The Impact of Human Capital Development on the Sustainability and Innovativeness of Deposit Money Banks’ Workforces

Abstract

In recent times, there have been calls by scholars and experts for the need to investigate the influence of human capital development (HCD) on the workforce’s innovativeness and the sustainability of businesses. To respond to this call for empiricism, this study examines the impact of human capital developments (HCD) on deposit money banks’ (DMBs’) ability to survive and sustain the innovativeness of their personnel. To achieve this, the research employed a descriptive survey design in its investigation. Five DMBs in Lagos State, Nigeria were chosen as study participants, based on their years in financial operations, staff strength, and the locations of their offices both inside and outside of the country. Amongst these DMBs are the United Bank for Africa, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, and Zenith Bank. Human capital development significantly improves the sustainability and innovativeness of the workforce in these DMBs, as evidenced by the findings of the hypothesis test using regression analysis (r = 0.767; F = 62.720; t = 7.920; p = 0.05). This leads to the conclusion that HCD supports and fosters workforce innovation and creativity, as well as the company’s overall capacity for sustainable strategic competencies.

1. Introduction

Piwowar-Sulej [1] propose that the realisation of human potential, a result of economic growth, depends on the development of human capital. Expanding human capital contributes to economic development, and improves life quality through growth or wellness [2,3]. Employees’ knowledge, skill, and experience regarding their financial status are referred to as their human capital development (HCD) [4]. Human capital affects economic growth, and can help a country’s economy expand by enhancing citizens’ knowledge and abilities [5,6]. Most industrialised nations have boosted their economies by expanding their ability to train competent and productive labour [7]. Furthermore, it has been suggested by Kianto, Sáenz, and Aramburu [8], as well as Tasheva and Hillman [9], that human capital refers to a set of knowledge, skills, and priceless experience that individuals or groups of persons possess in proportion to the value they provide to society. According to Kotsantonis and Serafeim [10], human capital was frequently acknowledged as a crucial indication of social and economic advancement. Many revolutions and disruptions have affected social and economic ties, and have also helped to increase human capital throughout human history. In recent times, the 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) is advancing the technology, digital, and data management aspects of human endeavours. These modifications are impacting the global state of affairs, especially the creative pursuit of knowledge [11]. From another viewpoint, and in light of the aforementioned, one might take into account the endogenous growth model, which analyses the consequences of economic policy by using human capital as a mechanism for growth [12,13]. According to the endogenous growth model, investments in knowledge, innovation, and human capital have a large beneficial impact on economic growth [14,15]. Also, during the growth and history of human society, there have been a few revolutions in knowledge [16]. Throughout humanity’s evolutionary history, constant and persistent information gathering, knowledge creation, and scientific discoveries resulted in the emergence of a group of intellectual elites who shaped and guided the growth of society and the economy [17]. Production technologies that were fundamentally different from those that came before them were the primary driving forces behind the industrial revolution. The need for the 4IR is brought on by the development of business or industrial technologies. The fusion of data and the digitalization of operations and technology are perhaps the 4IR’s most defining features [18,19,20].

It is critical to emphasise how the growing trend of globalisation has fundamentally altered how business is conducted. Due to changing customer demands and preferences, intensifying corporate rivalry, and the deployment of new technological systems, the business environment is changing. Due to the aggressiveness of the environment brought on by all of these elements, it is challenging to sustain development and a competitive edge. Traditional company models must evolve now to remain competitive in the long run. Accordingly, the businesses that will succeed are those that will remain innovative, and those able to offer real value to their customers sustainably [21,22]. In the present business environment, an organization’s capacity to adapt to these changes may determine its success. To satisfy customer wants, businesses must create cutting-edge procedures to enhance their goods and services. This will increase client satisfaction and boost their ability to compete. This activity calls for creativity, and is essential to the workplace’s success and continuous growth in a fast-paced business milieu [23]. In the quest for environmental, economic, and social growth, innovativeness and sustainability play a key role. Sustainability has been viewed as a goal that may be achieved with the help of invention [24]. The idea of innovativeness has received considerable emphasis in various corporate nomenclature. For instance, many academics agree that enhancing firm performance, profitability, and long-term viability is crucial in any business situation [25]. Businesses with a high capacity for innovativeness are regarded as being adventurous, proactive, supportive of the concept of new ideas, and developing novel business strategies [26]. Therefore, innovativeness is the fundamental driver of improved business outcomes [27]. Due to the trend toward growing global competition, workplaces must adopt more environmentally conscious practices [28]. The progress and expansion of economies around the world are significantly influenced by firm performance.

