Creating A Culture of Innovation: Strategic Roles of Human Resource Leaders

Abstract

With the dynamic and technology-driven environments, innovation capability has emerged as a decisive factor on organizational survival and competitive advantage. Although the management concept of leadership and strategy is established as innovation drivers, the strategic role of Human Resource (HR) leaders in the development of the innovation culture has not been examined in the developing economies. It is a valuation paper that builds on the conceptualization of a comprehensive concept that HR leaders can create to facilitate the culture of innovation in a systematic manner. The study employs the Resource-Based View (RBV), Transformational Leadership Theory, and Organizational Learning Theory as major strategic levers such as employee empowerment, human capital development, cross-functional collaboration, growth mindset development, leadership development, knowledge-sharing system and innovation oriented reward structure, autonomy and continuous knowledge mechanisms. The organizational re-grounds to change, lack of resources, short-termism and silo mentality become also the subject of the paper analysis where strategic interventions to overcome them are also suggested. The research is added to the HRM and innovation literature by placing HR leadership as one of the key elements in institutionalizing a culture of innovation and providing viable implication to the creation of innovation-oriented organizations.