Haar JO’Kane C2024-06-112024-06-112024Haar 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).0303-6758https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69767Firm 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.(c) The author/shttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Firm innovationhuman capitalworkforce attractionworkforce retentionfirm sizemoderationdominance analysisJournal article10.1080/03036758.2023.21807611175-8899CC BY-NC-NDjournal-article350-367