Abstract. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and its great impact on various organizations; the importance of agility has emerged as a supportive source for the survival of organizations and their continuation in the work environment. Agility enhances the ability of these organizations to cope with changes in the work environment, and to exploit all the opportunities available. The study aimed to assess the extent to which the five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia are considered agile hotels, as well as the extent to which they possess a competitive advantage. The study also aimed to assess the impact of organizational agility on those hotels having a competitive advantage. To achieve the goal of the study, 1200 questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of workers in five-star hotels, while 809 valid questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS V.25. The results showed that the five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia are considered to be agile hotels, in addition to their having a competitive advantage. The results also indicated the significant and positive impact of organizational agility on hotels' having a competitive advantage.

1. 1
Agility as An Effective Approach During Covid-19: Evidence from Five-Star Hotels in Saudi Arabia
Ali A. Alalmai
Assistant professor, Hospitality Administration, Department Administration, Faculty of Community College,
Jazan University
aaalalmai@jazanu.edu.sa
Keywords: Agility, Competitive Advantage, Covid-19, Hotels, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and its great impact on various organizations; the importance of agility has emerged as
a supportive source for the survival of organizations and their continuation in the work environment. Agility enhances the ability of these
organizations to cope with changes in the work environment, and to exploit all the opportunities available. The study aimed to assess the extent to
which the five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia are considered agile hotels, as well as the extent to which they possess a competitive advantage. The
study also aimed to assess the impact of organizational agility on those hotels having a competitive advantage. To achieve the goal of the study,
1200 questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of workers in five-star hotels, while 809 valid questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS
V.25. The results showed that the five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia are considered to be agile hotels, in addition to their having a competitive
advantage. The results also indicated the significant and positive impact of organizational agility on hotels' having a competitive advantage.
1. Introduction
The attempts of organizations to make transformations in the
workplace increased dramatically during the first half of 2020, as
many organizations started working within the framework of
medium and long-term plans to exploit the tremendous
technological advances and best practices to create modern and
flexible work environments in a calculated and rapid manner
(Freeform Dynamics, 2020). Within days, these organizations were
forced to direct and expand to work remotely as an imperative
arising from the Covid-19 pandemic (Seetharaman, 2020).
The first half of 2020 will go down in history as one of the most
turbulent times in memory. With the failure to take precautionary
measures in the first three months of 2020, the danger of the Covid-
19 pandemic has become clearer and more effective. Country after
country imposed various forms of social distancing and lockdown
measures, and it was noticed that social distancing measures
reached their peak in many organizations that had to transfer a large
proportion of their workforce to work from home (Markus and
Brainin, 2020).
Despite the many challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, that
period witnessed a tremendous amount of creativity and innovation,
as routine work turned into digital work, and traditional work in
offices and organizations shifted to work at home (DeFilippis et al.,
2020).
The first year after returning to traditional work will witness a major
focus on hygiene protocols, remote work rotation, physical
distancing, and helping people feel comfortable. After the Covid-
19; in the long term, organizations will be interested in investing in
business continuity plans and a flexible organizational culture
(Newmark Knight Frank, 2020).
As the response to the Covid-19 pandemic transitions from a short-
term response to a long-term shift in how and where individuals
work, organizations that better support new ways of working will
flourish (Berry et al., 2020), and it will also highlight the importance
of supporting and enhancing strategic agility in organizations (The
IBM Institute for Business Value, 2020).
During that period, workforce integrity and flexibility, cost
management, organizational agility, risk management (The IBM
Institute for Business Value, 2020), agile work teams, and training
(Comella-Dorda, et al., 2020) emerged as a top priority in the short
and long term (Van der Roest et al., 2020).
Based on the above; The study aims to track the various effects of
the Covid-19 pandemic on five-star hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia and highlight the most important measures and priorities that
these hotels have taken care of to face the threat of the Covid-19 to
ensure their survival and continuity in the work environment. The
study also aims at the extent to which the five hotels in Saudi Arabia
are considered as agile hotels, and to assess the extent to which they
have a competitive advantage in light of the challenges and dangers
they face. Finally, the study aims to evaluate the impact of
organizational agility on the competitive advantage of five-star
hotels in Saudi Arabia.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Organizations and Covid-19 (Overview, Impacts,
Challenges, Coping Mechanisms)
In the first quarter of 2020, organizations found themselves shocked
in all respects due to the sudden emergence of the Covid-19
pandemic. These organizations faced a mixture of challenges,
ranging from office closures, transfers to remote work, cuts to
budgets and jobs, growing concerns about the health and safety of
workers, and cyber risks (Pring, 2020). For most organizations, the
epidemic was a stress test that revealed deficiencies in the way it
works (Shafi et al., 2020).
