European Journal of Scientific Research

ISSN 1450-216X / 1450-202X Vol. 156 No 3 May, 2020, pp.327 - 340

http://www. europeanjournalofscientificresearch.com

The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business

Continuity Management to Promoting the Higher
Education Excellence in Oman

Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi

The World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE)

Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah

The World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE)

Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

The World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE)

Abstract

The study deals the external environment factors and their influence on the Business
Continuity Management (BCM) in Omani higher education institutions. Whereas, the
debility of control the external factors by academic institutions to business continuity,
therefore, the study focuses on the economic, social, legal, technological, and political
factors as a basis for the external environment factors. On the other hand, BCM factors
include the understanding of academic institutions and the nature of its work, drafting a
BCM strategy, developing and implementing a BCM response, sustaining business
continuity plans. The research method used the descriptive analytical approach to examine
the influencing of external environment factors on BCM. Consequently, a comprehensive
survey was conducted on 110 of the leadership of the (28) private higher education
institutions in Oman, a total of 99 participants (90%) have responded, and series of data
analyses of variables measurement for reliability and validity test of predictors were
performed.. The findings show that the external environment factors have positively
affected of the BCM. Specifically, there are significant relationship between legal, social,
and technological factors on BCM in the private higher education institutions in Oman.
From the other side, the absence of impact for the economic and political factors can be
attributed to the stability of the economic and political situation in Oman. In addition, the
willingness of private higher education institutions in Oman to deal with economic and
political factors is primarily subject to the laws and regulations issued by government
leaders in the country.

Keywords: External Environment Factors, Business Continuity Management (BCM),

Higher Education Institutions, Oman.

1. Introduction
Business organizations work in an environment characterized by a good distribution of products and
services. Work environment is the outcome of all internal and external conditions and impacts which,
in turn, affect the existence, development, and progress of businesses (Oginni & Adesanya, 2013).
Thus, understanding the external environments of business organizations is considered an important
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 328

element for their success. Such an understanding is related to the ability of the organization to
collecting, analyzing, and testing the related information and data in order to develop the right choices.
Notably, the organization's understanding of the surrounding factors in the external environment
achieves many benefits in the present and the future. Therefore, well knowledge of work external
environment 'after studying and analyzing it' can help the organization to identify potential
opportunities that can help in its field of work (Kuznetsova et al., 2017). This is also confirmed by
Vlados and Chatzinikolaou (2019) that analyzing the business environment is theoretically and
functionally beneficial. This is because social, economic, technological, political, and organizational
environments are very crucial for most companies. Johnson et al. (2016) point out that the external
environment has great and traversing impact on the organizations, they add that the organizations that
cannot cope up with the quality and quantity of variables that affect the surrounding environment may
not be able to grow and achieve success.
Therefore, organization managers must first work to understand the external environment that
surrounds them by collecting and analyzing information related to all factors of the external
environment. Consequently, the problem does not lie in the nature of the external factors; rather, it is
related to how the organization's management addresses these factors, especially if the external
environment is changing and dynamic (Kraja & Osmani, 2015).

2. External Environment
The external environment is defined as the group of external factors that exist around the organization
which are formed by economic, political, legal, social and technological factors. In many cases, the
organization cannot control these factors, thus, they pose either opportunities or challenges to the
organization (Hunger et al., 2012). These factors include all the dynamic and developed dimensions as
well as the uncontrolled dimensions that affect the organization on the long or short run. This approach
investigates all changing external factors such as the technological, political, legal, social and
economic. These factors can affect the organizational development but it can’t be changed or
controlled directly by the organization (Vlados & Chatzinikoalou, 2019). In addition, the external
environment of any institution includes a variety of factors that has either a direct impact on the
organization such as the competitors’ behaviour or attitudes, or indirect impact such as the changes that
take place in a business environment. Thus, the environmental analysis comes in two different
contexts; the micro and the macro environment. Therefore, the organizations have to watch out for any
changes in the external environment in order to cope up with them through the detailed information
along with their dimensions and potential impacts on the organization and on businesses (Voiculet,
Belu, Parpandel, & Rizea, 2010).
Some scholars classify the external environment into: public external environment which
indirectly affects the organization such as the economic, political, social, technological, and legal
factors. The external environment has several characteristics: continuously changing, uncontrollable,
unpredictable, chaotic, and unstable (Adeoye & Elegunde, 2012). Thus, organization’s success depends
on its ability to cope up with the environment that it works in. For example, when the government
changes its policies, the organization needs to adopt these changes. Similarly, the technological
changes can make the products of the organization obsolete if the necessary changes are not taken into
consideration (Auzair, 2011). Consequently, the right understanding of the social, political, economic,
legal, and technological environment helps the organizations to identify the opportunities and
challenges. Such an environment helps the organization to focus on development and continuous
learning, achieve the competitive capacity, and identify the strength and weakness points. This is
because there is a strong interaction between the organization and its environment. Such an interaction
helps develop the company as well as its effective use of resources (Janković, Mihajlović, &
Cvetković, 2016).
329 Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi, Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah and Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

