Human Resource Management as a Catalyst for Firm Innovation: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Growing competition owing to global-wide firm operations has urged firms to consistently force themselves in turning their organizational structures, systems, procedures, and techniques to something more modernistic and even better to reap sustainable competitive advantage. Innovation is of roust competitive strategy that permits firms to elevate growth, competitive position, which in turn achieve sustained competitive advantage. Further, the resource-based view of the firm claims that developing valuable, scarce resources and capabilities are the pivotal sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Literature shows that human resource management aids in developing organizational capabilities, a ‘proxy variable’ of competitive advantage. It can contribute to organizational capabilities insofar as it provokes and reinforces the set of role behaviors that create firm innovation. Innovation is being recognized as one of the organizational capabilities. However, the link between human resource management and innovation remains obscure and findings are heterogeneous. Thus, it warrants further investigations. The present study aims to analyze and synthesis the documents published in the Scopus database on human resource management and innovation. Bibliometric analysis was performed to discover the present trend of a research field, identify the principal authors, articles, and topics, and propose future research lines to develop it further. Based on the analysis seven compelling research clusters were identified and discussed.