Understanding New Zealand firm innovation: exploring human resource factors by firm size and strength

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Date
2024
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Rights
(c) The author/s
CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Firm innovation is of vital importance to New Zealand’s economy, but we understand little about how different human resource (workforce) factors influence innovation approaches (product/services innovation, process innovation, and innovation speed). We explore three human resource (HR) factors: workforce knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), workforce attraction, and workforce retention, using a sample of New Zealand private sector firms (n = 402). Regression analysis shows all HR factors are significant predictors of all innovation approaches. Further analysis shows workforce KSAs is dominant towards product/service innovation, workforce attraction is dominant towards process innovation, and workforce retention is dominant towards innovation speed. Moderating effects by firm size are found showing small-sized firms out innovate large-sized firms when workforce KSA are high, despite small-sized firms having, on average, weaker HR factors and innovation approaches than large-sized firms. We highlight the organisational implications across small–and large-sized firms.
Description
Keywords
Firm innovation, human capital, workforce attraction, workforce retention, firm size, moderation, dominance analysis
Citation
Haar J, O’Kane C. (2024). Understanding New Zealand firm innovation: exploring human resource factors by firm size and strength. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 54. 3. (pp. 350-367).
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