Monyei, Igwe, Onyeanu, Kelvin-Iloafu and Ukpere [29] affirm that the accomplishment of an entity’s business goals is measured by workplace performance. Maintaining a firm’s performance is essential, and continues to be of interest to academics because of expanding global competitiveness and sustainable growth in the region of developing nations. In contrast, other studies have examined how the external environment affects creativity and corporate sustainability in light of the dynamic character of the business environment [30]. Researchers have also tried to figure out how specific environmental conditions affect sustainability and innovativeness. The present goods and services become obsolete as the market keeps evolving. Therefore, innovation enables businesses to take proactive measures and seek out novel approaches to meet consumer wants [28]. Thus, companies must work to provide new commodities, depending on consumer demand, to reduce the threat from rivals and scarcity of products. The company’s position would be much improved by this. Given that persistent innovation and capabilities are the essential component of development, and that economic growth is the crucial enabler of that growth, HCD is strongly advocated [26]. There is a compelling argument that progress becomes more of a wish than a reality without significant investment in human capital. This clarifies the significance and centrality of HCD funding. Due to the likelihood of a return in the form of innovative potential for economic growth, investing in education helps society [31]. Its important contribution to the fight against poverty, particularly in developing nations, is a further argument in favour of investing in HCD. This is based on the notion that the build-up of HCD enhances labour productivity, boosts return on capital, advances technology, and brings about sustainable development by aiding in the eradication of poor business performances [32]. Organizational learning, a significant factor in HCD, also has significant externality consequences that span generations, and so also is innovativeness, which typically measures economic gains only. These externalities can range from economic to non-economic, and can also be technological, social, or environmental, which makes a significant contribution to either the firms or the country’s social and economic evolution. Nonetheless, our analysis delves into the lack of empiricism demonstrating the existence of correlations between HCD, sustainability, and innovativeness, as practised in deposit money banks.

Research objective: To ascertain the impact that human capital development has on the sustainability and innovativeness of DMBs’ workforces.

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. The Capability-Based View Theory (CBV)

Amit and Shoemaker [33] assert capabilities as an organisation’s ability to utilise scarce resources optimally, usually in concurrence with organisational processes, to achieve the intended goal. This is in contrast to resources. The complex interrelationships between the firm’s resources have led to the development of these information-based, tangible, or intangible business processes. Resources do not contribute to an organisation’s capacity to maintain a competitive edge, based on Zack [34] and Amit and Shoemaker [33], but competencies do. Grant [35] posits that organisational capability is a company’s capacity to consistently complete a task that is related, directly or indirectly, to that firm’s ability to generate value by converting inputs into outputs. Additionally, it separates capabilities into the following four groups: cross-functional, broad-functional, activity-related, and specialised capabilities. Sirmon and Hitt [36] emphasise the significance of organisational learning, and argue that organisational learning and skills are a part of every corporate strategy, both covertly and visibly. To obtain a competitive edge, it has been determined that the capacity to learn and produce new data is essential [29]. Alam, Ogawa, and Bin Islam [37] assert that various ideas from the management and behavioural sciences have served as the theoretical foundation for the workforce’s innovativeness discourse. The CBV theory of the firm, which has served as the main focus of most studies, is one such theoretical framework. However, in recent years, this has vied with the consensus theory of employability in asserting that expanding the workforce’s innovation capacity or advancing firms’ sustainability needs to improve their human capital, particularly their core competence [38]. When innovativeness is taken into account, the CBV theory and the growth of human capital both take centre stage. Both the CBV theory and the human capital development plan include a framework that may be used to determine the quality of the workforce, which is the level of competence and knowledge that employees bring to their workplace. Thus, the notion of capabilities, which relates to the knowledge and skill set of the workforce, is equivalent to human capital development. Accordingly, this study holds that the development of competence will have a significant impact on the innovativeness indicators of workforces, which will ultimately result in the sustainability of their enterprises, based on the theoretical and empirical basis of the capability-based approach. The study will also add to the theory by demonstrating how workforces must build their human capital for deposit money banks to be sustainable and innovative [39].

