The Effect of Transactional Leadership on Organizational Agility in Tourism and Hospitality Businesses: The Mediating Roles of Organizational Trust and Ambidexterity

The tourism and hospitality industry is dynamic, so it demands agility to gain a competitive edge. This paper aims to examine the effect of transactional leadership on organizational agility in the tourism and hospitality industry. It also investigates the roles of organizational trust and ambidexterity as mediators by adopting the resource-based view (RBV). This study’s data are collected from the full-time employees working in category (A) travel agencies and five-star hotels operating in Egypt. The PLS-SEM approach was used to analyze 532 valid responses using WarpPLS 7.0. The findings showed that there is a positive relationship between transactional leadership and organizational agility, as well as positive relationships between transactional leadership with organizational trust and ambidexterity. Organizational trust and ambidexterity were also found to have positive relationships with organizational agility. Moreover, the findings revealed that organizational trust and ambidexterity play a mediating role between transactional leadership and organizational agility. According to the results, setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals is a key aspect of transactional leadership. Managers can collaborate with employees to set goals aligned with organizational agility, encouraging them to proactively identify and seize opportunities.