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Covid-19 pandemic has caused crisis and uncertainty which adversely influenced innovation performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Innovation is a primary source of survival and growth in SMEs; therefore, this study aims to develop and empirically analyse conceptual model that sustains innovation performance of SMEs during the pandemic. This study integrates knowledge-based view (KBV) with a self-tuning model to examine Chinese manufacturing SMEs. Survey data of 306 responses were collected from the top and mid management and analysed through Smart-PLS 3. Results indicate a positive effect of knowledge coupling on innovation performance; besides, ambidexterity and market capitalising agility (MCA) positively mediate between knowledge coupling and SME innovation performance. This study contributes to KBV, self-tuning, strategy, innovation and crisis management literature. To practitioners, this study advises developing dynamic capabilities to sustain innovations during pandemic crisis. This is the earliest empirical examination to mediate the effect of knowledge coupling on innovation performance through ambidexterity and MCA during a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital is a "double-edged" sword. This study has investigated the role of knowledge absorptive capacity on project innovativeness and also examined the contingent effect of internal and external social capital on the said relationship. Data were collected from the employees of project teams working in project-based IT firms of Sichuan, province of China. Data collection process yielded 211 valid responses from 46 firms. Data were analysed by using SmartPLS 3. The research has found that the direct link between knowledge absorptive capacity and project innovativeness is substantially positive, as theorised; nevertheless, internal and external social capital has a negative moderating effect on said relationship as they attain the value higher than their mean level. By providing empirical evidences of its significance for project innovativeness, the study contributes significantly to the literature of knowledge absorptive capacity and innovative project management. Moreover, the study also enriches the social capital literature and provides empirical evidence of its negative behaviour towards project innovativeness, in Chinese "guanxi" culture. Furthermore, the study insists that the practitioner should carry out a vigilant cost-benefit analysis, since an extensive social capital significantly deteriorates the project innovativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]