Investments in managerial human capital: Explanations from prospect and regulatory focus theories

Abstract

It is recognised that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have relatively low levels of management and employee training. In part, this reflects training being a risky investment, with opportunity costs. This article utilises prospect and regulatory focus theory to provide greater insight into which business owners/managers are more likely to make investments in managerial human capital. The study utilises the Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) and explores how regulatory focus affects training choices and whether experiencing a gain or loss plays a role. We find that those with a promotion focus and experiencing a gain are more likely to invest in managerial training. There is some evidence of prevention focused business owners/managers being more likely to invest when a loss has been suffered. The results are of interest to policy makers seeking to increase investment in training and for those providing such initiatives in that developing a promotion focus should encourage greater engagement.

The impact of entrepreneurs’s financial literacy on innovation within small and medium-sized enterprises

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Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): The Engine of Economic Growth through Investments and Innovation

“…It can also manifest itself through adopting modern high-performance technologies [84] proving the importance of learning over the study of the market [85] and of the clients' choices on a very dynamic actual market [86]. These all contribute to the valuable effect on the performance of SMEs regarding the ecological dynamism [87], of green products [88] and of the investments regarding the training and specialization of the human resource [89].…”

Investigating strategic responses of SMEs during COVID-19 pandemic: A cognitive appraisal perspective

“…To measure the response intentions (investment and divestment) , we relied on scale items borrowed from a study by Zhao and Thompson (2019) . In measuring divestment, respondents were asked to what extent they plan to implement the following measures as a response to the crisis: reduction of capacity, decrease in the number of employees, and withdrawal of products/services.…”