Investigating the Mediating Role of Knowledge Absorption Capacity in the Impact of Innovation Culture on Human Resource Agility

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran.

2 PhD., Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

3 PhD. Student, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran.

4 PhD. Student, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: With the beginning of the third millennium, the role of human resources has become more and more important, to the point that some consider it the only factor in gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. This is especially true in knowledge-based businesses. As a result, for a knowledge-based company, human capital is the most important asset, and the better the quality of this asset, the more likely it is that the business will survive, succeed, and thrive. One of the indicators of the desirability of human resources is the discussion of human resource agility. According to these materials, the present study was conducted to investigate the mediating role of knowledge absorption capacity in the impact of innovation culture on human resource agility among all employees of Zahedan Science and Technology Park in Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Methodology: This is applied research that has been done by the descriptive correlational method. Data collection tools are standard questionnaires whose reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha test and their validity was assessed using content validity. The statistical population includes all members of Zahedan Science and Technology Park companies. The sample size was determined using the Jersey and Morgan table, up to 130 people by simple random sampling. To confirm or refute the hypotheses, the structural equation modeling method was used with the help of Smart-PLS software.
Findings: The findings showed that the culture of innovation has a positive and significant effect on the capacity to absorb knowledge and agility of human resources and also the capacity to absorb knowledge on the agility of human resources. In addition, the mediating role of knowledge absorption capacity in the impact of innovation culture on human resource agility has been confirmed.
Conclusion: According to the results of the research, the culture of innovation has a significant effect on the capacity to absorb knowledge and human resource agility in science and technology park companies. Therefore, managers of science and technology parks should take action to strengthen this culture by making structural changes and supporting creative ideas and laws. According to the research results and the importance of innovation and innovation culture, suggestions in the field of managerial and structural changes in science and technology parks in Zahedan such as changes in the external environment of the organization, institutionalizing trust among employees, commitment to change among employees, support Creative ideas, few rules, extensive informal communication, face-to-face communication
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Agarwal, S. & Adjirackor, T. (2016). Impact of teamwork on organizational productivity in some selected basic schools in the Accra metropolitan assembly. European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy, 4(6): 40-52.
Alavi, S.; AbdWahab, D.; Muhamad, N. & Arbab Shirani, B. (2014). Organic structure and organisational learning as the main antecedents of workforce agility. International Journal of Production Research, 52(21): 6273-6295.
Alhadid, N. (2016). The effect of organization agility on organization performance. International Review of Management and Business Research, 5(1): 273-9.   
DOI: 273-9. 10.30473/fmss.2018.5126.
Amini, A.R.; Fatahi, H.R. & Dolatshah, P. (2019). Innovation strategy, entrepreneurial success and the mediating role of knowledge management. Human Resource Management, 9(4). [In Persian]
Arman, S.M. (2017). Impact of sustainable human resource management in organizational performance: A study on Bangladeshi HR professionals. Paper presented at the Proceedings of 15th Asian Business Research Conference.
Chams, N. & García-Blandon, J. (2019). On the importance of sustainable human resource management for the adoption of sustainable development goals. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141: 109-122. DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.10.006.
