Title: Human capital resources: a review and direction for future research

Authors: Muhibul Haq

Addresses: Faculty of Management and Law, University of Bradford, Emm Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JL, UK

Abstract: This article reviews the literature on human capital resources and develops a conceptual model incorporating social capital, relational capital and knowledge as the components of human capital resources and linking these to competitive advantage. Scholars from various disciplines expanded our understanding of human capital as important organisational resources but research in this field remains fragmented. Building on past research this review contributes to existing knowledge in human capital resources by introducing an integrated conceptual framework comprising both micro-level human capital and macro-level strategic human capital resources. In so doing it provides alternative definitions for human capital resources with the aim to make their assessment and understandability more meaningful and clearer than what has been offered so far. Moreover, by bringing knowledge, social capital and relational capital under human capital, this review encourages a dialogue among scholars from various disciplines to investigate the creation and accumulation of strategic human capital resources holistically.

Keywords: human capital resources; competitive advantage; firm performance; resources-based view; social capital; relational capital; knowledge.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMD.2016.083581

International Journal of Management Development, 2016 Vol.1 No.4, pp.261 - 286

Received: 04 Dec 2015
Accepted: 09 Oct 2016
Published online: 11 Apr 2017 *

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