Human resources in innovation systems: With focus on introduction of highly educated labour in small Danish firms

Human resources in innovation systems: With focus on introduction of highly educated labour in small Danish firms

This thesis has two purposes: (1) a ‘general' purpose to enhance our knowledge on the relationship between innovation, technological and organisational change, and human resources, including knowledge and skills embodied in human resources, and (2) a more ‘specific' purpose to enhance our knowledge on introduction of highly educated labour, innovation, and upgrading changes in small Danish firms. Chapter 1 establishes the relevance of this research interest, and it also states the research questions which are studied in the thesis.

     Chapter 2 reviews relevant literature on systems of innovation, human capital, and skill-biased technological and organisational change. It is stated in the chapter that this thesis primarily refers to a system of innovation approach as its conceptual and analytical framework, but it is also acknowledged that there are important links to human capital literature, as well as to the literature on skill-biased technological and organisational changes.

     Chapter 3 addresses the ‘general' purpose of this thesis, and establishes that contributions stemming from human resources - such as insight, understanding, creativity, and action - are inherently important to all innovation processes. The chapter also suggests a tentative conceptual and analytical framework for studying human resources and their development within a system of innovation approach, a framework which integrates some fundamental perspectives from literatures on human capital, skill-biased technological and organisational change, and entrepreneurship.

     Chapter 4 addresses the ‘specific' purpose of this thesis by specifically applying the conceptual and analytical framework developed in chapter 3 to a study of the relationship between introduction of highly educated labour, innovation, and upgrading change in small Danish firms. In the chapter highly educated labour is analytically assumed to embody specialised knowledge within a given field of study, as well as general academic skills - such as perception, interpretation, analysis, and systematisation skills - to rather advanced levels. Small firms without highly educated labour (i.e. before the introduction) are analytically assumed to be know-how-based or, equivalently, non-science-based. As for the relationship between introduction of highly educated labour, innovation, and upgrading change in small Danish firms, chapter 4 establishes that we should look for two different, but possibly complementary, causalities: (1) introduction of highly educated labour may spur innovation and upgrading changes in small firms, and/or (2) innovation and upgrading changes in small firms may spur introduction of highly educated labour. Chapter 4 also presents relevant empirical data for studying such assumed causalities.

     Chapter 5 is concerned with the former of the two different causalities mentioned in chapter 4, and it argues that introduction of highly educated labour in small firms may increase the likelihood of innovation and upgrading changes due to three, potentially complementary, lines of reasoning: (1) The introduction brings in new, diversifying knowledge and skills that may spur creative interactive processes and lead to innovation and upgrading changes, (2) introduction of highly educated labour may release entre-/intrapreneurial forces in the firm that can spur innovation and upgrading changes, e.g. by relieving an enterprising owner of the firm, and (3) the introduction may link a given small firm better to formal knowledge centres in the innovation system and such a link may, again, spur innovation and upgrading changes. Statistical tests in the chapter indicate that introduction of highly educated labour with a technical or natural scientific qualification significantly increases the likelihood of technological upgrades in small firms, as well as they indicate that introduction of highly educated labour with ‘other' academic qualifications, e.g. from social and human sciences, significantly increases the likelihood of important organisational changes, technological upgrades, and product/service innovation in small firms.

     Chapter 6 is concerned with the latter of the two different causalities mentioned in chapter 4, and it argues that innovation and upgrading changes, as e.g. important organisational or technological changes, need to be integrated in small firms through creation of new routines and contexts conditions and, as such, these activities are likely to imply a somewhat new qualitative labour demand in given small firms. Based on this view, chapter 6 gives reasons for why different types of innovation and upgrading changes may spur introduction of highly educated labour. Statistical tests in the chapter indicate that implementation of important organisational changes significantly increase the likelihood of introducing highly educated labour with technical, natural scientific, or ‘other' academic qualifications. In addition, introduction of new ICT that affects at least 25% of the workforce significantly increases the likelihood of introducing highly educated labour with ‘another' academic qualification, e.g. from the social or human sciences.

     Chapter 7 is the final chapter of the thesis that discusses ‘general' and ‘specific' conclusions from an academic point of view, and - stressing that the thesis is not written as a policy report - this chapter also relates some of the observations and findings in the thesis to policy perspectives. Thereby chapter 7 rounds off the thesis that started in chapter 1 by arguing why the relationship between introduction of highly educated labour, innovation, and upgrading changes in small Danish firms is relevant to study from a theoretical, from an empirical, as well as from a policy point of view. Pointing forward, the final chapter also includes suggestions for future research.