Hire For Personality, Train For Skill: The Relationship Between Cognitive And Non-cognitive Human Capital, Desired Employee Behaviors, And Performance

Abstract

This study proposes to examine the relationship between cognitive and noncognitive human capital and work performance as mediated by desired employee behaviors. The study will also explore the moderating effects of high performance work practices (HPWPs) on this relationship. The goal of this study is to explain the distal relationship between human capital and firm performance through the more proximal relationship of the human resources practices used to manage human capital by activating individual employee behaviors. The study uses the individual level inputs of knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, and values, combined with application of HPWPs to test a set of hypotheses predicting that human capital is related to desired employee behaviors and these behaviors are in turn, related to individual work performance.