Arab money on the move: The pull of historical legacies on outward FDI

Aljandali, Abdulkader ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0880-6634, Amine, Mohammed ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8804-6289 and Stephens, Melodena ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7933-2750 (2026) Arab money on the move: The pull of historical legacies on outward FDI. Journal of International Management, 32 (4). art: 101384. doi:10.1016/j.intman.2026.101384

Text 16339 Aljandali, A et al. (2026) Arab money on the move - The pull of historical legacies on outward FDI - Accepted version.docx - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 28 May 2028. (Publisher Embargo). Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 4.0. Download (632kB)

Abstract

This study investigates how historical legacies and ideologies, reflected in colonial ties, Arab regionalism, pan-Islamism, and the Palestinian cause shape greenfield foreign direct investment (GFDI) outflows from Arab League countries. Using bilateral panel data spanning 2003 to 2022 and applying generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation, the analysis distinguishes among British ex-colonized, French ex-colonized, and non-colonized states. It also captures the effect of time across three major crises, namely the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) (2007–2009), the Arab Spring (2010–2012), and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022). We find that historical legacies matter when considering GFDI outflows. Further, the results indicate that during the GFC, investors from British ex-colonized and non-colonized countries prioritized host countries aligned with pan-Islamism, Arab regionalism, and support for the Palestinian cause, while reducing engagement with those associated with colonial ties. In contrast, investors from French ex-colonized countries showed no significant responsiveness to any of the four legacies during the GFC. The Arab Spring heightened Arab regionalism's pull across all groups, reflecting a strategy to avoid domestic backlash amid ideological tensions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colonial ties became the predominant consideration, particularly among investors from British and French ex-colonized countries, suggesting a strategic preference for institutional familiarity and continuity amid global uncertainty. This study extends institutional theory by showing the importance of informal institutions in Arab GFDI and reinforces Saleh's (2023) conceptual behavioral typology of FDI investors' responses to crises contributing to indigenous management literature. For practitioners and policymakers, this study highlights that effective engagement with Arab investors requires strategies reflecting the temporal context and historical legacies.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Arab League; Colonialism; Greenfield foreign direct investment; Historical legacies; Indigenous management
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Kamila Niekoraniec
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2026 12:51
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2026 10:57
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/16339

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