2.2. Human Capital Development

For the development and advancement of society, Yulia, Firsova, and Strielkowski [40] underlined the value of human capital development. Owing to the contributions made by scholars, HCD is gaining popularity on a global scale at both the individual and corporate levels. In actuality, this was due to human beings’ innate ability to pick up new information, abilities, and attitudes, as well as their capability to adapt to new technology and participate in the development of novel approaches to problems. In this sense, education is crucial for achieving this potential [26,40]. This still serves as the foundation for HCD debates among scholars and decision-makers [26,31]. HCD, from a conceptual standpoint, is the collection of abilities, practises, social characteristics, and personality traits, such as creativity, that are embedded in the capability to perform tasks that provide economic value [31,32]. HCD, as was further maintained, is the collection of resources that individuals within a population possess, which includes knowledge, capabilities, talents, aptitudes, experience, intelligence, training, judgement, and insight. Many academics believe that education is a crucial component of the HCD process [31,32,40]. It took place at a critical juncture in the advancement of human capital, which is necessary for economic growth. The HCD context, on the other hand, is interpreted differently by humans because it could mean more than one thing. The freedom for every individual—not just a select few or the majority—across all geographical locations to realise their full potential is intertwined with the larger goal of developing human capital. The human development process stands out for being so meticulous [26].

2.3. Human Capital Development Programmes in Workplaces

Amuno [41] lists the many HCD practices, which include conferences, seminars, workshops, in-service training, and occupational training. In recent times, it was proposed that the two primary forms of HCD are off-the-job-based training and work-related instruction.

• Initial instruction

This is inculcated into recently hired workforces as soon as they start their job. Having this kind of training/instruction is essential in preventing newly hired personnel from making costly mistakes. The basic objectives, scope, programmes, issues, norms, and organisational structure of the organisation are made clear to the new employee. Induction training is also crucial for helping newly hired officers develop their confidence and raise their performance to meet standards.

• Occupational training

This is how one uses their time at work to develop a certain talent. The idea also suggests that occupational training, sometimes known as on-the-job training, is a different type of workplace education. It simply offers the abilities required for someone to perform a particular job correctly. In this particular aspect, education can be offered both formally and informally. Formal, in the sense that things must be carried out, used, or taught in a particular sequence.

• Work-related instruction

This is the kind of instruction that a staff member completes while still working for a recognised institution. In-service training is important in today’s highly dynamic commercial climate. Anao [42] claimed that this is especially true when the formal training received is dated. In most cases, the pre-services or orientation phase is not long enough to allow for the acquisition of all necessary skills.

• Off-the-job-Based training

Individuals receive this kind of proficient teaching before being hired. In schools, colleges, or universities, it is performed full-time for a predetermined amount of time. Rendering to this perspective, some form of preparatory training is required to avoid trainee impairment, equipment damage, or material waste [42]. Additionally, it prepares the employee for any additional training he might receive on the job. Complex skill teaching is better suited to this type of instruction. It results in workers with broad-based training who can use their abilities in several workplace settings. Ugoji [43] also stress that this training is necessary for an organisation to enhance efficiency and morale, retrain personnel to adopt new practices, provide for succession and enable swift replacement, and develop and reduce the amount of supervision required [44].

2.4. Innovativeness

Innovativeness has been described in a range of literary works. Ge, Jiang, Gao and Tsai [45] posit that, aside from it being known as the actual introduction of distinctive or modified goods and services, it is also known as the conception of a brand-new, considerably better commodity or given service. The process through which an organisation transforms its expertise and helpful ideas into novel methods to benefit its stakeholders is another definition of innovation [46]. As a result, a company’s capability to innovate is likewise contingent on its ability to mobilise and share the knowledge that is possessed by its employees [22], as well as to combine that expertise with fresh information to produce new goods and/or processes. Innovativeness can be claimed to be an approach to thinking and behaviour that encourages the development of values and attitudes within an organisation. This, in turn, may encourage new ideas and changes, launch their acceptance, and boost support, even though these changes may put conventional and traditional behaviour at odds [23,27]. In the corporate world in general, and in the financial industry in particular, innovativeness and management are recognised as crucial factors in determining entrepreneurial success [23,47]. The ability to innovate refers to a business’s capacity to develop novel ideas to improve its goods, services, and processes to improve organisational performance and gain a competitive edge [48]. By using creativity, a corporation can enhance its ability to compile and synthesise knowledge to become original, distinct, and challenging to duplicate. This improves the capacity to maintain a sizable competitive advantage. According to some academics, a company’s potential capacity to consistently produce superior ideas for the development of new goods, new technologies, and process improvements is what gives them the competitive edge over close rivalries [23,35].

