Fostering “pioneering minds” is extremely important especially in the effort to shift Malaysia towards
an innovation-led economy. The Malaysian government is confident of achieving this transformation agenda
provided that the human capital is leveraged in ensuring innovation at the highest level. The primary aim of this
research is to investigate the predictors that could nurture the “pioneering minds” by exploring the innovative
performance of human capital from the perspective of social embedment and pro-innovativeness organisational
architecture which could subsequently lead to excellent organisational performance. This research contributes
to the existing literature on human capital and innovation by having better understanding on the specific factors
that nurture the “pioneering minds” which are crucial for innovative performance
