PERCEIVED FIRM-SPECIFIC HUMAN CAPITAL:MOBILITY CONSTRAINT OR ENHANCER?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Oyedeji, Bukky akinsanmi; Coff, Russell w.
• 署名单位: University of London; London Business School; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2021.0874
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 1488-1524
• 关键词: JOB-SATISFACTION; Competitive advantage; COMPREHENSIVE MODEL; decision-making; UNFOLDING MODEL; perceptions; management; turnover; BIAS; Embeddedness

摘要

We explore the relationship between workers'perceptions of firm-specific human capi-tal (FSHC) and turnover. The belief that actual FSHC constrains mobility undergirds itscritical role in resource-based theory. However, this rests on a strong assumption ofinformation efficiency that market actors correctly assess how specific an individual'sskills are, and price it appropriately. Emerging theoretical viewpoints dispute this,pointing out labor market imperfections and substantial difficulty in observing FSHC.We therefore develop theory about how perceived FSHC may relate positively to mobilityby articulating a role for well-known supply-side mechanisms such as job satisfaction,embeddedness, and preference for job autonomy. Using two archival surveys and twoprimary surveys collected in very different contexts (South Korea and the United States),we found support for our theory. Perceptions of FSHC were associated with increasedmobility and this effect was partially mediated by job satisfaction and job embeddedness.The effect was augmented for workers who value autonomy in their jobs (and who aremore likely to exit if they perceived their skills as FSHC). Since the effect of perceivedFSHC is quite different from that of extant theory which focused on actual FSHC, weexplore implications for resource-based and human capital theories.