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that many organizations lack
the skills and ingredients for crisis management, a flexible culture,
and the emotional intelligence to overcome shocks. They also need

2. 2
to improve business continuity, planning, and the need to improve
digital systems and workflow, and to enhance organizational culture
and management practices (McKibbin and Fernando, 2020).
When the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on organizations
increased, those organizations had no choice but to focus on dealing
immediately with the effects of that pandemic. Those organizations
dealt with these effects with a kind of desire and will to continue the
work and meet its requirements (MIOSHA, 2020). The Covid-19
pandemic has also helped organizations explore their best
workforces (Batra, 2020).
The Covid-19 is a catalyst for change in how individuals work
inside and outside the traditional workplace. Consequently,
organizations must reconsider the role and purpose of their place in
the post-Covid-19world. These organizations need to answer the
following questions: Why? When? How often do people come to
work? What tools do they need to feel safe, communication and
productive? (Newmark Knight Frank, 2020).
Many organizations have faced some challenges as a result of the
Covid-19 pandemic, such as disruption of workflow and operations,
difficulty in day-to-day coordination of the activities and tasks of
employees, difficulty working in order to meet specific deadlines,
difficulties that cover basic working hours, and less effective and
efficient decisions made (World Health Organization, 2020).
Seetharaman (2020) indicated that there are some challenges that
imposed themselves on organizations in light of the Covid-19
pandemic, such as the need for speed and flexibility in doing
business, getting rid of traditional work performance methods and
mechanisms and broad changes in the desires and needs of
customers.
Organizations wishing to continue and remain in the work
environment must answer the following questions to qualify
themselves for the period after the Covid-19 pandemic (Berry et al.,
2020):
• Have you identified the capabilities, processes, or activities
that will be most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic?
• Have you assessed your current organizational capabilities,
process capabilities, and protocols for remote work?
• Can your technological infrastructure support the full
adoption of remote work?
• Have you set employee expectations while working away
from offices?
• Do your employees know how to get help using the different
tools they need to work remotely?
• Did you conduct a risk assessment of your technology tools?
• Have you identified critical functions or processes that require
continuous energy?
• Are your employees able to collaborate with each other
effectively?
• Has the organization developed a business continuity plan in
case your workers are subjected to quarantine?
• Do you have a plan to keep employees in contact with each
other and involved in work during the pandemic?
• Are your employees working safely? Do you know if your
data is safe outside of the workplace?
• What are the potential changes in customer service delivery
that will have a lasting impact on your planning capabilities?
• What new policies do you need to formulate to balance staff
costs and business continuity?
• How will you adopt and encourage a culture of teamwork and
cooperation at work?
• How will you build the leadership capabilities for managing
uncertainty in the future?
• How will you build agile capabilities in the future?
• How will your employees' approval of virtual work be
assessed?
• How will you start planning HR strategies after the Covid-19
pandemic?
In Arogya World (2020) study on the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on workplaces in India; the results highlighted the
following:
Regarding the way organizations deals with their employees during
the Covid-19pandemic; the results showed the following:
• 77% of organizations gave their employees a computer when
they asked them to work from home.
• 85% of workers felt that their organizations gave them an
enjoyable and difficult work at the same time.
• 87% of employees confirmed that their line managers
communicate well with them.
• 92% of employees reported the availability of the necessary
information to accomplish their work efficiently.
• 75% of employees indicated that they had sufficient time to
complete their work efficiently.
• 84% of employees indicated that they had an opportunity to
develop new and innovative ways of working.
With regard to the direction of these organizations to build a
positive work culture, the results showed the following:
• 84% of workers felt that their organizations valued them.
• 71% of workers said that working from home will not hinder
their career development.
• 78% of workers said they feel accomplished in their work.
• 89% of workers said they are enthusiastic to give their
employer 100% of their effort during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, with the emergence of the Covid-19pandemic; The
importance of using digital tools, attracting digital talent and
capabilities, retaining talent, empowering, and supporting a remote
workforce has emerged (Beam Consulting, 2020).
Kearney, et al. (2020) also revealed that the importance of
information, electronic work, and job pressures has increased, along
with crisis management, innovation, and artificial intelligence in
organizations during the Covid-19pandemic. Also during that
period, the importance of reconsidering the traditional
organizational structures, the necessity to apply modern leadership
styles, and digital teamwork (Banerjee, et al., 2020).
