Personality Characteristics of Entrepreneurs and the Socio-Economic Environment. The case of the MENA Region
Funded by
Templeton World Charity Foundation
Personality… | Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc.
(Ongoing)
Personality Characteristics of Entrepreneurs and the Socio-Economic Environment. The case of the MENA Region
Funded by
Templeton World Charity Foundation
Personality… | Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc.
(Ongoing)
Project outcomes
Published papers:
Bassil, C., Srhayri, I., Safari, A., and Parast, M. (2025). “Individual Characteristics, Personality Traits, Personal Belief, and Employment in Qatar and Kuwait: An Empirical Analysis”, Review of Political Economy. (Individual Characteristics, Personality Traits, Personal Belief, and Employment in Qatar and Kuwait: An Empirical Analysis: Review of Political Economy: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access)
Revise and Resubmit or Under Review Articles:
Bassil, C., Parast, M. M., and Safari, A. (2025). Interaction between internal locus of control, religiosity, and self-employment in the MENA. (revise and resubmit, Organizational Development Journal)
Safari, A., Bassil, C., and Parast, M. M. (2025). Personality Traits and Beliefs on Self-Employment: An Empirical Study of the MENA Region (revise and resubmit, The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation)
Parast, M., Safari, A., and Bassil, C. (2025). Perceived Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Fear of Failure, and Business Creations: Empirical Evidence from the MENA Region. (Under review)
Working Papers:
Bassil, C., Srhayri, I., Safari, A. and Parast, M. M. (2024) Individual Characteristics, Personality Traits, Personal Beliefs, and Employment in Qatar and Kuwait: An Empirical Analysis (October 26, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5000760 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5000760
Bassil, C., Parast, M. M. and Safari, A. (2024) Faith and Entrepreneurship: Navigating the Impact of Religiosity on Self-Employment in the MENA Region (March 25, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4771414 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4771414
Safari, A., Bassil, C. and Parast, M. M. (2024) Self-employment in the MENA Region: Locus of Control and Macroeconomic Drivers (December 26, 2024). Available at SSRN: Self-employment in the MENA Region: Locus of Control and Macroeconomic Drivers by Arsalan Safari, Charbel Bassil, Mahour M. Parast :: SSRN
Policy Briefs:
Bassil, C., Safari, A., Srhayri, I. and Parast, M. M. (October 2024), The Impact of Personality Traits and Personal Belief on Self-Employment in Qatar and Kuwait. Available at: Publish Policy Brief 19.pdf
Bassil, C., Safari, A. and Parast, M. M. (May 2024), Self-Employment in MENA: The Role of Religiosity and Personal Values. Available at: Self-employment in MENA: the role of religiosity and personal values - Economic Research Forum (ERF)
Blog Post:
Bassil, C., Safari, A., and Parast, M. M. (April 2025), The Cultural Drivers of Self-Employment in MENA:
Exploring the Roles of Internal Locus of Control and Religiosity. Arab Barometer. Available at The Cultural Drivers of Self-Employment in MENA: Exploring the Roles of Internal Locus of Control and Religiosity – Arab Barometer
Events:
Roundtable on “Self-employment and the socioeconomic environment in Qatar and the region”, at Qatar Chamber premises on the 7th of May, 2024. Chaired by Dr. Charbel Bassil and co-chaired by Dr. Arsalan Safari. Organized in collaboration with Qatar Chamber and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence at Qatar University.
Discussants: Mr. Ibrahim AlMalla, Head of Jusour, Ministry of Labor Qatar, Ministry of Commerce and Industry Qatar rep., Mr. Emad Al-Khaja, CEO, INJAZ Qatar, Ms. Marie-Jose Tayah, Technical Specialist for Social Dialogue at the International Labor Organization (ILO) Project Office, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, Economic Advisor, Qatar Chamber, Mr. Ibrahim Alsulaiti, Head of the Young Entrepreneurs Club, Ms. Fatma AlKhater, CEO Torba Market, Dr. Mahour Parast, Arizona State University, USA, Dr. Lotfi Belkhir, Qatar University, Dr. Jalal Qanas, Qatar University, Dr. Charbel Bassil, Qatar University
Moderator: Mr. Moamar Awad, the Bureau Manager of CNBC Arabia, Qatar
Press release:
طاولة مستديرة حول التوظيف الذاتي والبيئة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية في قطر | Qatar Chamber
Qatar Chamber hosts roundtable on self-employment, its socio-economic environment - Gulf Times
Qatar Chamber Hosts Roundtable on Self-Employment, Its Socio-Economic Environment
QC highlights important role of entrepreneurship in growth of economy | The Peninsula Qatar
Qatar Chamber hosts roundtable on self-employment, its socio-economic environment
Roundtable on “Entrepreneurship and Self-employment in Period of Crises: Challenges and Opportunities”, at the Lebanese American University on March 20, 2025. Chaired by Dr. Charbel Bassil and co-chaired by Dr. Ali Fakih (Chairperson of the Department of Economics at Adnan Kassar School of Business-AKSOB) and Dr. Patrick Mardini (CEO of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies-LIMS). Organized in collaboration with the Department of Economics at AKSOB and LIMS.
