Performance appraisal as an antecedent to innovation: An analysis of its importance relative to other human resource practices

Abstract

Orientation: Innovation is essential to organisational survival, and several studies have shown that performance appraisals (PAs) contribute to innovation.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of PA as an antecedent to innovation relative to other human resource practices (HRPs).Motivation for the study: The specific HRP drivers of innovation among employees and across organisations are not well specified, hindering appropriate resource allocation.Research approach/design and method: The PA–innovation link was investigated among 3180 employees across 53 South African organisations, utilising a cross-sectional survey design involving quantitative data, and focusing on correlation and regression analyses.Main findings: Human resource practices accounted for approximately 10% of the variance in innovation when considering individual employees. Performance appraisal was neither a common nor a unique predictor of innovation. When focusing on the link across organisations, a significant HRPs–innovation link was established in approximately 60% of organisations, with PA playing a significant role as the predictor of innovation in 10 (out of 53) organisations.Practical/managerial implications: Other HRPs, specifically supervisor support and staffing, played a much bigger role than PA in driving innovation of individuals, also across organisations. This specifies the relative importance of PA amongst other HRPs.Contribution/value-add: General managers, human resource practitioners and researchers can now use data-driven evidence to select specific HRPs which significantly enhance innovation among employees and across organisations.

Strategic Human Resource Management Practices as Antecedents of Employee Corporate Entrepreneurial Intensity

“…Second, the findings of this manuscript align with prior studies in that performance appraisal significantly influences CEI (Lundmark, 2016;Siddiqui, 2016;Tang, 2019;Margherita, 2016;Amami, 2014;Behram, 2014;Ziyae, 2016;Steyn and Matookchund, 2019;Steyn, 2020;Noopur and Dhar, 2018). This finding of the manuscript further supports the notion that the evaluated performance of employees, both individual or group (i.e., departmental), yields insights and clarifies expectations that can improve work quality and generate new thoughts (Khan, et al, 2014) toward the formation and development of a firm's CE culture.…”