OSHA (2020) highlighted that there are six basic considerations that
organizations must take into consideration to ensure their survival
and continuity in the future. These considerations are as follows:
1. Achieving agility in business (organizational agility).

3. 3
2. Extensive use of technology.
3. The volume of labor force productivity.
4. Social interaction.
5. The health and well-being of the workforce.
6. Great opportunities for talent.
DeFilippis et al. (2020) and The IBM Institute for Business Value
(2020) also explained that there are five approaches to deal with the
work environment in light of the Covid-19pandemic, are digital
transformation, strategic agility, organizational trust, the human
factor is the key to success, and health is the key to sustainability.
Kearney, et al. (2020) and Newmark Knight Frank (2020)
confirmed that the organizations that will support and enhance their
agility will succeed in adapting to all the changes imposed by the
Covid-19pandemic. Those organizations will return to strength after
that pandemic, given the problems and challenges that these
organizations have endured in order to complete their work, in
addition to the great progress that these organizations have made in
the field of digital transformation in business very quickly
(Freeform Dynamics, 2020).
2.2. Organizational agility (Concept - Importance)
The concept of agility is a modern concept in managerial thought,
where some researchers believe that agility is related to the
capabilities of organizations to work easily, quickly, and effectively
(Sherehiy, 2008). Organizational agility refers to the ability of the
organization to reformulate its strategies in its current environment
through continuous anticipation of changes in the work
environment, and adaptation to the requirements and needs of
customers (Nijssen and Paauwe, 2012).
Chen and Siau (2020) Defined organizational agility as sensing
changes in the work environment, responding to them more quickly,
effectively, and flexibly, exploiting the opportunities produced by
this change, investing competencies and consolidating excellence.
Moreover, organizational agility is associated with agility within the
organization, and quick response to changes in the surrounding
work environment in order to achieve its goals, through adaptation
and flexibility in dealing with it quickly and effectively (Yeganegi
and Saber, 2012).
As well as, Kohtamäki and Farmer (2017) stated that organizational
agility can be defined as responding to sudden changes by analyzing
the internal and external environment of the organization, taking
advantage of the strengths and opportunities available, predicting
the future, and making strategic decisions in a timely manner to
invest opportunities and achieve the goals of the organization.
Furthermore, Ravichandran (2018) explained that organizational
agility is the ability of an organization to enhance its
competitiveness through strategic development, and to encourage
innovation in design, processes, services, and related business
functions.
Organizational agility is related to the ability of an organization to
react in an agile manner to the threats and opportunities it faces
(Queiroz et al., 2017). Organizational agility is a management
approach based on the organization's ability to move strategically,
and to take elaborate and rapid strategic steps, based on
redistributing or directing its resources efficiently and effectively,
and responding with a high degree of accuracy to sudden
environmental changes by analyzing the external environment to
identify opportunities and avoid threats that can change the
organization's strategy, competition in the market, and affect its
market share (Koçyiğit and Akkaya, 2020).
In addition; Teece et al. (2016) clarified that organizational agility
is based on the ability of the organization to redistribute its
resources or direct them efficiently and effectively in order to create
value for them, and to protect high-return activities while taking into
account the internal and external conditions of the organization.
With regard to the importance of organizational agility; It has
become a necessity for various organizations, especially in light of
the increasing administrative and organizational problems, the
speed of changes in the work environment, as well as the intensity
of competition and competition regarding the exploitation of
opportunities available in the work environment (Chen and Siau,
2020).
Organizational agility is the key to success in a dynamic and rapidly
changing work environment, as it helps enhancing the ability to
manage the sudden changes, and taking advantage of available
opportunities (Batra, 2020). The importance of organizational
agility is due to the fact that it helps organizations in making them
more responsive to changes and more flexible in dealing with
challenges, achieving innovational performance, enhancing the
competitiveness of the organization, and the success of change
management (Al-Omoush et al., 2020). Agile organizations are
speed and flexible, offering high-quality products, supporting
human investment, technology investment, and organizational
integration (Ravichandran, 2018).
While Doz and Kosonen (2008) pointed out that strategic planning
in its traditional way is no longer beneficial for organizations due to
the rapid changes taking place in the work environment. Therefore,
it became necessary for organizations to anticipate these changes
and prepare themselves to bring about internal and external changes
in their work in order to keep pace with these changes. The
performance of managers should also keep pace with this change.
In this vein, organizational agility is the real key to the success of
these organizations in overcoming the risks resulting from these
changes.
Nijssen and Paauwe (2012) believed that organizational agility is
one of the fundamental requirements for the success of
organizations, ensuring their continuity, and a source of
sustainability for competitive advantage. The importance of
organizational agility is also highlighted through the following:
• Organizational agility is the key to success in a dynamic
business environment because it enables the organization to
control and adapt to sudden and rapid environmental changes
and enables it to manage its activities under uncertainty (Chen
and Siau, 2020).