Discussants: Dr. Mohamad Abou Haidar, General Director of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Dr. Zouheir Fayad (Information System Engineer at the Ministry of Labor), Dr. Salim Araji, Future Work Lead, UN-ESCWA, Dr. Ali Fakih, Chairperson of the Department of Economics at the Lebanese American University, Dr. Nabil Fahed, Vice-president and Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon; Mr. Ramy Boujawdeh, COO Berytech; Dr. Patrick Mardini, CEO of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies; Ms. Souhad Abi Zaki, Grant and Research Consultant | Trainer at the NGO “Rural Entrepreneurs.”; Dr. Charbel Bassil, Qatar University.
Moderator: Mr. Kahled Abou-Chacra, Journalist-economist at Al-Jadeed TV and research fellow at LIMS
Press release:
تحديات ريادة الأعمال في ظل الانهيار والفرص المرتجاة | الصفا
Policy forum on "Fostering Innovation at the Individual and Organizational Levels in Qatar”, at the Hilton Doha Hotel on the 7th of May, 2025. Charied by Dr. Arsalan Safari and co-chaired by Dr. Charbel Bassil. Organized in collaboration with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence at Qatar University."
Keynote speaker: H.E. Saleh Al-Khulaifi—Deputy Undersecretary for Industry and Business Development at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Panelists: Mr. Oscar Liebana (Director, RDI Strategy and Innovation Cluster at Qatar Research Development Innovation), Mr. Amr Metwally (Director of Innovation at Hamad Medical Corporation), Dr. Moheeb Abualqumbaz (Dean of School of Business Liverpool John Moore University in Qatar), Ms Duha Buhendi (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology), Mr. Emad Al-Khaja (CEO of Injaz Qatar), Mr. Hamid Menouar (Tech Expert at Qatar Mobility Innovation Center).
Moderators: Dr. Arsalan Safari and Dr. Charbel Bassil
Press release:
Conference/Workshop presentations:
Workshop "Crises and Resilience in Developing Countries". Hosted by Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon, February 22-23, 2024. Faith and entrepreneurship: navigating the impact of religiosity on self-employment in the MENA region. Presented by Dr. Charbel Bassil. Slides.
Gulf Research Meeting (GRM). 14th meeting. Hosted by the University of Cambridge, UK, 9-11 July, 2024. Individual characteristics, personality traits, personal beliefs, and employment in Qatar and Kuwait: an empirical analysis. Presented by Dr. Arsalan Safari. Slides.
Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES), 49th conference. Hosted by University of Piraeus, Athens, Greece, October 16-18, 2024. Self-Employment in the MENA Region: Personality Traits and Macroeconomic Drivers. Presented by Dr. Charbel Bassil. Slides.
Entrepreneurship for Sustainability and Impact (ESI), 7th conference. Organized by the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University, 23-26 November 2024. Individual characteristics, personality traits, personal beliefs, and employment in Qatar and Kuwait: an empirical analysis. Presented by Ms. Ihssane Srhayri. Slides.
European International Business Academy (EIBA), 50th conference. Hosted by Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, December 12-14, 2024. The effects of personality traits and religiosity on self-employment: a study on the MENA region. Presented by Dr. Arsalan Safari. Poster presentation.
RiseInEurope, Hosted by INSEEC Grande Ecole, Paris, France, 1st and 2nd of April, 2025. A multilevel analysis of the effects of personality traits and beliefs on self-employment in the MENA region. Presented by Dr. Charbel Bassil. Slides
RiseInEurope, Hosted by INSEEC Grande Ecole, Paris, France, 1st and 2nd of April, 2025. Individual characteristics, personality traits, personal beliefs, and employment in Qatar and Kuwait. Presented by Mrs. Ihssane Srhayri.
3- Policy forum "Fostering Innovation at the Individual and Organizational Levels in Qatar”, 7th of May, 2024. In collaboration with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence at Qatar University."