The Impact of Human resources management Practices on the Acquisition, Creation and Production of Knowledge in the Supply Chain of the Automotive Industry

One of the most important resources in any organization is its human resources. The main purpose of this paper is to study the effect of human resources management practices on creation, acquisition, and production of knowledge in the automotive supply chain of Iran. In this study, first, the key indicators for each dimension of research in a literature review were identified. Then all indicators were adapted, amended, and finally approved by three industry experts and three university professors. As a result, two questions and five hypotheses are presented. This study was conducted in a survey format (with a questionnaire), and the investigation was a casual-effect study. The research was done in the supply chains of Iran Khodro and Saipa. 52 experts were involved in this research. The selection of respondents was judgmental. Criteria for the selection of experts were amount of experience and education. Research findings showed that the most important human resources management practices are job design and planning, job security, and training and skills development. The strongest indicators for the creation, acquisition, and production of knowledge in the automotive supply chain of Iran included the following: convening various groups to discuss ideas with the aim of creating innovation in product and the production process; active participation in industrial sciences research associations; the study of the results of ongoing scientific research related to best industry standards; the identification of patterns, and the recruitment and retaining of qualified and knowledge-based employees in every field. Path analysis also showed that the greatest impacts of human resources management practices are on the most important indicator of creation, acquisition, and production of knowledge.