Title: Mapping human capital and organisational competitive advantage: a case study of European learning organisations

Authors: Patricia Ordonez de Pablos

Addresses: Department of Business Administration and Accountability, University of Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Abstract: This paper develops a conceptual framework for the analysis of human capital. It is divided into three sections. In the first section, we emphasise the importance of the firm|s stock of intangible resources for the attainment of a sustainable competitive advantage. In the second section, using the conceptual framework developed previously, we analyse different types of human capital: compulsory, ancillary, idiosyncratic and core human capital. We also describe configurations of human resource management practices that best develop and support each form of human capital present in the firm. Finally, in the last section we present the results of our case study.

Keywords: case study; Europe; human capital; indicators; knowledge; learning organisation; service sector; human resource management; HRM; competitive advantage; intangible resources.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2004.004769

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2004 Vol.4 No.3, pp.256 - 266

Published online: 07 Jul 2004 *

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