2.5. Capability Standpoint on Innovativeness

O’Connor and DeMartino [49] assert that, although some studies in the field of innovation concentrate on creativity as a process or result, most scholars’ perspective on its adoption stems from a skill and benefits standpoint for the organisations. The capability idea is still based on the resource-based perspective of a firm, based on Crossan and Appaydin [50], and Dasgupta and Gupta’s [46] perspective, which sees the firm as a collection of resources and capabilities. According to Pralahad and Hamel [51], organisational capacities are the firm’s ability to allocate its resource pool. Therefore, organisational skills define what a company is capable of (or not). It has been suggested that, because these skills are difficult to duplicate or replace, businesses compete not on new products but rather on their ability to create them [51,52]. Organizational capacity has also been conceptualised using a variety of methods. Among the main competencies that help a corporation stand out strategically listed by Alam et al. [37] and Leonard-Barton [53] are:

• Capabilities and knowledge of employees;
• Technological systems which concur with this study’s theory as an HCD strategy;
• Decision-making systems that direct the processes of information design and control;
• The standards and ideals incorporated into these procedures as well as the embedded knowledge.

It was once again asserted in research by Leonard-Barton [53] that, with time and in reaction to changing market conditions, what was once an organization’s strength might turn into a burden; core competencies could change into core rigidities that restrict innovation and become ineffective. According to Schreyögg and Kliesch-Eberl [52], the paradox of organisational capabilities is that it typically stresses pre-existing capabilities while posing a possible obstacle to the development of new capabilities. To prevent this and adapt to the environment, businesses are purportedly required to consciously adjust their organisational capacities. Tian et al. [23] define dynamic capabilities as an organization’s capacity to integrate, produce, and reorganise internal and external skills to address quickly changing conditions. Due to their dynamic nature and ability to influence static skills, these competencies have been renamed second-order capabilities [27].

2.6. Empirical Insight and Critique of the Reviewed Literature

Adeyeye [54] focused on the modern banking sector of Nigeria, mainly following the June 2004 banking reforms, to study organisational performance and human capital growth strategies. Data were produced using two sets of questionnaires that were given to a few chosen banks in Lagos, Nigeria. For the survey analysis, descriptive statistics and Pearson product-moment correlation were both used. The study’s conclusions showed that Nigerian banks are vigorously engaged in initiatives that promote human capital growth. The study also showed that the organisational performance of the chosen and participating banks is largely satisfying, and that open participation in practices of human capital building is found to favourably correlate with organisational performance. The report also urges Nigerian banks and, in fact, all businesses that want to function successfully and efficiently in the modern business environment in Nigeria, to allocate a significant portion of their resources to the development of their human element.

In the United Arab Emirates’ paint industry, Agha, Alrubaiee, and Jamhour [55] looked into the influence of invention competency on competitive gain and organisational routine. The study was based empirically on first-hand information acquired from 11 different paint companies’ managers in the United Arab Emirates. A total of 77 questionnaires were distributed to each manager. The SPSS statistical programme’s multiple regression was utilised in data analytics. It was revealed by the study that a substantial link exists between invention competency, competitive gain, and organisational routine. The study’s conclusion offered empirical proof of the link between organisational performance, competitive gain, and innovative competency. A key factor in determining competitive gain and organisational performance was also thought to be innovation competency. The study continued by advising managers of paint companies to try to boost organisational performance by controlling each innovative competence dimension, which is shared vision, cooperation, and empowerment in the context of the paint business, to remain competitive and increase competitive benefits.

