International Conference on Innovation

and Marketing
Tehran- January 2023

The Relationship between Talent Management Practices and Employee’s Innovative

Behavior in R&D Units: The Mediating Role of Job Competency Development

Morteza Raeisi Ziarani a*, Nicki Janpors b, Seyed Masoud Taghavi c

a
Islamic Azad University Tehran North Branch, Tehran, Iran
b
Ershad-Damavand University, Tehran, Iran
c
Islamic Azad University Tehran North Branch, Tehran, Iran
*
Corresponding author: morteza.raeisi.ziarani@gmail.com
Received 12 October 2022; Revised 5 January 2022; Accepted 5 January 2023

Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between talent management (TM) practices
and employee’s innovative behavior in R&D units and examine the mediating role of job
competency development in this relationship. The study was an applied research in terms of
objective, a field research in terms of data collection method, and a descriptive survey in terms
of general methodology. The research population was the employees of established software
companies based in Tehran, Iran. A sample of 219 employees was taken from the population
of 509 employees working in 98 companies. The data collection tool was compiled from five
standard questionnaires including the mentoring questionnaire of Dreher & Ash (1990), the
strategic leadership questionnaire of Duursema (2013), the social media questionnaire of Zhang
et al. (2018), the knowledge sharing questionnaire of Van den Hooff & de Leeuw van Weenen
(2004), the career competencies questionnaire of De Vos et al. (2011), and the innovative
employee behavior questionnaire of Kanter (1988). The validity and reliability of the data
collection tool were established by face, discriminative, and construct validity assessment and
Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability calculation. After gathering the required data, they
were analyzed by structural equation modeling and descriptive and inferential statistics
techniques with the help of SPSS and SMART PLS. The results confirmed the presence of a
significant relationship between innovative employee behavior and three of the four talent
management practices (mentoring, strategic leadership, and knowledge sharing), which is
consistent with previous reports in the literature. The results also showed that job competency
development mediates the relationship of innovative employee behavior with these three talent
management practices (mentoring, strategic leadership, and knowledge sharing) but not the
fourth practice (social media usage). The results highlight the importance of the adoption of

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talent management practices to ensure reliable access to high-quality and efficient human
resources and the possibility of promoting innovative employee behavior through these
practices, specifically by identifying key positions and placing the right talents in those
positions.
Keywords: TM practices, Job competency development, Employee’s innovative behavior

Introduction
Innovation is a key to business and organizational success in a world of intense market
competition, rapid globalization, and fast-paced technological advancements (Rodrigues,
2019). Organizational innovation refers to the successful creation or adoption of new ideas or
behaviors in an organization or business (Khaki, Khanzadeh, & Rad, 2017). In addition to
improving its capabilities, innovation enables a business to adapt to environmental changes; an
ability that is crucial for the long-term survival of any business (Ma’atoofi, & Tajeddini, 2010).
Research has shown that human resources management practices such as talent management
tend to play an essential role in stimulating organizational innovation by encouraging creativity
and innovation among employees. While innovation is often seen as the outcome of
collaboration and teamwork, it usually originates from individuals who come up with and
process new ideas (Veenendaal, 2015).
Many businesses and organizations pursue their performance improvement objectives by
formulating and implementing the variety of policies, strategies, and practices that can
contribute to employee development. One group of these measures is Talent Management (TM)
practices, which are known to be a primary determinant of organizational success (Salau et al.,
2018). Talent management is a matter of increasing importance for businesses and
organizations that operate in competitive environments (Younas & Bari, 2020). To remain
competitive, these businesses and organizations need to attract and retain talented people in
order to enhance their operational productivity and work environment. Talent management is
the art of identifying, attracting, developing, and retaining talent and utilizing it to overcome
business or organizational challenges (Thunnissen & Buttiens, 2017). According to a study by
Anwar et al (2014), the adoption of strategic talent management practices to improve employee
retention and engagement will enhance organizational performance. Talent management also
strengthens organizational innovation and makes it run smoother. It can also help a business
design an innovative strategy that aligns the skills of its workforce with its organizational
objectives and adds to its competitive advantage (Abou-Moghli, 2019). From a strategic point
of view, talent management is focused on hiring the right people for the right job position at
the right time when needed (Bethke-Langenegger et al., 2011). Employers can also benefit
from designing and implementing specific talent management processes for retaining and
improving their young employees. Talent management practices are expected to align talent
with business objectives. It has been suggested that talent management strategies such as
training, career development, mentoring, international assignment, team projects, and
networking improve the opportunities, motivation, knowledge, and retention of talented
employees (Glaister et al., 2018). Using the Social Exchange Theory (SET), Naim and Lenka
(2018) recommended using four talent management practices, namely mentoring, social media
usage, strategic leadership, and knowledge sharing, for employee retention. Emerson (1976)
has defined SET as the theory of formation, transformation, and strengthening of social