This study adopts the political, economic, social, legal, and technological factors as a basis for
the external environment factors because they cannot be controlled by the organization management
(Wheelen & Hunger, 2015).

2.1. Political Factors

Political stability is one of the main components that have an impact on the organization. Therefore, in
order to achieve a stable development, the organization needs to cope up with the changes that occur in
the external environment of the institution (Duhra, 2016). It is worth mentioning that political factors
cause a lot of turmoil in the job market. This affects almost all environmental factors including
performance since political factors depend on government leadership regulations that affect the
economic, social, cultural, technological, and legal factors which, in turn, contribute to impacting
performance (Barile & Saviano, 2018). Moreover, the dominant political situation in a country is
reflected in all different aspects of life, and therefore will direct the various commercial, service, or
industrial activities that are practiced in the country.
The political situation prevailing in a country will determine the different economic practices
because government policies will have a clear impact on the size and nature of various economic
activities (Pulaj & Kume, 2013). Additionally, political factors greatly influence capital and corporate
owners through the regulations and decisions taken by the government or the ruling class, hence
creating either opportunities or challenges. For example, in most parts of the industrialized world, there
has been a strong trend towards reducing regulations on industries previously controlled by the state,
and then the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Research studies on political factors indicate that
there are four main political variables: instability, ideology, institution, and international relations.
Political factors are manifested through potential changes in regulations and laws, bureaucracy,
freedom of press, and government participation in international labour agreements and unions.
Therefore, the political situation in any country has an impact on all aspects of life, as government
policies are reflected in the nature and scope of business. Additionally, the political stability that a
country witnesses leads to growth and prosperity of economic and commercial activities, whether from
local investors or foreign investments. Evidently, the more mature and stable the political environment,
the more prosperous the economic, social and legal situations.

2.2. Economic Factors

The economic situation in a country refers to a set of economic factors that have a major impact on the
operations in an organization. Such operations are related to the nature and direction of the economy in
which the organization operates. Fahey and Narayanan (1986) stated that economy factors include
gross domestic product (GDP), goods and services, foreign exchange reserves, size and nature of
foreign trade, availability of capital, and the strength of stocks markets. Rastogi & Trivedi (2016)
pointed out the determinants of economic performance that directly affect the organization and have
long-term effects on it. For instance, high inflation in any economy would affect the way of the product
and services price. In addition, it will affect the purchasing power of the consumer and change the
demand / supply patterns of such an economy.
Economic factors are considered the cornerstone of the overall performance of the organization,
as it is the primary source of its resources and the basis of its products. The economic factors in an
organization are classified according to their comprehensiveness: First, the general economic factors
are concerned with foreign trade policies and rate of inflation. Second, economic factors are concerned
with competition, high and low interest rates. In addition, it have a major impact on the company's
strategy as they affect the capital cost and the purchasing power of the institution. Likewise, they affect
the purchasing power of consumers who will buy or use the goods and services of the organization
(Kume et al., 2010).
The sustainability and success of any organization depends on its economic environment, given
that economic factors play an important role in determining the company's activity in terms of energy
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 330

prices, transportation costs, telecommunications cost, services, quality standards, and the influence of
the financial sector (Živanović, 2014). The country's economic situation has a reflection on the patterns
of consumer spending: the increase in interest rates has a clear impact on the amount of credit granted;
high levels of unemployment will reduce the consumption of unnecessary goods and services; and if
people face financial difficulty, they will spend less on luxury and recreational goods and services such
as vacation travel, new cars, and luxury goods (Semolic, 2007).

