Abstract

Past studies on the effect of innovation climate on the attraction and retention of human capital produce mixed results. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate the impact of founder characteristics on the correlation between innovation climate and the attraction and retention of human capital. Criterion sampling was used to select the top 100 SMEs in Kenya. Targeted respondents included founders of SMEs. Out of the targeted 100 SMEs, 59 responded, giving a response rate of 59%. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data and the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to analyze the collected data. Since previous researchers have found mixed results on the influence of innovation climate on the attraction and retention of human capital, the current study aimed to ascertain this and thus the moderating variable, founder characteristics. It established that the variable had an insignificant effect on the link between innovation climate and human capital attraction and retention (βeta = 0.230, t = 1.855, p = 0.064). Since talented employees usually desire to work in a conducive workplace environment, SMEs need to create a supportive innovation climate that can assist in attracting, maintaining and retaining human capital. Future scholars can investigate the influence of other moderating variables on the link between innovation climate and the attraction and retention of human capital.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.