Strategic Management Practices and Organizational Performance: Mediating Role of Digital Transformation in Iraqi Baghdad’s Digital-Native Enterprises

This paper investigates digital transformation as an eventual mediator between strategic management practices on organizational performance in light of fragmented and poorly structured settings around Digital-Native Enterprises sectors throughout Baghdad. Traditional literature on management has established an unbroken link between strategic planning and firm success, however this research finds that in emerging markets where institutional voids and technological barriers often prevents growth strategic intent requires a strong digital execution mechanism to be realized.
This research used a quantitative descriptive-analytical method; data were gathered for eight weeks from key informants in the top digital-native companies in Baghdad, resulting in 185 valid replies. Both the measurement and structural models were analysed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate a significant positive impact of managers being strategic with the organization on both organizational performance and digital transformation maturity, while digital transformation has a direct impact on overall performance. We also find significant mediation analyses whereby digital transformation partially mediates the strategy-performance relationship where in turn it bridges the 'execution gap', which often times limits sustainable performance outcomes from firm-level strategies in emerging economics.
These findings contribute to Dynamic Capabilities Theory in the field of logistics within Iraq as it illustrates how firms can utilize digital operationalization to overcome physical infrastructural barriers. This research agenda highlights the need for managers and policy-makers to look beyond stand-alone individual technology enhancements, to integrating digital investments into essential strategic frameworks for sustained competitive advantage and organizational resilience that can enable the long-term viability of aid recipient economies through continuous rejuvenation in fast-moving digital global landscape.