2.3. Technological Factors

Technological factors refer to the group of factors that affect the production pattern in the organization
and affect the demand for its products. Likewise, technological changes affect the opportunities and
challenges facing the organization. One of these effects is the change on demand due to technological
progress. Therefore, it may lead to the emergence of new opportunities for the organization, such as the
use of the Internet and the subsequent modern means of communication in marketing and sales (Al-
Siddiq, 2018). The organization cannot survive unless there is an effective production and management
technology (Grubich & Shrolik, 2015). Technological factors contribute to supporting the
organization's capability to apply and exploit new sciences and ideas that are emerging in various fields
of knowledge. Technology is an important element in the areas of enhancing the competitive position
of the organization as it works to improve the organization's services or products continuously, hence
achieving business sustainability and prosperity. Technological factors include spending on research
and development, focusing on technological development in the industry, innovation, technology
transfer, life cycle, and speed of technology changes. One of the most important ways to ensure stable
performance is to invest in new technologies, redesign products and processes or spending on research
and development (Epstein & Roy, 2001).

2.4. Legal Factors

These encompass legislation and laws regulating the work of institutions and organizations in its
various sectors. They may overlap with political factors. Legal factors are concerned with issues
related to regulations and laws in the region in which the company operates. In return, companies need
to take care of their commercial operations within legal limits which includes the labour law,
distribution law, and health law. Legal factors affect the costs and demand of companies. Thus, it is
necessary that companies realize their legal environment before they start business (Liu, 2017). Legal
environment has also an impact on the activities of organizations in terms of having laws regulating
work sector in any country such as business regulations, competition laws, environmental laws,
education laws, laws related to monopoly, discrimination law, intellectual property and copyright law,
consumer protection and e-commerce law, employment law, data protection law, health and safety law
(Pulaj & Kume, 2013). Therefore, these factors are gaining importance due to their impact on attracting
capital and encouraging investors in terms of establishing new companies. In addition, laws and
legislations influence the technology sector. By contrast, environmental preservation contributes
positively to production mechanisms and the level of quality provided, whether as products or services.
Because of the sudden change in the external environment, its fluctuation, and rapid change, having
legislation and laws that achieve security stability would help organizations to improve their
performance and reduce the risks they are exposed to.

2.5. Social Factors

Social factors are the set of external factors that directly or indirectly affect the behaviour of customers
in their relationships with different groups of society, and the extent to which the practices of those
factors affect the activities of the organization (Berrgeron, 1993). They are the set of intellectual and
ethical ways used in a society in which the organization exists. The social factors that have a great
331 Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi, Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah and Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

impact on the organization include consumer habits, community awareness, educational level, social
habits, traditions and legacies. These all contribute in one way or another to directing consumers’
consumption patterns. Besides, demographic factors such as population, average age, and birth rate,
distribution of population in the country, rates of unemployment, and migration from the countryside to
cities, the nature of the composition of the population, ethnic ethnicities, the level of income and
purchasing habits all constitute either opportunities or challenges to the organization. Accordingly, the
organization needs to understand these factors and work to exploit what opportunities they offer. The
organization has also to work hard to avoid the challenges that these factors may pose to its future
activity in terms of achieving customer satisfaction, understanding their needs, and meeting their needs
(Sholla & Nazari, 2018). Social conditions are essential parameters for any analysis of the business
environment because they constitute the context in which all personal and business activities take place
(Nandonde, 2019).