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relationships based on the exchange of common benefits between parties. Therefore, SET
provides theoretical support for explaining how these four talent management practices help
enhance employee competence and increase the likelihood of employee retention (Younas &
Bari, 2020).
Blau (1964) has suggested that employees’ behaviors are shaped by the development
opportunities that their employers provide in accordance with their needs and expectations.
SET can be used to understand employees’ workplace behaviors in terms of how they interact
and share content with each other. The term “competency development” refers to those
organizational activities that improve and preserve an employee’s learning capabilities and
competencies (Forrier et al., 2009). According to De Vos et al. (2011), a business can greatly
benefit from identifying the areas where its employees can improve and adopting specific
development strategies to improve their knowledge and competencies.
The present study was conducted with two objectives. The first objective was to empirically
examine how talent management practices, namely mentoring, social media usage, strategic
leadership, and knowledge sharing, and the relationship relate to innovative employee behavior
in R&D units. The second objective was to examine the mediating role of competency
development in the relationship between talent management practices and innovative employee
behavior. To achieve these objectives, the study attempted to answer the following questions:
What is the effect of talent management practices on innovative employee behavior in R&D
units? And how competency development mediates the relationship between talent
management actions and innovative employee behavior in R&D units? This study was
conducted in established software companies based in Tehran, Iran, which are among the
businesses with the greatest need for talented employees.

Literature review
Talent management practices
According to Lewis and Heckman (2006), talent management is usually a task assigned to the
human resource management (HRM) department and involves HRM practices that focus on
the identification, attraction, and development of talented people. Talent can be defined in
terms of various characteristics including skills, competencies, experience, knowledge, and the
ability to learn and grow in the organization (Thunnissen & Buttiens, 2017). Talented
employees are often regarded as important organizational resources because of how they
positively affect organizational performance. According to Bethke-Langenegger et al. (2011),
talent management practices ensure that a business or organization employs the right person
for the right position at the right time to meet its needs. Talent management practices can be
divided into multiple categories including talent acquisition, talent development, talent
engagement, and talent retention. These practices are often implemented by the HRM
department to avoid talent shortages and meet the future needs of the organization. Talent
development through career development, performance improvement, and succession
management can serve as a powerful tool for gaining competitive advantage. A business can
utilize talent management practices such as guidance, training, and mentoring to achieve its
career development, employee engagement, and employee retention objectives. These talent
management practices are key components of talent improvement and retention and ensure that

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employees are motivated and capable enough to improve the competencies that they offer to
their employer (Naim & Lenka, 2017).

Job competency development

In a literature review by Hoffmann (1999), it is stated that there are generally three definitions
of competency. In one, competency has been defined as an observable performance focused on
achieving a required outcome or completing a required task. In this definition, competency is
the person’s apparent performance in certain areas, which provides a basis for performance
measurement and evaluation. In the second definition, competency is a quality standard for the
outcomes of a person’s performance and is measured in terms of success in achieving certain
productivity or efficiency goals in the workplace. In this definition, this concept is defined
within the context of organizational performance objectives and standards. In the third
definition, competency refers to a person’s inherent attributes including knowledge, skills, and
attitudes. Unlike the first two definitions of competency, which are focused on the outcome of
the person’s performance, the third definition is focused on the person’s input and whether it
is enough for finishing the task (Vargas-Halabí, Mora-Esquivel & Siles, 2017). Job competency
development often takes place through human capital development. Human capital
development is a development process whereby an organization improves the equipment,
skills, talents, competencies, knowledge, and creative abilities of its human resources. This also
includes all activities that employees perform themselves to develop their skills, competencies,
abilities, knowledge, and expertise so that can do their job more effectively (Linda, Thabrani
& Firman, 2020). Given the importance of human capital development for businesses and
organizations, the development of these capacities through training and education has become
a high-priority objective in the design of strategic plans. Without a doubt, organizations now
recognize the importance of investing in their employees more than ever (Obiekwe, 2018).

