Resource-Based Perspectives on Unit-Level Human Capital

TLDR

Scholarly interest in applying resource‑based theory to unit‑level human capital resources is shifting toward a converging strategy and strategic HRM literature, prompting a rigorous examination of prior research. The authors present a systematic review and propose a multilevel conceptual integration of unit‑level HCR research, concluding with future research domains to advance this integration. They conducted a systematic multidisciplinary review of 156 articles from strategy and strategic HRM literature that conceptualize human capital as a unit‑level resource. The review identified a multidimensional typology of unit‑level HCR, examining its type, context, and antecedents.

Abstract

Scholarly interest in leveraging resource-based theory to explore the unit-level human capital resource (HCR) is undergoing a paradigmatic shift in the strategy and strategic human resource management (HRM) literatures. As they undertake this next generation of research, scholars will be informed by a rigorous examination of prior unit-level HCR research. To this end, we present a systematic and multidisciplinary review of scholarship that invokes resource-based theorizing in examining the unit’s HCR. We reviewed 156 articles published in the strategy and strategic HRM literatures that conceptualize HC as a unit-level resource. This review suggests that a multidimensional typology of the unit-level HCR has emerged. In particular, research has examined the HCR’s type, context, and antecedents. We build on our review of this multidimensional typology to propose a multilevel conceptual integration of current and future unit-level HCR research in the strategy and strategic HRM domains. Current scholarly work in these two areas suggests that these two literatures are converging, and the multidimensional HCR typology suggested by our review informs this convergence. We conclude with a discussion of future research domains that will advance the multilevel theoretical integration we propose.