3. Business Continuity Management (BCM)

BCM refers to taking methods and procedures to develop them in advance in order to enable the
organization to face threatening events in a way that does not conflict with business continuity and
planned strategic decisions (Foster & Dye, 2005). It is the organization's strategic and tactical ability to
plan and respond to incidents of interruptions in order to continue business operations at an acceptable
level (BCI, 2017). BCM derives its importance from being an administrative activity that adopts
procedures and steps that prevent or reduce damage to organizations after their exposure to any crisis,
or disaster, whether natural or man-made. This enables the organization to respond quickly to any
emergencies that occur and thus continue the organization's normal work (Mohamed, 2019).
Bird (2007) points out that BCM can achieve a number of benefits for the organization through
immediate response and good management of crises, continuous maintenance of vital activities of the
organization, keeping existing customers, obtaining new ones, protecting individuals, obtaining
employee’s confidence, reducing costs, compliance with laws, obtaining competitive advantages and
other benefits. In fact, many studies in this field showed that BCM help avoid or reduce the size of the
impact of the potential risks. It is part of risk management since adopting a BCM means avoiding
potential risks that may lead the organization to a cessation of its activity or a decline in the level of
performance. Notably, the relationship between BCM and risk management helps the organization to
find procedures and measures to reduce its exposure to any risks (Mohamed, 2019). Krell (2006)
believes that BCM started to gain its value and importance in the world of business due to the
following reasons:
1. The high cost caused by natural disasters, as well as man-made accidents that
organizations encounter.
2. The increasing impact of business interruptions due to the overlapping and
interconnectedness of businesses with each other; business recently became so
intertwined that it is difficult to relate the negative impact to a specific division and
obliterate other divisions.
3. The commitment to protection, building value and ensuring business continuity are the
most important priorities of the executive team or administration in any company during
periods of uncertainty as the capabilities an organization possesses in continuity
management allows it to return to normal as soon as possible and at the lowest cost
possible. In next sub titles will be explained the elements of the BCM.

3.1. Understanding the Organization’s Work Nature

This dimension represents an important factor in dealing with the BCM of the organization. The
understanding of the managers and leaders as well as workers at all levels of the nature of the work of
the organization, and informing them of all the details of work, procedures and information, is crucial
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 332

to avoid everything that would stop or interrupt the work flow. This, in turn, can contribute to
achieving continuity and sustainability during the most difficult conditions and crises the organization
may go through (Kamel, 2015). The availability of the elements of experience and skill of the
organization workers would increase the chances of achieving business continuity in the time of a
crisis or a problem in the organization. This makes this dimension an important factor in BCM since
the accumulation of experience and the previous exposure to multiple situations during work would
support the workers to understand the nature of the work. Thus, this makes it easy to control the
resources that may hinder the continuity of the organization’s work (Low, Liu, & Sio, 2010).

3.2. Designing a Strategy for BCM

At this stage, building and preparing plans that enable the organization to respond to and deal with any
emergency or an exceptional situation is accomplished by considering the alternatives and the expected
scenarios. Only then can make the organization be prepared to continue performing with full capacity
by adopting the necessary steps and procedures when preparing its strategic plans. This can be
achieved via conducting an environmental survey of the external and internal factors, identifying the
available opportunities and working to seize them, discovering potential threats and working to avoid
them, allocating the necessary resources fin terms of finance and manpower, and then formulating and
setting the appropriate strategy to make the organization capable to deal with difficulties or crises that
may hinder or interrupt its work (Sawalha, 2013). At this stage, there is a need to develop a plan to
recover from the impact of the crisis provided that it falls outside the organization's control, (e.g.
natural disasters).
The concept of BCM is no longer confined to dealing with crises and emergency situations, but
has become a strategic dimension that institutions are keen to benefit from (Sharp, 2012). The
development of the business continuity strategy is the main result of planning as it implements
practical implications whose objective is to identify alternatives and strategies to be followed in case of
disruption of vital services. It also implements appropriate measures to reduce the possibility of
disruption, and identify the resources necessary for an effective and rapid restoration of critical services
(Firtinidou et al., 2019).

