Talent management and innovative work behavior in tourism and hospitality businesses: Does absorptive capacity matter?

This study investigates the impact of talent management (TM) on innovative work behavior (IWB) in five-star hotels and category-A travel agencies, focusing on absorptive capacity (AC) as a mediator. This study collected 323 responses from top and middle-level management at five-star hotels and category-A travel agencies operating in Egypt, evaluating the hypothesized model using the Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique with WarpPLS software 7.0. Findings show that TM positively affects IWB and AC. Moreover, AC positively affects IWB. The findings also support the hypothesis that AC plays a significant mediation role in the relationship between TM and IWB. The study provides valuable insights into Human Capital Theory. The study also offers practical insights for tourism and hospitality businesses to enhance AC and foster IWBs.