1. Introduction
Organizations continuously promote innovation by recruiting talented staff to drive significant contributions to enhance work conditions, performance, culture, and climate [
1]. However, innovation practices provide key solutions to encounter changes and crises aligned with flexible and agile strategies and adaptability [
2]. Moreover, innovation becomes a core and crucial factor in an organization’s long-life survival and maintains stability in dynamic environmental changes [
3].
An organization’s strategic thinking and planning depend on HRM strategies in order to attract appropriate skills and retain excellent workforces which resulted in enhancing organizational performance [
4,
5,
6]. Today, HRM practice encompasses various tasks such as organizational performance, capability, flexibility, and adaptability that overcome unexpected environmental changes [
7]. HRM strategies aim to foster a business firm’s capabilities for achieving long-term growth and success [
8]. In addition, HRM strategies can provide organizations with a talented and innovative workforce to enhance innovation practices which maintain sustainable organizational performance [
9,
10,
11]. Therefore, HRM strategies are considered as a critical issue that affects positively organizational performance outcomes [
12,
13]. Moreover, HR flexibility can help an organization to revive its dynamic capability to cope with internal environmental changes [
14].
Strategic adaptability is an essential practice performed by organizational leaders to recognize unpredictable circumstances through adapting flexibility, agility, leanness, and resilience strategies to secure the organization’s positions [
15]. However, strategic flexibility and adaptability can help organizations enhancing operational capability more effectively and efficiently than encountered competitors [
16]. Moreover, adapting strategic agility can assist an organization’s ability to follow strategic actions in response to external environmental changes [
17]. Furthermore, organizations are more likely to adopt a flexible strategy as a quick response to dynamic environmental changes, through adapting to minimize change effects [
18,
19].
The interdependent relationship of strategic adaptability between HRM strategies and innovation has been attributed to several factors. Recently, few studies have explored the relation between HRM strategies and strategic adaptability and their implications for organizations. The current research aims to bridge this gap through investigating the relationship of strategic adaptability between HRM strategies and innovation in Jordanian banks. Therefore, HRMS on INN through the adoption-innovation theory concept emphasizes the effective innovation practices to fit with the employees’ innovative thinking and ideas [
20]. Moreover, modern HRM theory emphasizes HR practices and employees interacting within the organization and organizational performance [
21]. Furthermore, the adaptability theory emphasizes the ability of an organization to cope with environmental changes, HR adaptability, and organizational strategic adaptability such as flexibility, resilience, and technology [
22,
23]. In addition, these theories are valuable to this research which concentrates on the relationship of strategic adaptability between HRM strategies and innovation in Jordanian banks. The relationship investigation of strategic adaptability between HRM strategies and innovation aims to increase the attention of organizations management to enhance HRM practices, strategies, innovation, and adaptability.
The integration of HRM strategies into broader organizational strategies is crucial for enhancing capabilities and performance, especially in complex and dynamic environments. The literature also emphasizes the role of HRM in facilitating innovation through strategic and sustainable practices.
The current literature highlights the importance of effective HRM practices in fostering innovation and strategic adaptability. However, there are significant gaps, particularly in the context of the Jordanian banks, regarding the impact of HRM strategies on innovation outcomes. Addressing these gaps could provide valuable insights for theory and practice, enhancing our understanding of how HRM strategies can be leveraged to improve organizational success in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.
Finally, this research aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by exploring important relationships that have not been investigated in the banking sector in Jordan. The study examines the mediating role of strategic adaptability in the relationship between HRM strategies and innovation in Jordanian banks, which has not been explored before. Additionally, it contributes to the field of HRM in the banking sector by providing a comprehensive review of the existing literature. Furthermore, the study considers the mediation effect of strategic adaptability, which is a new concept in Jordanian bank management. This research resulted into the following research questions:
What is the effect of HRM strategies (HRMS) on innovation (INN)?
What is the effect of HRM strategies (HRMS) on strategic Adaptability (SA)?
What is the effect of strategic adaptability on innovation?