• Organizational agility enhances the organization's ability to
respond to changing customer needs and desires, and to reveal
customer preferences (Koçyiğit and Akkaya, 2020).
• It supports the organization's ability to display its products in
multiple markets and increase its ability to generate real value
for customers (Ravichandran, 2018).

4. 4
• It enables the organization to seize the opportunities available
in the work environment (Nijssen and Paauwe, 2012).
3. Methodology
3.1. Study instrument
In collecting its data, the study relied on designing a questionnaire,
which was divided into five parties as follows:
• The first part: includes the personal and functional information
of the sample. It includes gender, age, educational level, job
position, and number of years of experience.
• The second part: It deals with some of the effects caused by the
Covid-19 pandemic on the five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia. This
part includes 10 effects developed through a study Freeform
Dynamics (2020); Berry et al. (2020) and DeFilippis et al.
(2020).
• The third part: It deals with the procedures that hotels should take
to ensure their survival and continuity in the work environment.
This part includes 15 procedures developed through The IBM
Institute for Business Value (2020); Pring (2020) and Kearney,
et al. (2020).
• The fourth part: It deals with assessing the degree of
organizational agility in five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia. This
part includes 19 items developed based on the study of Worley
et al. (2014).
• The fifth part: It deals with the extent to which five-star hotels in
Saudi Arabia have a competitive advantage. This part includes
18 items developed based on Chen and Paulraj (2004) and Abu-
Radi (2013).
3.2. Population and sample of the study
The study population is represented in the five-star hotels in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There are 145 five-star hotels in Saudi
Arabia according to the General Administration of Licenses (2019)
report.
The study sample consisted of employees in five-star hotels in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (top management - middle management
- employees). 1,200 questionnaires were distributed electronically
to a random sample of employees in those hotels during the period
from April 2020 to September 2020. 917 questionnaires were
retrieved. It was found that there were 108 incomplete and invalid
questionnaires for analysis, and it was excluded from the analysis.
In the end, 809 questionnaires were analyzed.
3.3. Data analysis
SPSS V.25 software was used to analyze the study data by using the
following statistical methods: Cronbach Alpha to evaluate the
reliability, frequencies, percentage, mean, SD (standard deviation),
correlation by Spearman, and Simple Linear Regression.
4. Results
4.1. Reliability
The Cronbach alpha reliability was computed, and the tests revealed
that the reliability coefficient for all the instrument were above 0.70.
Therefore, it can be stated that all variables employed in this study
have sufficient reliability. For this study, Cronbach alpha for all
variables presented in table (1)
Table 1. Cronbach alpha
Variables Cronbach alpha
Impacts of covid-19 0.815
Procedures of dealing with Covid-19 0.893
Organizational agility 0.911
Competitive advantage 0.877
4.2. Descriptive analysis
A- Personal and functional information
The results in Table (2) show the frequencies and percentages of the
personal and functional information of the respondents. As for the
gender; the results show that there are 776 male respondents of the
sample, representing 95.9% of the total sample, while the number
of female respondents reached 33 females, representing only 4.1%
of the total sample.
With regard to age; the results reveal that there are 259 respondents
whose ages range between (30 - less than 40 years), representing
32% of the total sample. There are also 250 respondents who are
under the age of 30 years, by 30.9%. as well as there are 197
respondents whose ages range between (40 - less than 50 years), by
24.4%. Finally, there are 103 respondents aged 50 years and over,
representing 12.7% of the total sample size.
As for educational level; The results indicate that more than two-
thirds of the sample have a bachelor’s degree, where there are 618
respondents who have a bachelor’s degree by 76.5%, and there are
97 respondents by 12% who have various academic degrees,
followed by those who have a postgraduate diploma, and they are
44 individuals with a ratio of 5.4 %, Then those who have a master’s
degree, who number 31, by 3.8%, and finally those who have a
doctorate, who number 19, by 2.3%.
With regard to job position, the results clarify that the majority of
the respondents work as employees, as their number reached 610
individuals, representing 75.4% of the total sample, followed by
workers in middle management, who number 1647, with a
percentage of 20.3%, and finally, the 35 employees in higher
management, by 4.3%.
Finally, regarding the years of work experience, the majority of
respondents have (5 – less than 10 years) job experience by 268
respondents (33.1%), followed by who have (10 – less than 15
years) job experience by 219 respondents (27.1%), then who have
(less than 5 years) job experience by 209 respondents (25.8%), and
finally who have (15 years and more) by 113 respondents (14%).

