Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand further the role played by work-based cognitive skills in the growth dynamics in Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Work-based cognitive skills are studied using a factor analysis on data from the European Work Conditions Survey (Eurofound) referring to work cognitive requirements. This and other measures of education quality and quantity indicators are used to estimate growth regression models for 28 European countries, in order to test for the significance of work-based skills. Findings – The results corroborate the hypothesis that work-based cognitive skills have been a powerful predictor of economic growth over the last decades. Countries where workplaces require and foster advanced cognitive skills tend to exhibit higher economic growth. Research limitations/implications – The Eurofound Survey on work-based skills, a major source of this study, only began in 1990 so is quite recent and covers few countries. Social implications – The results indicate that the mobilisation of the full intellectual potential of workers in their work context is essential to achieve high-economic performances. Boosting workers interactive learning and autonomy should become a key policy and organisational aim. Originality/value – The authors bring a deeper approach to the way human capital is addressed by testing the relevance of work-based cognitive skills on economic performance. Hence the authors build a bridge between economic growth literature, which focuses largely on the role of formal education, and innovation studies where the emphasis is placed on the relevance of learning processes.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between entry mode and human resource management in the context of small, emerging, multinationals.Design/methodology/approachThis study surveyed international personnel from Portuguese firms actively present in the Spanish market through different modes, ranging from exporting to direct investment. Usable data on 208 relevant employees from 28 firms was obtained.FindingsFirms selecting weak entry modes tended to prefer country‐specific competences, such as knowledge of foreign languages and capacity to adapt, as well as younger personnel. By contrast, preference for stronger entry modes was significantly related to firm‐specific knowledge and higher management skills.Practical implicationsSuccessful expansion into foreign markets depends on the crucial role played by human resources. This study underscores the importance of hiring and training competent international personnel whose skills fit the selected entry modes. This may be even more important for firms that are younger, smaller and less experienced with foreign markets.Originality/valueThis study extends previous knowledge of the relationship between human resource requirements and the entry modes used by multinational enterprises (MNEs) when they enter foreign markets.
The tertiarization of the Portuguese economy is already very evident in the sectorial composition of employment. In 2013, the service sectors represented in Portugal 65% of total employment. Although the service sectors have also been affected by the economic crisis, its resilience to the negative effects of the crisis on labour market was much higher than other sectors. From the wide range of services, knowledge-intensive services (KIS) were those that registered the highest increase in employment between 2008 and 2013. The study presented here discusses the role that knowledge-intensive services, in particular knowledge-intensive market services (excluding the financial services) and high-tech knowledge-intensive services, can have in promoting youth employment in Portugal. The increasing outsourcing, on a global scale, of complex and highly qualified activities has stimulated the rapid growth of these sectors. The competition for talent, although intense and global, is opening up new job opportunities for young higher education graduates. The study uses statistical data to analyse the recent evolution of employment in these two sectors, its variation by levels of education and age groups, and their contribution to total employment. Based on the CEDEFOP projections for Portugal, we discuss the potential employment opportunities estimated in KIS up to 2025. This analysis is complemented with qualitative data on changing job and skills’ requirements in these sectors, collected through literature reviewing and a set of interviews with the industry and employers’ associations. Main research findings indicate a significant potential for job creation in KIS over the next decade and a growing demand for qualifications. Medium-level qualifications will tend to prevail and about a 1/3 of the jobs will require higher education. However, the digital revolution is changing the way services are designed and delivered to customers, requiring new service models. Business services are becoming more technology-dependent or, at least, more technology-enabled. Also the intangible nature of KIS requires a strong co-production with costumers and open modes of innovation which are increasingly demanding a broad set of soft and hard-technical skills. Preparing young graduates with the right mix of skills seems essential to take advantage of the number of jobs the KIS tend to create, especially when youth unemployment is high. This study seeks to contribute to the debate on how higher education can improve the employability of its graduates by exploring statistic data on recent employment trends and early identifying labour market dynamics on a sectorial basis.
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