Human resource practices and open innovation

The human side of open innovation (OI) has not been extensively studied; however, when companies develop new products or services, it is essential to foster corporate innovativeness, and managing personnel is a key to this. Human resource (HR) practices are an essential means by which companies can influence and shape the skillset, attitudes, and behaviour of individuals to do their work and can systematise the work of the whole organisation. In this paper, we aim to contribute to understanding the role of HR in open innovation, by analysing the HR practices in companies operating under an open innovation approach. We test our model with the PLS-SEM method, using Smart PLS software. Our findings suggest that personnel education is essential in supporting corporate open innovation strategies. Internal motivation systems prove to be valuable assets to support internal and external openness in OI implementation. High appreciation of personnel and its value to company are important for increasing external and internal openness.