To what extent does strategic adaptability (SA) role mediate the relationship between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN)?
The research structure is organized into several sections.
Section 2 presents the gap in the literature review and hypotheses formulation.
Section 3 presents the methodology which includes (the research design approach, population and sampling, data collection, and data analysis.
Section 4 presents the findings.
Section 5 presents the findings discussion. Finally,
Section 6 conclusion, implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research endeavors.
5. Discussion and Implications
The findings reveal valuable contributions to the relationship between strategic adaptability (SA), HRMS, and innovation (INN). The findings also reveal a significant effect of strategic adaptability (SA) on HRMS strategies and innovation (INN) in Jordanian banks. This finding leads bank decision-makers to understand thoroughly the role and the contribution of strategic adaptability (SA) and HRMS in enhancing innovation (INN) practices. Moreover, HRM strategies (HRMS) have a direct effect on innovation (INN) and strategic adaptability (SA), while the mediation of strategic adaptability (SA) reveals a partial indirect relationship effect between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). To this end, understanding the valuable contributions of strategic adaptability (SA) and HRMS supports bank managers in their strategic direction, plans, decisions, and future vision, which resulted in enhancing their HRMS and innovation (INN) practices through strategic adaptability. This leads to adapt effective strategies to ensure high-performance standards, sufficient performance outcomes, growth, stability, competitiveness, sustainability and effective response to dynamic environmental changes and crises.
5.1. Discussion
This research investigates a significant literature gap, as little is known about the indirect relationship of SA between HRM strategies and innovation (INN). Moreover, there are scarce studies about strategic adaptability (SA) as a mediator between HRM strategies and innovation (INN). Scholars recommend conducting further research concerning the effect of strategic adaptability (SA) as a mediator on HRMS and innovation (INN) [
26,
35,
37,
39,
49,
63]. Consequently, this study aims to bridge this gap, as HRM strategies and innovation contribute valuable changes through strategic adaptability. This study concentrates on the mediating role of strategic adaptability (SA) between (HRMS) and (INN) in Jordanian banks. This study investigates the mediating effect of strategic adapatbilty on the relationship between HRM strategies and innovation. While prior research has explored the impact of HRM strategies on organizational adaptability and the influence of adaptability on innovation, no prior research has specifically investigated the mediating role of strategic adaptability in the HRM strategies- innovation link, particularly within the Jordanian banks sector.
Moreover, the results of the research hypothesis (H1, H2, H3, and H4) indicate a significant effect that lined with prior studies. The findings on (H1) indicate a significant positive impact between HRMS and innovation (INN), and scholar’s studies find a significant effect between HRM practices and innovation which are in constant with [
11,
27,
29,
30]. Moreover, the findings on (H2) indicate a positive significant effect between HRMS and strategic adaptability (SA), which is in constant with [
26,
35,
36,
37,
38,
39,
47,
48,
54]. Furthermore, the findings on (H3) indicate a positive significant effect between strategic adaptability (SA) and innovation (INN), which is in constant with [
19,
57,
58,
59,
60,
61]. Additionally, the findings on (H4) indicate indirect partial relationship effect of strategic adaptability (SA) as a mediator between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN), which is in constant with [
39,
68,
71].
Finally, the findings provide a significant theoretical knowledge and practical contributions in terms of HRM strategies (HRM), innovation (INN), and strategic adaptability (SA). These findings on (H1, H2, H3, and H4) support the direct and indirect effect of the mediating role of strategic adaptability (SA) between (HRMS) and innovation (INN).
5.2. Theoretical Implication
The theoretical implications and contributions of this study aim to bridge the gap concerning HRMS, INN, and SA. The investigation focuses on the mediating role of strategic adaptability (SA) between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). This study is conducted on 455 respondents employed in the higher and middle levels in Jordanian banks. No investigations are conducted to explore the role of strategic adaptability (SA) as a mediator between HRMS and innovation (INN). Moreover, prior studies discussed the role and effect of HRMS on INN with relevant theories such as the adoption-innovation theory that emphasizing the effective innovation practices to fit with employees and management’s innovative thinking and ideas [
20], while modern HRM theory emphasizes HR practices and employees interacting within organizations and organizational performance [
21]. Moreover, the adaptability theory emphasizes the ability of organization adaptability to cope with environmental changes such as: HR adapt abilities, organizational strategic adaptability (flexibility, agility, resilience, and technology) [
22,
23]. These theories are valuable to be applied on organizational management and supported organizations to cope with future environmental changes, work environment development, and change.