5. 5
Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Freq. %
1- Gender
Male 776 95.9%
Female 33 4.1%
Total 809 100%
2- Age
Less than 30 years 250 30.9%
30 – less than 40 years 259 32%
40 – less than 50 years 197 24.4%
50 years and more 103 12.7%
Total 809 100%
3- Education Level
Bachelor 618 76.5%
Diploma 44 5.4%
Master 31 3.8%
PhD 19 2.3%
Other 97 12%
Total 809 100%
4- Job Position
Top Management 35 4.3%
Middle Management 164 20.3%
Employee 610 75.4%
Total 809 100%
5- Job Experience
Less the 5 years 209 25.8%
5 – less than 10 years 268 33.1%
10 – less than 15 years 219 27.1%
15 years and more 113 14%
Total 809 100%
B- Impacts of covid-19 on five-star hotels
Figure (1) indicates some of the effects caused by the Covid-19
pandemic on five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia from the viewpoint of
the respondents. The results highlight that the most important of
these effects was the effect on the health of employees by 97.4%,
followed by the impact on information security by 93.8%, then the
impact on customer expectations by 88.1%, followed by the effect
on shifting to work remotely by 88.1%, then the effect on expenses
and reducing them by 82.9%. The Covid-19 also affected the
perception of the importance of technology at work by 75.9%,
followed by the impact on budgets and reducing them by 74.4%,
then the effect on coordinating the daily activities of workers and
increasing their difficulty by 73.8%, then affecting work errors and
increasing them by 73.5%, and finally the effect on productivity of
employees by 57.2%.
Fig. 1. Impacts of covid-19 on five-star hotels
75.90%
88.10%
81.50%
57.20%
73.80%
74.40%
82.90%
93.80%
88.10%
97.40%
73.50%
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00% 120.00%
Realizing the importance of technology
Switching to remote work
Workflow disturbance
Declining in worker productivity
Difficulty coordinating the daily activities of employees
Reducing budgets
retrenchment
Information Security
Shifts in customer expectations
Impacting on employee health
Increased errors at work

6. 6
C- Procedures of dealing with Covid-19 during the
coming period in five-star hotels
Table No. (3) Shows that there are some measures and procedures
put in place by five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia to face the dangers
and challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show
that those hotels have clearly paid attention to social distancing in
the workplace (mean= 4.32, SD= 0.47), and enhancing
organizational agility for businesses inside and outside it (mean=
4.29, SD= 0.55), in addition to supporting flexibility in performance
(mean= 4.28, SD= 0.51), taking into account the health and well-
being of workers (mean= 4.25, SD= 0.75), encouraging and
enhancing digital culture and dealing with technology (mean= 4.22,
SD= 0.59).
The results also indicate that these hotels seek to attract talent in the
future (mean= 4.18, SD= 0.96), as well as those hotels encourage
virtual work (mean= 4.14, SD= 0.83), the tendency to create and
develop new services (mean= 4.13, SD= 0.77), encouraging and
supporting the empowerment of workers (mean= 4.11, SD= 0.71),
as well as shifting from routine work to more creative and
innovative work (mean= 4.09, SD= 1.01).
in addition to, The results reveal that the five-star hotels in Saudi
Arabia took into account the environmental dimension in their work
(mean= 4.07, SD= 0.97), clearly shifted from traditional business to
electronic business (mean= 4.02, SD= 0.97). Besides, realizing the
importance of human investment and the necessity of qualifying and
training workers (mean= 3.94, SD= 1.10). As well as taking into
account the balance between life and work (mean= 3.93, SD= 1.06),
and finally realizing the importance of heavy investment in
technology (mean= 3.88, SD= 1.14).
Table 3. Procedures of dealing with Covid-19 during the coming period in five-star hotels
Procedures Mean SD
Enhancing business agility 4.29 0.55 2
Heavy investment in technology 3.88 1.14 15
Human investment 3.94 1.10 13
Taking into account the health and welfare of employees 4.25 0.75 4
Shifting from traditional work to electronic business 4.02 0.97 12
Shifting from routine work to creativity and innovation 4.09 1.01 10
Focusing on talent acquisition 4.18 0.96 6
Social distancing in the workplace 4.32 0.47 1
Expanding employee empowerment 4.11 0.71 9
Encouraging virtual work 4.14 0.83 7
Attention to work-life balance 3.93 1.06 14
Promoting digital culture 4.22 0.59 5
Increasing flexibility in performance 4.28 0.51 3
Developing new services 4.13 0.77 8
Taking into account the environmental dimension at work 4.07 0.97 11
D- Organizational agility in five-star hotels
Table No. (4) Indicates the extent to which the five-star hotels in
Saudi Arabia are considered agile. The results show that the mean
of the agility of five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia was 4.14, and the
standard deviation was 0.84. This result reveals that these hotels are
considered agile hotels, and that they are able to effectively deal
with changes in the surrounding work environment, exploit the
opportunities available to them by providing all the necessary
requirements for this, and having qualified workers of outstanding
performance.
