DOI: 10.5176/2251-2349_HRMPD13.09
Authors: Upamali Amarakoon, Jay Weerawardena and Martie-Louise Verreynne
Abstract: Innovation enables firms to gain competitive advantage in through cost leadership and/or differentiation [1]. A firm gains competitive advantage by conceiving new ways to conduct value-chain activities to deliver superior value to the customers [1], which is an act of innovation. Therefore, innovation and competitive advantage are closely connected and innovation can occur in any value creating activity of the firm, including human resource (HR) management. However, literature has primarily focused on technical innovation (product and process), paying limited attention to non-technical innovations, HR innovation in particular [2]. HR innovation is change in or introduction of, HR practices that are new and value creating to the adopting firm [2]. Limited attention to HR innovation reflects a significant knowledge gap given that (a) competitive advantage built on HR innovation is not easily imitable, and should therefore be a vital source of competitive advantage [3]; and (b) antecedents and outcomes of HR innovation differs from technical innovation and therefore the approaches adopted to capture technical innovation may not be adequate and appropriate to understand the complexities involved in HR innovation [2][4]. Overall, the limited and fragmented nature of literature pinpoints the need for a well-founded theoretical framework enriched with empirical evidence. Building on extant literature and in-depth interviews with senior HR professionals from Australia, we present a conceptual framework that captures the antecedents and moderators of HR innovation-based competitive advantage process.
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