Owner's responsibility in developing human capital in the organisation

The authors argue that the widespread treatment of human capital development in the frames of the internal context of the organisation is too restrictive. Proceeding from the treatment of corporate governance, the authors set up the hypothesis that human capital development in the organisation starts from the owners (supervisory board, board of directors). The purpose of the article is to show the owner's possible influence on human capital development in the organisation. The authors present one possible scheme of ties in the owners' influence on development of human capital in the organisation (choosing the top manager, drafting of strategy, direct interference with the organisation's staff issues, perception of corporate social responsibility, etc.). The results from the in-depth interviews (undertaken in 2004) with Estonian owners and top managers are used to support the authors' standpoint about the significant role of the owner in the development of human capital.