Business Family Values, Professional Practices: Agile Leadership for Sustainable Arab Enterprise Growth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70301/JOUR/SBS-JABR/2026/14/3/1Keywords:
Agile Leadership, Family Business, GCC Economies, Digital TransformationAbstract
The current study examines how an agile leadership approach can modernize family-owned businesses in GCC economies, with organizational innovation and digital transformation as intervening variables, drawing on dynamic capability theory. A quantitative research design was adopted, and data were collected through a structured survey of managers and employees working in family businesses. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the direct and indirect relationships between agile leadership, dynamic capabilities, and business modernization and organizational innovation. All hypothesized relationships were significant (p < .05) in the theoretical framework. Agile leadership had a positive and significant effect on the mediating constructs (organizational innovation and digital transformation) and a less significant but significant effect on business modernization, indicating partial mediation. The study contributes to the agile leadership literature by providing empirical evidence in the underexplored context of emerging-economy family businesses and by conceptualizing business modernization as a higher-order capability-driven outcome rather than a short-term organizational performance metric. The present study has certain limitations. The cross-sectional nature of the study allowed us to draw inferences about the causal mechanisms underlying the issues, and a longitudinal design should be considered in future research to observe how agile leadership practices evolve over time. Although the sample was rather heterogeneous, it was a convenience sample, which can lead to a lack of generalizability. Further studies should be conducted using probability sampling or sector analysis. In addition, self-reported measures can be biased, and future studies could include objective performance measures, such as profitability, the number of innovations, or indices of digital adoption. This study offers practical insights for family business owners, leadership practitioners, and policymakers in emerging economies. This highlights that investing in agile leadership behavior strengthens dynamic capabilities, enabling family firms to modernize business processes and digital infrastructure and remain competitive in evolving markets.
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