HRM as a precursor for creativity and innovation: ‘creatives’ versus ‘non-creatives’

Employee creativity and innovation is highly desirable for organizations to achieve competitive advantage, flexibility and growth. Yet despite an emergent body of work we still lack clear understanding of any role that human resource management (HRM) may play in enhancing employee creativity and innovation (Shipton et al., forthcoming).

Contrary to a lot of thinking, which holds that for creativity employees need freedom and autonomy, it seems that in fact workplace structure may be rather important to this end (Binyamin & Carmeli, 2010; Sanders et al., 2015). It has been proposed that, for innovation, some specific HRM practices, especially those oriented towards the creativity-related aspects of employee performance, deserve more emphasis than others (e.g. Chang et al., 2014; Shipton et al., 2006).

Added to these insights, it is widely proposed that HRM influences performance outcomes through taking into account the entire HRM system, including the way in which it is perceived by employees (Sanders, Shipton & Gomes, 2014). Shipton et al. (forthcoming) argue that it is the combined effect of HR practices together with employees’ experience of exploratory learning that leads to higher levels of organizational innovation for ‘ordinary’ employees (see also Sanders & Lin, 2015; Lin & Sanders, cond accepted). While ability, motivation and opportunities are crucial for good performance in any types of job (Appelbaum et al., 2000), these three elements may carry varying weights and mean different things depending upon whether creativity is overtly required, or not (Montag et al., 2012).

The intention for this PhD project is to examine HRM/ people management insofar as it influences creative and innovative outcomes for these distinct categories of employees. A first step will consider whether innovation is a major organizational strategy, i.e. whether creativity is explicitly required from the employees. HRM literature has made clear that organizational strategy determines the choice of HRM practices (e.g Jackson & Schuler, 1989). The study will then unravel the relative impact of HRM on employee ability, motivation and opportunity for non-creatives as opposed to creative individuals, taking into account, for example, the role of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation in shaping employee creative outcomes. A final element in the research will be to consider the mechanism whereby individual creativity flows through to innovation and change at a higher level of analysis. Idea evaluation and idea implementation depend upon collective activities and support from others, and gain traction through social interaction and knowledge exchange (Collins & Smith, 2006).

The project is largely quantitative, although the first and latter phases are likely to require in-depth interviews to provide a foundation for and draw out insights gained from the quantitative part of the study. It would be useful for prospective students to have an understanding of key debates and challenges around the management of people in the workplace especially from a multi-level perspective and to have ideas about suitable workplace contexts where the research would be carried out. There is excellent potential for working with world-leading scholars from UK and further afield whose work is connected with the Centre, embracing this important and topical area.

Specific qualifications/subject areas required of the applicants for this project (e.g. First degree in specific subject area):

UK 1st Class/2:1 Bachelor’s degree (or UK equivalent according to NARIC), and UK Masters degree (or UK equivalent according to NARIC), preferably HRM, with evidence of outstanding achievement. Practical experience ideally at senior level and networks with business.