Organizational Capabilities as a Mediator Between Strategic Planning and Family Business Sustainability

Organizational Capabilities as a Mediator Between Strategic Planning and Family Business Sustainability | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Organizational Capabilities as a Mediator Between Strategic Planning and Family Business Sustainability Abdulmalek Mohammed Al-Saeedi1, Tawfiq Musleh Al-Sanabani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8688339/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Family businesses (FBs) play a central role in the Yemeni private sector, yet many face persistent challenges related to governance, strategic planning, and intergenerational continuity. This study investigates the mediating role of organizational capabilities (OC) in the relationship between strategic planning (SP) and the sustainability of Yemeni FBs. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect data, which was administered to a sample of 196 individuals holding leadership and supervisory positions at Hayel Saeed Anam Group in Yemen. The study examined sustainability across economic, social, environmental, and financial dimensions, while assessing OC in terms of governance, innovation, organizational flexibility, and technological capabilities. The findings indicate that SP has a significant positive effect on both sustainability and OC, suggesting that well-structured strategic processes contribute directly to long-term business continuity and indirectly by strengthening internal capabilities. OC were also found to significantly enhance sustainability, confirming their crucial role in transforming strategic intentions into tangible outcomes. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that OC partially mediate the relationship between SP and sustainability, highlighting that the success of strategic plans depends heavily on the firm’s ability to develop and leverage internal capabilities effectively. The study offers important theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it supports the dynamic capabilities framework by demonstrating how internal resources shape the translation of strategy into sustainable performance. Practically, the results suggest that Yemeni FBs should focus on both strategic planning and the development of organizational capabilities to ensure resilience, continuity, and competitive advantage in complex and uncertain environments. Family Businesses Strategic Planning Organizational Capabilities Sustainability Yemen Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Ethical Approval This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Center of Business Administration at Sana’a University. Formal approval was also obtained from the senior management of all subsidiary companies of the Hayel Saeed Anam Group operating in the Capital Secretariat of Sana’a, Yemen. Approval was granted based on official memoranda addressed to the participating companies (reference numbers: 1363–1377, dated 2022).Informed Consent All participants were fully informed about the purpose of the study, procedures, and their rights as participants. Participation was voluntary, and respondents were informed of their right to withdraw at any time without any penalty or professional consequences. Data were collected between 19 August 2022 and 30 September 2022, and consent was obtained directly from participants at the time of questionnaire distribution. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8688339","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621516590,"identity":"c3c685a0-2f7b-4ba9-b95b-7c63dee6c4a6","order_by":0,"name":"Abdulmalek Mohammed Al-Saeedi1","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNCCCgkefvYGIMPAglgtZ2xkJHsOgLRIEKmDsS3NxuBGAohJhBaD84cffvjBdpjH4Obzqxt+FEgw8Ld3J+DXciPNWLKH5zCP5O2csps9QIdJnDm7gYAWoPt5JA7z8N3OSbvBA9RiIJFLQMv5459//jE4zMNw80zazT9EaTmQYybNk5DGI3CD/dhtomyRvJFTZi1zwIZHsieH7bYMyJGE/MJ3/vjmm2//Sdjzsx9/dvPNHxs5/vZe/FoUDsCZPAZgEq9yEJBvgDPZHxBUPQpGwSgYBSMTAABmzEtTsjx37gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Sana'a University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdulmalek","middleName":"Mohammed","lastName":"Al-Saeedi1","suffix":""},{"id":621516591,"identity":"17092077-d7ec-46d3-a75d-ad543c2a5160","order_by":1,"name":"Tawfiq Musleh Al-Sanabani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Thamar University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tawfiq","middleName":"Musleh","lastName":"Al-Sanabani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-24 17:23:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8688339/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8688339/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107099335,"identity":"8913d7c2-e8ca-4a03-b1c1-75192b60d539","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-16 18:25:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":443774,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Revisedmanuscript1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8688339/v1_covered_7905b999-aacc-4374-b6fa-65f802cef8fe.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eNo competing interests reported.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical Approval This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. 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