Petra De Saá-Pérez

The Succession Process from a Resource- and Knowledge-Based View of the Family Firm

A major challenge facing the family firm is the succession process. One reason for this challenge might involve the successors ability to acquire the predecessors key knowledge and skills adequately to maintain and improve the organizational performance of the firm. This paper uses two theoretical approaches from the strategic management field to explore this critical process and analyze how it can be managed effectively: the resource-based theory of the firm and the emergent knowledge-based view. This conceptual framework provides a powerful tool for understanding the nature and transfer of knowledge within the family business, which becomes the basis for developing competitive advantage over nonfamily businesses.

A resource-based view of human resource management and organizational capabilities development

The aim of this research work was to analyse the role of human resource management in the development of organizational capabilities and its influence on the firms performance from a resource-based view. Our results, from empirical research on a nation-wide sample of Spanish savings banks, suggest that human resource decisions, integrated in a human resource system, have an important influence on the development of organizational capabilities and on the firms performance.

Technological knowledge assets in industrial firms

This research focuses on identifying and measuring the technological knowledge assets that constitute the basis of the knowledge management process and on the study of contextual factors that determine their use. To that end, a longitudinal study of 1,444 Spanish industrial firms between 1998 and 2000 was conducted using information gathered by the Survey of Business Strategies. The results enable us to identify technological knowledge assets with different levels of codification and to have a general view of how age, size and sector affect the use of those assets by Spanish industrial firms.

Human resource management and innovation in the Canary Islands: an ultra-peripheral region of the European Union

This study attempts to answer the question about how firms in an ultra-peripheral region innovate to compete in a global market when they often seem not to have the basic conditions to innovate identified in the literature. On that line, and based on the notion that firms in ultra-peripheral regions must recognise the value of their human capital in order to overcome the limitations typical of their social and geographical context, this research aimed to analyse the relationship between the human resource (HR) policy and innovation in an ultra-peripheral region of the European Union, namely the Canary Islands. The objective of this study is to identify the HR-related internal factors that can affect the innovation capability of firms. In particular, this paper considers the HR management policy, the formalisation of that policy in an HR plan, and job stability. To achieve this goal, an empirical study of 157 Canarian firms was carried out and arrived at the conclusion that high commitment human resource management (HRM) has a positive influence on organisational innovation in processes. The results also show that the formalisation of the HR policy in a plan, and job stability also increases innovation in processes.

The role of training to innovate in SMEs

The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of training to improve the knowledge required to innovate in SMEs. In particular, this research integrates the theoretical approaches of human resource management and knowledge management to focus on how training can be critical to articulate the organizational knowledge assets necessary to innovate. To achieve that objective, an empirical study was carried out on 139 SMEs and the main conclusion is that training per se has a negative effect on the innovative capacity of SMEs. Only when training interacts with the knowledge assets of the firm does its effect become positive and highly significant.

The role of organizational culture and HRM on training success: evidence from the Canarian restaurant industry

This research aims to analyse the influence of organizational culture and human resources management (HRM) practices on the success of training at restaurants. Effective training is especially important for modern restaurants that aim to gain competitive advantage by means of good quality service and performance of their employees. To achieve this objective, an empirical study was conducted on 137 restaurants in the Canary Islands. Results show that organizational culture does not influence the success of the training programmes unless HRM practices that support the training process are implemented. Specifically, the study reveals the full mediating role of HRM practices between a continuous learning culture and effective training.

Technological knowledge assets and innovation

The aim of this paper is to study the influence of technological knowledge assets with different levels of codification on innovation capability from the resource- and knowledge-based view of the firm. To that end, a study of 1444 Spanish industrial firms was performed between 1998 and 2000, based on information provided by the Survey of Business Strategies (SBS). The results show that technological knowledge assets exert different levels of influence depending on their character. Thus, tacit assets exert more influence on firm innovation than other technological knowledge assets. Specifically, technological knowledge capabilities are the most significant during the three-year period of analysis.

Human resources management and performance in the hotel industry: The role of the commitment and satisfaction of managers versus supervisors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of high-commitment human resources (HR) practices on organisational performance through the commitment and satisfaction of both managers and supervisors. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study was carried out, based on the perceptions of 68 managers and 296 supervisors at four- and five-star hotels in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). Findings The results obtained reveal that: high-commitment HR practices have a positive and significant effect on the commitment and satisfaction of both groups; managers’ commitment and satisfaction do not lead to improved organisational performance; however, supervisors’ commitment and satisfaction do lead to better economic results because of an improvement in customer results. Practical implications This research revealed that it is important for hotel companies to adopt high-commitment HR practices because these practices contribute to managers’ and supervisors’ affective connection to the company, leading them to feel positively satisfied with their jobs. In addition, hotels should focus on supervisors because they feel more customer-oriented and tend to stay longer in the company, which probably leads them to better meet the needs of customers, allowing hotels to obtain better economic results. Originality/value This study contributes to HR management in the hotel industry by obtaining the views of two key informants – managers and supervisors – about the implementation of HR practices and their own levels of commitment and satisfaction.

Novelty of Innovation and the Effect of Existing and Recently Hired R&D Human Resources

The decision taken by firms to invest in innovation oriented activities is an important strategic issue closely linked to their knowledge management process, especially when that decision involves the renewal of the necessary knowledge to protect themselves from obsolescence and imitation by competitors. This paper aims to analyse the effect of existing and recently hired R&D human resources on product innovation as well as their interaction, focusing on the degree of novelty of innovation. The results of an empirical research among 965 Spanish firms show that, although existing and recently hired R&D human resources have a positive individual effect on innovation, their interaction has a negative effect on the firm’s product innovations. However, the results also highlight that the greatest likelihood of achieving product innovations with a higher degree of novelty occurs when the firm has a solid internal base of R&D human resources complemented by the hiring of R&D personnel.

Predicting market orientation through internal market orientation as culture and behaviour: an empirical application in Spanish hotels

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to analyse how the internal market orientation, considered from a dual perspective, cultural and behavioural, affects the development of external market-oriented behaviours by improving the attitudinal results (affective commitment and job satisfaction) of the internal customers. An empirical study was carried out, based on the perceptions of 68 managers and 296 supervisors at four- and five-star hotels in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). The findings show that (1) the internal market orientation (IMO) has a positive influence on the effective development of market orientation behaviours in managers and supervisors; (2) the IMO has a positive influence on the affective commitment and job satisfaction of hotel managers, but not supervisors; and (3) greater affective commitment and job satisfaction have no significant effect on market orientation behaviours in hotel managers or in supervisors. Based on the study results, the paper concludes with a discussion and implications for practitioners.