3.3. Developing and Implementing BCM Strategy

The organization applies its plan and implements of what was planned when developing the strategy. This
strategy is not only to face a crisis or an emergency but rather a permanent state that the organization seeks
to achieve by avoiding any mistakes. It needs to continue with the planned performance and even develop
it, hence the organization prospers and excels in its field of work. The implementation of the BCM plan in
the pre-crisis and disaster phase helps to test the viability of the plan and identify its weakness and strength
points (Firtinidou et al., 2019). In addition, the application of the BCM helps organizations to work
efficiently and to be able to restore activity and recovery when exposed to any causes that may interfere
with its usual activities. More importantly, through excellence in skills, approaches and methods,
developing a BCM strategy enables the organization to get over other competitors that have not applied
BCM in their policies or strategy (Elliott, Swartz & Herbane, 2010).

3.4. Follow-up and Maintenance of BCM Plan

As Sharp (2012) points out, following up and evaluating the adopted strategy, as well as receiving
feedback about its efficiency and effectiveness, and whether it is consistent with the organization’s
goals and policies, is practically of great importance for managing business continuity. It is during this
stage that the organization discovers the difficulties while conducting work. Therefore, the
organization can work to avoid them as well as improve and develop a continuity strategic plan that
helps the organization to keep going and work better.
333 Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi, Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah and Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

4. Research Methodology and Hypotheses

The study is conducted on the private higher education institutions in Oman to identify the relations
between their external environmental factors to achieve the BCM higher education systems. Figure 1
presents the proposed model of research which contains the external environment factors as
independent factor and BCM as dependent factors.

Figure 1: The Research Model

The study used the descriptive analytical approach to describe the effect of external
environmental factors on BCM in private higher education institutions in Oman. A questionnaire was
designed to measure the independent variables represented by external environment factors, and the
dependent variables represented by the dimensions of BCM, and examining the relationship between
the variables. Notably, this approach helps explore, analyze, interpret and compare the study problem
variables according to the principles of the scientific method. This way the study achieves the desired
results and come at meaningful generalizations that increase knowledge. In order to collect the
necessary data, the study adopted a survey design to be filled out by all directors of higher and middle
level administrations in private higher education institutions in Oman. The survey was completed by
(110) decision-makers in these institutions, distributed over (28) universities and colleges, (101)
questionnaires were retrieved, (2) of which were not valid for analysis due to their incompleteness,
(99) valid questionnaires for analysis, which is mean (90%) of the total distributed questionnaires. The
study also relied on the analytical aspects of the developed questionnaire which consisted of a set of
sentences and paragraphs that reflect the goals, questions, and hypotheses of the study. In light of the
above, this study proposes the following main hypothesis and sub hypotheses:
H01:“There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) of the external environment factors
(economic, social, legal, technological, political) on business continuity management in Omani higher
education institutions”.
H01-1:There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) between the economic factors and
business continuity management in Omani higher education institutions.
H01-2:There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) between the social factors and
business continuity management in Omani higher education institutions.
H01-3:There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) between the legal factors and
business continuity management in Omani higher education institutions.
H01-4:There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) between the technological factors
and business continuity management in Omani higher education institutions.
H01-5:There is no significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) between the political factors and
business continuity management in Omani higher education institutions.
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 334

5. Analysis and Results

To verify the validity of the study tool (the questionnaire), it was given to a group of specialized and
experienced reviewers in a number of Jordanian public and private universities. The reviewers were
asked to express their opinion regarding its suitability to collect data, its clarity, interdependence and
interconnectedness, or any other remarks they deem appropriate in relation to correction, deletion, or
modification. The reviewers’ remarks and suggestions have been taken into consideration. The review of
the questionnaire by the reviewers, taking their remarks and suggestions into account, making the
modifications to the survey are a prerequisite for overt validity of the tool. Thus, the survey can be
considered valid for measuring what it was designed for. Beside that, to test the reliability of the study
tool, the researcher conducted a Cronbach Alpha Coefficient test. The results of the scale are statistically
acceptable if the value of the Cronbach Alpha exceeds (0.70) (Sekaran, 2006). The higher the value is,
the more reliable it is. The following table shows the results of the study tool reliability test:

