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1、Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance Themediating role of knowledge management capacityChung-Jen Chen a, Jing-Wen Huang ba Graduate Institute of Business Administration, College of Management, National Taiwan University, 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC b Depar
2、tment of Information Management, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy & Science, 60, Erh-Jen RD., Sec.1, Jen-Te, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C Received 1 February 2007; received in revised form 1 April 2007; accepted 1 November 2007AbstractThis study examines the role of knowledge management capacity in the rela
3、tionship between strategic human resource practices and innovation performance from the knowledge-based view. This study uses regression analysis to test the hypotheses in a sample of 146 firms. The results indicate that strategic human resource practices are positively related to knowledge manageme
4、nt capacity which, in turn, has a positive effect on innovation performance. The findings provide evidence that knowledge capacity plays a mediating role between strategic human resource practices and innovation performance. Finally, this study discusses managerial implications and highlights future
5、 research directions. 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Keywords: Strategic human resource practices; Knowledge management capacity; Innovation performance1. IntroductionThe strategic management literature recognizes innovation as a critical enabler for firms to create value and sustain competi
6、tive advantage in the increasingly complex and rapidly changing environment (Madhavan and Grover, 1998; Subramaniam andYoundt, 2005). Firms with greater innovativeness will be more successful in responding to changing environments and in developing new capabilities that allow them to achieve better
7、performance (Montes et al., 2004). Innovation initiatives tend to depend heavily on employees knowledge, expertise, and commitment as key inputs in the value creation process (Youndt et al., 1996). The knowledge-based view depicts firms as repositories of knowledge and competencies (Grant, 1996; Spe
8、nder, 1996). According to this view, prior studies recognize the knowledge and competencies of human resource as valuable assets for firms because of their characteristics of firm-specific, socially complex, and path-dependent (Collins and Clark, 2003; Wright et al., 2001; Youndt et al., 1996; Lado
9、andWilson, 1994). Human resource practices (HR practices) are the primary means bywhich firms can influence and shape the skills, attitudes, and behavior of individuals to do their work and thus achieve organizational goals (Collins and Clark, 2003;Martinsons, 1995). Previous literatures have paid a
10、ttentions to the link of HRpractices and organizational outcomes such as productivity, flexibility, and financial performance (e.g. MacDuffie, 1995; Ichniowski et al., 1997; Youndt et al., 1996; Delery and Doty, 1996; Pfeffer, 1998; Mendelson and Pillai, 1999; Collins and Clark, 2003), but the under
11、standing needs to be extended to encompass innovation performance (Laursen and Foss, 2003). Accordingly, the present study attempts to address the link of HR practices and firms innovation performance from the knowledge-based perspective. For innovation to take place, firms may leverage human capita
12、l to develop organizational expertise for creating new products and services. However, expertise is much more complex and is primarily the results of deliberate practices on representative tasks in the domain (Ericsson and Charness,1997). These deliberate practices entail individuals wanting to perf
13、orm the tasks and making efforts to improve performance. Firms can identify and exert a set of strategic HR practices to elicit the willingness and motivation of employees to engage in performing these delicate practices to develop organizational Available online at Journal of Business Research 62
14、(2009) 104114 Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 2 33669655; fax: +886 2 23625379.E-mail address: chungjenmanagement.ntu.edu.tw (C.-J. Chen).0148-2963/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.11.016 C.-J. Chen, J.-W. Huang / Journal of Business Research 62
15、 (2009) 104114 105expertise for business objectives such as innovation performance (Jacobs and Jones, 1995; Swanson, 1994). Accordingly, strategic HR practices can be conducive to innovative activities because strategic HR practices may allow firms to discover and utilize knowledge and expertise in
16、the organization (Scarbrough, 2003). However, knowledge is within the human capital and firms cannot easily transfer the knowledge among individuals inside the firm (Hansen, 1999; Grant, 1996). Although a firm has access to the knowledge, skills and expertise of employees, it may need to possess goo
