Title:
THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC AGILITY AS A MEDIATING VARIABLE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC RENEWAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Authors:
Karrar Haider Radhi, Iraq

Abstract:
This study examines the mediating role of strategic agility in strengthening the relationship between strategic renewal and organizational excellence. Strategic agility is a contemporary concept that refers to an organization's capacity to adapt swiftly and continuously to environmental changes. Its significance lies in enabling institutions to develop flexible, adaptable strategies that facilitate effective responses to dynamic variables and sustain competitive advantage. Within the scope of this study, strategic renewal is conceptualized as an innovative process that leads to improved policies and practices, aimed at enhancing the organization's capacity to address emerging challenges and capitalize on new opportunities. Organizational excellence, in turn, is viewed as the outcome of continuous interaction among elements of institutional performance and quality, fostering innovation and continuous improvement. The relationship among these three constructs is inherently dynamic, requiring an organization that is both flexible and innovation-oriented. Strategic renewal directly contributes to the development of strategic agility, which in turn functions as a mediating variable that amplifies the translation of renewal outcomes into tangible organizational excellence. This is grounded in Resource-Based View (RBV) theories that emphasize the efficient investment of organizational resources, as well as organizational pragmatism theory, which underscores the necessity of effective adaptation to environmental change. This concept is embodied in the mediating model, which illustrates how agility can serve as a bridge between organizational creativity and excellence through the capacity for rapid adaptation and the balance between innovation and operational readiness.