This research drives another implication that enhances organizations to foster organizational and behavioral innovation practices in order to increase innovation capacity depending on the role of strategic adaptability. The practical strategies such as lean, flexibility, agility, and resilience strategies enhance organizations for providing desired and practical solutions to the environmental changes and enhancing organizational performance outcomes.
Finally, the current research investigates the mediating role of strategic adaptability (SA) between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). This context could be applicable to global organizations such as banks operating in similar environments.
5.3. Managerial Implications
This research provides practical implications to assist and guide leaders and managers to improve their organizations’ HRM strategies effectiveness including recruitment, selecting and hiring, compensation, and training and development. This leads to fostering effective innovation practice through the mediating role of strategic adaptability in the Jordanian banks. Moreover, enhancing innovation practices resulted in the effectiveness of HRMS that relies on talented human resource contributions, capabilities, skills, and competencies. This leads to impact effectively work quality, creativeness, problem-solving ability, organizational development, change response, and coping with local and global environmental changes encountering Jordanian banking sector.
Managerial human resource strategic plans consider innovation and strategic adaptability as a priority goal to emerge into the global market context and practices. In addition, the managerial practices aim to update employees with conventional knowledge to promote new skills, boosting work skills, problem-solving abilities, and intellectual contributions to enhance the knowledge capacity to cope with work environmental changes. Moreover, managers are recommended to practice strategic adaptability as a key drive for problem solving, setting practical solutions, and environmental changes prediction to cope with complex environmental changes and to enhance organizational cultures and climate.
6. Conclusions, Limitations and Directions for Future Research
6.1. Conclusions
This research aims to assess the mediating role of strategic adaptability (SA) between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). HRMS reveal a positive significant impact on innovation (INN) and strategic adaptability (SA). Strategic adaptability (SA) reveals a positive significant impact on innovation (INN) and an indirect partial effect on (HRMS) and (INN). The findings provide useful, valuable, and practical insights for Jordanian bank managers to pay more attention to strategic adaptability by adapting effective HRM strategies (HRMS) to leverage the capabilities, skills, and creative ideas of human resources, by involving them in formulating strategic plans and tactics as strategic partners, and this will be helpful for bank managers to address the changes and challenges in the banking sector by implementing solutions that minimize potential risks. Moreover, Jordanian banks should establish an incubator for employees with creative and innovative ideas to motivate them to propose innovative solutions to be adopted in addressing critical issues resulting from rapid changes that affect the performance of banks in light of global competition in the banking sector on the other hand, and developing the banking work environment and conditions within innovative solutions to enhance banking services quality that meet international standards. Finally, Jordanian banks must train their employees periodically to enhance their capabilities and professional skills to qualify them appropriately to adapt to the expected changes imposed on banks and their banking operations, in order to avoid potential risks that will pose a threat to their performance, stability, and growth.
6.2. Limitations and Directions for Future Research’s
This research provides valuable theoretical and practical insights about the role of strategic adaptability (SA) as a mediator between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). The obtained findings are applicable to the global banking sector due to the similar conditions and environments of operation. In addition, it is recommended to conduct future studies with different conditions, environments, and sectors.
Future studies are recommended to investigate HRM strategies (HRMS), innovation (INN), and strategic adaptability (SA) across diverse contexts to expand the scope of organizational environments in different sectors, populations, and sampling for a deep understanding of the research phenomena to enhance findings. The researchers recommend future studies to concentrate on HRM practices and strategies in light of other dimensions such as organizational sustainability, open innovation, organizational ecosystem, organizational resilience, and green innovation.