Does Adaptability Culture Mediate the Relationship Between Human Resource Flexibility and Organizational Innovation in The New Normal?

Abstract

The apparel industry has begun to struggle for survival because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The business needs to reinvent itself by adapting to the new normal condition in Sri Lanka, and further innovations are necessary to proceed with business continuity. Human resources is an essential domain that reinforces the resources of the organization to enhance the success of businesses. Hence, the current study aims to examine the relationship and the mediating effect of adaptability culture between the relationship of human resource flexibility and organizational innovation in the Apparel sector. A sample of 150 managers and executives was selected using stratified random sampling among the selected population. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analyses. The study’s findings highlight a highly positive relationship between HR flexibility and organizational innovation; human resource flexibility and adaptability culture and adaptability culture is also positively correlated with organizational innovation. Indeed, HR flexibility has the highest impact on corporate innovation, while the study revealed that adaptability culture partially mediates the relationship between HR flexibility and organizational innovation. The findings of the study are useful in improving the efficiency of human resource utilization and enriching applications of these concepts.