The Role of Human Talent Capital in Shaping Firm Value: Evidence from Non-Financial Sector of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62270/jirms.v5i2.76Keywords:
Human Talent Capital, Growth Opportunities, Volatility, Firm Size, Firm ValueAbstract
Purpose- This study examines the relationship between human talent capital and firm performance, focusing on firm value, growth opportunities, and volatility. The interaction effect of firm size on this association is also explored.
Study Design/methodology/approach – This quantitative study uses a fixed effects model; the study analyzes data from 290 firms over 11 years (2013-2023). Diagnostic tests are employed to ensure the robustness of the results.
Findings- The findings of the study reveal a significant positive impact of human talent capital on firm value and growth opportunities. Supported by quantitative measures, larger firms show greater utilization of human talent capital. Moreover, human talent capital mitigates cash flow volatility, highlighting its role in firm risk management. Profitability, liquidity, and innovation also significantly affect firm value and growth.
Research limitations/implications – The study has several limitations. Firstly, the generalizability of the findings may be constrained by the focus on a specific industry and geographic region. Secondly, the reliance on quantitative data and fixed effects model might overlook qualitative factors influencing the human talent capital phenomenon. Thirdly, external factors such as macroeconomic conditions and regulatory changes could impact the study's findings, deserving further exploration.
Research Practical Implications- The study advocates for corporate governance reforms and policy interventions to prioritize human talent capital investments. Financial strategies such as maintaining liquidity and managing leverage are recommended to stabilize firm volatility.
Originality/value- This research highlights human talent capital as a key determinant of firm performance, encouraging strategic investments in human talent capital and financial management practices to enhance organizational success.
References
Agustian, K., Pohan, A., Zen, A., Wiwin, W., & Malik, A. J. (2023). Human resource management strategies in achieving competitive advantage in business administration. Journal of Contemporary Administration and Management (ADMAN), 1(2), 108-117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61100/adman.v1i2.53
Almeida, R., & Carneiro, P. (2009). The return to firm investments in human capital. Labour economics, 16(1), 97-106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2008.06.002
AlQershi, N. A., Mokhtar, S. S. M., & Abas, Z. B. (2022). CRM dimensions and performance of SMEs in Yemen: the moderating role of human capital. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 23(3), 516-537. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-05-2020-0175
Appah, T. R., Yuniarti, S., Sisharini, N., Sunarjo, S., & Yahya, N. (2023). Does profitability matter in the relationship between intellectual capital and firm value? Media Ekonomi dan Manajemen, 38(1), 57-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56444/mem.v38i1.3255
Ballot, G., Fakhfakh, F., & Taymaz, E. (2001). Firms' human capital, R&D and performance: a study on French and Swedish firms. Labour economics, 8(4), 443-462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-5371(01)00038-0
Bangara, S. N., Chesoli, J. W., Ngacho, C., & Nyanga’u, A. (2024). Human Capital Disclosure and Firm Value: An Investigation of Kenyan and South African Listed Companies. Sch J Econ Bus Manag, 9, 242-256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjebm.2024.v11i09.001
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Baxter, M., & Jermann, U. (1995). The international diversification puzzle is worse than you think. In: National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge, Mass., USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w5019
Bhattacharya, S. (1979). Imperfect information, dividend policy, and" the bird in the hand" fallacy. The bell journal of economics, 259-270. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3003330
Boehme, R. D., Danielsen, B. R., Kumar, P., & Sorescu, S. M. (2009). Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of stock returns: Merton (1987) meets Miller (1977). Journal of Financial Markets, 12(3), 438-468. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.finmar.2009.01.004
Buallay, A. M. (2017). The relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance. Corporate Governance and Organizational Behavior Review, 1(1), 32-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22495/cgobr_v1_i1_p4
Carmeli, A. (2004). Strategic human capital and the performance of public sector organizations. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 20(4), 375-392. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2003.11.003
Charles, Y., & Yahaya, O. (2024). The value relevance of intellectual capital. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 25(2), 233-254.