17、d capacities inmanaging knowledge management tools in place to ensure effective utilization of the human capital in the development of organizational expertise for innovation. Knowledge management is an approach to adding or creating value bymore actively leveraging the knowhow and expertise resided
18、 in individual minds (Ruggles, 1998; Scarbrough, 2003). As noted above, knowledge managementmay influence the relationship between strategic HR practices and innovation performance. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of knowledge management capacity between str
19、ategic HR practices and innovation performance from the knowledge-based view. The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. The next section considers the relevant literature and sets out the hypotheses of this study. Following is the methodology for the study. Then, the paper presents the results
20、 of the empirical study in achieving the goals as those set out above. In the last section, the paper discusses managerial implications and highlights future research directions.2. Research background and hypotheses2.1. HumanOwing to the increasing importance of HR practices to the competitive advan
21、tages of firms in the rapidly changing knowledge- based economy, some scholars have paid attentions to examine the determinants on the adoption of HR practices (e.g. Tannenbaum and Dupuree-Bruno, 1994) and their effects on organizational outcomes, such as productivity and efficiency (e.g. MacDuffie,
22、 1995; Ichniowski et al., 1997; Youndt et al., 1996), and financial performance (e.g. Delery and Doty, 1996; Pfeffer, 1998; Mendelson and Pillai, 1999; Collins and Clark, 2003). Tannenbaum and Dupuree-Bruno (1994) explore the relationships between organizational and environmental factors and the use
23、 of “innovative human resource practices”. The items in “innovative human resource practices” include training, recruitment, selection, and employee involvement. The results demonstrate that external variables of labor availability and public scrutiny exhibit the linear relationships while favorabil
24、ity has a non-linear relationship with the use of HR practices. In terms of organizational factors, agency size exhibits a stronger linear effect than formalization and centralization on the use of HR practices. In investigating the impacts of “innovative human resource practices” on manufacturing p
25、erformance, MacDuffie (1995) uses four measures including hiring, compensation, status barriers, and training to represent innovative human resource practices. He indicates that integration of bundles of HR practices is positively associated with the improvements in productivity. Similarly, Ichniows
26、ki et al. (1997) examine the productivity effects of “innovative work practices”. They use different measures of the innovative work practices, which include incentive pays, recruitment and selection, teamwork, flexible job assignments, employment security, communication, and training, and suggest t
27、hat these innovative work practices achieve higher levels of productivity than traditional approach such as narrow job definitions, strict work rules, and hourly pay with close supervision. In addition, by using four dimensions of human resource practices, including staffing, training, performance a
28、ppraisal, and compensation, Youndt et al. (1996) indicate that an HR practices system is directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance. Also, subsequent analysis reveals that manufacturing strategies moderate this main effect. In terms of financial performance, Delery and Doty (
29、1996), drawing on three dominant modes of theorizing, identify seven key “strategic human resource practices”, including career ladders, training, results-oriented appraisal, compensation, employment security, employee voice, and broadly defined jobs, and use them to develop theoretical arguments co
30、nsistent with each of the three perspectives. The results demonstrate that each perspective can be used to structure theoretical arguments that explain significant levels of variation in financial performance. Mendelson and Pillai (1999) examine the impacts of the characteristics of “information age
31、 organization” and indicate that the relationship between these characteristics, including decentralization and incentives, information practices, and internal focus and inter-organizational networks, and business performance is stronger in industry segments that are more dynamic. In addition, Colli
32、ns and Clark (2003) explore the black box between “strategic human resource practices”, which include training, performance assessment, rewards, and firm performance from a field study with 73 hightech firms. The results show that top managers social networks mediate the relationship. Though prior r
33、esearch has paid attentions to the impacts of HR practices on organizational outcomes, few studies explore the impact of HR practices on knowledge management (e.g. Currie and Kerrin, 2003) and on innovation performance (e.g. Laursen and Foss, 2003). By taking an organizational learning perspective,