Table 1: Cronbach Alpha Coefficient values for the study variables

No. Factors α value of

1 Economic Factors 0.849
2 Social Factors 0.819
3 Legal Factors 0.792
4 Technological Factors 0.804
5 Political Factors 0.877
External environment
6 Understanding the Institution and its Work Nature 0.834
7 Setting a Business Continuity Management Strategy 0.836
8 Developing and Implementing a Business Continuity Management Strategy 0.892
9 Sustainability of Continuity Management Plans 0.876
BCM 0.946
All Paragraphs 0.961

It is clear from Table 1 that all values of the internal consistency coefficient of Cronbach alpha for
the study tool paragraphs exceeded the general scale of (0.70). The values ranged between (0.792 - 0.946),
and the value of the coefficient for all paragraphs was (0.961). This is an indication of the consistency
between the study tool paragraphs, its reliability and validity to conduct the statistical analysis.

5.1. Demographic Information

This section describes the demographic information for the participants of the study sample, with the
aim of taking a general perception of the most prominent personal and functional characteristics
prevailing in private higher education institutions in Oman. This information covered gender, years of
experience, educational qualification, nature of work, and job title. The study used descriptive statistics
methods to describe the demographic information as shown in Table 2:

Table 2: Demographic information

Variable Classification Freq. %

Male 61 61.6
Gender
Female 38 38.4
Less than 10 years 23 23.2
Years of experience 10-20 years 34 34.4
More than 20 years 42 42.4
BSc 26 26.3
Educational qualification MSc 31 31.3
PhD 42 42.4
Nature of work Administrative 56 56.6
335 Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi, Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah and Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

Variable Classification Freq. %

Academic 40 40.4
Others 3 3.0
President 4 4.0
Vice/Assistant president 18 18.2
Job title
Dean 18 18.2
Director/ Manager 59 59.6
Total 99 100

5.2. Descriptive Analysis

This section provides a detailed presentation of the results of the answers of the study sample
individuals on the different study tool paragraphs. It also presents a description of the factors of the
study model, through the use of descriptive statistics methods represented by Mean, Standard
Deviation (SD), Rank, and Relative Importance as shown in Table 3:

Table 3: Analysis of the external environment factors

No. Factors Mean SD Rank Relative Importance

1 Economic 3.923 0.640 4 High
2 Social 4.076 0.602 1 High
3 Legal 4.059 0.544 3 High
4 Technological 4.066 0.500 2 High
5 Political 3.911 0.689 5 High
External environment factors 4.007 0.428 High

Many reasons for these high importance such as the relation of these factors to society and its
members directly, the intellectual and moral beliefs, customs, traditions and social legacies, in addition to
the level of education and income. Since the private higher education institutions in Oman are
educational service institutions, they are highly affected by these factors and variables. Therefore, they
need to be keen on exploiting opportunities and avoiding threats that these factors may cause in the future
to their activities and businesses. Other reasons for these high levels of importance are referred to the
stability of the political situation in Oman, the efficiency and effectiveness of government policies,
policies and decisions taken by the government especially those related to private higher education
institutions represented in financial and non-financial support, internal scholarships, and customs and tax
exemptions. Beside, Table 4 presents Mean, SD, Rank, and relative importance of the BCM factors.
The reason behind this high relative importance can be referred to the great interest of the
departments of Omani private higher education institutions to achieve success and effectiveness in
their plans to ensure the continuity of their work. This can be achieved through identifying the
strengths and weaknesses in their managements, and constantly working to update and develop them.
When this happens, it can be reflected positively through the ability of these institutions to cope up
with crises and emergency situations, reduce the occurrence of errors and deviations and keep up the
high planned performance. In addition, BCM will provide these institutions with the skills and methods
which can help them to organize themselves to implement BCM within their policies and strategies.

Table 4: Analysis of Business Continuity Management Factors

No Paragraph Mean ST Rank Relative importance

1 Understanding the academic institutions and the 4.143 0.599 3 High
nature of its work
2 Drafting a BCM strategy 4.154 0.604 2 High
3 Developing and implementing a BCM response 4.214 0.592 1 High
4 Sustaining business continuity plans 4.099 0.611 4 High
BCM 4.152 0.523 High
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 336

5.3. Hypotheses Results

To test the main hypotheses, A Multiple Linear Regression was used, which is one of the methods of
inferential statistics. The results of the first main hypothesis is presented in Table 5.