Chen, M. Y.-C., Lam, L. W., & Zhu, J. N. (2021). Should companies invest in human resource development practices? The role of intellectual capital and organizational performance improvements. Personnel Review, 50(2), 460-477. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2019-0179
Conti, G. (2005). Training, productivity, and wages in Italy. Labour economics, 12(4), 557-576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2005.05.007
Cousineau, D., & Chartier, S. (2010). Outliers detection and treatment: a review. International journal of psychological research, 3(1), 58-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21500/20112084.844
Crema, M., & Verbano, C. (2016). Managing Intellectual Capital in I talian Manufacturing SMEs. Creativity and Innovation Management, 25(3), 408-421. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12074
Delgado-Verde, M., Martín-de Castro, G., & Amores-Salvadó, J. (2016). Intellectual capital and radical innovation: Exploring the quadratic effects in technology-based manufacturing firms. Technovation, 54, 35-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2016.02.002
Esan, O., Ajayi, F. A., & Olawale, O. (2024). Managing global supply chain teams: human resource strategies for effective collaboration and performance. GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 19(2), 013-031. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/gscarr.2024.19.2.0161
Fama, E. F., & French, K. R. (1992). The cross‐section of expected stock returns. the Journal of Finance, 47(2), 427-465. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1992.tb04398.x
Fama, E. F., & Schwert, G. W. (1977). Human capital and capital market equilibrium. Journal of Financial Economics, 4(1), 95-125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(77)90038-1
Fedyk, A., & Hodson, J. (2023). Trading on talent: Human capital and firm performance. Review of Finance, 27(5), 1659-1698. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfac068
Fu, F. (2009). Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of expected stock returns. Journal of Financial Economics, 91(1), 24-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.02.003
Gerhart, B., & Feng, J. (2021). The resource-based view of the firm, human resources, and human capital: Progress and prospects. Journal of management, 47(7), 1796-1819. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320978799
Goldin, C. (2024). Human capital. In Handbook of cliometrics (pp. 353-383). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35583-7_23
Grigorescu, A., Pelinescu, E., Ion, A. E., & Dutcas, M. F. (2021). Human capital in digital economy: An empirical analysis of central and eastern European countries from the European Union. Sustainability, 13(4), 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042020
Gruber, M., Dencker, J. C., & Nikiforou, A. (2024). How founder human capital and founding conditions shape new firm performance: A study of necessity entrepreneurship during times of economic crisis. Academy of management Journal, 67(2), 382-406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2022.0405
Hasnaoui, J. A., Rizvi, S. K. A., Reddy, K., Mirza, N., & Naqvi, B. (2021). Human capital efficiency, performance, market, and volatility timing of Asian equity funds during COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Asset Management, 22(5), 360. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41260-021-00228-y
Hassan, Z. (2022). Employee retention through effective human resource management practices in Maldives: Mediation effects of compensation and rewards system. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 18(2), 137-174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7341/20221825
Ibarra Cisneros, M. A., & Hernandez-Perlines, F. (2018). Intellectual capital and Organization performance in the manufacturing sector of Mexico. Management Decision, 56(8), 1818-1834. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2017-0946
Islam, M. S., & Amin, M. (2022). A systematic review of human capital and employee well-being: putting human capital back on the track. European Journal of Training and Development, 46(5/6), 504-534. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-12-2020-0177
Jensen, M. C. (1986). Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance and takeovers. American Economic Review.
Khan, E. A., & Quaddus, M. (2018). Dimensions of human capital and firm performance: Micro-firm context. IIMB management review, 30(3), 229-241. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2018.05.004
Kotsopoulos, D., Karagianaki, A., & Baloutsos, S. (2022). The effect of human capital, innovation capacity, and Covid-19 crisis on Knowledge-Intensive Enterprises’ growth within a VC-driven innovation ecosystem. Journal of Business Research, 139, 1177-1191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.055
Krebs, T. (2003a). Growth and welfare effects of business cycles in economies with idiosyncratic human capital risk. Review of Economic Dynamics, 6(4), 846-868. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1094-2025(03)00030-9
Krebs, T. (2003b). Human capital risk and economic growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(2), 709-744. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/003355303321675491
Kucharčíková, A., Mičiak, M., Tokarčíková, E., & Štaffenová, N. (2023). The investments in human capital within the human capital management and the impact on the enterprise’s performance. Sustainability, 15(6), 5015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065015
Kwarbai, J., & Akinpelu, M. (2016). Human capital efficiency and corporate performance: The Nigerian perspective. The International Journal of Business & Management, 4(3).
Lawler, E. E. (2008). Make human capital a source of competitive advantage. Marshall School of Business Working Paper No. MOR, 16-09. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1311431
Li, Q., & Wu, Y. (2024). ICT, human capital and productivity in Chinese cities. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 29(2), 972-993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860.2022.2094643
Mayers, D. (1972). Nonmarketable assets and capital market equilibrium under uncertainty. Studies in the theory of capital markets, 1, 223-248.
Merton, R. C. (1987). A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1987.tb04565.x
Miller, M. H., & Modigliani, F. (1961). Dividend policy, growth, and the valuation of shares. the Journal of Business, 34(4), 411-433. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/294442
Mohapatra, S., Jena, S. K., Mitra, A., & Tiwari, A. K. (2019). Intellectual capital and firm performance: evidence from Indian banking sector. Applied Economics, 51(57), 6054-6067. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2019.1645283
Molodchik, M., & Jardon, C. M. (2017). Intellectual capital as enhancer of product novelty: An empirical study of Russian manufacturing SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 18(2), 419-436. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-06-2016-0059
Nhon, H. T., Thong, B. Q., & Van Phuong, N. (2018). The impact of intellectual capital dimensions on Vietnamese information communication technology firm performance: A mediation analysis of human and social capital. Academy of strategic management journal, 17(1), 1-15.