Innovative employee behavior

Innovative employee behavior has been defined as an employee behavior characterized by the
generation, support, and adoption of new ideas (Anderson et al., 2014). Innovative employee
behavior can also be defined as the emergence of new attractive ideas among employees for
improving their work efficiency and performance. It has been suggested that employees who
have higher self-confidence are more likely to be innovative when performing their
organizational tasks (Alshebami, 2021). Innovative employee behavior can also be encouraged
and promoted by organizational climate and culture, job characteristics, social groups,
individual differences, and expected returns among other factors. Although a person’s
innovative behavior is a reflection of their capabilities and contributes to their long-term
success, it can also be considered a risky endeavor. Benefits and costs of innovation for an
employee tend to go beyond the intrinsic feeling of pleasure (Janssen et al., 2004).

Talent management practices and innovative employee behavior

This section reviews the empirical literature on the relationship between talent management
and innovative employee behavior. In a study by Khaki et al. (2017), these researchers reported
a significant relationship between talent management and innovative employee behavior. In
another study on the relationship between talent management and innovative employee

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behavior, Xerri and Reid (2017) reported that talent management practices foster innovative
employee behavior. According to Asurakkody and Young (2018), businesses and organizations
can promote innovative employee behaviors by adopting effective HRM practices. Essentially,
this requires creating a favorable environment capable of stimulating learning within the
organization. It is believed that among HRM practices, human resource training and
development contribute more to innovative employee behavior as they enable employees to
acquire new skills, competencies, and attitudes, thereby strengthening their innovative
behavior. Using the Social Exchange Theory (SET), Naim and Lenka (2018) proposed four
talent management practices, namely mentoring, social media usage, strategic leadership, and
knowledge sharing, for employee retention. Since, according to Emerson (1976), SET is the
theory of formation, transformation, and strengthening of social relationships based on the
exchange of common benefits, it can provide theoretical support for explaining how these four
talent management practices help enhance employee competence and increase the likelihood
of employee retention (Younas & Bari, 2020).
As mentioned, Naim and Lenka have proposed four talent management practices for employee
retention: strategic leadership, social media usage, knowledge sharing, and mentoring.
“Strategic leadership” refers to a leader’s ability to create a vision for the success of the
organization and make others follow that vision (Rowe, 2001). “Social media usage” refers to
the employees’ use of online social platforms like Facebook, WeChat, and WhatsApp to better
connect, communicate and share knowledge with each other (Bolton et al., 2013). It has been
suggested that the use of social media in businesses and organizations tends to enhance
knowledge sharing and social interactions among employees, leading to improved
organizational performance (Tajudeen, Jaafar & Ainin, 2018).
“Knowledge sharing” refers to the exchange of knowledge, skills, information, and experience
among employees through their social interactions inside and outside the organization (Younas
& Bari, 2020). As talent management practices, mentoring, social media usage, strategic
leadership, and knowledge sharing can help enhance employee competence (Naim & Lenka,
2017). Thus, this study tried to test the following hypotheses:
1- Mentoring positively affects innovative employee behavior in organizations.
2- Strategic leadership positively affects innovative employee behavior in organizations.
3- Social media usage positively affects innovative employee behavior in organizations.
4- Knowledge sharing positively affects innovative employee behavior in organizations.

