The Impact of Inclusive Leadership on Organizational Resilience Mediated by Strategic Agility and Innovation Capability in MSMEs

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact of inclusive leadership on organizational resilience by examining the mediating roles of strategic agility and innovation capability among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the food and beverage sector in Batam City, Riau Islands Province. This research employed a quantitative explanatory approach with a cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 250 MSME owner-managers selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed online via Google Forms, WhatsApp, and email, as well as offline through direct field visits. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS 29, while mediation effects were tested using the Sobel test. The findings indicate that inclusive leadership has a positive and significant effect on strategic agility and innovation capability, but does not exert a direct effect on organizational resilience. Strategic agility also does not significantly affect organizational resilience and fails to mediate the relationship between inclusive leadership and organizational resilience. In contrast, innovation capability has a positive and significant effect on organizational resilience and significantly mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and organizational resilience. These findings highlight the importance of inclusive leadership in fostering innovation as the primary pathway for strengthening MSME resilience in a turbulent business environment. The study supports Dynamic Capabilities Theory by showing that organizational resilience is more effectively built through operational innovation capability than through strategic agility alone and provides a basis for designing more sustainable regional MSME development programs.