Table 4. Organizational Agility in five-star hotels
Items Mean SD
1-Hotel has a unifying purpose / mission, other than profitability and growth. 4.15 1.01
2- Hotel develops strategies with flexibility in mind. 4.22 0.85
3- Hotel has a culture that embraces change as normal 4.03 1.13
4- Hotel has core values that reflect a change ready Hotel 4.01 0.96
5- Hotel spends a lot of time thinking about the future 4.16 0.79
6- Hotel puts as many employees as possible in contact with the external environment, especially with customers 4.29 0.63
7- Hotel allows information to flow freely from the outside to departments and groups where it is most valuable 4.10 0.91
8- Hotel shares financial and business strategy information with all employees 3.99 1.15
9- Hotel has formal mechanisms to connect senior management with employees at all levels of the Hotel 4.16 0.99
10- Hotel encourages innovation 4.22 0.82
11- Hotel has enough budget so that employees can develop new products or better ways of working together 4.13 0.93
12- Hotel is capable of shifting its structure quickly to address new opportunities 4.20 0.71
13- Hotel has flexible budgets that respond to marketplace changes 4.14 0.89
14- Hotel regularly reviews learning from change efforts 4.19 0.71
15- Hotel considers the ability to change a strength of the Hotel 4.24 0.66
16- Hotel rewards seniority more than performance 4.03 1.08

7. 7
17- Hotel pays for the skills and knowledge that contribute to performance 4.11 0.95
18- Hotel has a well-developed change capability 4.16 0.80
19- Hotel encourages managers and employees to develop the leadership skills of their direct reports 4.21 0.77
Total mean/standard deviation of organizational agility 4.14 0.84
E- Competitive Advantage in five-star hotels
Table No. (5) Shows the assessment of the extent to which five-star
hotels in Saudi Arabia has a competitive advantage. The results
depict that the mean of the extent of those hotels having a
competitive advantage was 4.19, and the standard deviation was
0.92. This result clearly indicates that these hotels have a
competitive advantage. These hotels pay great attention to creativity
in the performance of work and the provision of services, and
attention to providing high-quality services as required and in a
timely manner. These hotels are also concerned with the flexibility
of their operations and the reduction of their costs.
Table 5. Competitive Advantage in five-star hotels
Items Mean SD
1- Hotel has the ability to develop new methods at a high rate compare with our competitors 4.16 0.92
2- Hotel has the ability to develop new features in existing services at a high rate compared with our competitors 4.11 0.88
3- Hotel has the ability to develop new service technology at a high rate compared with our competitors 4.21 0.67
4- Hotel has the ability to develop new working methods at a high rate compared with our competitors 4.15 0.97
5- Hotel has the ability to provide services of high level of quality compared with our competitors 4.22 0.78
6- Hotel has the ability to provide services with high level of performance compared with our competitors 4.29 0.65
7- Hotel has the high level of service quality as perceived by the client compared with our competitors 4.18 0.97
8- Hotel has the ability to provide a high level of conformance quality compared with our competitors 4.11 0.93
9- Hotel has the ability to provide a high level of service reliability compared with our competitors 4.24 0.88
10- Hotel has the ability to reliably deliver services on time compared with our competitors 4.27 0.61
11- Hotel has to promptly handle client complaints compared with our competitors 4.31 0.51
12- Hotel has the ability to rapidly change service mix compared with our competitors 4.26 0.65
13- Hotel has the ability to rapidly change services volume compared with our competitors 4.21 0.74
14- Hotel has the ability to provide broad service mix within same facilities compared with our competitors 4.09 1.03
15- Hotel has the ability to rapidly handle clients’ needs compared with our competitors 4.19 0.89
16- Hotel has the ability to offer lower priced services compared with our competitors 4.25 0.81
17- Hotel has the ability to provide services at lower internal costs compared with our competitors 4.09 1.13
18- Hotel has the ability to reduce overhead costs compared with our competitors 4.14 0.99
Total mean/standard deviation of competitive advantage 4.19 0.92
4.3. Spearman correlation analysis
The correlation between two variables reflects the degree to which
the variables are related Spearman's correlation coefficient was
calculated. Spearman's correlation reflects the degree of linear
relationship between variables. It ranges from (+1) to (-1). A
correlation of (+1) means that there is a perfect positive linear
relationship between variables. A correlation of (-1) means that
there is a perfect negative linear relationship between variables.
Correlation of (0) means that there is no linear relationship between
the two variables.
