Absorptive Capacity and Organisational Performance: The Mediating Roles of Strategic Agility and Value Creation

Abstract

Travel and tourism organisations facing environmental and market changes need to identify and acquire external knowledge to maintain a competitive advantage. This research aims to evaluate the impact of absorptive capacity on strategic agility, value creation, and organisational performance. It highlights the need to explore these relationships, particularly focusing on the mediating roles of strategic agility and value creation, relatively novel in the context of tourism sector in the United Arab Emirates. A positivist, deductive research approach was employed, using quantitative data collected through convenience sampling technique, from a sample of 316 respondents working in the UAE tourism sector. The data was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that absorptive capacity has a significant positive impact on organisational performance which is consistent with the previous literature. Furthermore, strategic agility and value creation partially mediate this relationship. Theoretically, the study advances understanding of Resource-based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities theories in terms of absorbing and managing external knowledge, and how this influences the performance outcomes in the tourism sector in the UAE. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of strengthening dynamic capabilities to gain and sustain a competitive edge. It further suggests that value creation is a crucial intermediary step in translating strategic agility into innovation and financial outcomes. The research also emphasises the role of managers and decision-makers in enhancing employee efficiency through targeted training and development. This, in turn boosts strategic effectiveness, ultimately contributing to customer satisfaction and long-term market sustainability.