Malaolu and Ogbuabor [44] investigated the impact of employee training and development on administrative outcomes in Nigeria using the First Bank of Nigeria as a case study. Simple random sampling was used to choose the 75 research participants, and they all supplied responses to pre-established questions. To analyse the data that had been collected, descriptive statistics were used. The majority of respondents, which formed 70%, agreed that education and the development of human resources had increased their productivity and effectiveness at work. Second, an overwhelming 80% of survey respondents concurred that improving administrative effectiveness was facilitated by training and the development of human resources. It then recommended that organisations should periodically assess their employees’ learning, and conduct training to ensure that the right lessons are being taught. To encourage other employees to perform at their best, they should also make sure that their training programmes are continuous, and recognise or reward those employees who demonstrated exceptional performance during training sessions.

Due to the significance of organisational learning, Tabasi, Vaezi, and Alvani [56] investigated the relationship between tactical human resource practises and organisational innovation. The study used the structural equations model (SEM), which incorporates path analysis based on partial least squares and confirm factor analysis (PLS). The findings show that creative performance and tactical human resource practises are positively linked, and that organisational learning is a crucial factor in promoting organisational innovation and productivity.

Souleh [57] looked into how human capital is managed, and how that affects the creativity of Algerian research institutions. Its goal was to ascertain how expertise and a knowledge management strategy might affect human capital management and its impact on scientific research centres’ innovation. Using interviews and a questionnaire, the study’s data was gathered between 2011 and 2013; it was then analysed using SPSS 18.0 to ascertain the relationships between the different elements. Overall, the results show a link between the innovation capacity and human capital management of the centre. The innovativeness of the centre and knowledge management, as well as competencies management, also have a favourable relationship.

In Ogun State’s banking sector, Sowunmi, Eleyowo, Salako, and Oketokun [58] assessed human resource development as a success predictor. The Abeokuta metropolis’ sampled commercial bank employees provided the primary data, while supplementary data came from publicly available financial reports of banks in 2012 and 2013. Chi-square and ordinary least squares techniques were utilised in analysing the statistics. Each of the financial success metrics and human development was discovered to be substantially connected. The study also demonstrated that staff members of commercial banks perform better when they receive training. The majority of the training was conducted internally, and both the quantity and length of employee pieces of training were minimal. Additionally, it is advised that the management of commercial banks support employee training, to improve both financial and personnel performance. Finally, it is suggested that banks from the older generation raise their annual spending on employee training.

In line with research on how HCD affects the sustainability of deposit money banks and workforces’ innovativeness, a holistic critique is based on these explanations. There are obvious deficiencies in the body of the extant literature, which reveals an empirical dearth of studies examining how businesses, particularly DMBs, can gain a competitive edge by consistently adopting human capital development. Since different conceptualizations were utilised in earlier studies, there is also ambiguity surrounding the idea of human capital development. It is evident in how the term was investigated, along with other variables aside from innovativeness and sustainability. Lastly, there is little to no clear evidence as to how the 4IR is impacting HCD strategy, how it best supports the operations of DMB’s activities on a global scale, or the sustainability of its personnel’s innovation capabilities. This current study’s originality, therefore, hinges on its quest to bridge these existent gaps by revealing how businesses can gain a competitive edge through the consistent practice of HCD. It also simplifies the ambiguous conceptualisations of HCD, and provides empiricism as to how the 4IR can impact businesses favourably in support of its operations on a global scale. Hence, the following hypotheses have been proposed:

H₀. 

The development of human capital does not have a substantial effect on the workforce’s ability to innovate.

H₁. 

The development of human capital has a substantial effect on the workforce’s ability to innovate.

3. Methodology

The investigation employed a descriptive survey methodology. A total of 22 DMBs are recorded as existing in Lagos State, Nigeria; however, only those that met the requirements for this study were chosen. The company’s capital basis, the number of its branches in Lagos State, and the length of its financial activities were all taken into consideration when choosing a DMB. Five DMBs—United Bank for Africa, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, and Zenith Bank were chosen at random. A total of 3126 staff from the five DMBs that were chosen as study participants in total. A total of 359 workers were chosen as the sample size using the Bill Godden [59] sample size formula. Due to the finite nature of the population, Bowley’s [60] proportional allocation formula was utilised in proportionate stratified sampling to select respondents from each of the evaluated firms. A 5-point Likert scale was used in the design of the questionnaire, and was administered to the respondents personally. The regression methods of data analytics were utilised in evaluating the study’s hypothesis; this statistical tool was deemed suitable because it synthesises data obtained through the ordinal scale, and shows the inter-relationship between the latent and observed variables. The decision criteria are to reject the null hypothesis if the calculated value is greater than the table value at a 5% significance level with the appropriate degree of freedom. If not, we concede.

