Ployhart et al.: Acquiring and Developing Human Capital in Service Contexts: The Interconnectedness of Human Capital Resources

6 important questions on Ployhart et al.: Acquiring and Developing Human Capital in Service Contexts: The Interconnectedness of Human Capital Resources

The provision of excellent service by frontline employees is an important means whereby many firms develop sustained competitive advantage. What has human capital to do with this, according to Ployhart?

Human capital, defined as a unit's composition of employees KSA's, can be a particularly critical determinant of a unit's service provision (dienstverlening). (unit=collection of people assembled for a common purpose).

Not all forms of human capital resources are considered equally important. Which 2 types can be distinguished? (Ployhart)

1 Generic human capital = human capital resources that are transferable across variety of firms (f.e. somebody's intelligence/education)
2 Unit-specific human capital: human capital resources that are tied to a particular unit and have little relevance to other units (f.e. specific training of a unit)
>> Generic human capital is expected to be valuable and potentially rare. Unit-specific human capital is expected to be also inimitable and non-substituable.
>> Both of them are KSA's. but generic = what you bring from outside and unit is what you got on the job.

What is the relationship between generic and unit-specific capital according to Ployhart?

Changes in the acquisition of higher quality generic human capital (personality and cognitive abilities) lead to changes in the creation of unit specific human capital (on-the-job training and experience). This contributes to changes in unit service behavior (efficiency, customer satisfaction and quality) and, ultimately, in unit effectiveness (sales and productivity).
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Ployhart examines the possibilities that both generic and unit-specific human capital are critical for unit effectiveness in service firms. Which 2 hypothesis did he formulate?

1 Changes in generic human capital are positively related to changes in unit-specific capital over time (hiring people with higher KSA's effects the unit-specific human capital positively)
2 Changes in unit-specific human capital are positively related to changes in unit service performance behavior over time (unit-specific human capital resources are put to productive service via their effects on unit service performance behaviors: as employees acquire greater experiences, their work tasks require less conscious attentions and become more automatic).

The change of unit-specific human capital is related to the change of unit service  behavior because increasing the quality of unit-specific human capital contributes to a more cohensive and competent work unit. Which hypothesis follows this thinking? (Ployhart)

Hypothesis 3: Changes in unit service performance are positively related to changes in uni effectiveness over time. Better performing units should increase productivity/profitability.

Name the 3 theoretical implications of the study of Ployhart?

1 They demonstrate that both generic and unit-specific human capital are important for unit effectiveness, although their effects are not equally direct
2 The relationship between unit-specific human capital and unit effectiveness is indirect, through unit service performance
3 Ployhart showed that the relationships among human capital, unit service performance behavior, and unit effectiveness are dynamic over time.

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