Handling the mishandling: Resolving the resource curse through effective utilization of available natural resources and claiming sustainable development

The availability of natural resources in the organization plays a crucial role in achieving the organization's goals. The employees of the energy and petroleum sectors in Pakistan have less training and exposure to the latest developments, which makes them less innovative for sustainable development. This research was designed to determine the impact of the availability of natural resources on sustainable development goals through the mediation of talent development and employee innovation. Moreover, this research has also conceptualized the moderating role of institutional capacity and government regulation towards sustainable development goals. The primary data collected was from 493 respondents from Pakistan's petroleum and gas sectors. The data for this research was analyzed with a structural equation modelling approach using Smart PLS 4. The research confirmed that sustainable development goals can be achieved through the talent development of employees and by allowing them to be innovative and creative. Furthermore, the study concluded that government policies and institutional capacity are significant factors in improving the performance of employees, which leads to sustainable development goals. The research has critical theoretical implications and practical instructions for organizations in general to improve the performance of employees in achieving sustainable development goals. Furthermore, this study has some future directions reported in the concluding section to improve the literature for future studies.