Table 6. Spearman correlation coefficient between organizational agility and competitive advantage in five-star hotels in Saudi
organizational agility competitive advantage
organizational agility Correlation Coefficient 1.000 0.719**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .000
N 809 809
competitive advantage Correlation Coefficient 0.719** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .
N 809 809
The results in table (6) indicated that the sig. value is less than .05
which mean there is a statistically significant relationship between
organizational agility and competitive advantage. Table also
showed that the correlation between organizational agility and
competitive advantage was positive, where correlation coefficient
value was 0.719.
4.4. Simple linear regression analysis Simple linear regression was used to determine how independent
variable (organizational agility) affects dependent variable

8. 8
(competitive advantage). A coefficient correlation between
variables is a quantitative index of association between these
variables. It used at significance level of 1%.
The Spearman correlation analysis of the relationship between
organizational agility and competitive advantage confirmed that
there is a significant and positive correlation between the two
variables. Hence, regression analysis is going to be significant.
Table (7) clarified the outputs of simple linear regression test of the
effect of organizational agility on competitive advantage in five-star
hotels in Saudi.
Table 7. The impact of organizational agility on competitive advantage in five-star hotels in Saudi
Model Coefficients (B) t Sig. R2
F Sig.
(Constant) 1.332 16.569 .000 .416 345.227 .000
organizational agility 0.569 11.564 .000
Table (7) illustrated the reliability of model used in testing the effect
of organizational agility on competitive advantage. This table
revealed that organizational agility affects significantly and
positively competitive advantage. F value was 345.227 with sig.
level 0.001. This model shows the percent of change on the level of
competitive advantage of five-star hotels in which explained
through the level of organizational agility. It also depicts that R
Square was (0.416) which means that the independent variable
(organizational agility) explains 41.6% of change in the dependent
variable (competitive advantage of five-star hotels). This proved
that organizational agility enhances the level of competitive
advantage of five-star hotels by 41.6%.
Therefore, regression formula was:
Competitive advantage = 1.332 + 0.569 × organizational agility
5. Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic and the risks and
challenges it has brought have affected organizations in general and
five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia in particular. The pandemic has
affected the ways in which these hotels operate, how they provide
their services and their relationship with their customers. This study
has reached a number of results that can be presented as follows:
• There are some effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and
it clearly affected five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia. These
impacts include employee health, information security,
customer expectations, and the transition to remote work.
These effects also include reducing hotels' expenditures,
increasing awareness of the importance of technology at work,
reducing their budgets, difficulty coordinating the daily
activities of workers, increasing work errors, and lowering
employee productivity.
• In light of the risks and challenges caused by the Covid-19
pandemic to five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia; these hotels have
tended to take some procedures that will help and support the
capabilities of these hotels to survive and continue in the work
environment. These procedures include social distancing
among workers in the workplace, enhancing organizational
agility, increasing organizational flexibility, and paying
attention to the health and well-being of workers. Among the
procedures also supporting and developing the digital culture
of workers, focusing on attracting digital talent in the future,
developing virtual work, creating new services, and
empowering workers. Additionally, these procedures include
the transformation of those hotels from routine work to
creative work, taking into account the environmental
dimension at work, shifting from traditional business to
electronic business, realizing the importance of investing in
human capital, taking into account the balance between life
and work, and investing in technology.
• Five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia are characterized as agile
hotels, as these hotels have the features of agile organizations
such as the ability to deal with changes in the work
environment efficiently and effectively, speed and flexibility
in the performance of work, the ability to exploit the
opportunities available in the work environment, provide
high-quality products and services, and own agile workforce.
• Five-star hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have a highly
competitive advantage, due to their interest in creativity in
work, providing high-quality services, flexibility in
operations, and effectively managing their costs.
• There is a significant and positive correlation between the
five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia as agile hotels and their having
a competitive advantage.
• Organizational agility affects significantly and positively in
enhancing the competitive advantage of five-star hotels in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Recommendations
In light of the findings of the study, the researcher suggests the
following recommendations:
• Hotels should interest in encouraging and supporting
investment in human capital, qualifying, and providing them
with more skills, experiences and knowledge that would
enable them to quickly adapt to all changes in the work
environment and face its challenges.
• Hotels should spend on investing in technology to provide a
strong technological infrastructure that enables them to
perform their work in a large electronic manner, especially in
light of the shift to work remotely, and encourage virtual
work.
• Hotels should adopt the application of modern leadership
styles to support decision-making processes in difficult times
and keep pace with developments in the internal and external
work environment.
• Applying the creative destruction approach by replacing the
old organizational structures and traditional work policies
with new organizational structures, policies and methods of

9. 9
work that are more flexible and able to meet the requirements
of the work environment.
