Blue-collar workers, career success and innovation in manufacturing

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between employees’ knowledge and organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 237 blue-collar workers from multinational high-tech manufacturing enterprises in Italy was studied to understand, from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the role of soft skills in the career success of production workers. Findings The results of the analysis indicate a positive relationship between workers’ commitment to develop their soft skills and their career success, as well as a positive relationship between an organisation’s approach to both knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation and the prospects for career success of blue-collar workers. Research limitations/implications The research has both theoretical and practical implications, as any efforts by researchers and practitioners to find effective ways to motivate the workforce will be likely to lead to a positive attitude towards learning and, ultimately, to improved business performance. Originality/value The originality of the paper is the focus on the personality and interpersonal attributes of workforce – blue-collar workers – and how they can affect business performance in highly innovative contexts.

Knowledge-based HRM practices and innovation performance: Role of social capital and knowledge sharing

“…Moreover, social capital influences coworkers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to engage in knowledgesharing behaviors (Zhang et al, 2017). Knowledge sharing behaviors result in positive organizational outcomes, namely innovation performance (Giampaoli et al, 2017;Donate and de Pablo, 2015), open innovation (Singh et al, 2019), and job performance (Cillo et al, 2019;Kwahk and Park, 2016).…”

Knowledge sabotage as an extreme form of counterproductive knowledge behavior: the role of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and competitiveness

“…Third, Machiavellians are highly manipulative (Braginsky, 1970) and try to achieve their goal through political machination and the humiliation of their opponent rather than through honest effort. Human capital theory posits that employees are supposed to continuously improve their skills and abilities through training, education, and experience which would boost their performance and result in various rewards (Becker, 1993) and career success (Cillo et al, 2019). Instead, Machiavellians tend to disregard an honest, ethical way of promoting their careers.…”

“Lean in”: the moderating effect of female ownership on the relationship between human capital and organizational innovation

“…The manufacturing industry is the pillar of the national economy, and manufacturing innovation can strengthen and increase the power of the national economy. In the manufacturing industry, continuous updating of human capital knowledge is required (Cillo et al, 2019). In recent years, with the burgeoning of the new industrial revolution, countries around the world have implemented new human capital accumulation and skills revitalization plans.…”