Research Validity and Reliability Using Cronbach Alpha

The questionnaire’s validity was verified in terms of its content and face by academics and DMB executives. This was performed to make sure the instrument was accurate and that it could address the study hypotheses. A test–retest approach, which involves administering the questionnaire twice within two weeks, was used to ensure the instrument’s reliability and consistency. In doing so, the interval between administration and retrieval was taken into account because the correlation was higher, and vice versa, depending on the interval’s length. The Cronbach alpha reliability result showed a 0.83 value, indicating consistency of the survey items.

4. Results

A total of 359 questionnaires were distributed, as shown in

Table 1. The retrieval and distribution of the survey.

	Distributed No.		Returned No.		No. Not Returned
DMBs	Adm. Staff	Low-Cadre Staff	Adm. Staff	Low-Cadre Staff	Adm. Staff	Low-Cadre Staff
UBA	10	115	8	92	2	23
Access	7	41	6	39	1	2
FBN	7	47	4	42	3	5
Ecobank	5	24	3	20	2	4
Zenith	6	97	5	88	1	9
Total	35	324	26	281	9	43
Grand Total	359		307		52

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

. Questionnaires were issued as follows to these banks: Access Bank received 48 surveys (41 for low-cadre team and 7 for administrative personnel); First Bank of Nigeria received 54 questionnaires, of which 46 (47 for low-cadre team and 7 for administrative team) were returned; United Bank for Africa received 125 questions (115 for the low-cadre team and 10 for the administrative team), 29 of these were given back; and 103 were given to Bank Zenith (97 to the low-cadre team and 6 to the administrative team).

4.1. Descriptive Statistics about the Research Objective

Research objective: To ascertain the impact that human capital development has on the sustainability and innovativeness of DMBs’ workforce.

Table 2. The ability of employees to innovate is enhanced by human capital development.

	UBA		Access Bank		FBN		Ecobank		Zenith Bank
	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Total	(%)
SA	4	20	4	11	2	10	2	5	2	44	104	33.8
A	2	32	2	28	2	22		13	2	34	137	44.6
U	1	20				5	1	1		5	33	10.7
SD		8									8	2.6
D	1	12				5		1	1	5	25	8.1
Total	8	92	6	39	4	42	3	20	5	88	307	100

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

shows that 8 (3%), strongly disagree with the proposition, and 25 (8%) disagree with the proposition. The percentage of respondents who strongly agreed or agreed that the increase in human capital has an impact on creativity was 104 (34%) and 137 (45%), respectively. A total of 33 people, or 11% of the total, indicated uncertainty.

Table 3. Employees employ their knowledge in creating new services and business designs.

	UBA		Access Bank		FBN		Ecobank		Zenith Bank
	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Total	(%)
SA		12	5	7	2	10	1	5	1	10	53	17.3
A	5	20		15	1	12	1	10	3	30	7	31.6
U		10		10		2		2		10	34	11.1
SD	3	30	1	2	1	8		3	1	28	77	25.1
D		20		5		10	1			10	46	14.9
Total	8	92	6	39	4	42	3	20	5	88	307	100

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

shows that, of the 307 respondents, 53 (17%) and 7 (32%) agreed that employees apply their knowledge to build new products and business models, whereas 34 (11%) were uncertain, 77 (25%) disagreed with this statement, and 46 (15%) strongly disagreed.

According to

Table 4. Organizational competencies are impacted by educational experiences.

	UBA		Access Bank		FBN		Ecobank		Zenith Bank
	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Total	(%)
SA	3	20	2	18	1	5	2	14	1	36	104	33.8
A	4	40	4	21		5	1	6	30	32	137	44.6
U	1	12			1					10	33	10.7
SD		5			2	22				3	8	2.6
D		15				10			1	7	25	8.1
Total	8	92	6	39	4	42	3	20	5	88	307	100

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

, of the 307 respondents, 104 (34%) and 137 (45%) agreed that educational experiences influence organisational abilities, while 33 (11%) were unsure, 8 (3%) disagreed, and 25 (8%), strongly disagreed.

