Title: Self-service at UAE petrol forecourts: marketing in unfamiliar terrain?

Authors: Nnamdi O. Madichie

Addresses: Department of Management, Marketing and Public Administration, College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE

Abstract: This paper presents initial findings of a preliminary examination of self-service at petrol stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Informal discussions were held with 30 taxi drivers in four of the largest emirates in the UAE and a diary account was kept over a period three months. This fine-grained approach combines conversation, discourse and narrative analyses to conclude that self-service marketing at petrol forecourts was not yet a practical reality owing to a variety of cultural nuances in the country. However, there are indications that self-service can be better marketed in this sector, but would require further research into the underlying attitudes towards the concept and the development of marketing strategies towards changing these.

Keywords: consumer behaviour; culture; marketing strategies; petrol forecourts; self-service; filling stations; garages; UAE; United Arab Emirates; taxi drivers; diary accounts; diaries; conversations; discourse; narrative analyses; cultural nuances; underlying attitudes; Ajman; Dubai; Sharjah; Umm Al Quwain; business; globalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2011.037323

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2011 Vol.6 No.1, pp.104 - 116

Published online: 27 Sep 2014 *

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