Exploring strategic decision making as a mediator between enterprise resource planning, innovation, strategic planning, and organizational performance

This study aimed to explore the effect of enterprise resource planning (ERP), innovation (IN), and strategic planning (SP) on the organizational performance (OP) of large industrial companies in Saudi Arabia, with the mediating role of strategic decision-making (SDM). To this end, data was collected from 358 participants and analyzed using structured equation modeling (SEM) via SmartPLS 4. The findings confirmed that ERP positively affects both SDM and OP. Likewise, IN positively affects SDM but does not directly affect OP. On the contrary, SP positively affects both SDM and OP. These results emphasized the important role of SDM as a mediator. Theoretical implications highlight the integration of ERP, IN, SDM, and SP into a coherent model that explains OP dynamics. In practical terms, organizations can leverage these insights to enhance SDM processes aimed at improving operational processes. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by providing a nuanced understanding of how ERP, IN, SDM, and practices collectively drive operational processes in industrial contexts, particularly in Saudi Arabia.