FIRM-SPECIFIC HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AS A SIGNAL OF GENERAL VALUE: REVISITING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HUMAN CAPITAL AND HOW IT IS MANAGED

摘要

Prior scholarship has assumed that firm-specific and general human capital can be analyzed separately. This article argues that, in some settings, this is not the case because prior firm-specific human capital investments can be a market signal of an individual's willingness and ability to make such investments in the future. As such, the willingness and ability to make firm-specific investments is a type of general human capital that links firm-specific and general human capital in important ways. The article develops theory about these investments, market signals, and value appropriation. Then, the article examines implications for human resource management and several important questions in the field of strategic management, including theories of the firm and microfoundations of competitive advantage.