34、Currie and Kerrin (2003) use case study approach to explore the influence of “strategic human resource practices”, including performance management, recruitment and selection, employee interaction, and career development, on enhancing knowledge sharing within a company. They suggest that HR practice
35、s can improve knowledge sharing in the firm with a functionally based organizational structure and culture. In investigating the effects of “new human resource management practices” on innovation performance of firms in different sectors, Laursen and Foss (2003) categorize nine HRM variables, includ
36、ing interdisciplinary workgroups, quality circles, collection systems of employee proposals, planned job rotation, delegation of responsibility, integration of functions, performance-related pay, firm internal training, and firm external training, into two HRM systems. Their findings indicate that t
37、he innovation performance of four manufacturing sectors correlates with the first system while that of wholesale and ICT sectors is associated with the second system.These prior research term HR practices differently, such as strategic human resource practices (e.g. Youndt et al., 1996; Collins and
38、Clark, 2003; Currie and Kerrin, 2003; Collins and Clark, 2003), innovative work or human resource practices (e.g. Tannenbaum and Dupuree-Bruno, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Ichniowski et al., 1997), new human resource practices (e.g. Laursen and Foss, 2003), and characteristics of information age organiza
39、tions (e.g. Mendelson and Pillai, 1999). In addition, the measurement of HR practices is in different ways in these prior studies for coping with their research purposes. This study purposely focuses on examining the strategic impacts of HR practices on the innovation performance through the mediati
40、ng effect of knowledge management capacity. This study considers those measures in the prior studies using the concepts of strategic and innovative HR practices (e.g. Youndt et al., 1996; Collins and Clark, 2003; Currie and Kerrin, 2003; Tannenbaum and Dupuree-Bruno, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995) as they a
41、re more germane to the arguments of the relationships involving HR practices, knowledge management, and innovation. Accordingly, this study adopts five dimensions, including staffing, training, participation, performance appraisal, and compensation, in the construct of strategic human resource pract
42、ices.2.2. Strategic human resource practices and innovation performanceThe knowledge-based view concerns knowledge as a valuable resource of the firm(Grant, 1996; Spender, 1996). The knowledge embedded in human capital enables firms to enhance distinctive competencies and discover innovation opportu
43、nities (Hansen, 1999; Grant, 1996;Wright et al., 2001). When firms develop new products and improve management processes, they require the motivation and ability of human capital to produce creative ideas, develop innovative approaches, and exert new opportunities (Scarbrough, 2003). Human resource
44、management function can influence and modify the attitudes, capacities, and behaviors of employees to achieve organizational goals (Collins and Clark, 2003;Martinsons, 1995) and it plays a crucial role in nurturing the necessary conditions for catalyzing and channeling individuals towards the develo
45、pment of innovation activities (Scarbrough, 2003; Laursen and Foss, 2003;Michie and Sheehan, 1999). Firms can use some strategic HR practices, such as staffing, training, participation, performance appraisal, and compensation, asmeans to motivate employees commitment and get them involved in creativ
46、e thinking and innovation (Damanpour, 1991; Laursen and Foss, 2003). Thus, this study argues that strategic HR practices would play a critical role in affecting innovation performance.When firms develop innovation activities, they encounter relatively greater uncertainty and variability in the innov
47、ation process (Atuahene-Gima, 1996), and they need creative employees who are flexible, risk taking, and tolerant of uncertainty and ambiguity (Madsen and Ulhi, 2005). Therefore, firms must place more emphasis on these characteristics in the staffing actions. When firms use creative capabilities and
48、 innovative characteristics as hiring and selection criteria, their employees are likely to spawn diversity of ideas and commit to more innovation behaviors (Brockbank, 1999; Atuahene-Gima, 1996). Through effective staffing, employees become important sources of new ideas in the firms innovative pro
49、cess. With regard to training, it would facilitate employees exposure to variety of knowledge and openness to innovative ideas (Brockbank, 1999; Beatty and Schneier, 1997; Jaw and Liu, 2003). Firms may provide employees broad and various training programs to develop new knowledge, skills, and innovative capability necessary for performing theirwork (Brockbank, 1999; Mumford, 2000). Through training, firms can develop the organizational expertise in terms of demand and content for the innovation (Weisberg,