Explicating innovation-based human resource management’s influence on employee satisfaction and performance Taiwo Temitope Lasisi, Ali Ozturen, Kayode Kolawole Eluwole and Turgay Avci Faculty of Tourism, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, Cyprus Abstract Purpose – This study aims to build and test an empirical model that investigates the mechanism with which innovation-based human resource management (HRM) impacts employee satisfaction and performance in Nigerian international airports. Design/methodology/approach – A time-lagged approach that involved three-waves was used to collect data from passenger-contact employees and their immediate managers for three-month period starting from January to March 2019. A total of 247 dyads of passenger-contact employees and managers were used for the data analysis. Findings – Results from data analysis showed that coworker support and absorptive capacity mediate the impact of innovation-based HRM on employee satisfaction and performance. Innovation-based human resource effort is best applied when coworker support is evident in the workplace. Originality/value – The development and application of innovation-driven human resources in the Nigerian aviation context encourage satisfaction with assigned task roles, leading to employee performance. Theory- based implications for managing passenger-contact employees were also given. A significant strength of this study is that it is among the forerunners of scholars that investigated innovation-based HRM as a continuum rather than different aspects of broader management issues. Keywords Innovation-based HRM, Employee performance, Employee satisfaction, Absorptive capacity, Nigeria Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Tourism, hospitality and other service organizations generally depend on satisfied internal customers to satisfy their external customers (Bangwal and Tiwari, 2019). Passenger handling being a focal point in the nexus of aviation service delivery serves as the reference point for most passengers to evaluate the quality of services received from their providers. Because of their high passenger contact, passenger-handling companies are also significant contributors to service brand development and image management of aviation organizations. Like many service organizations, passenger-handling establishments are heavily dependent on their service employees to strive for market relevance and competitive advantage. Employees’ failures mostly lead to organizations’ loss, and such must be prohibited for business survival. For instance, the bizarre incident aboard of United Airlines in 2017 involving a forceful removal of the passenger resulted in the airline losing about $1bn (Bayighomog and Araslı, 2019; Laufer and Wang, 2018). Abubakar et al. (2019) highlighted Specific-HRM’s influence on employee satisfaction The authors which to acknowledge the professionalism of the editor and staffs of Employee relations, the dexterity and thoroughness of anonymous reviewers. Further, this work is a part of a larger project which is funded by the Type C- scientific research project fund of Eastern Mediterranean University (BAPC-0B-18-02), Famagusta, North Cyprus, via Mersin 10, Turkey. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm Received 8 August 2019 Revised 25 February 2020 27 March 2020 Accepted 29 March 2020 Employee Relations: The International Journal © Emerald Publishing Limited 0142-5455 DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2019-0319