Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this research was to determine the SIDF's impact on private industrial companies as perceived by the Chairmen of the Boards of Directors of private industrial companies in Saudi Arabia. Research methodology. The research design of this study was descriptive. The questionnaire was sent to each Chairman of the randomly selected Board of Directors of private industrial companies by the author. The author distributed 450 questionnaires, 359 of which were completed and returned by Chairmen of the Board of Directors of private industrial companies. The author utilized the percentages of responses and frequencies of specific responses in order to analyze and clarify the meaning of the data to determine the industrial and managerial impacts of the SIDF on the private industrial sector of Saudi Arabia. Findings. The study found that Chairmen of the Board of Directors of private industrial companies perceived the SIDF's impact on the private sector as a positive one. The positive impact was clear as evidenced in the increase of the number of factories in various parts of the country, the increase in amounts invested in the industrial sector, and also by the introduction of new products and industrial areas. There was a tremendous amount of financial, marketing, technical and engineering support on the part of the SIDF officials and technical support teams. Also, the supervision and guidance provided by the SIDF were important ingredients that contributed to the private companies' success. Conclusion and recommendations. It was concluded that the establishment of the SIDF was the missing ingredient that the private industrial sector had lacked for a long time. As a development institution, the SIDF's support and contribution (financial, technical, managerial and/or marketing) did make the difference in the success of the private industrial sector. As an important development instrument, the SIDF, along with support from other development institutions, contributed to the well-being of the economy. The country of Saudi Arabia is no longer totally dependent on one source of national income. The involvement and contribution of private investors in various producing sectors caused an increase in production in these sectors which diversified and stabilized the economic base of the country. As a development device, development institutions could be used to diversify and stabilize the economy base in many countries like Saudi Arabia.