Dr Yousif Abdelrahim is an Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Strategic Management at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia. His research focuses on cultural cognition, tribalism, informal governance, organisational behaviour, and sustainability, with an emphasis on how social structures shape decision-making, ethics, institutional effectiveness, and socio-economic outcomes.

Dr Abdelrahim is internationally recognised for his contributions to the study of tribalism and wasta as cultural and cognitive phenomena. He developed one of the first validated individual-level measures of tribalism, advancing it as a distinct cultural dimension beyond traditional frameworks such as those proposed by Geert Hofstede. His work has contributed to emerging theoretical developments at the intersection of culture, cognition, and organisational behaviour.

He is also the founder of Wasta Theory, a componential and institutional theory that conceptualises wasta as a system of informal governance operating through social networks, tribal affiliations, kinship ties, and reciprocal obligations. The theory explains how informal governance structures influence organisational behaviour, resource allocation, leadership, trust, institutional performance, and corruption across emerging market economies. By integrating insights from organisational behaviour, institutional theory, cultural psychology, and governance studies, Wasta Theory provides a novel framework for understanding how formal and informal institutions interact within complex social systems.

His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals indexed by Web of Science and Scopus, including interdisciplinary outlets that address sustainability, education, management, and organisational studies. He is also the author of Tribalism and Corruption and continues to develop theoretical and empirical research on tribalism, wasta, informal governance, and cultural institutions.

In recognition of his expertise, Dr Abdelrahim has served as a peer reviewer for leading international journals and conferences, including the European Academy of Management. He has also been appointed as a judge for international initiatives such as the QS Impact Skills Challenge, evaluating sustainability and social-impact projects from around the world.

Dr Abdelrahim actively contributes to the global academic community through research, peer review, scholarly leadership, and international conference presentations, including participation in major academic forums such as the Association for Psychological Science and the European Academy of Management. In 2026, he was awarded the Leadership and Advocacy Award at the World Education Summit, organised by Elets Technomedia in Dubai, in recognition of his contributions to education, leadership, and research.