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The Impact of Human Capital Measures on Firm Performance: A Comparison by Gender, Race and Ethnicity

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  • Susan Coleman

    (University of Hartford)

Abstract

Prior research suggests that firms owned by women and minorities are smaller, less profitable, and less growth-oriented than those owned by white men. Prior research also suggests that firm performance is influenced by the firm owner's level of human capital in the form of education, employment experience, and life experiences that might help him to prepare for the challenges of small business ownership. This artical compares the performance of firms owned by white men to those owned by white women and by minority small business owners to determine if higher levels of human capital eliminate performance gaps between them. Results reveal that firms owned by white and black women and firms owned by black men were still significantly smaller, even controlling for industry sector and various measures of human capital. Contrary to prior research, however, firms owned by women and minorities were no less profitable nor less likely to grow. The sole exception to this finding was that firms owned by Asian men were significantly less likely to exhibit sales growth than firms owned by white men.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Coleman, 2005. "The Impact of Human Capital Measures on Firm Performance: A Comparison by Gender, Race and Ethnicity," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 10(2), pages 38-56, Summer.
  • Handle: RePEc:pep:journl:v:10:y:2005:i:2:p:38-56
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sara Amoroso & Albert N. Link, 2018. "Under the AEGIS of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship: employment growth and gender of founders among European firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 899-915, April.
    3. Nino Tandilashvili, 2019. "Factors Influencing Student Satisfaction in Higher Education. The Case of a Georgian State University [Les facteurs influant la satisfaction des étudiants dans le système de l'éducation supérieure.," Post-Print hal-04366279, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Capital; Firm Performance; Gender; Race; Ethnicity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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