Degree

Master of Science in Management

Faculty / School

School of Business Studies (SBS)

Department

Department of Management

Date of Submission

Fall 2025-12-31

Supervisor

Dr. AbdulBasad Shaikh, Assistant Professor, Department of Management

Committee Member 1

Dr. AbdulBasad Shaikh, Supervisor

Committee Member 2

Dr. Kanza Sohail, Reviewer, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi

Committee Member 3

Dr. Ashar Saleem, Director Graduate Programs SBS, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi

Project Type

MS Management Research Project

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Innovation, SMEs, Knowledge Networks, Absorptive Capacity

Abstract

Entrepreneurship and innovation are key drivers of economic growth in emerging economies; however, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are often faced with a significant structural, institutional, and resource-based limitation on their innovative capabilities. The Pakistani setting presents SMEs with a context characterized within the context of disjointed policy-making systems, weak institutional backing, absence of human capital and development infrastructure. Though the external sources of knowledge such as alliances, networks, and collaborations offer good opportunities to innovation, SMEs tend to put it down to nothing in terms of using the knowledge. Based on the framework of absorptive capacity (ACAP) that has been put forward by Zahra and George (2002), the current study explores the exploitation of external knowledge to drive innovation by Pakistani SMEs, and the mediating effect of absorptive capacity in the process. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study will integrate qualitative understanding about organizational practices and contextual dynamics in connection with quantitative examination to assess theoretically based relationships among the external knowledge acquisition, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance on empirical grounds. The work challenges the possible and actual aspects of absorptive capacity, explaining how internal learning processes, human capital and organizational processes influence SME capacity from external knowledge to an innovative result. As the research incorporates firm-level competencies into the wider socio-economic and institutional context of Pakistan, the study adds to the academic discussion of innovation in the context of developing economies. It is aimed that the findings will inform policy makers and practitioners by outlining the approaches to strengthen the absorptive capacity and hence improve the performance of innovation in resource-based SMEs that are limited in nature.

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