Table 5. Employees form relationships with clients that help the firm grow and broaden its horizons.

	UBA		Access Bank		FBN		Ecobank		Zenith Bank
	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Total	(%)
SA	2	42	1	10	2	12	1	8	1	38	117	38.1
A	5	30	3	19	2	22	2	12	4	30	129	42.0
U		5	1			4				5	15	4.9
SD		5		3		2				12	22	7.2
D	1	10	1	7		2				3	24	7.8
Total	8	92	6	39	4	42	3	20	5	88	307	100

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

shows that, for the 307 responses, 117 (38%) and 129 (42%) agreed that employees should work in cooperation with consumers to broaden organisational horizons. A total of 15 (5%), however, were unsure, while 22 (7%) strongly disagreed, and 24 (8%) disagreed.

According to

Table 6. Intellectual capital enhances employees’ R & D skills and proficiencies.

	UBA		Access Bank		FBN		Ecobank		Zenith Bank
	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Adm. Team	Low-cadre Team	Total	(%)
SA	6	42	2	19	3	22	1	15	2	18	130	42.3
A	1	30	3	15	1	20	2	4	3	60	139	45.3
U		5								2	7	2.3
SD	1	8									9	2.9
D		7	1	5				1		8	22	7.2
Total	8	92	6	39	4	42	3	20	5	88	307	100

Source: Field Survey, 2023.

, of the 307 respondents, 130 (42%) and 139 (45%) agreed that intellectual capital improves employees’ R & D skills and competencies, while 7 (2%), 9 (3%), and 22 (7%) were uncertain, disagreed, or strongly disagreed, respectively.

4.2. Testing the Hypotheses

The following

Table 7. Model Summary ^b.

	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. the Error in the Estimate	Durbin-Watson
1	0.767 a	0.588	0.578	0.32795	0.241

^a Predictors: (constant), human capital development. ^b Dependent variable: innovativeness.

,

Table 8. Coefficients ^a.

		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	3.662	0.119		30.813	0.000
	human capital development	0.254	0.032	0.767	7.920	0.000

^a It is generated by the statistical tools used in analytics.

and

Table 9. Coefficients ^a.

		95.0% Confidence Interval for B
		Lower Bound	Upper Bound
1	(Constant)	3.422	3.901
	human capital development	0.189	0.318

^a. Dependent Variable: innovativeness.

represents the tested hypothesis.

R = 0.767

R² = 0.588

F = 62.720

T = 7.920

DW = 0.241

Regression sum of squares = 6.746

Residual sum of squares = 4.732

Std. Error of the Estimate = 0.32795

4.3. Interpretation

The difference between the residual sum of squares (4.732) and the regression sum of squares (6.746) indicates that greater variance in the dependent variable is unaccounted for. R demonstrates the strength of the relationship between the dependent variable innovativeness and the independent variable human capital development. The F statistics show that the explained variance is not random, because it has a significant value of (0.000), which is less than 0.05. The correlation coefficient, which has a value of 0.767, shows a strong correlation between the growth of innovation and human capital. The R square, or the coefficient of determination, may explain 58.8% of the variation in innovativeness. This demonstrates how closely innovation and the expansion of human capital are related. The linear regression’s low estimate of the expected error is roughly 0.33. Durbin–Watson statistics were used to calculate the autocorrelation, which came out to be 0.24, not higher than 2. Human capital development and innovation have a statistically significant and generally positive link (t = 7.920; human capital development = 0.588). To accept the alternative hypothesis, the null hypothesis needs to be disproved. This demonstrates that the development of human capital is significantly and favourably impacted by creativity.

