Organizational Culture and Effective AI Initiative Implementation in Saudi Healthcare Administration: The Mediating Role of Change Management

Abstract

Artificial intelligence initiatives in healthcare administration require more than technical readiness because their effectiveness depends on institutional conditions that support adoption, coordination, and sustained use. This paper examines the cultural pathway through which organizational culture contributes to effective AI initiative implementation in Saudi healthcare administration, with change management tested as the mediating mechanism. The study uses the empirical results reported in the source analysis, based on 267 usable responses from healthcare administrators. The revised evidence confirms that organizational culture had a significant direct relationship with effective AI initiative implementation (beta = 0.191, t = 2.122, p = 0.001) and a significant relationship with change management (beta = 0.322, t = 3.123, p = 0.002). Change management showed the strongest direct relationship with effective AI initiative implementation (beta = 0.945, t = 13.457, p = 0.000). The indirect effect of organizational culture through change management was also significant (beta = 0.304, t = 2.987, p = 0.003), supporting partial mediation. The findings indicate that culture contributes to AI implementation both directly and through structured change processes. Practically, Saudi healthcare organizations should strengthen innovation-oriented, collaborative, learning-based, and ethically aware cultural conditions while institutionalizing change management practices that translate cultural readiness into implementation effectiveness.