Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T23:07:03.547Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Persistent innovation and the role of human resource management practices, work organization, and strategy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2016

James Chowhan ,
Fred Pries  and
Sara Mann
James Chowhan*
Affiliation:
DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Fred Pries
Affiliation:
Department of Management, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
Sara Mann
Affiliation:
Strategic Human Resources Management, Department of Management, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study makes a theoretical contribution by taking a persistent characteristics approach to explore the relationship between human resource management practices and innovation outcomes at the workplace-level. Innovators are categorized by the degree to which they are successful at achieving new product/processes and/or improved product/processes outcomes year over year. The human resource management practices explored include the use of highly qualified personnel, and skill-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing sub-bundles of practices. Further, work organization practices are also explored including integration and collaboration, introduction of organizational changes, and the use of technology. The findings indicate workplaces that set strategic goals related to innovation, that motivate their employees, that create opportunity for their employees to act, and that make greater use of technology tend to be more persistent innovators. These findings can contribute to the development of government policy, which seeks to improve innovation performance outcomes.

Keywords

innovationtechnologyskillmotivationopportunity
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 456 - 471
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acemoglu, D. (1997). Training and innovation in an imperfect labour market. Review of Economic Studies, 64(3), 445–464. doi:10.2307/2971723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahuja, G., Lampert, C. M., & Tandon, V. (2008). Moving beyond Schumpeter: Management research on the determinants of technological innovation. Academy of Management Annals, 2, 1–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bingham, R. D., & Frendreis, J. P. (1978). Innovation characteristics and the adoption of zero-based budgeting: Agreement and conflict in city administration. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL.Google Scholar
Burns, T., & Stalker, G. M. (1994). The management of innovation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabello-Medina, C., Lopez-Cabrales, A., & Valle-Cabrera, R. (2011). Leveraging the innovative performance of human capital through HRM and social capital in Spanish firms. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(4), 807–828. doi:10.1080/09585192.2011.2011.555125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavagnoli, D. (2011). A conceptual framework for innovation: An application to human resource management policies in Australia. Innovation-Management Policy & Practice, 13(1), 111–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chowhan, J. (2005). Who trains? High-tech industries or high-tech workplaces? The Canadian Economy in Transition Series, Research Paper. Catalogue no. 11-622-MIE-No. 006.: Statistics Canada, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Chowhan, J. (2013). High performance work systems: A causal framework of training, innovation, and organizational performance in Canada. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University, http://hdl.handle.net/11375/12905.Google Scholar
Chowhan, J. (2016). Unpacking the black box: Understanding the relationship between strategy, human resource management practices, innovation and organizational performance. Human Resource Management Journal, doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12097 (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clausen, T., Pohjola, M., Sapprasert, K., & Verspagen, B. (2011). Innovation strategies as a source of persistent innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change, 21(3), 553–585. doi:10.1093/icc/dtr051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, W. M. (1995). Empirical studies of innovative activity. In P. Stoneman (Ed.), Handbook of the economics of innovation and technological change (pp. 182–264). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 128–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conference Board of Canada (2014). Innovation. Retrieved July 7, 2014, from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/HCP/Details/Innovation.aspx.Google Scholar
Curran, B., & Walsworth, S. (2014). Can you pay employees to innovate? Evidence from the Canadian private sector. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(3), 290–306. doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12036.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cyert, R. M., & March, J. G. (1963). A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Daniel, L. S., & Dawson, P. (2011). The sociology if innovation and new biotechnologies. New Technology, Work and Employment, 26(1), 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Saa-Perez, P., Diaz-Diaz, N. L., & Ballesteros-Rodriguez, J. L. (2012). The role of training to innovate in SMEs. Innovation-Management Policy & Practice, 14(2), 218–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delery, J. E., & Doty, D. H. (1996). Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 802–835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Den Hertog, F., Van Iterson, A., & Mari, C. (2010). Does HRM really matter in bringing about strategic change? Comparative action research in ten European steel firms. European Management Journal, 28, 14–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galende, J., & de la Fuente, J. M. (2003). Internal factors determining a firm’s innovative behaviour. Research Policy, 32, 715–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gans, J. S., Hsu, D. H., & Stern, S. (2002). When does start-up innovation spur the gale of creative destruction? Rand Journal of Economics, 33, 571–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ganter, A., & Hecker, A. (2013). Persistence of innovation: Discriminating between types of innovation and sources of state dependence. Research Policy, 42(8), 1431–1445. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2013.04.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geroski, P. A., VanReenen, J., & Walters, C. F. (1997). How persistently do firms innovate? Research Policy, 26(1), 33–48. doi:10.1016/s0048-7333(96)00903-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government of Ontario (2008). Seizing global opportunities: Ontario’s innovation agenda. Retrieved from docs.files.ontario.ca/documents/334/ontario-innovation-agenda.pdf [accessed May 18, 2014].Google Scholar