• Attention to developing strategies and functions of human
resources management, and the need to take into account the
environmental dimension when applying these strategies and
functions.
• Interesting in recruitment processes to attract digital talent
who are able to work remotely successfully, efficiently and
effectively.
• Ensuring the health and well-being of workers and ensuring
social distancing to reduce the risk of Covid-19 pandemic.
• Paying attention to building databases that enhance the
capabilities of hotels to operate effectively and paying
attention to securing that database to ensure the confidentiality
of data and information.
• Paying attention to and focusing on electronic training
programs that enhance the capabilities of workers to work
remotely and to accomplish tasks efficiently.
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11. 11
‫كوفيد‬‫جائحة‬ ‫خالل‬ ‫فعال‬ ‫كمدخل‬‫الرشاقة‬
-
19
‫جنوم‬ ‫اخلمس‬ ‫الفنادق‬ :
‫يف‬
‫كدليل‬‫السعودية‬
‫األملعي‬ ‫عبداهلادي‬ ‫علي‬
,‫مساعد‬ ‫أستاذ‬
‫ان‬‫ز‬‫جا‬ ‫جامعة‬ ,‫اجملتمع‬ ‫كلية‬,‫اإلدارة‬ ‫قسم‬ ,‫الضيافة‬ ‫إدارة‬
aaalalmai@jazanu.edu.sa
‫الكلمات‬
‫املفتاحية‬
:
.‫السعودية‬ ،‫الفنادق‬ ،‫كوروان‬‫جائحة‬ ،‫التنافسية‬ ‫امليزة‬ ،‫الرشاقة‬
.‫البحث‬ ‫ملخص‬
‫و‬ ‫م‬ ‫ا‬ ‫الفنادق‬ ‫ملار‬‫ت‬‫اع‬ ‫مدن‬ ‫تنييم‬ ‫إا‬ ‫اة‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬‫ر‬‫الد‬ ‫دف‬ .‫العمل‬ ‫ة‬ ‫بي‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ار‬‫ر‬‫اتم‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬‫و‬ ‫املنامات‬ ‫ملنام‬‫ل‬ ‫داعم‬ ‫ادر‬‫ا‬‫ا‬ ‫كم‬‫ااقة‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ش‬‫الر‬ ‫أمهية‬ ‫برزت‬
‫الف‬ ‫تلي‬ ‫امت‬ ‫علك‬ ‫التنايمية‬ ‫ااقة‬‫ا‬‫ش‬‫الر‬ ‫أقر‬ ‫تنييم‬ ‫إا‬ ‫اة‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬‫ر‬‫الد‬ ‫دف‬ ‫كما‬.‫اية‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫تناف‬ ‫مليزة‬ ‫كيا‬ ‫امت‬ ‫مدن‬ ‫كملي‬
‫و‬ ،‫اينة‬‫ا‬‫ش‬‫ر‬ ‫كفنادق‬‫اعودية‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ابل‬
‫مل‬ ‫نادق‬
.‫اية‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫تناف‬ ‫يزة‬
‫يع‬‫ز‬‫تو‬ ‫ع‬ ‫اة‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬‫ر‬‫الد‬ ‫دف‬ ‫ولتحنيق‬
1200
‫ليل‬ ‫علك‬ ‫العتماد‬ ‫ع‬ ‫بينما‬ ، ‫و‬ ‫ام‬ ‫ا‬ ‫الفنادق‬ ‫ع‬ ‫العاملا‬ ‫ما‬ ‫ائية‬‫و‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬ ‫ع‬ ‫عينة‬ ‫علك‬ ‫اتمارة‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬
809
‫اتمارة‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫ا‬‫س‬‫ا‬
‫انم‬‫ر‬‫ب‬ ‫اتادا‬‫س‬‫اب‬ ‫ااةة‬‫ص‬
SPSS V.25
‫بان‬ ،‫اينة‬‫ش‬‫ر‬ ‫كفنادق‬‫تعد‬ ‫اعودية‬‫س‬‫ابل‬ ‫و‬ ‫م‬ ‫ا‬ ‫الفنادق‬ ‫أن‬ ‫اة‬‫س‬‫ا‬‫ر‬‫الد‬ ‫نتائ‬ ‫أبرزت‬ .
‫للميزة‬ ‫الفنادق‬ ‫تلي‬ ‫امت‬
.‫تنافسية‬ ‫مليزة‬ ‫الفنادق‬ ‫امت‬ ‫علك‬ ‫التنايمية‬ ‫للرشاقة‬ ‫اإلجيايب‬‫و‬ ‫املعنون‬ ‫التأقري‬ ‫اسة‬‫ر‬‫الد‬ ‫نتائ‬ ‫بين‬ ‫كما‬.‫التنافسية‬