Igniting Technological and Non‐Technological Innovation for Economic Performance: Enhancing Results by Investing in Human Capital

This study investigates how strategic renewal, driven by the interaction among technological, marketing, and organizational innovation, enhances firms' economic performance. Using a panel dataset of 8871 Spanish firms covering the period 2009–2016, we provide empirical evidence on the different effects of each type of innovation and their interdependencies. The results reveal that both technological and organizational innovation have a direct and positive influence on economic performance, whereas marketing innovation contributes indirectly through its effect on technological innovation. Our study also shows human capital to be a strategic enabler in maximizing the benefits of innovation for economic performance—particularly in firms with lower levels of innovation. The analysis of the results suggests that, as firms' level of innovation increases, it becomes more difficult to capitalize on improvements in human capital for the economic exploitation of innovation. By focusing on Spain—a country positioned at an intermediate level of innovation, and often overlooked in academic discourse on innovation leaders or laggards—this study sheds light on the underexplored dynamics of innovation in moderately innovative economies.