The moderating effect of human resource management practices on the relationship between knowledge absorptive capacity and project performance in project-oriented companies

• Testing the links of HRM, absorptive capacity(ACAP), and project performance.
• Analyzing realized vs. potential ACAP and short vs. long-run project performance.
• HRM moderates on the relationship between potential ACAP and long-run performance.
• HRM covariates with project team's realized ACAP on short-run project performance.
• These aspects of project performance are analogous to the nature of NPD projects.

In response to recent calls for research on human resource management (HRM) in project management, this research investigates the links between HRM practices, the project team's knowledge absorptive capacity (ACAP) and project performance in project-oriented companies (POCs). Based on survey data from 198 projects in multinational companies (MNCs) in the Thai automotive industry, this research finds that HRM practices moderate the effects of a project team's knowledge ACAP on project performance, in particular of potential ACAP on long-run project performance. In addition, HRM practices covary with a project team's realized ACAP, the other dimension of ACAP, to affect short-run project performance. This research sheds light on the different roles that HRM practices play in a project, finding that HRM practices not only facilitate knowledge management from the current project to future projects but also strengthen the relationship between a project team's knowledge ACAP and long-term project performance. This research contributes to the understanding of HRM in the literature of project management.