Title: Profiling human resource management practices in innovative firms

Authors: Frances Jørgensen; Karen Becker; Paul Hyland

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Bartholins Alle 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ' QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia ' QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia

Abstract: It has been argued that different bundles or configurations of human resource practices can improve innovation performance, but there is little empirically-based research that provides details of the practices utilised by different types of innovative firms. This study aimed to identify how different types of firms vary their human resource management (HRM) practices to build organisation-specific innovation capabilities. The paper presents findings from a qualitative study of 26 innovative Danish firms categorised as technology-based, knowledge-intensive, or hybrid in their industry orientation. The findings highlight that knowledge-intensive firms have notably different profiles of HRM practices to technology-based firms, suggesting that firms utilise different practices to build innovation capacity depending on the core capabilities required for success in their respective industries. This paper contributes by demonstrating how HRM practices differ across types of firms rather than relying on a universal perspective or 'one best way' to design and implement HR practices.

Keywords: human resource management; innovation capacity; innovative work behaviour; qualitative research; HRM practices; innovative firms; technology-based firms; knowledge-intensive firms; Denmark.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2014.069328

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2014 Vol.14 No.4, pp.187 - 204

Accepted: 04 Jan 2014
Published online: 13 May 2015 *

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