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Over recent years, firms have been implementing novel human resource practices. The purpose of this paper is to analyse four specific training practices to determine if and up to what extent the adoption of such practices affects innovation and financial performance.

A Spanish sub-sample of the European Manufacturing Survey is used to contain the responses of 162 manufacturing firms.

The positive relation between T&D practices and innovative performance was partially accepted, as new-to-the-firm products and new services had a significant relation with these practices. Conversely, the hypothesis stating that there is a positive relation between a new-to-the-market product and the aforementioned T&D practices was rejected. Furthermore, the positive relation between these and financial performance was partially accepted.

This research presents the following limitation: the small number of responses restricts the general reliability of the findings. The inclusion of other countries’ data using the same questionnaire would further enrich the analysis.

First, general training and development is not enough; thus, the present study evidences the positive results of specific training practices such as training and development for creativity and innovation (TD4CI) on firm performances. Second, it also reveals a relation between training practices and innovation by differentiating among the three dimensions of innovation (new product to the firm, new product to the market and new services). Moreover, the present research highlights the benefits of implementing these types of practices, not only for innovation performance but also for financial performance. This paper also suggests that not all the training practices have the same impact on firm performance. Consequently, the company should be clear about their main aim to obtain the highest performance. The third contribution is based on the Spanish context wherein training is not considered as an important organisational function. Thus, this study provides positive results showing that TD4CI might enhance firm performance. Last, the degree of detail of the different training practices analysed, the recent nature of the data related to their implementation and the link between implementation and organisation performance are also part of the contribution of the present analyses.

This research offers recent and relevant data about implementing novel T&D practices and their relation with firm performance.

AT an international exhibition in Moscow during September a pavilion covering 6,500 sq. ft. displayed equipment designed to improve the organization of work. The unusual thing is that the equipment was office machinery and systems exhibited by the Business Equipment Trade Association of this country and five of its member firms. Until now the U.S.S.R. has been a negligible market for such goods, but the Soviet Union has now declared its intention to increase the automation of clerical work through installing modern equipment of the sort favoured by western countries. The report of a delegation of the Association's members put this point so strongly that, as a ‘joint under‐taking’ with the British Board of Trade, it was thought justifiable to attack this burgeoning market.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of organizational climate (OC) (with its different dimensions) and type of category (international–national or regional–local) on innovation, also taking into account the level of competition in which the club participates. This paper also aims to analyze the effect of the type of category on the relationship between OC and innovation. This could provide new information in the sports sector and in the organizational area.

A quantitative research was chosen with a sample of 485 Spanish sports clubs. The statistical analyses carried out were descriptive, mean difference, correlations between studied variables and hierarchical regression models, with the statistical package SPSS 23.0 and the macro PROCESS.

The results showed that there are significant differences in innovation depending on the level of competition. There is a positive correlation between the dimensions of OC (training, formation, supervision, resources, safety and overall) and innovation. The OC dimensions that have the highest prediction of innovation in sports clubs are training and motivation, in sports clubs with regional–local and international–national level of competition.

This paper provides information on the aspects that most influence innovation so that one can focus and pay more attention to some aspects over others.

This study contributes to the debate by offering a relationship of CB with innovation in the non-profit or associative sports sector. This provides organizational and entrepreneurial information to the sports environment.

The study aims to propose a conceptual Bhartiya (Indian) model of workplace spirituality (WPS) in non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the context of burnout and resilience by synthesising the concepts of the east and the west. The researchers have kept an open approach by exploring various dimensions of WPS by reviewing the extant literature of both the east and the west. The researchers delved into Bhartiya (Indian) scriptures to identify the concepts that have similarity with the dimensions of WPS so that it may further assist in facilitating those dimensions in NPOs. Furthermore, to propose a conceptual Bhartiya model for NPOs, the researchers synthesised the literature pool of Bhartiya studies on WPS. They examined how WPS decreases burnout and leads to resilience. The study’s findings reveal that concepts from Bhartiya scriptures such as Karm Yog (Nishkam Karm, self-abnegation, swadharm), parasparam bhavayantaha, loksangrah, daivi sampat and kritagyata are instrumental in facilitating the constructs of WPS. Meaningful work is facilitated through karm yog; sense of community is facilitated through parasparam bhavayantaha and loksangrah; and alignment with organisational values is facilitated through daivi sampat and kritagyata. The findings further suggest that WPS is an antidote to burnout and an enabler of resilience.

It is suggested that, to be successful, innovation teams should be small and consist of people with key expertise who want to participate and develop new solutions within their organisations. When it comes to conducting innovation work, I suggest shared leadership may be a factor influencing success. In this chapter, a theoretical framework is presented on the shared leadership of innovation teams. The key to establishing shared leadership in innovation teams is to plan for it as the team is created, not after the team has already been formed, as this may result in various problems in the intended innovation project. The proposed framework details key aspects to consider; some of which are related to external factors such as management and resources, and some to internal factors such as the team’s size, competencies, and their ability to develop norms and ways of working together. The proposed framework is applicable for managers, innovation leaders, and team members, and contributes to previous research on shared leadership and innovation leadership. Further research on the proposed framework is suggested.

WE publish this issue on the eve of the Brighton Conference and our hope is that this number of The Library World will assist the objects of that meeting. Everything connected with the Conference appears to have been well thought out. It is an excellent thing that an attempt has been made to get readers of papers to write them early in order that they might be printed beforehand. Their authors will speak to the subject of these papers and not read them. Only a highly‐trained speaker can “get over” a written paper—witness some of the fiascos we hear from the microphone, for which all papers that are broadcast have to be written. But an indifferent reader, when he is really master of his subject, can make likeable and intelligible remarks extemporarily about it. As we write somewhat before the Conference papers are out we do not know if the plan to preprint the papers has succeeded. We are sure that it ought to have done so. It is the only way in which adequate time for discussion can be secured.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a system of human resource management (HRM) practices, labelled high-performance work systems (HPWS), influences organizational innovation in professional service firms (PSFs). In this study, innovation in PSFs is seen as an indicator of firm performance and is calculated as the revenue per person generated from new clients and new services, respectively.

Quantitative data were collected from 195 managing partners, HR managers or experienced Partners in 120 Irish accounting firms. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

The analysis results indicate strong support for the mediating role of employees’ innovative work behaviours in the relationship between HPWS and two types of PSFs’ innovation performance.

Managers need to effectively adopt and implement innovation-based HRM practices to encourage and support employees’ creative thinking and innovation. Through the adoption and utilization of these practices managers can enhance the firm’s innovation and its performance.

This study contributes to our understanding of the link between HRM and firm innovation by explicating a pathway between these variables. This study also generalizes consistent findings on the HRM-firm innovation relationship to a different context, i.e. PSFs.