The mediating role of job competency development

Competency development is an organizational activity for maintaining and improving
employees’ work, knowledge, and skill levels and aligning them with the strategic objectives
of the organization (Younas & Bari, 2020). According to Leonard (2008), competency
development provides an opportunity to learn in which area the employees can improve.
According to De Vos et al. (2011), it is important for businesses to identify the areas where
employees can improve and implement specific development strategies to improve their
knowledge and competencies.
Research has shown that mentoring can also have an impact on employee learning and
development. A mentor assists other employees to learn better and achieve the required
competencies by acting as a role model and providing feedback on employees’ performance,

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(Lankau & Scandura, 2002). Mentoring can take place through formal or informal training
programs. Unlike formal training, which is often done within structured programs, informal
learning opportunities often emerge within routine work or amidst on-the-job training.
Mentorship relations help employees learn better and pursue their personal and organizational
objectives more effectively. These relations also encourage mentors to share their experiences,
skills, and expertise with younger colleagues, which can enhance their own innovation
(Ambrosius, 2018). A strategic leader nurtures employees’ competency development and
encourages them to come up with their own ideas to achieve the assigned objectives (Ireland
& Hitt, 1999). It has been shown that effective senior management is positively related to
organizational learning and innovative behavior (Hambrick & Mason, 1984). As a learning
agent, a strategic leader nurtures the learning abilities of employees and embraces transactional
and transformational leadership behaviors to enhance feedback on learning processes. It has
been shown that a culture of continuous learning, development, and knowledge sharing tends
to enhance employees’ competency development (Vera & Crossan, 2004). Social media helps
employees establish better relationships with their colleagues, strengthen their
communications, and share their work-related knowledge with their coworkers. Furthermore,
it has been shown that learning through social media can enhance the knowledge,
communication skills, and productivity of employees (Bennett et al., 2010). Therefore, social
media offer learning opportunities that can influence competency development and enhance
the sense of commitment to the organization (Zhang et al., 2018) and also help bring about
innovation in employees. Effective knowledge sharing among senior and junior employees can
also generate significant competitive advantages for any business or organization. Knowledge
sharing refers to the willingness of employees to exchange their thoughts, skills, and
experiences with each other (Hislop, 2003). Research has shown that knowledge sharing
significantly affects organizational performance by influencing the development of skills and
competencies of talented employees (Yang, 2007). In a survey of 20 HTM experts in China,
the results suggested that employees’ learning and development are positively influenced by
knowledge sharing (Wang-Cowham, 2011). According to Jacobs and Roodt (2011), knowledge
sharing’s ability to foster social interactions among employees tends to enhance organizational
effectiveness as well as employees’ individual learning capability. Knowledge sharing within
an organization can contribute to competency development by strengthening social
relationships and facilitating the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and thoughts (Hsiu-Fen
Lin, 2007). Considering the above reports, this study also tested the following four hypotheses:
5- Competency development mediates the relationship between mentoring and innovative
employee behavior.
6- Competency development mediates the relationship between strategic leadership and
innovative employee behavior.
7- Competency development mediates the relationship between social media usage and
innovative employee behavior.
8- Competency development mediates the relationship between knowledge sharing and
innovative employee behavior.

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Based on the research literature, this study assumed the conceptual framework of Figure 1 for
the impact of talent management practices on innovative employee behavior with the mediation
of job competency development.

Mentoring
Strategic leadership Job competency Innovative
Social media usage development employee behavior
Knowledge sharing

Figure 1. Hypothesized model

Methodology
Considering the research objective (i.e. to explore the relationship between talent management
practices and innovative employee behavior in R&D units with the mediating role of job
competency development), this study classifies as applied research in terms of objective.
However, it classifies as a field research in terms of the data collection method and as a
descriptive-survey in terms of general methodology. The research population was the
employees of established software companies based in Tehran, Iran. A sample of 219
employees was taken from the population of 509 employees working in 98 companies. For a
more efficient and cost-effective data collection, data were collected with a close-ended
questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of four sections, the first collecting the
demographic information of the employees, and the other three focusing on talent management
practices, job competency development, and innovative employee behavior, respectively. The
second section (talent management practices) included 3 questions from the mentoring
questionnaire of Dreher & Ash (1990), 3 questions from the strategic leadership questionnaire
of Duursema (2013), 3 questions from the social media questionnaire of Zhang et al. (2018),
and 3 questions from the knowledge sharing questionnaire of Van den Hooff & de Leeuw van
Weenen (2004). The third section comprised 6 questions from the career competencies
questionnaire of De Vos et al. (2011). The fourth section consisted of 6 questions from the
innovative employee behavior questionnaire of Kanter (1988). Statistical analyses were
performed using IBM SPSS. The collected data were analyzed by Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM) using SMART PLS. Also, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to
explore causal relationships between variables.