Table 5: ANOVA Multiple Linear Regression of H01

Dependent Model Summary ANOVA

variable R R2 Adjusted R2 Standard Error F Value Sig (F)
BCM 0.643 0.413 0.381 0.481 13.084 0.000

Table 5 shows the significance of the model, as F value was (13.084) which is significant (α=
0.000) as it is less than 0.05, the value of correlation coefficient (R) has reached (0.643), and it
indicates a positive correlation between the study factors (Independent: external environment factors,
and dependent: BCM). The value of the (R2) has reached (0.413). This indicates that the change in
external environmental factors leads to a change in BCM with a percentage of (41%).
Consequently, Table 6 presents the values of the regression coefficients of the independent sub-
factors. It is evident that there is a significant relationship for each of the social factors, legal factors,
and technological factors with BCM since the values of the level of significance t-value were less than
0.05. On the other hand, there was insignificant relationship of the economic and political factors with
BCM, as the t-values were greater than 0.05.

Table 6: Regression coefficients of first major hypothesis H01

Regression Coefficients
Independent Variables (B) Standard Error t-value Sig (t-value)
Regression 0.354 0.486 0.728 0.469
Economic Factors 0.125 0.085 1.469 0.145
Social Factors 0.201 0.091 2.209 0.030
Legal Factors 0.349 0.100 3.497 0.001
Technological Factors 0.216 0.109 1.990 0.049
Political Factors 0.044 0.075 0.586 0.560

Regarding the external environment factors that show a significant effect, the results indicated
that the t-value of the legal factors has reached (3.497). This value is significant at (Sig = 0.001), which
is less than 0.05. The (B) value was (0.349) that indicates the rise in the level of legal factors as the
first factor leads the BCM. In addition, the results showed that the t-value of the social factors has
reached (2.209), at (Sig= 0.030) which was less than 0.05, the value of the coefficient (B) was (0.201)
and indicates that the rise in the level of social factors as the second factor leads the BCM. Next, the
results presented that the t-value of the technological factors has reached (1.990), and this was
significant as (Sig= 0.049), which is less than 0.05. The value of the coefficient (B) was (0.216) and it
indicates that the rise of the technological factors as the third factor leads the BCM.
With regard to the external environment factors which did not show any significant effect, the
findings indicate that the t-value of the economic factors has reached (1.469), and (Sig = 0.145). So, it
is insignificant because the value is greater than 0.05. The value of the coefficient (B) was (0.125) and
this indicates that the increase in the level of economic factors by one degree leads to an increase in
BCM by (0.125). In addition, the table indicates that the t-value of the political factors has reached
(0.586), and the level of significance was (Sig = 0.560), which was greater than 0.05. The coefficient
(B) value was (0.044), which indicates that the rise of political factors by one degree leads to an
increase in BCM by (0.044).
In light of the above, the main hypothesis is rejected and thus replaced by the alternative
hypothesis:
337 Ismail Bin Abdullah Albulushi, Hani Jaza’a Irtaimah and Mohammad Mansour Al-Khasawaneh

H01: “There is significant relationship at level (α ≤ 0.05) of the external environment factors
(economic, social, legal, technological, political) on business continuity management in Omani higher
education institutions”.
To determine the most influential factor of the external environment factors on the BCM in Omani
higher education institutions, a Stepwise Linear Regression analysis was used as shows in Table 7:

Table 7: Results of a stepwise regression analysis of H01

Model BCM B t-value Sign (t) R2 F value Sig.

1st Legal factors 0.559 5.575 0.000 0.243 31.083 0.000
Legal factors 0.426 4.364 0.000
2nd 0.364 27.450 0.000
Social factors 0.335 4.275 0.000
Legal factors 0.374 3.797 0.000
3rd Social factors 0.266 3.196 0.002 0.395 20.637 0.000
Technological factors 0.238 2.197 0.030

Table 7 reports the order of external environment factors that are the most influential in BCM
in Omani higher education institutions. Legal factors were found as the most influential on BCM, as it
ranked first (24.3 %) of the change in BCM. Social factors ranked second as it added (12.1%) to the
second model to reach (36.4%). While technological factors came in the third place adding (3.1%) to
the third model to reach (39.5%). The table makes it evident that unlike the economic and political
factors, the effect of legal factors, social factors, and technological factors was significant at (α ≤ .05).

