Innovation as the key to gain performance from absorptive capacity and human capital

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how firms can achieve high levels of organisational performance through innovation, absorptive capacity (ACAP) and human capital (HC). Using a sample of 138 Spanish companies from the wine industry, our findings show that ACAP and HC allow businesses to fully capture the benefits of innovation. These results contribute to the literature of ACAP, human resources management (HRM) innovation and resource-based view (RBV) of the firm by showing that a number of resources and capabilities (ACAP, HC, and innovation) can be seen as good drivers of performance and, by extension, of competitive advantage.