THE MEDIATING ROLE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CAPABILITY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN UAE HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

Abstract

This study examined the association between leadership competency and organizational performance and the potential mediating role of quality improvement capability in healthcare facilities in the United Arab Emirates. A quantitative cross-sectional survey produced 292 usable responses from administrative and clinical leaders in Emirates Health Services. Partial least squares structural equation modelling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples showed positive associations from leadership competency to quality improvement capability and from quality improvement capability to organizational performance. The direct leadership competency–performance path was nonsignificant, whereas the indirect association was significant (β = 0.516; bias-corrected 95% CI [0.401, 0.626]). This pattern is statistically consistent with indirect-only mediation. However, quality improvement capability and organizational performance failed discriminant-validity assessment (HTMT = 0.922; Fornell–Larcker correlation = 0.905), and common-source diagnostics indicated possible method-related inflation. The findings therefore provide provisional, noncausal support for the proposed mechanism and require validation with longitudinal, multi-source, and objective performance data.