Towards a qualitative understanding of human capital in entrepreneurship research
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
ISSN: 1355-2554
Article publication date: 13 March 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the conceptualization and measurement of human capital in entrepreneurship research.
Design/methodology/approach
By contrasting reflective and formative conceptions, it shows that human capital is more appropriately seen as defined and formed by its indicators (education, work experience, entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, and managerial experience). It, then, explores the configurations of these indicators in a qualitative comparative analysis framework based on Boolean algebra and fuzzy-set methodology. It derives an empirical typology of the human capital of nascent entrepreneurs, based on two primary combinations of indicators.
Findings
The paper shows that the relationship between human capital and venture emergence is best represented as multiple, conjectural causation, i.e. human capital matters through certain combinations of its indicators.
Originality/value
The discussion and results offer novel and valuable insights into entrepreneurship researchers for the conceptualization and use of human capital constructs.
Keywords
Citation
Dimov, D. (2017), "Towards a qualitative understanding of human capital in entrepreneurship research", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 210-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2016-0016
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited