Fostering innovation capability in the education industry: the mediating role of knowledge transfer

The education industry, which has thrived through millennia, has been in its growth phase for quite some time. Academia sectors, without a doubt, need to upscale their impacts and values to attract higher revenues in an attempt for a better impression among their competitors. According to research, focusing on Innovation Capability (IC) provides additional value to companies and clients. Thus, this research aims to measure the Innovation Capability (IC) of administrative employees in education industries through absorptive capacity, Psychological Empowerment (PE), and Knowledge Transfer (KT) process. This research stipulates a comprehensive look at how these variables interact and influence one another. This study also looked at the mediating roles of employees’ Knowledge Transfer (KT). This study employed a combined theory and framework developed by relevant scholars. In this study, all the variables were discussed and analysed. The researcher has chosen administrative staff in UiTM Shah Alam as respondents. Self-administered data collection was employed and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 26 (SPSS 26). Findings indicate that absorptive capacity, Psychological Empowerment (PE), and Knowledge Transfer (KT) influence employees’ Innovation Capability (IC). However, Knowledge Transfer (KT) did not mediate the relationship between absorptive capacity-Innovation Capability (IC) and Psychological Empowerment (PE)-Innovation Capability (IC). This study aims to advance the existing body of knowledge by developing a modified model that incorporates absorptive capacity, Knowledge Transfer (KT), Psychological Empowerment (PE), and Innovation Capability (IC) in the context of the education industry. The findings offers a fresh perspective on acquiring new knowledge, benefiting readers, stakeholders, and policymakers.