX) and Disruptive Innovation in the Saudi and Japanese tourism Small and Medium Enterprises will be examined. Finally, Small and Medium Enterprises play a pivotal role in the advancement of economy of advanced countries and is considered an effective tool when dealing with the problem of unemployment. In addition to that, tourism is a great economic resource, and it helps countries to introduce their culture, customs and traditions to other countries which can help in the international understanding and acceptance of other cultures. This has been taking into consideration, and one of the goals of this paper is to encourage the sector of tourism in the Saudi and Japanese tourism Small and Medium Enterprises through research, and by analyzing the role leadership plays in organizations.

Ⅱ Field of Research
The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between leadership and disruptive innovation in Saudi and Japanese tourism SMEs. The research scope is going to be Makkah Region in Saudi Arabia and Kansai Region in Japan. The reason behind the selection of these two regions is the similarities they have. For example, both regions have many tourist attractions, and since this research is investigating the tourism SMEs, it makes perfect sense to select these two regions. For instance, in Makkah Region there are Jeddah City, Madinah City and Makkah City, which are very popular tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, in Kansai Region we have Kyoto City, Osaka city and Nara City, which also considered a very popular places for tourists in Japan. In addition to that, Makkah Region and Kansai Region are both close to other popular tourist attractions. For example, Makkah Region is close to Neom City and Qeddaiyah project that are considered one of the biggest tourism projects in the world. On the other hand, Kansai Region is also close to Wakayama Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture that are also consider a popular tourist attraction in Western Japan. All these similarities make the two regions a perfect choice for this research scope.
This research is based on the theoretical research centered on “Leaders-Member Exchange Theory” and “Disruptive Innovation” and how can the Saudi and Japanese Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises realize disruptive innovation in their organizations and achieve a long-term competitive advantage. This paper is attempting to analyze the possibility for small and medium enterprises to use LMX theory to enhance Disruptive Innovation abilities. Therefore, the theoretical scope and the practical scope of this research are as follows.

1.Leader-Member Exchange Theory
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory is considered one of the most famous and useful approaches to study the relationship between leadership process and leadership outcomes. It was first developed by Graeri and colleagues in 1975 under the name Vertical Dyad Theory (Dansereau et al., 1975: 47). LMX is different from other theories because the aim of other traditional leadership theories is to understand and explain the personal characteristics of leaders, or the situation in which leaders perform their leadership. However, what distinguishes LMX from other leadership theories is that LMX theory focuses on the dyadic relationship between leaders and members. In other words, what makes LMX unique is its ability to analyze human relationship and the interaction that happens between leaders and members and the affect it has on organizations.
LMX is said to have a great and positive influence on organizational performance. For instance, increasing in performance ratings, better overall satisfaction for employees, good relationship with supervisors, and leads to more organizational commitment (Gerstner, C. R., and Day, D. V., 1997: 829). In addition to that, LMX can have a great positive effect on both leaders and members and the overall organizational performance. These positive characteristics can help organizations to be successful. This is one of the reasons that led me to choose LMX as one of the main theories in this research. Finally, in this paper the relationship between LMX theory and innovation performance in small and medium enterprises will be analyzed. In addition to that the effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technology on LMX and innovation levels will be also investigated.

2.Disruptive Innovation Theory
The second theory that will be discussed in this research paper is Disruptive Innovation Theory. The theory was introduced and popularized by the Harvard University’s Business School professor Clayton Christensen. According to some research Disruptive Innovation is an effective tool that has the power to broaden existing market and create completely new markets with new line of customers. These changes that Disruptive Innovation makes can disrupt the market and lead dominant and strong companies to lose their market share and their popularity among customers (Dan, Y., and Chieh, H. C. 2008: 435).
Disruptive Innovation happens when the main player of the market continues to dominate the market by focusing on the main customers and continue to develop the products and services that the main customers prefer. They ignore making new products or focusing on other customers because most customers are satisfied with their products or services. On the other hand, new entrants of the market are developing a new set of products and services for the neglected customers by dominant companies. The new entrants continue to develop their new products and services until they reach a point where the main customers start to adopt their products and services. At this point when they the dominant players of the market realize that the value of their products have decreased due to the effect of the new products introduced by the new entrants, they try to catch up but usually fail to do so. The new entrants with their disruptive innovative products and services continue to climb up the ladder until they cause the dominant companies to exit the market or at least survive with little resources and base of customers.

3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the advancement of the economic and social wellbeing of countries. They are considered a great tool that can be used to solve the issue of unemployment in societies. In addition to that, SMEs are considered an innovation machine, where many great inventions can be tested and sent to the market to be consumed by regular customers and companies. SMEs provide big companies and factories with necessary materials that are vital in the making of some products. 
Although SMEs can be a great element for the wellbeing of economies and societies, there are certain factors that can threaten the survival of SMEs. For example, the survival of SMEs depends on their response towards the market and towards the products and services that meet the needs of the local and international customers (Ale Ebrahim, et al., 2009: 916). In other words, SMEs need to be responsive and act quickly and decisively towards the new challenges in the market. One of the great solutions that can be used by SMEs to be responsive and to survive in tough markets is innovation (Bigliardi, B., et al., 2011: 84). Due to the changes that are caused by the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the new machines that entered the market almost every day, companies of all sizes face the threat of losing their market share and exit the market. In addition to the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new regulations and policies by governments and global organizations can also create unwanted changes that organizations will have to deal with. New challenges require new solutions, and here comes the value of innovation. 
One of the main arguments of this paper is that SMEs can use innovation to overcome the challenges that are caused by the continues changes in today’s global market. In this research the focus will be on the Saudi and Japanese tourism Small and Medium Enterprises. As mentioned before, the scope of this research is going to be Makkah Region in Saudi Arabia and Kansai Region in Japan. The factors that lead to the enhancement of innovation performance in Saudi and Japanese SMEs will be analyzed. Specifically, this paper will measure the effect of LMX theory on Disruptive Innovation levels in tourism Saudi and Japanese SMEs.