Grant, R. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gressgard, L. J., Amundsen, O., Aasen, T. M., & Hansen, K. (2014). Use of information and communication technology to support employee-driven innovation in organizations: A knowledge management perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(4), 633–650. doi:10.1108/jkm-01-2014-0013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harhoff, D. (1996). Strategic spillovers and incentives for research and development. Management Science, 42, 907–925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, B. (2014). Linking business models with technological innovation performance through organizational learning. European Management Journal, 32, 587–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, J. A., O’Brien, J., Randall, D., Rouncefield, M., & Tolmie, P. (2001). Some ‘real’ problems of ‘virtual’ organisation. New Technology, Work and Employment, 16(1), 49–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Industry Canada (2006). People and excellence: The heart of successful commercialization. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/Iu4-78-2006E-I.pdf.Google Scholar
Jiang, K. F., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How does human resource management influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal, 55(6), 1264–1294. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimenez-Jimenez, D., & Sanz-Valle, R. (2005). Innovation and human resource management fit: an empirical study. International Journal of Manpower, 26(4), 364–381. doi:10.1108/01437720510609555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jørgensen, F., Hyland, P., & Kofoed, L. B. (2008). Examining the role of human resource management in continuous improvement. International Journal of Technology Management, 42, 127–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kale, D. (2009). International migration, knowledge diffusion and innovation capacities in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. New Technology, Work and Employment, 24(3), 260–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lane, P. J., & Lubatkin, M. (1998). Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning. Strategic Management Journal, 19, 461–477.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laursen, K., & Foss, N. J. (2003). New human resource management practices, complementarities and the impact on innovation performance. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 27, 243–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leede, J. d., & Looise, J. K. (2005). Innovation and HRM: Towards an integrated framework. Creativity and Innovation Management, 14, 108–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levinthal, D. A., & March, J. G. (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14, 95–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liao, H., Toya, K., Lepak, D. P., & Hong, Y. (2009). Do they see eye to eye? Management and Employee perspectives of high-performance work systems and influence processes on service quality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 371–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, T.-C., & Chen, Y.-J. (2015). Strategy orientation, product innovativeness, and new product performance. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(1), 2–16. doi:10.1017/jmo.2014.63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, S. L., & Chowhan, J. (2011). Weighting large datasets with complex sampling designs: Choosing the appropriate variance estimation method. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 10(1), 110–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2, 71–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messersmith, J. G., & Guthrie, J. P. (2010). High performance work systems in emergent organizations: Implications for firm performance. Human Resource Management, 49(2), 241–264. doi:10.1002/hrm.20342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millson, M. R., Raj, S. P., & Wileman, D. (1992). A survey of major approach for accelerating new product development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 9, 53–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nohria, N., & Gulati, R. (1996). Is slack good or bad for innovation? Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1245–1264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nonaka, I., Kodama, M., Hirose, A., & Kohlbacher, F. (2014). Dynamic fractal organizations for promoting knowledge-based transformation – A new paradigm for organizational theory. European Management Journal, 32, 137–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Porter, M. E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. New York, NY: Free Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rennings, K. (2000). Redefining innovation-eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics. Ecological Economics, 32(2), 319–332. doi:10.1016/s0921-8009(99)00112-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rochford, L., & Rudelius, W. (1992). How involving more functional areas within a firm affects the new product process. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 9, 287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, J. A. (1942). Capitalism, socialism, and democracy. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2005). 2005 Workplace and Employee Survey: Questionnaire Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/instrument/2615_Q2_V7-eng.pdf.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2007). Guide to the analysis of the Workplace and Employee Survey, 2004 Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/EconStatKB/Attachment339.aspx.Google Scholar
Stevens, G., & Burley, J. (1997). 3,000 raw ideas equals 1 commercial success. Research Technology Management, 40(3), 16–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teece, D. J. (1986). Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public-policy. Research Policy, 15, 285–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomke, S. H. (2006). Capturing the real value of innovation tools. Mit Sloan Management Review, 47(2), 24–32.Google Scholar
Thomson, R., & Webster, E. (2013). Innovation and Productivity. Australian Economic Review, 46(4), 483–488. doi:10.1111/1467-8462.12046.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Hippel, E. (1988). The sources of innovation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Winter, S. G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), 991–995. doi:10.1002/smj.318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahra, S. A. (1996). Governance, ownership, and corporate entrepreneurship: The moderating impact of industry technological opportunities. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1713–1735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeytinoglu, I. U., Cooke, G. B., Harry, K., & Chowhan, J. (2008). Low-paid workers and on-the-job training in Canada. Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, 63, 5–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar