The common welfare human resource management system and innovativeness : the mediating role of altruism

Purpose The paper analyzes and develops Chiva's (2014) proposal on the common welfare HRM system and uncovers its relationship with innovativeness, using altruism as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach The common welfare HRM system implies a certain human and organizational development of the classic control and commitment HRM systems, and its main goal is to promote innovation through a prosocial approach. To this end, the authors investigated its HRM practices, developed a measurement instrument and provided initial illustrative evidence of some of its main implications for innovativeness and altruism. They tested these relationships on a sample of 269 Spanish firms using structural equations and bootstrapping to confirm the significance of the mediated effect. Findings Results confirm the study's hypotheses, thus supporting the common welfare HRM system as a relevant tool for developing innovativeness through the power of altruism. This paper therefore provides empirical evidence of these relationships. Practical implications This study has implications that can help managers to increase innovativeness through a specific HRM system. The findings reveal that a coherent set of HRM practices based on common welfare principles and a high level of consciousness creates a climate of altruism that results in innovativeness. Originality/value This research shows that humanistic HRM practices also have an impact on performance variables such as innovativeness, through altruistic employees' behaviors. It also develops a measurement instrument for the common welfare HRM system and provides some initial illustrative evidence of some of its main implications.