Nimtrakoon, S. (2015). The relationship between intellectual capital, firms’ market value and financial performance: Empirical evidence from the ASEAN. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 16(3), 587-618. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-09-2014-0104
Oppong, G. K., Pattanayak, J. K., & Irfan, M. (2019). Impact of intellectual capital on productivity of insurance companies in Ghana: A panel data analysis with system GMM estimation. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(6), 763-783. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-12-2018-0220
Papadimitri, P., Pasiouras, F., Tasiou, M., & Ventouri, A. (2020). The effects of board of directors’ education on firms’ credit ratings. Journal of Business Research, 116, 294-313. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.059
Parham, S., & Heling, G. (2015). The Relationship between Human Capital Efficiency and Financial Performance of Dutch Production Companies. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 6.
Phusavat, K., Comepa, N., Sitko‐Lutek, A., & Ooi, K. B. (2011). Interrelationships between intellectual capital and performance: Empirical examination. Industrial management & data systems, 111(6), 810-829. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02635571111144928
Purwanti, D. (2023). The Strategic Imperative of Treasury and Financial Risk Management in a Volatile Economic Landscape. Advances in Management & Financial Reporting, 1(3), 119-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60079/amfr.v1i3.224
Rahim, A., Atan, R., & Kamaluddin, A. (2017). Human capital efficiency and firm performance: An empirical study on Malaysian technology industry. SHS Web of Conferences, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20173600026
Sanchez-Gutierrez, J., Mejia-Trejo, J., Vargas-Barraza, J. A., & Vazquez-Avila, G. (2016). Intellectual capital, impact factor on competitiveness: manufacturing industry SMEs in Mexico. Measuring Business Excellence, 20(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MBE-12-2015-0059
Santa, R., Ferrer, M., Tegethoff, T., & Scavarda, A. (2022). An investigation of the impact of human capital and supply chain competitive drivers on firm performance in a developing country. Plos one, 17(12), e0274592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274592
Sardo, F., & Serrasqueiro, Z. (2017). A European empirical study of the relationship between firms’ intellectual capital, financial performance and market value. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 18(4), 771-788. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-10-2016-0105
Si, Y., & Xia, C. (2023). The effect of human capital on stock price crash risk. Journal of Business Ethics, 187(3), 589-609. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05134-w
Smriti, N., & Das, N. (2018). The impact of intellectual capital on firm performance: a study of Indian firms listed in COSPI. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 19(5), 935-964. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-11-2017-0156
Ting, I. W. K., & Lean, H. H. (2009). Intellectual capital performance of financial institutions in Malaysia. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 10(4), 588-599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930910996661
Vithana, K., Jayasekera, R., Choudhry, T., & Baruch, Y. (2023). Human Capital resource as cost or investment: A market-based analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(6), 1213-1245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1986106
Vo Thai, H. C., Hue, T. H. H., Chen, P. f., & Tran, M. L. (2024). Unraveling the influence of human capital and stakeholder engagement on corporate digital responsibility: Implications for firm performance in Southeast Asia enterprises. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(3), 1934-1958. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2662
Vuong, B. N. (2022). The impact of human resource management practices on service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors: does positive psychological capital matter? Cogent Psychology, 9(1), 2080324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2022.2080324
Wongsansukcharoen, J., & Thaweepaiboonwong, J. (2023). Effect of innovations in human resource practices, innovation capabilities, and competitive advantage on small and medium enterprises’ performance in Thailand. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 29(1), 100210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2022.100210
Xu, J., & Li, J. (2019). The impact of intellectual capital on SMEs’ performance in China: Empirical evidence from non-high-tech vs. high-tech SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(4), 488-509. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-04-2018-0074
Xu, J., & Wang, B. (2018). Intellectual capital, financial performance and companies’ sustainable growth: Evidence from the Korean manufacturing industry. Sustainability, 10(12), 4651. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124651
Xu, J., & Wang, B. (2019). Intellectual capital performance of the textile industry in emerging markets: A comparison with China and South Korea. Sustainability, 11(8), 2354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082354
Xu, X.-l., & Liu, C. K. (2019). How to keep renewable energy enterprises to reach economic sustainable performance: from the views of intellectual capital and life cycle. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 9, 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-019-0187-2
Yao, H., Haris, M., Tariq, G., Javaid, H. M., & Khan, M. A. S. (2019). Intellectual capital, profitability, and productivity: evidence from Pakistani financial institutions. Sustainability, 11(14), 3842. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143842
Zhang, L., Van Iddekinge, C. H., Ployhart, R. E., Arnold, J. D., & Jordan, S. L. (2023). The definition and measurement of human capital resources: A content and meta-analytic review. Journal of applied psychology, 108(9), 1486. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001088
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
Data that supports the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Folad Amar Khel , Attaullah Shah, Romana Bangash

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.


