Ambidexterity of HR practices in fortune 500 companies and employee innovation performance: mediating role of inclusive leadership
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 31 January 2024
Issue publication date: 22 March 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Human resource management (HRM) practices must take an ambidextrous approach because of changing work environments and challenges. Ambidextrous practices in HRM fall in the domain of developing expertise for complex environments and reducing ambiguities in present turbulent times. Dual-oriented ambidextrous human resource practices (AHRP) can promote employee innovation performance. Drawing on social exchange theory to explore the impact of AHRP on employee innovation performance, this paper examines the mediating role of inclusive leadership style.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through a questionnaire from employees of three Fortune 500 Chinese companies from the telecom, electronics and automotive sectors with temporal separation in two waves. The final sample constituted 276 useable responses.
Findings
Results indicate that ambidextrous HR practices have a significant impact on innovation performance, and an inclusive leadership style mediates this relationship, together explaining a 27.8% variance.
Originality/value
This paper examines the effect of dual-oriented AHRPs in the emerging markets context as a guide to best practices for managers to employ ambidexterity in HRM to enhance employees' innovation performance by enhancing both commitment as well as cooperation simultaneously.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Professor Zhao Fuqiang (School of management; Wuhan University of technology) who supervised the Ph.D. theses of Dr Hu Wei and Dr Huang Haoyu and provided initial insights into developing the topic for research on ambidextrous human resource practices in early discussions.
Funding: This research is funded by Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (Grant Number RDF 210246).
Citation
Ahmed, F., Hu, W., Arslan, A. and Huang, H. (2024), "Ambidexterity of HR practices in fortune 500 companies and employee innovation performance: mediating role of inclusive leadership", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 237-254. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-05-2022-0139
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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