Projects / Programmes
The role of the entrepreneur's human capital in innovativeness, growth and international advancement of Slovenian small and medium entreprises.
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.04.00 |
Social sciences |
Administrative and organisational sciences |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S190 |
Social sciences |
Management of enterprises |
Entrepreneur's human capital, innovativeness, growth, development, small and medium entreprises
Researchers (5)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Knowledge, skills and education form a consistent part of the (general and specific) human capital of individuals and it is impossible to separate it from them. It can also represent a long-term competitive advantage of individuals, companies and even nations. In particular, this may be true of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which usually operate in highly competitive industries and are resource-scarce. In our research we will try to identify those elements of the general and specific human capital of entrepreneurs that positively influence the innovativeness, growth and internationalization of their companies. Some of our results will also be compared internationally with a group of American researchers who performed similar research into American SMEs.
The main hypothesis of our research is that the specific and general human capital of entrepreneurs influences the innovativeness, growth and internationalization of their SMEs. Based on the main research hypothesis many sub-hypothesis will be derived. The research results will represent important contributions to our knowledge of the effects and functioning of the general and specific human capital of entrepreneurs or of their knowledge, skills and competencies on the innovativeness, growth and internationalization of SMEs in both theory and practice. The main innovation in the research will involve a measurement model that will holistically include all important dimensions of internationalization and innovativeness as dependent variables. Based on the research results we will be able to predict which entrepreneur has greater possibilities of success based on their education, knowledge and skills and to present the implications to entrepreneurs for crafting their internationalization and innovativeness strategies. The research results could also be useful to policymakers who will then be able to more efficiently promote the entrepreneurship, innovativeness and internationalization of SMEs.
Significance for science
The research results represent important contributions to our knowledge of the key elements of entrepreneurs’ (general and specific) human capital and their influence on the innovativeness, internationalization, growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The improved understanding of the process of innovation, internationalization, growth and development that results from this project enables us to build a new theoretical framework for analyses of strategic decisions about the most important dimensions of innovativeness and internationalization.
The related advances in research and theory also represent a new theoretical concept and construct for measuring the innovativeness and internationalization of SMEs, which can be used at the micro (company) and macro (industry or country) level. The new construct was also empirically tested on Slovenian SMEs.
The next important contribution to theory are the comparisons of the research results between two very different research settings/countries, namely the USA and Slovenia. Results from the comparisons of good practices and findings allow us to find out the differences between the levels of the specific and general human capital and their influence on the innovativeness, internationalization, growth and development of SMEs.
Significance for the country
The level of entrepreneurs’ general and specific human capital reflects the perception they hold about education, skills and knowledge. Foreign studies have demonstrated that knowledge and experience mostly positively influence the categories we propose to examine in our project; growth, innovativeness, internationalization and many others. At the same time, knowledge and skills are the attributes which enable the long-term competitiveness of individuals, companies and society leading to future growth and development. Therefore, we are convinced that the present research first identifies the specific elements of general and specific human capital important for the categories analyzed and second informs entrepreneurs which are the competitive elements that differentiate good from average companies, innovative from non-innovative and internationalized from non-internationalized ones. Such elements include those which increase or diminish the value of their companies and the well-being of society. When entrepreneurs become aware of the importance of education, knowledge and skills, they will start to appreciate them in others and start to support and stimulate them among their employees.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
