Authors:
Kadhim Nazar Attyah Al-Rikabi

Addresses:
College of Administration and Economics, Al-Ameen University, Al-Waziriya, Baghdad, Iraq.

Abstract:

Public organizations in Iraq face chronic pressures to improve service quality, resource utilization, and responsiveness in a turbulent governance environment. This study examines whether strategic planning (SP) enhances organizational performance (OP) directly and indirectly through organizational agility (OA). Drawing on the dynamic capabilities perspective, researchers argue that SP strengthens sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring routines that constitute OA, thereby improving OP. Using a cross-sectional, hand-delivered survey of employees across administrative units in Iraqi state ministries (N = 390; reported response rate about 80% over a six-month collection period) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), researchers find that SP has a positive effect on OP and a stronger effect on OA. OA positively predicts OP and partially mediates the SP-OP relationship. Measurement model results demonstrate adequate reliability and convergent validity, while discriminant validity is supported using the heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT). Structural model evaluation indicates acceptable collinearity (VIF < 3.3), meaningful effect sizes (f²), moderate explanatory power (R²), and predictive relevance (Q² > 0). Researchers also address common method bias (CMB) through procedural remedies and statistical diagnostics (Harman's single-factor test and full collinearity VIF). The findings contribute to public-sector strategy research by clarifying a capability-based mechanism through which planning translates into performance. 

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Organizational Agility; Organizational Performance; Iraqi Public Sector; Dynamic Capabilities; PLS-SEM Results; Common Method Bias; Public Organizations.

Received on: 02/06/2025, Revised on: 05/08/2025, Accepted on: 22/09/2025, Published on: 05/03/2026

DOI: 10.69888/FTSOP.2026.000613

FMDB Transactions on Sustainable Organisational Practices, 2026 Vol. 1 No. 1, Pages: 34–44

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