HRM Practices in Human Capital-Intensive Firms

Abstract

This chapter focuses on examining the human resource management (HRM) practices that are used in human capital-intensive firms (HCIFs). In the specialized literature on HCIFs, human resources (HR) are recognized as constituting an infinite value potential. Nevertheless, we know little in the literature about “how to manage” these HR in the specific context of HCIFs. First of all, in this chapter, a literature review provides a clarification of the HR's key concepts (human capital, competence, and talent) on the one hand and introduces the relevance to study HRM practices underlying human capital management on the other hand. Then, based on the case study of IBM Corporation, a synthesis of the wide variety of HRM practices is proposed into three processes: identifying, assessing and developing, and finally, motivating and retaining human capital. The IBM case is representative of the HCIFs insofar as the company puts its human capital at the heart of its overall strategy and, in order to do this, provides a sophisticated HRM policy and, in addition, has implemented formalized HRM practices. For IBM, the aim is to improve resource assets of its employees necessary to generate innovation, value, and performance.