The Key Role of Human Resource Practices for the Promotion of Creativity and Innovation: A Spanish Case Study

Abstract

Management literature suggests that employee creativity can contribute substantially to organisational innovation, effectiveness and survival. In addition, the ability to innovate has also emerged as a basic strategic option. Innovation models express the need to implement specific human resource practices (HRP) for the development of skills, knowledge and innovation-oriented behaviours. Human resource practices can be extremely important when organisations intend to foster creativity and innovation which are key factors in competing effectively. With this aim in mind, we suggest that the existence of certain HRP such as training, performance appraisal and reward systems have a positive effect on creativity and innovation. Our results show that there is a positive relationship between HRP and innovation in both the processes and the products in the case under study. Some HRP such as autonomy, participation, training, career plans, and organised recruitment processes, appear as being strongly linked to creativity and innovation. The most important contribution of this paper refers to the mediating effect of creativity between certain human resources practices and innovation.