Dr. Amine Ayad brings a rare balance of applied expertise and academic rigor. As a scholar-practitioner, he bridges the gap between theory and impact—drawing from decades of hands-on leadership in the retail industry and a rich portfolio of research, teaching, and writing that informs strategic decision-making at every level.
Whether mentoring executives, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, or speaking at global forums, his work reflects a singular focus: equipping organizations to transform with clarity, courage, and purpose.
📚 Books & Literary Contributions
📝 Articles & Peer-Reviewed Publications
Ayad, A., Rahim, E. (2013). Toward a theory for management success: the role of evidence-based management in the retail industry. Int. J. of Project Organization and Management, Vol. 5, No.3, pp.199 – 221
This paper was inspired by a comprehensive review of literature tackling success in the retail industry, which revealed scarcity in research attempting to entwine success factors into workable models. Consequently, conceptual analysis was conducted to weave retail success factors into an operational model. As a result, a retail approach towards the principles of evidence-based management emerged, a new methodology for developing a retail management theory was proposed, and an operational model was crafted.
Ayad, A. (2010). Business Process Improvement & Critical Thinking. Journal of Management Development, 29 (6), 556 – 564
The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of critical thinking (CT) in contrast with Six Sigma and the “5 Whys” approach that many managers use to conduct “Root cause analysis” in business process improvements. This research integrated principles of traditional literature review with a reflective inquiry of a practitioner. The study found that Six Sigma and its “5 Whys” methodology are insufficient in root cause analysis unless coupled with CT.
Rahim, A., Ayad, A., Zapf, R. (2010) Is Open-Sourcing the future for Project Management? Critical thinking in social networking. International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2 (2), 109 – 121
The purpose of this mixed, quantitative and qualitative study was to examine the future of project management (PM) in the light of the rapid expansion of online social networks. Qualitative data were extracted from numerous PM virtual platforms and analyzed via the hermeneutic tradition in studying the text and its interpretation. Perspectives of 66 PM experts and PM students were gathered through a survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the study. Findings indicated that the practice of PM continued to evolve, where PM concepts and solutions were being shared freely. Copyright regulations, as well as the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, were being violated with little or no recourse. This duality represented opportunities and threats to the science and to the practice of PM.
Ayad, A. (2008). Optimizing inventory and store results in big box retail environment. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 36 (3), 180-191
This paper is a case study that emphasizes the role of people. It proved that different stores within the same companies and various departments within the same stores deliver different results due, mainly, to human factors: specifically, critical thinking, functional knowledge, and leadership.
Ayad, A. (2005). The Cause and Effect of My Quality Journey. Quality Progress, 38 (10), 83
This paper summarizes personal reflections on the concept of quality. It argues that quality is more than data analysis, surveys, methodologies, systems, quality models, organizational structures, strategy development and deployment, standards, audits, and certifications. It recapitulates a journey to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union that made me aware of quality as it relates to philosophy, ideology, and society.