Chen, Y.; Wang, Y.; Nevo, S.; Benitez-Amado, J. & Kou, G. (2015). IT capabilities and product innovation performance: The roles of corporate entrepreneurship and competitive intensity. Information & Management, 52(6): 643-657. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2015.05.003.
Chou, H.-W.; Chang, H.-H.; Lin, Y.-H. & Chou, S.-B. (2014). Drivers and effects of post-implementation learning on ERP usage. Computers in Human Behavior, 35: 267-277.          
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.012.
Dehghanipoueh, M.; Shafeghat, A.; Ebenreza, S.M. & Hulasu, A. (2018). Identifying the factors affecting organizational agility in one of the armed forces organizations with a fuzzy approach. Interdisciplinary Studies in Strategic Knowledge, 8(31): 7-48. [In Persian]
Dobni, C.B. (2008). Measuring innovation culture in organizations: The development of a generalized innovation culture construct using exploratory factor analysis. European Journal of Innovation Management, 11(4): 539-559. DOI: 10.1108/14601060810911156.
Engels, A.; Kunkis, M. & Altstaedt, S. (2020). A new energy world in the making: Imaginary business futures in a dramatically changing world of decarbonized energy production. Energy Research & Social Science, 60: 101321. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2019.101321
Fosfuri, A. & Tribo, J.A. (2008). Exploring the Antecedents of Potential Absorptive Capacity and its Impact on Innovation Performance. Omega, 36(2): 173-187.
Golban, J. & Razqi, Sh.S. (2020). Application of ISM model for leveling the components of organizational culture and ranking the components using AHP. Organizational Culture Management, 18(4): 775-798. DOI: 10.22059/jomc.2020.294957.1007963. [In Persian]
Heidari, A. & Seyed Kalali, N. (2016). Competitive Advice Model of Management Consulting Companies Based on the Dynamic Capabilities Theory. Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, 8(2): 317-338.
Hejazi, A. & Hooshangnazari, A. (2018). Analyzing the effect of organizational support factors on organizational innovation capabilities by considering the mediating role of knowledge absorption capacity. Organizational Culture Management, 16(4): 851-870. [In Persian]
Hurley, R.F. & Hult, T.M. (1998). Innovation, market orientation, and organizational learning: an integration and empirical examination. Journal of Marketing, 62: 42-54. DOI: 10.2307/1251742.
Iskanderpour, B. (2017). Designing a model of Islamic cultural values in Payame Noor University. Culture in Islamic University, 7(3): 372-369. [In Persian]
Jabarzadeh, Y.; Hosseini, S.S.; Nikkhah, Y. & Faraj Elahi, A. (2019). Knowledge Sharing in the Banking Industry: The Role of Attracting Individual Knowledge and Employee Agility. Human Resource Studies, 9(4): 123-144. [In Persian]
Jahanbakhsh Ganja, P. (2017). A Comparative Study of Cultural Schools and Cultural Sociology. Intercultural Studies, 12(23): 109-139. [In Persian]
Jajarmizadeh, M. & Tadaion, A. (2019). The relationship between organizational structure and human resource management and performance. Human Resource Management in the Oil Industry, 10(40): 206-188. [In Persian]
Jaskyte, K. (2004). Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture and Innovativeness in Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership,15(2): 153-168.     
DOI: 10.1002/nml.59.
Khalilnejad, Sh. & Daneshvar, M.R. (2017). The Impact of Knowledge-Based Culture on Strategic Innovation, Knowledge Absorption Capacity and Strategic Flexibility. Strategic Management Studies, 30: 43-63. DOI: 10.30495/qjopm.2020.570291.2136. [In Persian]
Khalilnejad, Sh.; Zareh, R. & Vatan Parast, A. (2020). The effect of knowledge acquisition capacity on strategic innovation by considering the moderating role of strategic orientation. Productivity Management, 14(53): 163-181. [In Persian]
Kostopoulos, K.; Papalexandris, A.; Papachroni, M. & Ioannou, G. (2011). Absorptive Capacity, Innovation, and Financial Performance. Journal of Business Research, 64(12): 1335-1343.
Lee, K.; Woo, H.G. & Joshi, K. (2017). Pro-innovation culture, ambidexterity and new product development performance: Polynomial regression and response surface analysis. European Management Journal, 35(2): 249-260. DOI: 10.1016/J.EMJ.2016.05.002.
Lewin, A.Y.; Massini, S. & Peeters, C. (2011). Microfoundation of internal and external absorptive capacity routines. Organization Science, 22(1): 81-98. DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1100.0525.
