Rehman, Khaliq UrAslam, FarhanMata, Mário NunoMartins, José MoleiroAbreu, AntónioLourenço, António José dos Santos MorãoMariam, Sabita2021-08-022021-08-022021Rehman, K. U., Aslam, F., Mata, M. N., Martins, J. M., Abreu, A., Morão Lourenço, A., & Mariam, S. (2021). Impact of entrepreneurial leadership on product innovation performance : intervening effect of absorptive capacity, intra-firm networks, and design thinking. Sustainability, 13(13). doi: 10.3390/su131370542182-9608http://hdl.handle.net/10400.15/3540The main objective of this research is to investigate the nexus between entrepreneurial leadership and product innovation performance. In addition, the mediating mechanism of absorptive capacity, intra-firm networks, and design thinking through which entrepreneurial leaders influence product innovation performanceis also studied. The researcher contacted three hundred (300) plus firms; 157 firms showed a willingness to participate, and 96 firms provided the data with a response rate of 61.15%. Out of those 96 firms, the data from 71 firms were used for the final analysis, yielding an effective response rate of 45.22%. Only middle and top-level employees from the marketing and research & development departments from Pakistani firms were selected as respondents because these two departments are directly related to product innovation performance. To test the hypothesis, the Smart PLS-SEM technique wasused. The empirical analysis revealed that entrepreneurial leadership impacted product innovation performance through the mediating mechanism of design thinking, intra-firm networks, and absorptive capacity. The current research contributes to entrepreneurial leadership theory by proposing and empirically testing how entrepreneurial leaders affect product innovation performance.engEntrepreneurial leadershipProduct innovation performanceRiskDesign thinkingIntra-firm networksAbsorptive capacityjournal article10.3390/su13137054