Does intellectual capital matter? High-performance work systems and bilateral innovative capabilities

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic understanding of the mechanisms through which high-performance work systems (HPWSs) facilitate the incremental and radical innovative capabilities of organizations. Using a knowledge-based view of the firm, the paper introduces the mediating role of intellectual capital (composed of human, organizational and social capital) while examining this issue. Design/methodology/approach - – Data were collected using a questionnaire survey approach from 164 firms in the People's Republic of China. The paper used analyses based on structural equation modeling to measure the main constructs and test the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Findings - – The results indicate that HPWSs contribute to both the incremental and radical innovative capabilities of organizations. In addition, intellectual capital mediates the relationships between HPWSs and different types of innovative capabilities. Specifically, organizational and social capital mediate the relationship between HPWSs and incremental innovative capability, whereas social capital mediates the relationship between HPWSs and radical innovative capability. Originality/value - – The study supports and expands on the strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature and knowledge-based view of the firm in terms of whether, why and how HPWSs can develop a competitive advantage on the basis of innovation.

[1]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  The myopia of learning , 1993 .

[2]  Justin J. P. Jansen,et al.  Managing Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity: How Do Organizational Antecedents Matter? , 2005 .

[3]  F. Damanpour.  Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis Of Effects Of Determinants and Moderators , 1991 .

[4]  John E. Delery,et al.  Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions , 1996 .

[5]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[6]  Jing-Wen Huang,et al.  Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance — The mediating role of knowledge management capacity , 2009 .

[7]  K. Clark,et al.  Innovation: Mapping the winds of creative destruction☆ , 1993 .

[8]  Jeffrey B. Arthur,et al.  Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover , 1994 .

[9]  R. Moreland,et al.  Exploring the Performance Benefits of Group Training: Transactive Memory or Improved Communication? , 2000 .

[10]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[11]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage , 1998 .

[12]  S. Snell,et al.  Integrated Manufacturing and Human Resource Management: A Human Capital Perspective , 1992 .

[13]  S. Morris,et al.  Relational Archetypes, Organizational Learning, and Value Creation: Extending the Human Resource Architecture , 2007 .

[14]  Ya-Hui Hsu,et al.  Intellectual capital and new product development performance: The mediating role of organizational learning capability , 2009 .

[15]  D. Bosworth,et al.  Market Value, R&D and Intellectual Property: An Empirical Analysis of Large Australian Firms , 2001 .

[16]  Sandra Valle,et al.  Concurrent engineering performance: Incremental versus radical innovation , 2009 .

[17]  G. O'Connor,et al.  The human side of radical innovation , 2004 .

[18]  Mark A. Huselid.  The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance , 1995 .

[19]  J. Guthrie.  High-Involvement Work Practices, Turnover, and Productivity: Evidence from New Zealand , 2001 .

[20]  E. Whitener.  Do “high commitment” human resource practices affect employee commitment? , 2001 .

[21]  Constantine Andriopoulos,et al.  Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation , 2009, Organ. Sci..

[22]  Casey Ichniowski,et al.  The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity , 1995 .

[23]  James G. Combs,et al.  HOW MUCH DO HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK PRACTICES MATTER? A META-ANALYSIS OF THEIR EFFECTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE , 2006 .

[24]  Paul E. Tesluk,et al.  A Comparison of Approaches to Forming Composite Measures in Structural Equation Models , 2000 .

[25]  Roderick E. White,et al.  An Organizational Learning Framework : From Intuition to Institution Author ( s ) : , 2007 .

[26]  Scott A. Snell,et al.  Human Resource Configurations, Intellectual Capital, and Organizational Performance. , 2004 .

[27]  Daniel Palacios-Marqués,et al.  Validating and measuring IC in the biotechnology and telecommunication industries , 2003 .

[28]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  The Search-Transfer Problem: The Role of Weak Ties in Sharing Knowledge across Organization Subunits , 1999 .

[29]  Sean A. Way.  High Performance Work Systems and Intermediate Indicators of Firm Performance Within the US Small Business Sector , 2002 .

[30]  Daniel Jiménez-Jiménez,et al.  Innovation and human resource management fit: an empirical study , 2005 .

[31]  G. Psacharopoulos,et al.  Investment in Human Capital. , 1972 .

[32]  Li-Qun Wei,et al.  High performance work systems and performance: The role of adaptive capability , 2010 .

[33]  Sjoerd Beugelsdijk,et al.  Strategic Human Resource Practices and Product Innovation , 2008 .

[34]  Uma Kumar,et al.  Harnessing Scientific and Technological Knowledge for the Rapid Deployment of Global Innovations , 2001 .

[35]  Ana Pérez-Luño,et al.  Knowledge as a mediator between HRM practices and innovative activity , 2009 .

[36]  I. Chow,et al.  Strategic HRM in China: Configurations and competitive advantage. , 2008 .

[37]  G. O'Connor,et al.  Building a Radical Innovation Competency , 2005 .

[38]  Riki Takeuchi,et al.  An Empirical Examination of the Mechanisms Mediating between High-Performance Work Systems and the Performance of Japanese Organizations , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[39]  Keld Laursen,et al.  New human resource management practices, complementarities and the impact on innovation performance , 2003 .

[40]  Wenpin Tsai.  Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance , 2001 .

[41]  Joakim Wincent,et al.  Does network board capital matter? A study of innovative performance in strategic SME networks , 2010 .

[42]  Chien-Chang Yang,et al.  Does intellectual capital mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance? Perspective of a healthcare industry in Taiwan , 2009 .

[43]  H. Scarbrough.  Knowledge management, HRM and the innovation process , 2003 .

[44]  Mark A. Huselid,et al.  The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Perceptions of Organizational Performance , 1996 .

[45]  Linda Argote,et al.  First, get your feet wet: The effects of learning from direct and indirect experience on team creativity , 2010 .

[46]  Mohan Subramaniam,et al.  The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Capabilities , 2005 .

[47]  S. Gopalakrishnan,et al.  Theories of organizational structure and innovation adoption: the role of environmental change , 1998 .

[48]  Sankalp Chaturvedi,et al.  The Role of Procedural Justice and Power Distance in the Relationship Between High Performance Work Systems and Employee Attitudes: A Multilevel Perspective , 2009 .

[49]  Ellen M. Whitener,et al.  Do “high commitment” human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling , 2001 .

[50]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[51]  S. Snell,et al.  Intellectual Capital Architectures and Ambidextrous Learning: A Framework for Human Resource Management , 2009 .

[52]  Patrick M. Wright,et al.  Matches Between Human Resources and Strategy Among Ncaa Basketball Teams , 1995 .

[53]  I. Nonaka.  A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation , 1994 .

[54]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  Knowledge Exchange and Combination: The Role of Human Resource Practices in the Performance of High-Technology Firms , 2006 .

[55]  Toby E. Stuart,et al.  Local search and the evolution of technological capabilities , 2007 .

[56]  Inmaculada Beltrán-Martín,et al.  Human Resource Flexibility as a Mediating Variable Between High Performance Work Systems and Performance , 2008 .