6. Discussion
This study aimed to identify the impact of external environment factors on BCM in private higher
education institutions in Oman. The results of the analysis showed a high importance of external
environment factors in Omani private higher education institutions as all external environment factors
appeared to have a high relative importance. The high relative importance can be ascribed to the
variety and diversity of these factors and the variables surrounding private higher education institutions
in Oman. The departments of those institutions is also greatly aware of these factors, and their impact
on the performance of their activities and operations, hence on their existence and continuity.
Moreover, the departments of private higher education institutions adopt policies and procedures that
prepare to deal with these factors and variables in order to reduce their implications and negative
effects on the institutions and maximize the exploitation of positive opportunities. The results, further,
show a high relative importance of BCM in private higher education institutions in Oman. It is worth
mentioning here that all dimensions of BCM have had a high relative importance. This indicates the
departments of private higher education Institutions in Oman adopt BCM as a mechanism (strategy)
through which it deals with the surrounding factors and variables in a way that guarantees the
continuity of their work. Such effective continuity can be achieved by adopting policies and procedures
that ensure their incessant progress in work and performance.
The results of the hypothesis testing showed that there is a statistically significant effect at
(α≤0.05) of all external environment factors on the BCM in Omani private higher education
institutions. Moreover, there was a significant effect for most factors of the external environment
individually as stated in the sub-hypotheses. The researchers attributes this effect to the active role that
external environmental factors and their variables play in the performance, activities and operations of
Omani private higher education institutions. Therefore, the interaction of these institutions with those
factors and their attitudes in dealing with them would be reflected on BCM. On the other hand, the
researchers attributes the reason for the absence of impact for the economic factors and political factors
to the stability of the economic and political situation in Oman. In addition, the willingness of private
higher education institutions in Oman to deal with economic and political factors is primarily subject to
the laws and regulations issued by government leaders in the country.
The Impact of External Environment Factors on Business Continuity
Management to Promoting the Higher Education Excellence in Oman 338

Upon analyzing the gradual regression of the external environment factors and their effect on
BCM, legal factors were found to be the most influential factors of the external environment on BCM.
The researchers attributes the reason for this to the fact that private higher education institutions in
Oman operate within an environment of high competition, and depend on continuous government
support. In addition, they are subject to many laws, regulations and government legislation such as
labor law, education, discrimination, competition, intellectual property, copyright and data protection.
These factors all affect the supply and demand of these institutions, and therefore they significantly
affect the performance and continuity of their work.

7. Conclusion
This piece of research attempted to identify how Omani higher education institutions address the
external environment (political, economic, social, legal, and technological) factors, and their effect on
business continuity management as a dependent variable. BCM was concerned with understanding the
organization and the nature of its work, drafting a BCM strategy, developing and implementing a BCM
response, and sustaining business continuity plans. The study hypothesized that there was no
statistically significant effect at (α ≤ 0.05) of any of the economic, social, legal, technological and
political factors on BCM in Omani higher education institutions. The researchers used the descriptive
analytical approach and therefore to collect the necessary data, the study adopted a survey design to be
filled out by all directors of higher and middle level administrations in private higher education
institutions in Oman. Those included university president, vice president, deans, and directors.
The findings showed a high importance of external environment factors as well as a high
relative importance of BCM in private higher education institutions in Oman. The results of the
hypothesis showed that there is a statistically significant effect at (α≤0.05) of the external environment
factors individually and altogether on the BCM on private higher education institutions in Oman. The
reason for this is the fact that private higher education institutions in Oman operate within an
environment of high competition, and depend on continuous government support. However, the
economic factors and political factors did not show significant differences due to the stability of the
economic and political situation in Oman. Finally, it is hoped that the study’s findings will enhance the
institutions' ability to become sustainable in case they were exposed to any external influences such as
cutting off government support.

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