Risk Management Factors and Organisational Performance at Etihad Water and Electricity in the UAE

Abstract

Risk management is increasingly recognised as an important organisational capability, yet limited evidence exists on whether distinct risk-management activities contribute differently to organisational performance, particularly within utility organisations in the United Arab Emirates. This study examines the relationships between five risk-management dimensions; Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Mitigation, Risk Management Implementation, and Risk Management Monitoring and Organisational Performance at Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), UAE. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using data from 291 employees across managerial, supervisory, operational, maintenance, administrative, and risk-related functions. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to assess the measurement and structural models. The five risk-management dimensions jointly explained 72.5% of the variance in Organisational Performance. Risk Management Implementation exhibited the strongest significant positive relationship with performance (β = 0.436, p < 0.001), followed by Risk Mitigation (β = 0.253, p = 0.025), whereas Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Management Monitoring did not demonstrate statistically significant unique direct relationships. Structural collinearity was within acceptable limits, with inner VIF values ranging from 3.139 to 3.857, although several HTMT values exceeded the conservative 0.85 criterion, indicating some overlap among the risk-management dimensions. The findings suggest that organisational performance in the utility context is particularly associated with embedding risk management into organisational processes and translating risk information into effective mitigation actions. The study contributes context-specific evidence from a UAE utility and supports viewing risk management as an integrated organisational process rather than a set of isolated practices.