Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Moore School of Business

Sub-Department

Business Administration

First Advisor

Patrick M. Wright

Abstract

Researchers have argued the importance of human capital to organizations for many years. Recent theoretical developments have distinguished between human capital, which is owned by individuals, and human capital resources, which are available to units for performance and competitive advantage. This distinction calls attention to different types of human capital, generic or specific. Studies have found positive unit-level effects emanating from both human capital resource types yet few studies have considered multiple types simultaneously, making it challenging to know which has greater explanatory power. Additionally, studies have also not considered the impact of organizational capabilities in conjunction with human capital resources. This study tests the effects of multiple types of human capital resources and organizational capabilities to determine the relative influence an organizational subunit has on strategic decision making. These tests are conducted using a large international dataset including multiple types of individual human capital and subunit capabilities, allowing us to compare the relative weights of each.

Rights

© 2016, Michael D Ulrich

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