Next to this, we report on the problems of doing survey research in the non-Western setting of Egypt. We ran into substantial difficulties in gathering the data. The original method of using a postal survey resulted in an almost zero response rate. Only personally collecting the questionnaires at the sample firms worked in obtaining responses. Furthermore, much of the terminology used in the questionnaire – taken from the literature – seemed unknown, or not clear to the respondents. Based on our experiences, we suggest that survey research in non-Western countries requires the involvement of at least one native researcher.Also, it is prudent not to assume that the Western management terminology is known or understood in non-Western countries