Results
Before distributing the questionnaire among participants, its reliability was assessed by
computing Cronbach’s alpha for each item. The obtained Cronbach’s alpha values are
presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Questionnaire reliability

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 Variables Number of Items
M1
Mentoring M2 0.750
M3
SL1
Strategic leadership SL2 0.724
SL3
SM1
Social media usage SM2 0.852
SM3
KS1
Knowledge sharing KS2 0.719
KS3
JB1
JB2
JB3
Job competency development 0.808
JB4
JB5
JB6
IEB1
IBE2
IBE3
Innovative employee behavior 0.863
IBE4
IBE5
IBE6

Table 2 shows the demographic details of the participants. According to the responses, the
majority of the participants were male (59.36% male versus 40.64% female). The majority of
the participants were in the age range of 31-40 with 53.88%. The second-largest age group was
41 and older with 33.33%, and the smallest was 30 and younger with 12.79%. In terms of
qualification, 62.10% of the participants had a bachelor’s degree, 31.05% had a master’s
degree, and 6.85% had more advanced degrees. Also, 41.55% of the participants had 11-15
years of work experience, 21.00% had 5-10 years of work experience, and 15.53% had less
than 5 years of work experience.

Table 2. Participants’ demographics (n=219)

Variables N %
Male 130 59.36
Gender
Female 89 40.64
Below 30 years 28 12/79
Age 31-40 years 118 53/88
41 years or above 73 33/33
Bachelors 136 62.10
Qualification Masters 68 31.05
Post Graduate and more 15 6.85
Less than 5 years 34 15.53
Working Years Between 5 to 10 years 46 21.00
Between 11 to 15 years 91 41.55

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 Above 15 years 48 21.92

Table 3 presents the results of KMO and Bartlett’s test of sampling adequacy. According to
Hair et al. (2016), to establish sampling adequacy, KMO measure of sampling adequacy should
be above 0.60 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity should indicate statistical significance at a 1%
confidence interval. As shown in the table below, test results met these requirements.

Table 3. Bartlett’s and KMO test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.877
Approx. Chi-Square 5445.421
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity Df 0.276
Sig. 0.000

The factor loadings obtained by executing the model are presented in Table 4. As the results
presented in this table shows, all factor loadings had acceptable values (above 0.40), indicating
the appropriate reliability of the model from this perspective. In the assessment of convergent
validity, all of the obtained CR (composite reliability) and AVE (average variance extracted)
values were above acceptability thresholds (0.70 for CR and 0.50 for AVE).

Table 4. Construct validity

Variables Estimate CR AVE
M1 0.828
Mentoring M2 0.790 0.856 0.665
M3 0.833
SL1 0.789
Strategic leadership SL2 0.827 0.844 0.644
SL3 0.792
SM1 0.911
Social media usage SM2 0.870 0.910 0.772
SM3 0.911
KS1 0.803
Knowledge sharing KS2 0.749 0.841 0.639
KS3 0.844
JB1 0.703
JB2 0.686
JB3 0.707
Job competency development 0.861 0.509
JB4 0.758
JB5 0.698
JB6 0.727
IEB1 0.642
IBE2 0.768
IBE3 0.784
Innovative employee behavior 0.898 0.598
IBE4 0.837
IBE5 0.838
IBE6 0.758

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The results of the test of research hypotheses are presented in Tables 5 and 6. The results
provided in Table 5 are related to the direct relationships hypothesized in the first, second,
third, and fourth hypotheses.

