Purpose Absorptive capacity being an emerging field of research has been studied in different perspectives both in technological aspects and soft issues. Although an original study of absorptive capacity placed employees as playing pivoting role in the development of absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), unfortunately, there are limited studies on behavior of employees toward this emerging construct. This study aims to explore the impact of employees’ behavior in the development of absorptive capacity. Specifically, impact of knowledge sharing, learning adaptability and organizational commitment on absorptive capacity has been evaluated in this study. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted at the pharmaceutical firms of Pakistan. The data were collected through random sampling from middle managers as a unit of analysis of this study. The rationale of the unit of analysis is that the maximum information is handled/accessed by the middle managers in the perspective of Pakistan. The data were collected from 170 respondents on a five-point Likert scale with the response rate of 66.7 per cent. Data were collected from different genders and different age groups with different qualification levels. Findings All independent variables showed significant positive correlations with overall absorptive capacity (ACAP). At the same time, different relationships of all independent variables were found in different ways with different significant levels. The results showed that different strategies may be adopted to manage the external knowledge for competition in turbulent environment. For example, organizational commitment may be incorporated at strategy formulation only, whereas the Adaptability at both routine and strategy formulation stage. As all independent variables showed no correlation with Acquisition it is concluded that Acquisition is purely a routine function, and instead of coordination, the routine processes must be emphasized. Research limitations/implications This study focused on the data from the middle managers of the pharmaceutical firms only. The results may not be generalized to the sectors. Another limitation is that the respondents of the study were middle managers. It was made intentional to see the impact of management aspects other than organizational mechanisms, as discussed by Cohen and Levinthal (1990) and Jansen et al. (2005) in their studies. The results on the basis of the data collected from other entities of the organization may differ. This is a cross-sectional study, and a longitudinal study may give different results. Practical implications Absorptive capacity has the capability to absorb new knowledge and plays an important role in the development of organizational processes to compete in the turbulent environment. It is dependent not only on technological infrastructure but also on the employees’ behaviors and attitudes. This study gives insights about the knowledge process activities and employment of human resource at each phase of absorptive capacity in relation to their behaviors toward knowledge process. Social implications Development of organizational process with knowledge management plays an important role in the capacity building, which ultimately enhances social paradigm of activities. Originality/value Pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan acquire technologies from foreign countries and have very limited research and development of their own. As technology is upgraded by the foreign companies as a continuous improvement process, local firms of Pakistan are required to absorb the new knowledge with the same pace. The study highlights importance of human capital in the development of this capability.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of middle managers (MM) in the knowledge-intensive environment as perceived by the employees, MM and principal decision makers (DM) in the context of the absorptive capacity process. Design/methodology/approach In this qualitative study, the data were collected from pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan by using purposive sampling and the results were analyzed based on the thematic analysis approach. Findings The results show that employees and principal DM have a strong agreement between them regarding the roles of MM; however, MM have contrasted views. Some of the roles were agreed to by all the respondents. Research limitations/implications This study has focused on the roles of MM (common and conflicting) in knowledge-intensive pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan. The results of other studies on the roles of MM in the context of traditional and hybrid organizations may differ from this study. Practical implications The results of this study show the importance of role specificity of MM for the smooth absorptive capacity process. While dealing with complex knowledge structures in pharmaceutical companies, this study gives strong input to HR mangers and consultants and practitioners as they continuously handle complex knowledge process activities. Originality/value The study has explored the specific roles of MM by using the thematic analysis approach.

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The objective of the present study is to investigate the impact of inclusive leadership on project success with the mediating role of innovative work behavior and moderating role of knowledge sharing. Data were collected from information technology projects in Pakistan. After validating the proposed model, path analysis was conducted. The findings revealed that inclusive leadership is significantly related with innovative work behavior and project success. Further, the findings showed that innovative work mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and project success. Moreover, knowledge sharing doesn't moderate the relationship between inclusive leadership and innovative work behavior. The theoretical and practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed in detail.

Studies up to great extent have focused on investigating the possible consequences of supervisor incivility in organizations; however, surprisingly very little research has concentrated on its antecedents. Drawing on affective event theory, the aim of this study is to identify how role overload may cause the supervisor behavior uncivil toward their subordinates in the project environment by examining the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and moderating effect of time consciousness. Data were collected from both supervisors and their immediate subordinates from project-based organizations of Pakistan. After data consolidation, the final sample was 296 supervisor–subordinate dyads. The results revealed that supervisor role overload and emotional exhaustion is positively related with supervisor incivility and emotional exhaustion mediates this relationship. Time consciousness moderates the link between supervisor role overload and emotional exhaustion. The practical and theoretical implications of our findings are provided.