IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jes/wpaper/y2019v11i3p198-210.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Aspects regarding human capital and its influence on the competitiveness of firms in the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Larisa PANTEA

    (PhD, associate professor at International Institute of Management „IMI-NOVA”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova)

Abstract

Human capital represents the source of competitive advantage of a firm. The importance of human capital is acknowledged by firms. However, in an increasingly complex and turbulent environment many organizations face a lot of issues regarding the attraction, retaining and development of their most valuable asset. The approach chosen to solve above mentioned issues influences the competitiveness of the firm. The goal of the paper is to analyse the level and extent of theoretical research regarding the influence of human capital on the competitiveness of the firms, as well as issues related to firms’ human capital development. Moreover, the paper presents the results of studies conducted in different European countries (comprising United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands and Sweden) regarding the relationship between investment in employee training and the effects on company performance. It elucidates that training generates positive effects on sales, value added, productivity, net profitability etc. Although the link between investment in human capital and company’s performances is evident, the reciprocal connection – between companies’ investment activities and skills of employees was pointed out.

Suggested Citation

  • Larisa PANTEA, 2019. "Aspects regarding human capital and its influence on the competitiveness of firms in the European Union," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 11(3), pages 198-210, Octomber.
    • Handle: RePEc:jes:wpaper:y:2019:v:11:i:3:p:198-210
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ceswp.uaic.ro/articles/CESWP2019_XI3_PAN.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robin Roslender & Joanna E. Stevenson & Howard Kahn, 2012. "Towards recognising workforce health as a constituent of intellectual capital: Insights from a survey of UK accounting and finance directors," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(4), pages 266-278, December.
    2. Dearden, Lorraine & Reed, Howard & Van Reenen, John, 2000. "Who Gains when Workers Train? Training and Corporate Productivity in a Panel of British Industries," CEPR Discussion Papers 2486, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Onkelinx, Jonas & Manolova, Tatiana S. & Edelman, Linda F., 2016. "The human factor: Investments in employee human capital, productivity, and SME internationalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 351-364.
    4. Klein, Benjamin & Crawford, Robert G & Alchian, Armen A, 1978. "Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 297-326, October.
    5. Kianto, Aino & Sáenz, Josune & Aramburu, Nekane, 2017. "Knowledge-based human resource management practices, intellectual capital and innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 11-20.
    6. Bruce C. Skaggs & Mark Youndt, 2004. "Strategic positioning, human capital, and performance in service organizations: a customer interaction approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 85-99, January.
    7. Roslender, Robin & Stevenson, Joanna E. & Kahn, Howard, 2012. "Towards recognising workforce health as a constituent of intellectual capital: Insights from a survey of UK accounting and finance directors," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 266-278.
    8. Wim Groot, 1999. "Productivity effects of enterprise-related training," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(6), pages 369-371.
    9. Martin McCracken & Ronan McIvor & Raymond Treacy & Tony Wall, 2018. "A study of human capital reporting in the United Kingdom," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 130-141, March.
    10. Leiponen, Aija, 1996. "Education, Tenure and Innovation in Manufacturing Firms," Discussion Papers 561, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    11. Nile W. Hatch & Jeffrey H. Dyer, 2004. "Human capital and learning as a source of sustainable competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1155-1178, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raquel Ortega-Lapiedra & Miguel Marco-Fondevila & Sabina Scarpellini & Fernando Llena-Macarulla, 2019. "Measurement of the Human Capital Applied to the Business Eco-Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Dietz Daniel & Zwick Thomas, 2020. "Training in the Great Recession – Evidence from an Individual Perspective," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 240(4), pages 493-523, August.
    3. Elia, Stefano & Giuffrida, Maria & Mariani, Marcello M. & Bresciani, Stefano, 2021. "Resources and digital export: An RBV perspective on the role of digital technologies and capabilities in cross-border e-commerce," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 158-169.
    4. Anne Wyatt & Hermann Frick, 2010. "Accounting for Investments in Human Capital: A Review," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 20(3), pages 199-220, September.
    5. Gérard Ballot & Fathi Fakhfakh & Erol Taymaz, 2002. "Who benefits from training and R&D: The firm or the workers? A study on panels of French and Swedish firms," ERC Working Papers 0201, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Jan 2002.
    6. Dararat Thatrak, 2021. "Human Capital Orientation, Employee Creativity Development, Organizational Innovation Capabilities, and Outstanding Performance of SMEs Businesses in Thailand," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 126-142.
    7. Tasawar Nawaz, 2019. "Exploring the Nexus Between Human Capital, Corporate Governance and Performance: Evidence from Islamic Banks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 567-587, June.
    8. Daria Ciriaci, 2011. "Intangible resources: the relevance of training for European firms innovative performance," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2011-06, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    9. You, Shuyang & Zhou, Kevin Zheng & Jia, Liangding, 2021. "How does human capital foster product innovation? The contingent roles of industry cluster features," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 335-347.
    10. MARINI, Marco, 1996. "Property Rights and Market : Employee Privatization as a Cooperative Bargaining Process," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 1996023, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    11. Ugo Pagano, 2010. "Marrying in the Cathedral: A Framework for the Analysis of Corporate Governance," Chapters, in: Alessio M. Pacces (ed.), The Law and Economics of Corporate Governance, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Cécile Cézanne, 2012. "Berle and Means," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Andriakopoulos, Konstantinos & Ladas, Augoustinos & Andriakopoulos, Panagiotis, 2020. "Bank efficiency and leasing in U.S.A. banking system," MPRA Paper 112645, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Scott Gehlbach & Konstantin Sonin & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2010. "Businessman Candidates," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(3), pages 718-736, July.
    15. Addison, John T. & Belfield, Clive R., 2004. "Unions, Training, and Firm Performance: Evidence from the British Workplace Employee Relations Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 1264, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Van Wijk, Raymond & Nadolska, Anna, 2020. "Making more of alliance portfolios: The role of alliance portfolio coordination," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 388-399.
    17. Ariño, Africa & Reuer, Jeffrey J., 2004. "Alliance contractual design," IESE Research Papers D/572, IESE Business School.
    18. Roland Kirstein & Matthias Peiss, 2013. "Quantitative Machtkonzepte in der Ökonomik," FEMM Working Papers 130004, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management.
    19. Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta, 2010. "Editors’ Introduction," Chapters, in: Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Transaction Cost Economics, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Schmid, Andreas, 2007. "Incentive Compatibility and Efficiency in the contractual Insurer-Provider Relationship: Economic Theory and practical Implications: The Case of North Carolina," MPRA Paper 23311, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jes:wpaper:y:2019:v:11:i:3:p:198-210. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/csjesro.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Alupului Ciprian (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/csjesro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.