The Role of Transformational Leadership in Enhancing the Competitive Capabilities of Pharmaceutical Companies in the Gaza Strip: Strategic Intelligence as a Mediating Variable

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the role of transformational leadership and its dimensions in enhancing competitive capabilities through the employment of strategic intelligence as a mediating variable in pharmaceutical companies in the Gaza Strip. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach and used a questionnaire to collect data from all pharmacists working in five pharmaceutical companies in the Gaza Strip, with a total of (51) pharmacists, using a census survey method. The results indicated that the levels of practicing transformational leadership, employing strategic intelligence, and the reality of competitive capabilities were all high, with relative weights of (79.20%), (76.80%), and (77.20%), respectively. The findings also revealed a positive, statistically significant role of transformational leadership and its dimensions in enhancing both strategic intelligence and competitive capabilities, as well as a positive, statistically significant role of strategic intelligence in enhancing competitive capabilities. This suggests a substantive, almost complete mediating role of strategic intelligence in explaining the effect of transformational leadership on competitive capabilities. Moreover, the results related to demographic differences showed no statistically significant differences at the level (α ≤ 0.05) in the respondents’ perceptions of transformational leadership, strategic intelligence, and competitive capabilities attributable to the gender variable. In contrast, statistically significant differences were found for the age variable in favor of the older age categories (40–less than 50) and (50 years and above). No statistically significant differences were recorded for the educational qualification variable in transformational leadership and strategic intelligence, whereas significant differences emerged in competitive capabilities in favor of holders of a Master’s degree. No statistically significant differences were found for the company variable in transformational leadership and strategic intelligence, while significant differences in competitive capabilities appeared in favor of Birzeit Pharmaceuticals and Masrouji Pharmaceuticals. As for years of service, no statistically significant differences were found in transformational leadership, while significant differences emerged in both strategic intelligence and competitive capabilities in favor of those with (15) years of experience or more. In light of these findings, the study recommends, among other things, strengthening clear ethical codes of conduct and disseminating them across all managerial levels, allocating tasks in accordance with employees’ strengths and closely monitoring their performance, and implementing systems to monitor resource consumption and adopting “smart conservation” policies in ways that support the sustainability of competitive capabilities.