Table 5. Direct relationships

Direct effects (p-value)
Constructs t-value Results
(coefficients) 0.05%
Mentoring Innovative employee behavior 0.111 2.154 *p < 0.05 Supported
Strategic leadership Innovative employee
0.324 6.429 p < 0.001 Supported
behavior
Social media usage Innovative employee
0.024 0.887 - Not Supported
behavior
Knowledge sharing Innovative employee
0.352 7.834 p < 0.001 Supported
behavior
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

The results of Table 6 are related to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth hypotheses, which
assume a mediating role for job competency development.

Table 6. Mediation effects

Job competency development Direct effects Indirect effect Total
Results
as mediator coefficients t-value coefficients t-value effect
Mentoring Job competency
development Innovative 0.111 2.154 0.085 3.739 0.196 Supported
employee behavior
Strategic leadership Job
competency development
0.324 6.429 0.087 3.772 0.411 Supported
Innovative employee
behavior
Social media usage Job
Not
competency development  0.024 0.887 0.016 1.730 0.040
Supported
Innovative employee behavior
Knowledge sharing Job
competency development  0.352 7.834 0.072 3.619 0.107 Supported
Innovative employee behavior
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Discussion and conclusion

This study aimed to empirically assess the effect of TM practices, namely mentoring, social
media usage, strategic leadership, and knowledge sharing, on innovative employee behavior,
and also the mediating role of job competency development in the relationship between TM
practices and innovative employee behavior. The findings of the study suggest that given the
importance of knowledge sharing, strategic leadership, and mentoring for organizational

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innovation, in order to promote innovative employee behavior, managers need to devise proper
plans to promote these practices in their organizations.
The empirical investigation of this study was carried out in established software companies
based in Tehran, Iran. The results of the study confirm the presence of a significant relationship
between innovative employee behavior and three of the four TM practices (mentoring, strategic
leadership, and knowledge sharing but not social media usage). These results are consistent
with the findings previously reported in the research literature. The results also indicate that
job competency development mediates the relationship between innovative employee behavior
and three of the four TM practices, namely mentoring, strategic leadership, and knowledge
sharing, but does not mediate the relationship between innovative employee behavior and
social media usage. According to Roberts (2000), mentoring is a structured program in which
a more capable or more knowledgeable person provides guidance, training, and encouragement
to a less knowledgeable or less experienced person. A mentor is a skilled or experienced
member of the organization that facilitates career opportunities and advancement by serving as
a role model. According to Ireland & Hitt (1999), strategic leadership refers to a person’s ability
to articulate a strategic vision, think strategically, and motivate others to pursue the goals
envisioned for the organization. The concept of strategic leadership revolves around the
argument that the experiences, characteristics, preferences, and cognitive styles of managers
determine the direction of the organization and influence strategic decisions (Ham brick &
Mason, 1984). Knowledge sharing has also been defined as a process whereby people share
their knowledge, experiences, skills, and thoughts during interactions with colleagues (Yang,
2004). Knowledge sharing is a form of collaboration between individuals working within an
organization that empowers them and keeps them engaged with their employer (J. Yang, 2007).
The results highlight the importance of implementing talent management practices and creating
a talent pool in order to ensure reliable access to high-quality and efficient workforce to avoid
crises in this area. The findings suggest that innovative employee behavior can hopefully be
nurtured through talent management, and specifically identifying key positions and placing the
right talents in those positions. However, for talent management to generate the expected
results for the organization, it needs the full-hearted support of managers; a support that must
remain persistent over long periods of time, otherwise dooming the effort to fail. Also,
organizations need to pay more attention to talent management practices and specifically the
exact timing of their implementation in their strategic and operational plans and objectives.
Finally, it is recommended to modify employee training courses to make them as innovative as
possible and make sure they promote continuous improvement. Naturally, these plans should
be devised with the cooperation of those organizational departments that concern the targeted
objectives.
This study was cross-sectional, which makes it difficult to infer cause and effect relations for
long periods of time. Furthermore, since the study was conducted in established software
companies based in Tehran, Iran, the findings may not be generalizable to other businesses and
organizations. To expand the research, it is recommended to conduct similar studies with larger
geographical scopes and on larger and more diverse samples.

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