Purpose Human resource (HR) flexibility is a firm-level capability that consists of employee skill flexibility, employee behavior flexibility, and HR practice flexibility. HR flexibility allows organizations to adapt and be responsive to changes in their environments. Findings from this paper indicate that if the organization is highly innovative and has flexible HR policies, then that influences organizational culture, risk-taking and experimentation within a firm. This paper has also revealed that process innovation mediates between adaptability culture and product innovation. It also revealed that managers should emphasize processes to improve efficiency for resource exploitation. The lessons learned from process innovation activities indicated that having a strong knowledge base assists a firm in developing innovative technology such as automation for manufacturing, handling and testing or simply smart manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires were sent to employees at 23 Taiwanese companies in high-tech industries, where innovation is the key to their survival, and 293 valid surveys were collected. Structural equation modeling, (SEM) using IBM SPSS Amos, was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results fully support the hypotheses that HR flexibility positively influences adaptability culture and contributes to organizational innovation. Furthermore, it was found that adaptability culture has a direct impact on process innovation and an indirect impact on product innovation through process innovation. Originality/value The critical role of HR flexibility and adaptability culture on organizational innovation in the high-tech sector were highlighted. The importance of HR flexibility is emphasized to provide managerial hints to top managers.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese managers' perceptions of work ethic (work-related values and attitudes) and to provide insights on how managers interact with their workers. Design/methodology/approach -This is a qualitative study using a series of in-depth interviews to draw state-owned enterprises (SOE) managers' perceptions of work ethic. The inquiry process led to a single-case level of analysis where data are aggregated to incorporate a thematic approach. Underlining theoretical frameworks that guide the study are a combination of Western and Eastern work ethic frameworks and cross-culture management understanding of the concept of guanxi. Findings -Five themes that emerged from data analysis became the five dimensions of Chinese managers' work ethic profile. In addition, the study revealed four overarching themes that influence managerial behavior in Chinese SOEs: the absolute power of the boss; work is the center of life; social network ties to the workplace; and place hope in the hands of the boss.Research limitations/implications -The paper provides comprehensive understanding of the Chinese management work ethic profile. Future studies should expand to include managers from different generations and industry sectors. Practical implications -The paper highlighted the importance of matching cultural values with management practices. It identified differences between the west and east of their work-related values and attitudes, which have practical implications for developing effective management strategies and practices when working with Chinese SOEs. Originality/value -The paper provides an indigenous description of Chinese managers' work ethic profile and provides suggestions for future research.