Researcher Iman Hamad Al-Omari, a student majoring in Innovation and Technology Management at Arabian Gulf University, defended her master’s thesis, titled: “The Impact of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence on Excellence in Performance Using Green Innovation as a Mediating Variable: An Analytical Study of Industrial Companies in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The study comes amid the rapid transformations the Saudi industrial sector is undergoing in the adoption of digital technologies and artificial intelligence solutions, and the growing importance these technologies play in enhancing organizational efficiency, strengthening their competitiveness, and supporting their drive toward innovation and sustainability. Through her study, the researcher aimed to analyze and measure the impact of digital transformation and artificial intelligence technologies on enhancing outstanding performance within Saudi industrial companies, as well as to explore the role that green innovation plays as a link between technological development and the achievement of higher levels of sustainable organizational performance.
The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach and was based on field data collected from a sample of employees at industrial companies in the Eastern Province, which made it possible to examine the relationship between digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green innovation, and high performance in a real-world industrial setting. The results showed a statistically significant effect of digital transformation and artificial intelligence on enhancing excellence in performance. They also revealed the partial mediating role of green innovation in this relationship, confirming that achieving organizational excellence in modern business environments is no longer based solely on the adoption of technology, but rather on organizations’ ability to integrate it into a comprehensive system that combines innovation, technology, and sustainability.
The study derives its significance from its comprehensive examination of four key areas that top the priorities of modern organizations: digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green innovation, and excellence in performance. It offers a scientific contribution that can be leveraged to support institutional decisions and practices, and to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the Saudi industrial sector, while the study’s findings align with national initiatives aimed at building an economy based on technology and innovation and developing a more efficient and competitive industrial sector, thereby supporting the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The thesis supervisory committee consisted of Prof. Fairouz Al-Dhamour, Professor of Management Information Systems, and Prof. Adel Bouhoulah, Professor of Computer Science. The thesis defense committee included Dr. Fatima Abdulqadir Al-Balushi, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bahrain, as the external examiner, and Dr. Afaf Bougui, Associate Professor of Information and Communication Technology at the Arabian Gulf University, as the internal examiner.