Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between office automation and organizational agility and health, considering the mediating role of organizational structure dimensions. This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive‑correlational in terms of method. The statistical population consisted of 600 employees of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Bushehr Province in 2025, of whom 234 individuals were selected as the sample through proportionate simple random sampling and Cochran’s formula.
For data collection, four questionnaires were used: Ahangar‑Pour’s Office Automation Questionnaire (2008), Zhang and Sharifi’s Organizational Agility Questionnaire (2000), Hoy and Feldman’s Organizational Health Questionnaire (1996), and Robbins’ Organizational Structure Questionnaire (1979). The office automation questionnaire consisted of 30 items with validity and reliability coefficients of 0.90 and 0.93, respectively. The organizational agility questionnaire contained 28 items with validity and reliability of 0.88 and 0.86, respectively. The organizational health questionnaire included 44 items with validity and reliability of 0.91 and 0.85, and the organizational structure questionnaire consisted of 24 items with validity and reliability of 0.87 and 0.93.
SPSS and LISREL software were applied to analyze the data. The results of data analysis indicate that there is a significant relationship between office automation and organizational agility and health, considering the mediating role of organizational structure dimensions in the Ports and Maritime Organization of Bushehr Province.
Introduction
According to numerous experts, the business world has undergone significant transformation, and the main drivers of these changes include increasing market competition, diverse customer expectations, globalization, rapid technological advancements, cultural and social issues, shortages of skilled labor, and the growing influence of information technology. In today’s dynamic environments, organizations can no longer be managed by traditional approaches. To cope with emerging challenges, production‑oriented organizations must revise their production processes and systems. Achieving organizational agility is essential for responding effectively to change and leveraging resulting opportunities to gain competitive advantage (Derani et al., 2016).
Agile manufacturing in today’s competitive landscape equips organizations with the ability to respond quickly to market fluctuations (Lengnick‑Hall & Beck, 2016). Therefore, companies and organizations are inevitably moving toward agile production, which requires attention to multiple key factors—including the use of efficient office automation systems, achieving organizational health, and establishing a coherent and strong organizational structure (Civi, 2018).
Today, optimal utilization of human resources and the delivery of customer‑oriented services as sources of competitive advantage depend on maintaining organizational health. Major consequences of low organizational health include decreased employee satisfaction, workforce fragmentation, increased conflicts, reduced innovation, diminished cooperation, and lower work quality (Beikzad, 2023). An office automation system facilitates internal organizational communication as well as communication with external entities, contributing to improved coordination and enhanced work quality. Consequently, the Ports and Maritime Organization can leverage an effective office automation system to evolve into an agile organization, maintain a healthy organizational environment, and establish a strong structural foundation among competing organizations (Behnamfar, 2023).
Furthermore, the complexity of modern organizations presents significant challenges to organizational growth and development. Addressing these challenges requires flexibility and readiness to adapt to new conditions—an unavoidable necessity for today’s managers. Accordingly, this study seeks to answer the following question: Is there a significant relationship between office automation and organizational agility and health, considering the mediating role of organizational structure dimensions?
Theoretical Framework
Office Automation
Office automation encompasses all electronic systems that establish or facilitate various forms of internal and external organizational communication (Kim, 2016).
Organizational Agility
Organizational agility refers to an organization’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to environmental changes and internal challenges (Baraei & Mirzaei, 2019).
Organizational Health
Organizational health is the capability of an organization to function effectively, adapt adequately, undergo appropriate change, and grow. Similar to individual health, it can vary across different levels, ranging from minimal to optimal (Sarmasti & Shah Taheri, 2021).
Organizational Structure
Organizational structure is the framework that governs the relationships among jobs, systems, operational processes, individuals, and groups working toward achieving organizational goals. It represents the set of mechanisms through which work is divided into specific tasks and coordinated among them (Rahimi et al., 2017).
Emamdoust Haredasht et al. (2025) examined the modeling of human capital strategies in Bank Sepah of Iran with an emphasis on organizational structure modification. The findings showed that in the training and development subsystem, attention must be paid to training needs, training effectiveness, and career advancement pathways. In the compensation and reward subsystem, emphasis should be placed on strategies and policies related to payment and welfare plans, innovative reward and compensation methods, and rewards aligned with organizational goals. In the employee relations subsystem, focus should be directed toward employee relations strategies, employee interaction and participation, and effective design of structural change. Quantitative results demonstrated that the most important components were competence in the training and development subsystem (standard coefficient = 0.82), innovative compensation and reward strategies in the compensation subsystem (standard coefficient = 0.94), and employee relations strategies in the employee relations subsystem (standard coefficient = 0.84).
Kadivar Zinkanloo et al. (2024) investigated the design of a model for developing organizational resilience based on components of organizational agility (case study: Bank Sepah branches in North Khorasan Province). The findings indicated several categories of causal factors, central phenomena, strategies, intervening conditions, contextual conditions, and consequences. Causal factors included flexible organizational culture; central phenomena involved developing organizational resilience based on agility components; strategic factors included strategy development; intervening conditions were related to the change process; contextual factors included process improvement and communication within the organization; and the main consequence identified was organizational agility.
Research Methodology
This study is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive–correlational in terms of research design. The statistical population consisted of 600 employees of the General Directorate of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Bushehr Province in 2025. 234 individuals out of this population were selected as the sample through proportionate simple random sampling and based on Cochran’s formula.
To collect data, four questionnaires were used: Ahangar‑Pour’s Office Automation Questionnaire (2008), Zhang and Sharifi’s Organizational Agility Questionnaire (2000), Hoy and Feldman’s Organizational Health Questionnaire (1996), and Robbins’ Organizational Structure Questionnaire (1979). The office automation questionnaire consisted of 30 items with validity and reliability coefficients of 0.90 and 0.93, respectively. The organizational agility questionnaire contained 28 items with validity and reliability coefficients of 0.88 and 0.86, respectively. The organizational health questionnaire included 44 items with validity and reliability coefficients of 0.91 and 0.85, while the organizational structure questionnaire consisted of 24 items with validity and reliability coefficients of 0.87 and 0.93.
Research Findings
SPSS and LISREL software were used to analyze the research data. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between office automation and organizational agility and health, considering the mediating role of organizational structure dimensions in the General Directorate of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Bushehr Province.
Conclusion
The present study aimed to examine the relationship between office automation and organizational agility and health, considering the mediating role of organizational structure dimensions. The results are consistent with the findings of Emamdoust Haredasht et al. (2025), Kadivar Zinkanloo et al. (2024), Zafari et al. (2019), Hoseini Pozveh et al. (2021), Ameri (2021), and Asgarpour and Matrudi (2023). Given that environmental changes affect many aspects of organizations; appropriate strategies must be employed to dynamically adapt to these changes in order to ensure their survival. One of the most effective approaches for addressing environmental changes is directing organizations toward agility. The most essential tool for achieving this goal is the office automation system, which must receive continuous and serious attention from decision‑makers to safeguard the future of organizations and companies—particularly the General Directorate of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Bushehr Province.
Based on the findings, it is recommended that organizations utilize office automation systems effectively to enhance decision‑making quality, improve the analysis of organizational information, benefit from innovative ideas, increase responsiveness to clients, accelerate work processes, and streamline workflow procedures. Such measures can significantly contribute to improving organizational agility and health, thereby strengthening organizational structures.