Developing technological capability through human resource management: case study from the Philippines

This paper examines firms’ human resource management strategiesfor innovation and technological upgrading. Using the informationcollected from three manufacturing firms in the Philippines, thispaper describes how human resource (HR) management practicesstimulate innovation processes and contribute to technologicalcapabilities of firms. The findings reveal that HR practices, inparticular recruitment, and training and development functionsinfluence skills and capacity upgrading to some extent. For firmsto sustain and step up their technological capabilities, a moreformal and systematic innovation and technological upgradingstrategy must be pursued.