Streams of researches have explained that how institutional forces（coercive,mimetic,and normative）make organizations converge on similar practices and behaviors.However,there is a lack of studies highlighting the influence of institutional environments on learning organization culture,especially within developing countries like Pakistan.Therefore,the study aims to unpack the institutional antecedents of learning organizational culture within higher education institutes of Pakistan.This is a unique quest as the institutional environment influences the way how organizations learn and develop in the environment of higher education institutions.Therefore,the research is expected to fill theoretical voids by assessing the institutional antecedents of learning organization culture and looking at unique institutional environments that have not yet been explored.Data were drawn from a variety of sources to meet the aim of this study.A survey instrument was used to collect the stakeholders’ data（faculty members,administrative staff,and students）.Five hundred questionnaires were distributed among the respondents,and only 370 respondents recorded their responses.SPSS,AMOS,and Smart PLS were used to analyze the study data.Structural equation modeling technique was also used to test the mediating role of absorptive capacity between institutional environments and learning organization culture.The study findings have shown a positive and significant relationship between institutional environment（normative,mimetic,and coercive）and learning organization culture（team learning,shared vision,mental model,system thinking,and personal mastery）.A second mediation study was conducted to see whether absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between institutional environments and learning organization culture.Absorptive capacity is showing a mediating role between institutional environments and learning organization culture.The study indicated a statistically significant value（p=001）,implying partial mediation.Furthermore,to analyze the interrelationships among the study variables,several multivariate analyses were performed.They are as follow:1.Discriminant validity2.Regression analysis3.Mean,standard deviation4.Normality tests like mean,standard deviation,skewness,and kurtosis of each item/construct of the study.These analyses show that the institutional environments（normative,mimetic,and coercive）are statistically positively interlinked with learning organization culture（team learning,shared vision,mental model,system thinking,and personal mastery）.Further,structural equation modeling（SEM）in Smart PLS shows that absorptive capacity strengthens the institutional environments’ relationship and learning organization culture.As a result,this study has identified and benchmarked the institutions based on organizational variables to enhance the quality and efficiency of HEIs and ensure consistent and continuous learning.This research is intended to add to the literature on institutional environment,organizational learning,absorptive capacity,and learning organization in the context of managing higher education institutions by offering a fresh new perspective for future research.This study recommends that:（1）A good working relationship should be kept between management and subordinates.Employees feel proud and comfortable when their heads or managers show trust in their ability and motivate/encourage them for learning as it is good for the organization as well as for themselves.This will only occur when employees are comfortable and motivated with their heads,managers,and subordinates（faculty members and other staff）.（2）Institutional environments（normative,mimetic,and coercive）are based on the good relationship between faculty members,administrations,and heads/supervisors of higher education institutions.Therefore,as per the results,this study recommends to the management use these institutional environment practices to promote learning organization culture at the HEIs level.（3）A normative environment（professionalism）is more visionary as it can help shape the behaviors of the faculty members.A normative environment helps the management make a learning culture in the institutions based on professionalism.This environment can help to bring competitiveness to higher education institutions and their staff.（4）This study recommends that all management types in the organization consider involving the faculty members and other staff to promote the learning organization culture.This study has revealed that they impact the learning process,coordination,and promoting an environment of competition among the faculty members.（5）This study gives the other research/organizations an avenue to test this study model in the other sectors.Other factors like trust and psychological safety can also be used as moderators and mediators to get the best results for the institutional environment’s execution in developing learning organization culture in higher education institutions.In the discussion part,limitations,conclusion,practical contribution,and directions for further research are also discussed.Our findings reveal that there is a low application of learning organization disciplines in higher education in Pakistan.Additionally,the reasons for the low implementation of a learning organization are also identified.Consequently,the study has implications for universities and regulatory bodies of higher education institutions to encourage learning organization culture.