5. Discussion of Results

The conclusion is drawn in light of the research’s objective, which was to investigate how human capital development affects how inventive deposit bank personnel are. To support the hypothesis, regression analysis was utilised. The results showed that human capital development in deposit money institutions located throughout Lagos State, Nigeria significantly helps workforce innovation (r = 0.767; F = 62.720; t = 7.920; p = 0.05). The outcomes concur with those of Tabasi et al. [56], who discovered a substantial association between organisational innovation and practises of strategic human resource management, as well as a significant relationship between organisational learning and innovation. They also concluded that these practices have a direct impact on organisational innovation. Also, Souleh [57] stated that the management of human capital helps research centres becomes more innovative. A silo mentality and talent management, in particular, are crucial elements of human capital management, and have a big impact on innovation. Furthermore, this was in tandem with the conclusions of Adeyeye [54] and Agha et al. [55], which prove that the development of human capital is a source of advancement and strategy revitalization, and that inventiveness is one of the primary sources of viability and corporate excellence. Additionally, firms will perform better if they build innovativeness based on important human resources, distinct expertise, and competencies. As a result of its affirmative influence on the outcomes of commercial banks’ staff, this result further aligns with Sowunmi et al.’s [58] need for training programmes. Therefore, to increase their total production, the management of these banks must promote staff training. The study also supports Malaolu and Ogbuabor’s [44] assertion that staff survival and innovation skills are improved by training and increased manpower, which ultimately leads to increased production and efficiency.

5.1. Academic and Managerial Implications

This study has demonstrated from a managerial and academic perspective that, by taking a comprehensive approach to the development of human capital, its implication in the organisation is in availing the possibilities of achieving high performance and better results through the innovative competencies of their personnel. In the same vein, innovativeness has continued to be closely monitored by human capital development, because it is the mechanism stirring the realisation of a continuous competitive edge. As a result, HCD strategies, and their adoption in the 4IR era, are enabling staff to make better-informed decisions about novel or well-known changes in the operations of the business environment, based on an improved comprehension of the possible advantages and complexities. Hence, the banks under analysis—United Bank for Africa, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, and Zenith Bank—have all continued to grow in all areas, including market leadership and clientele base, and have all improved their sustainability and overall performances.

5.2. Policy Recommendations

This study, thus, implies as a policy recommendation that deposit money banks should implement high-level human capital development strategies, such as a series of training, developmental programmes, and periodic R & D, as these activities have an impact on staff members’ creativity, competencies, and all-around innovativeness, hence providing DMBs in particular, and businesses generally, with insight into proactively preparing for both novel and familiar turbulence in the business environment.

5.3. Limitation of the Study

One of the drawbacks of this study is the unpredictability of human capital development as a combined measure of innovativeness. A formative construct that could have been quantified and incorporated would have been the growth of human capital. Also, considering the study’s industry focus is yet another limitation (deposit money banks), giving the locus of this research, and its relevance in the 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) industries, such as the manufacturing and telecommunications sectors, could have been examined based on their operations’ synergy with the automated, and improved state of technology which is driving both firm and staff inventions through R & D.

6. Conclusions and Future Research Perspectives

An organisation’s capacity to maintain a learning environment, where staff can utilise their scarce resources, core competencies, and resources, lies on its ability to create a consistent platform for human capital development. As such, a firm’s capacity to harness the competencies and engagement of its workforce is a key factor in determining its sustainability, innovativeness and viability, as it is a proven technique, that the creation of a human capital development strategy enhances the sustainability of operations for both the firm and staff. Based on the results of the tested hypothesis, and conferring from the respondents who agreed and strongly agreed to the survey, it is concluded that the management of the DMBs under study has executed an effective, unbiased, dependable, and well-integrated HCD strategy, which has had a significant positive impact on its workforce’s potential for innovativeness and the overall sustainability of the organisation.

The connection between the development of human capital and the workforce’s innovativeness in Lagos State, Nigeria, is the focal subject of this investigation. Given the recent call for empiricism, and the continued dearth of scholarly works on the construct variables (human capital development and innovativeness), industry (deposit money banks), and study area (Lagos State, Nigeria), this study has become timely by developing a theoretical framework and providing empirical support for the link between human capital development and innovation capabilities in DMBs, especially within the current global turbulence—the economic and financial recession. It has also examined the impact of human capital development on the long-term viability of banks and the innovativeness of their personnel. As such, future studies should investigate the effects of workforce innovativeness and its impact on firm competitiveness, while also expanding the industry scope to include the telecommunications or manufacturing sectors, and how the 4IR is shaping their operations as well.