The Mediating Role of Organizational Resilience in the Relationship Between Cybersecurity Maturity and Strategic Risks: Evidence from Iraqi Banks

This paper explores how cybersecurity maturity can mitigate strategic risks in the Iraqi banking industry and examines organizational resilience as a mediator. The study uses 2014-2024 data from 18 Iraqi banks, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to evaluate cybersecurity maturity and its influence on resilience and strategic risk management. The results indicate that cybersecurity maturity can significantly reduce strategic risks and powerfully enhance organizational resilience. Also, there is partial mediation in the relationship between cybersecurity maturity and strategic risk outcomes through resilience, meaning that cyber capabilities are most effective within an organizational system based on adaptive, recovery-oriented practices. The findings indicate that strengthening cybersecurity maturity together with organizational resilience significantly enhances strategic risk management in Iraqi banks.