Multi-partner alliance teams for product innovation: The role of human resource management fit

Teams working in multi-partner R&D alliances need a climate that fosters learning, creativity, and innovation to succeed in the joint development of new products. The strategic human resource management (HRM) literature recognizes that aligning human resources practices and those with the corporate strategy facilitate the creation of such a climate. However, the case of multi-partner-alliance teams remains underexplored. Drawing on the relational view of alliances, we emphasize the alignment of human resources practices of multiple partners as a driver of relational performance. We extend the existing literature by explaining how HRM fit may contribute to the generation of a strong climate for product innovation in the setting of multi-partner-alliance teams. To do so, we reconceptualize the traditional HRM fit notion, considering three dimensions (vertical, horizontal, and relational fit) in two levels (partner- and inter-partner-level), and thereby account for the dual nature of the HRM phenomena in collaboration for innovation initiatives.