Leading Through Influence A Case: The Istitlaa Platform

This case examines how the National Competitiveness Center (NCC) in Saudi Arabia led a complex, multi-stakeholder change initiative under Vision 2030—the government’s national transformation agenda. Facing fragmented regulatory consultation processes across ministries, the NCC sought to create Istitlaa, a unified digital platform requiring all government entities to post draft regulations for public consultation. While the Council of Ministers’ Resolution No. 476 (2020) established the legal foundation for Istitlaa, the NCC soon discovered that formal mandates alone were insufficient. Ministries resisted compliance, private firms doubted the utility of participation, and citizens questioned whether feedback would matter. The NCC leadership therefore expanded beyond enforcement (formal decrees) to influence strategies—leveraging authority, reciprocity, social proof and availability—to shift behaviours and build buy-in across diverse stakeholder groups. The 'B Case' chronicles how NCC applied these strategies to accelerate adoption and credibility, culminating in measurable national outcomes (e.g., UN EGDI ranking improvement, growth in consultations and participation). The case invites students to explore how leaders drive systemic change without direct power—by combining formal mechanisms with informal influence.