Rethinking how employee innovation is enabled at work: a process analysis of HR bundles and innovative work behaviors

Purpose Research on innovative work behaviors (IWB) has largely adopted a static and deterministic view, portraying human resource (HR) bundles as antecedents that unilaterally shape employee behaviors, most commonly through the Ability–Motivation–Opportunity (AMO) framework. This study challenges that assumption by examining how and when HR bundles and IWB interact dynamically over time. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a process perspective, we conducted a multiple case study of three global consulting firms. Drawing on 34 in-depth interviews with consultants across hierarchical levels and triangulated with organizational documents, we trace how HR bundles and IWB co-evolve across different career phases. Findings Our findings reveal that HR bundles do not merely enable IWB; they also constrain and authorize them. As employees demonstrate varying degrees of IWB, organizations recalibrate HR bundles to either expand or restrict employees' discretion to innovate. This reciprocal relationship unfolds over time, producing either reinforcing or constraining cycles of innovation authorization. Practical implications This study suggests that organizations should move beyond simply encouraging innovation and instead actively manage when and how employees are enabled to innovate to support performance. Managers should design HR practices that progressively expand employees' autonomy based on demonstrated competence and reliable execution. Early career stages should emphasize skill development and consistent delivery, while later stages can allow greater discretion for idea generation and implementation. HR systems such as performance evaluation, job design, and promotion criteria should clearly signal what types of innovation are valued. By aligning innovation with operational goals, organizations can enhance both short-term efficiency and long-term innovation performance. Originality/value This study offers a novel perspective on how organizations enable employees' IWB in practice. Drawing on qualitative evidence, it suggests that employees' IWB evolve over time as managers progressively grant discretion based on demonstrated competence, trust, and prior innovation outcomes. The study introduces the concept of innovation authorization as a useful lens for understanding how organizations determine when and under what conditions IWB are considered legitimate. In doing so, it extends the AMO framework as a dynamic and recursive process in which HR bundles and IWB co-evolve over time, thereby providing a process-based understanding of employee innovation that complements existing HRM research and offers practical insights for managing innovation in contemporary workplaces.