Purpose: Employee voice has emerged as a strong predictor of positive organizational outcomes. Grounding the theoretical model in resource-based theory; this study conceptualizes how high-performance work system (HPWS) can enhance organizational innovation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through voice behaviors. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to empirically test if employee voice mediates the relationship between HPWS and organizational innovation.Design/methodology/approach: This study used a quantitative strategy and cross-sectional survey method for the collection of data from SMEs operating in Pakistan. A list of SMEs was obtained from the federal government organization responsible for the development of SMEs in Pakistan. A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed and 239 randomly selected SMEs responded to the survey.Findings: Findings confirmed the conceptualized model and revealed that HPWS was significantly and positively related to employee voice and organizational innovation. Employee voice was found as a significant predictor of organizational innovation and mediating factor in the relationship between HPWS and organizational innovation.Research limitations/implications: This study is limited in terms of variables included in the conceptual model and relatively small size of the sample that was derived from a single federal organization. More variables and SMEs can be included in future studies to get broader results and, potentially, better findings.Practical implications: SME managers/owners can design HR function in such a way that employees will be encouraged to raise their voice and participate more in the organization. Scholars should study voice behaviors distinct from citizenship behaviors.Originality/value: This study is the first of its kind to conceptualize the relationship between HPWS, employee voice, and organizational innovation in SMEs of Pakistan.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the black box between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and innovation performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through application of the ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) framework, the study examines the mediating roles of innovation-specific ability, motivation and voice behaviors between HPWS and SMEs’ innovation performance.Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses are tested on data collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 237 SMEs in Pakistan.Findings: Findings indicate that human capital, motivation and employee voice fully mediate the relationship between HPWS and innovation performance in SMEs.Research limitations/implications: The cross-sectional research design and self-reported measures warrant caution for the interpretation of findings. Future research may consider a longitudinal research design and objective measures.Practical implications: SMEs need to invest in the adoption and implementation of HPWS that will develop innovation-specific abilities, motivation and voice behaviors simultaneously among employees that will lead to higher innovation performance.Originality/value: This is the first study of its kind utilizing an AMO framework to investigate the underlying mechanism through which HPWS affect innovation performance in SMEs.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of transformational leadership on the innovation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through employee voice behaviors. Drawing from the upper echelon theory, it is hypothesized that employee voice is the mediating mechanism through which transformational leadership affects the process and product innovation in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from 169 SMEs of Pakistan through an online self-administered questionnaire. The proposed hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings: Findings confirm that transformational leadership positively affects both process and product innovation in SMEs and employee voice behavior mediates between these relationships. Originality/value: This research contributes to both theoretical and practical domains by providing evidence that encouraging employees to raise their voice positively impacts product and process innovation and transformational leadership is a potential organizational factor to shape employee voice and process and product innovation. To the best knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the mediating role of employee voice between transformational leadership and process and product innovation in SMEs and developing country’s context.

Despite the increasing relevance of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) for innovation performance in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), few studies examine the complexity of the underlying mechanism that explains the relationship between EO and innovation performance. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and signalling theory, we examine an organisation-level model to explain how SME EO predicts innovation performance through human resource management (HRM) practices and collective organisational engagement (COE). We used data collected from 186 human resource managers and 526 employees in SMEs. The results indicate that HRM practices and COE sequentially mediate the relationship between EO and innovation performance. To complement studies that identify an organisation’s micro processes (i.e. employee behaviours as mediators between EO and innovation), this study highlights the need to examine macro processes occurring at the organisation level to account for the EO–innovation performance relationship.

Drawing on the ability-motivation-opportunity model, this study investigates how gender-inclusive human resource management practices and overall fairness perception promote the career progression of female employees via psychological empowerment. Partial least structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to two-waves data collected from 308 respondents from Pakistan to confirm hypotheses. Findings suggest that gender-inclusive HRM practices substantially affect female employees' psychological empowerment and career progression. Psychological empowerment is a mediating mechanism that explains the effect of gender-inclusive HRM practices on female employees' career progression. Finally, overall fairness perception further amplifies the effect of gender-inclusive HRM practices on psychological empowerment and career progression. The study provides evidence to policymakers that organizations may promote psychological empowerment and career progression of female employees by implementing gender-inclusive HRM practices and promoting overall fairness perception. This study contributes to achieving the SDGs by examining the impact of gender-inclusive HRM practices and overall fairness perception on female employees' psychological empowerment and career progression. Specifically, it aligns with “Goal 5 - achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” and “Goal 8 - promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all”.