Modeling the Effects of Organizational Culture and Responsible Leadership on Employees’ Absorptive Capacity: Testing the Mediating Roles of Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Identification and the Moderating Role of Work Engagement

Abstract

This study aimed to model the effects of organizational culture and responsible leadership on faculty members’ absorptive capacity by examining the mediating roles of knowledge sharing and organizational identification and the moderating role of work engagement. This applied study employed a descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional survey design. The statistical population consisted of faculty members from public and private universities and higher education institutions in Iraq, selected through multistage cluster sampling. After data screening, 389 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis. The instrument contained 42 items measuring responsible leadership, organizational culture, organizational identification, knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity, and work engagement. Data were analyzed using SPSS and partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS. Statistical significance was assessed using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples. Responsible leadership had a positive and significant effect on organizational identification (β=0.219, p<0.001), whereas its direct effects on absorptive capacity and knowledge sharing were not significant. Organizational culture positively affected knowledge sharing (β=0.163, p=0.016) and organizational identification (β=0.447, p<0.001), but its direct effect on absorptive capacity was not significant. Knowledge sharing positively predicted absorptive capacity (β=0.398, p<0.001), whereas organizational identification had a significant negative effect on absorptive capacity (β=-0.174, p=0.014). The indirect effect of organizational culture on absorptive capacity through knowledge sharing was positive and significant (β=0.065, p=0.025). In addition, the interaction between responsible leadership and work engagement was significant at the 10% level (β=0.109, p=0.059), while the interaction between organizational culture and work engagement was negative and significant (β=-0.125, p=0.044). Faculty absorptive capacity appears to be shaped mainly through indirect mechanisms, particularly knowledge sharing, while the effects of organizational culture and responsible leadership depend on how they interact with organizational identification and varying levels of work engagement.