Title: How competitive strategy affects the building of strategic position through the mediating role of leader's knowledge: evidence from Karwanchi Group in Iraq

Authors: Hatem Ali Abdullah; Zaidoon Fareed Ahmed; Alaa Muhy Al-Deen Fadhil; Shaymaa Abdulkareem Dizdar

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, College of Administration and Economics, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq ' AI-Qalam University College, Kirkuk, Iraq ' AI-Qalam University College, Kirkuk, Iraq ' Department of Business Administration, College of Administration and Economics, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq

Abstract: This study aims at identifying the role of competitive strategy, low-cost strategy and differentiation strategy, in building the strategic position of organisations through the mediating role of leader's knowledge. This study adopts a descriptive analytical approach by collecting data through a questionnaire and analysing it to express the opinions of a sample of employees in the Karwanchi Group for the production of soft drinks, juices and mineral water. The data is collected through a questionnaire built based on a five-point likert scale. A non-random sample of 316 is selected to represent the original community of 1,800. The data are analysed using SMART, PLS4. The study concluded that the strategic position of organisations is achieved through competitive strategy, especially the differentiation strategy, which was more important than the low-cost strategy. The role of leader's knowledge mediates and maximises the relationship.

Keywords: competitive strategy; low-cost strategy; differentiation strategy; strategic position; leader's knowledge; Karwanchi Group; Iraq.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2025.147335

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2025 Vol.22 No.2, pp.146 - 167

Received: 28 Nov 2024
Accepted: 07 Feb 2025
Published online: 14 Jul 2025 *

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