III Methods
In this research, I would like to establish a theoretical framework by conducting a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) and Disruptive Innovation theory. After that I would like to analyze the dynamics of LMX and Disruptive Innovation in tourism SMEs in Saudi Arabia and Japan. First, I would like to utilize the following search engines to conduct my SLR which is the theoretical part of this paper. The search engines are Osaka Sangyo University database, Google scholar, Scopus, and web of science. A through and detailed search will be conducted to cover the previous research on the topics of leadership and innovation in general, and LMX and Disruptive Innovation in particular. Specifically, I would like to review the research regarding LMX theory and SMEs and the impact it has on innovation levels. Next, in this research a qualitative method will be applied where participants will be interviewed, and their response will be recorded and analyzed. Since this research is comparative research, the interviews will take place in Saudi Arabia and Japan where the data will be collected from tourism SMEs from both countries. In this paper only high value materials will be used and only authentic papers from companies will be included to ensure that there is validity and transparency in the data used in this research.

IV Research Results and Conclusions
Based on the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that has been conducted on the theoretical section of this paper, the importance of leadership in enhancing innovation capabilities has been discussed. Especially, the role of Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) in improving the performance of Disruptive Innovation capabilities in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Since trust, safety and transparency are important elements in any innovation activity, in this paper I propose that LMX can help SMEs to improve their Disruptive Innovation performance. According to the SLR that has been conducted, high quality LMX relationship between leaders and members can lead to a safer and more productive environment. Also, a good relationship between leaders and members can encourage members to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas which can enhance creativity abilities and innovation performance. In addition to that, a high-quality relationship between leaders and members can increase the loyalty to the organization, and that can lead to a good innovation result and a good overall organizational performance. Also, the changes that the global market has experienced because of the effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been discussed. In the era of the 4IR a lot of new technologies enter the market continuously. For example, new technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data, and virtual Reality have changed the global market and posed new challenges for organizations of all sizes. When organizations are faced with new challenges, they need to use new solutions to overcome the challenges they are facing. This requires the organizations of all sizes including SMEs to improve and work on their innovation capabilities. The reason why is because without strong creativity and innovation capabilities, their ability to face new challenges that are the result of changes that happen to the market will be affected negatively.
In this paper, the importance of Disruptive Innovation for SMEs, and the need for them to use LMX leadership style as a tool to enhance their innovation abilities has been mentioned. I believe that leadership and innovation are inseparable, and the role of leaders in helping members to be creative and innovative is huge and without the leadership support innovation results can be difficult to achieve. Based on the discussion above, I conclude that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has substantial effect on the global market and has made a lot of changes. These new changes have brought with them new challenges and opportunities. This require all organizations to strengthen their innovation capabilities to be able to deal with novel challenges and seize the new opportunities. 
Finally, based on the SLR that has been done in this research paper we concluded that SMEs will benefit from LMX as an effective tool to increase their Disruptive Innovation performance. Innovation requires a safe and transparent environment, and the use of LMX leadership style will provide the safety and security that will assist members to be more creative and innovative.

V Contributions
As mentioned above, this study aims to analyze the effect of LMX theory on Disruptive Innovation performance in Saudi and Japanese tourism SMEs. It also aims to shed light on the effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technology on leadership and innovation in SMEs. This paper will contribute to the existing literature of leadership and innovation practically and theoretically. The following points will demonstrate the contribution of this paper:

1.Theoretical Contribution
This study will contribute to the improvement of Disruptive Innovation theory by providing a clear framework for Disruptive Innovation when applied in SMEs in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It will extend the theory by analyzing the relationship between LMX Theory and Disruptive Innovation in SMEs environments and come up with a coherent model that explains the relationship in a clear way. Secondly, I argue that LMX theory is a leadership style that focuses on human relationships in organizations and use it as a tool to enhance disruptive innovation performance in SMEs, this paper provides a new angle for studying the relationship between leadership and innovation. Finally, this study emphasizes the importance of the technology and services of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, and how it relates to other important factors like innovation and leadership.

2.Practical Contribution
One of the objectives of this study is also to improve SMEs innovation practices, which can help leaders to increase their innovation capacities. This study provides a practical contribution by suggesting a clear strategy that stem from LMX theory that aim to enhance organizational and innovation performance in SMEs. A clear framework that combines the two theories of LMX and Disruptive Innovation will be analyzed and that will contribute to the enhancement of the overall performance of SMEs. In addition to that, this study aims to provide a clear explanation of the role that the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution plays in tourism SMEs, which can assist leaders to make full use of the technology and use it to their advantage. Finally, this study has a direct relationship to the “Saudi Japan Vision 2030”, which aims to improve tourism industry in Saudi Arabia and Japan.},
 school = {大阪産業大学},
 title = {A Comparative Case Study on The Tourism between Saudi and Japanese Small and Medium Enterprise: The Perspective of Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) and Disruptive Innovation},
 year = {}
}