Innovation as a Recruiting Criterion - A Case Study

Sammanfattning: Human Resources (HR) play a significant role in contributing to the implementation of innovation through recruitment, which enables innovation through an individual level. Therefore, HR can be seen as a gatekeeper for innovation. Research on HR-practices and innovation has increased over the last decades. However, prior research puts little emphasis on what role HR plays in the recruitment of innovative individuals in fast-growing organizations. This research explores what role innovation play as a criterion in the recruiting process. The material used in this case study consists of semi-structured interviews conducted with hiring managers and other relevant employees in a fast growing IT-company in Scandinavia. By using grounded theory in the qualitative analysis, this research aims to investigate what role HR plays in the recruitment of innovative individuals. This study’s purpose is to contribute to the literature concerning how HR includes innovation in its recruiting process in fast-growing organizations. The results from this research suggest that innovation as a criterion exists on three levels: the individual, team and company level and that innovation forms an underlying structure from which the more practical criterion innovation enabler emerges. The findings serve as the groundwork for future research investigating the role of HR to innovation in the recruiting process.