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Human capital and sustainable competitive advantage: an analysis of the relationship between training and performance

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Abstract

This article analyses the importance of training as a creator of human capital, which enables a company to obtain competitive advantages that are sustainable in the long-term that result in greater profitability. The study is based on the general theoretical framework of resource and capacity theory. The study not only analyses the impact of the influence of training on performance; it also attempts to analyse the nature of such a relationship in greater depth. This being the case, an attempt has been made to measure explanatory capacity from two different perspectives: the universalistic approach and the contingent approach. At the outset, two hypotheses are formulated that attempt to quantify the relationship from a universalistic perspective to later, in two more hypotheses, incorporate the potential moderating effect of the strategy into the model, in order to verify whether or not this strategy improves the explanatory power of our model of analysis.

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Notes

  1. For information on the criteria to be met by resources to be considered a sustainable source of competitive advantage that generate rent, refer to research by Cool and Dierickx (1989), Barney (1991), Grant (1991), Amit and Schoemaker (1993), Peteraf (1993), Black and Boal (1994) or Collis and Montgomery (1995).

  2. EBITDA: Earnings Before Interests, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Universitario Villanueva, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ignacio Danvila del Valle

  2. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel Angel Sastre Castillo

  3. Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Miguel Angel Sastre Castillo

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  1. Ignacio Danvila del Valle
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  2. Miguel Angel Sastre Castillo
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Correspondence to Ignacio Danvila del Valle.

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Danvila del Valle, I., Sastre Castillo, M.A. Human capital and sustainable competitive advantage: an analysis of the relationship between training and performance. Int Entrep Manag J 5, 139–163 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-008-0090-3

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