Effects of human capital and long-term human resources development and utilization on employment growth of small-scale businesses: A causal analysis

Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

Authors

The purpose of this study was to explore how three different human resource variables affect employment growth of small-scale enterprises: human capital of business owners, human capital of employees, and human resource development and utilization. The literature suggests different models of how these human resource variables affect business outcomes. Longitudinal data from 119 German business owners provided support for a main effect model indicating that owners' human capital as well as employee human resource development and utilization affect employment growth. Moreover, human resources development and utilization was most effective when the human capital of employees was high. We conclude that human resources are important factors predicting growth of small-scale enterprises.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Volume29
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)681-698
Number of pages18
ISSN1042-2587
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11.2005
Externally publishedYes