Ahmed Abdullah Amanah

The role of entrepreneurial alertness has been increasing to cope with the current fiercely competitive market. Entrepreneurial alertness enables companies to benefit from unseized opportunities and gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, the study explores the role of proactive behavior in enhancing the entrepreneurial alertness of organizations through the mediating role of dynamic capabilities. The study focuses on the Iraqi telecommunication market because of the intense competition between three major telecom companies. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire distributed among employees of mobile telecommunications companies in Iraq. The sample aimed to cover different levels in the business hierarchy with a particular focus on the leading positions. Therefore, it included 299 members of boards of directors, branch managers, department heads, and chief supervisors (middle managers). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses. Results revealed the positive effect of adopting proactive behavior (e.g., problem prevention, innovation, and holding responsibilities) on entrepreneurial alertness (e.g., scanning, searching for, and evaluating opportunities). The results also approved the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in enhancing the relationship between proactive behavior and entrepreneurial alertness. Therefore, Iraqi governmental telecommunication enterprises are recommended to benefit from the dynamic capabilities of employees (e.g., sensing, learning, integrating, and coordinating capabilities) to maximize the positive influence of proactive behavior on entrepreneurial alertness and, accordingly, improve the prediction of production risks and threats.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of strategic engagement in elucidating the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and the establishment of agile work teams in the Iraqi investment sector. To do so, a custom-designed questionnaire was administered using a five-point Likert scale to collect responses from employees at local companies operating in the investment sector within the Iraqi Middle Euphrates region, resulting in 329 middle managers. Data analysis was conducted utilizing SPSS version 25 and AMOS. The study reveals a direct and substantial impact of entrepreneurial leadership on both strategic engagement and agile work teams, with coefficients of 0.66 and 0.44, respectively. Additionally, a direct and significant influence of strategic engagement on forming agile work teams is observed, with a coefficient of 0.47. Furthermore, the paper highlights an indirect effect of entrepreneurial leadership on establishing agile work teams within these companies, mediated through strategic engagement, with a coefficient of 0.096. Therefore, the adoption of the entrepreneurial leadership paradigm by Iraqi investment companies has the potential to enhance the creation of agile work teams by promoting strategic engagement among the managerial ranks of these organizations. These findings contribute to the relevant literature and offer actionable insights that can facilitate improving leadership practices, strategic engagement initiatives, responsiveness to change, competitive advantage, and knowledge sharing.

Work creativity manifested in innovative workplace behavior (IWB) and employee work engagement is fundamental to maintaining firm’s sustainability and competitiveness. In this regard, this study investigates the supporting effect of innovative leadership on IWB and employee engagement by maximizing employee vigor, dedication, and absorption. The study data were collected using a questionnaire-based technique, and the questionnaires were administered to 150 respondents working in mobile phone companies in Southern and Central Iraq. The results were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS software. The study results revealed that inclusive leadership and work engagement were significantly related to IWB, and work engagement played a mediating role between inclusive leadership and IWB. The findings further indicated that inclusive leadership behaviors such as openness, accessibility, and availability motivated the subordinates to be engaged in IWB. To promote IWB, company leaders need to effectively engage their followers by taking pride and satisfaction in employee output, which might help employee work engagement and IWB.