Evaluating Pandemic Led Panic Buying in Retail Sector of Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the direct impact of knowledge donating behaviour on employees’ productivity and an indirect effect through social networking technologies. Social networking technologies play a vital role in the growth and learning of individuals and organizations in today’s competitive business environment. Recently, advancement in social networking technologies has brought a paradigm shift in the overall business environment and specific operational requirements. This study aimed to investigate the role of social networking (SN) between knowledge donating behaviour (KD) and employees’ productivity (EP). Methodology: For this purpose, data were gathered from targeted respondents belonged to the Universities and Banks located in the Northern Punjab region of Pakistan. Structural Equation Modelling technique using the SmartPLS was carried to statistically analyse the responses. Findings: The results showed that the hypothesized relationship between knowledge sharing behaviour (KSB) and employee’s productivity was significant and positively related, while social networking played a significant mediating role between this relationship. Implications: The findings provided useful insight to the managers and policymakers for planning effective use of social networking technologies to craft knowledge sharing behaviour among employees to create efficiencies and intended outcomes. Originality: The study has uniquely focused merging phenomenon of knowledge sharing behaviour in the service sector of Pakistan, specifically among academic and financial sector by exploring the impact of social networking technologies and provide valuable future direction for researchers to further extend the underlined idea in the wake of current Covid-19 Pandemic.