Human capital and structural position in knowledge networks as determinants when classifying employee groups for strategic human resource management purposes Online publication date: Wed, 07-Oct-2009
by Robert Kase, Nada Zupan
European J. of International Management (EJIM), Vol. 3, No. 4, 2009
Abstract: Until recently, most theoretical models and empirical investigations in the strategic HRM field focused on inter-firm rather than intra-firm variability and thus implicitly assumed the adoption of the same HR practices (bundles) for managing all employee groups in a firm. Existing classifications of employees for strategic HRM purposes are mostly based on human capital and the employment mode. Through the lens of the knowledge-based view of the firm, we examine the ways in which an individual employee is valuable to a firm and suggest that an individual's structural position in knowledge networks should also be considered. By conducting a social network analysis of an SME, we establish that studying an individual's relationship-based characteristics (i.e. an individual's structural position in knowledge networks) strengthens the reasoning for employee classification and should thus be considered for strategic HRM purposes.
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