Liu, S.; Chan, F.T.S.; Yang, J. & Niu, B. (2018). Understanding the effect of cloud computing on organizational agility: An empirical examination. International Journal of Information Management, 43: 98-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.07.010.
Mohammadi, S. & Alwani, M. (2020). Analysis of performance evaluation of employees of government organizations with a focus on sustainable development to improve productivity. Productivity Management, 14(53): 47-23.    
DOI: 10.30495/qjopm.2020.569699.2120 [In Persian]
Mohammadzadeh, A. (2017). Investigation of basic cultural-psychological disorders among students. Culture in Islamic University, 7(1): 75-56. [In Persian]
Murad, A. & Park, K. (2016). The mediating role of an innovative culture in the relationship between absorptive capacity and technical and non-technical innovation. Journal of Business Research, 69(5): 1669-1675. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.036.
Nkuda, M. (2017). Strategic agility and competitive advantage: Exploration of the ontological, epistemological and theoretical underpinnings. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 16(1): 1-13. DOI: 10.9734/BJEMT/2017/30979.
Padiha, C.K. & Gomes, G. (2016). Innovation culture and performance in innovation of products and processes: a study in companies of textile industry. RAI Revista de Administracao Inovacao, 13(4): 285-294. DOI: 10.1016/j.rai.2016.09.004.
Panda, S. & Kumar, R. (2018). Modelling the Relationship between Information Technology Infrastructure and Organizational Agility: A Study in the Context of India. Global Business Review, 19(2): 424-438. DOI: 10.1177/0972150917713545.
Pariav, M.; Khalaji, A.; Hashemi, S. & Radfard, M. (2018). Assessment of prioritizing the effective factors on human resources effectiveness Case study: Tehran Industrial Parks Organization. Data in brief, 19: 2455-2467. DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2018.07.017
Park, B.I. (2011). Knowledge transfer capacity of multinational enterprise and technology acquisition in international joint ventures. Business Review, 20(1): 75-87.            
DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2010.06.002.
Roberts, N.; Galluch, P.S.; Dinger, M. & Grover, V. (2012). Absorptive capacity and information systems research: Review, synthesis, and directions for future research. Information Systems, 6(1): 25-40. DOI: 10.2307/41703470.
Samdantsoodol, A.; Cang, S.; Yu, H.; Eardley, A. & Buyantsogt, A. (2017). Predicting the relationships between virtual enterprises and agility in supply chains. Expert Systems with Applications, 84: 58-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2017.04.037.
Sohrabi, R.; Asari, M. & Hozoori, M.J. (2014). Relationship between Workforce Agility and Organizational Intelligence (Case Study: The Companies of” Iran High Council of Informatics(. Asian Social Science, 10(4): 279.
Stewart, G.L. & Brown, K.G. (2019). Human resource management. John Wiley & Sons.
Vidotto, J.D.F.; Ferenhof, H.A.; Selig, P.M. & Bastos, R.C. (2017). A human capital measurement scale. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 18(2): 316-329.   
DOI: 10.1108/JIC-08-2016-0085.
Wessel, J.; Bradley, G.L. & Hood, M. (2019). Comparing effects of active and passive procrastination: A field study of behavioral delay. Personality and Individual Differences, 139: 152-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.020.
Yasir, M. & Majid, A. (2017). Impact of knowledge management enablers on knowledge sharing. World Journal of entrepreneurship, management and sustainable development, 13(1): 16-33. DOI: 10.1108/WJEMSD-02-2016-0010.
Zarifi, M.; Baherololom, H.; Andam, R. & Sheikh, R. (2018). A new approach in designing a questionnaire to evaluate the performance of human resources in sports organizations using design techniques based on axioms. Applied Research in Sports Management, 7(2): 55-43. DOI: 10.30473/arsm.2018.5091. [In Persian]
Zhao, D.; Li, J.; Tan, Y.; Yang, K.; Ge, B. & Dou, Y. (2018). Optimization adjustment of human resources based on dynamic heterogeneous network. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 503: 45-57. DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2018.02.168
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image
Sciences and Techniques of Information Management
Volume 7, Issue 4
December 2021
Pages 149-172

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics