The Mediating Impact of Strategic Leadership on the Relationship Between Digitalization and Strategic Planning of Retail Pharmacies

This study aimed to investigate the link between digitalization and strategic planning in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) retail pharmacies. Moreover, the study extended to examine the mediating impact of strategic leadership on the link between digitalization on strategic planning. The study was conducted on 317 employees of retail pharmacies of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Structural Equation Modelling was used to find the potential paths between various variables of the study using AMOS (V.21). The findings of the study showed that digitalization has a direct and statistically significant impact on strategic planning in Emirates retail pharmacies. Moreover, it was found that strategic leadership mediated the relationship between digitalization and strategic planning in Emirates retail pharmacies. The study’s implications will extend beyond the UAE, setting the framework for future research and encouraging organizations across industries to assess the impact of digitalization and strategic leadership in shaping their strategic planning processes.