Achieving competitive advantage in technology based industry: How developing intellectual capital matters

Abstract

The development of high quality human resource leads to an attainment of sustained competitive advantage is a widespread in the management literature and thus, organizations are trying to distinguish themselves on the basis of human resources and intellectual capital as major cause leading to a sustained competitive advantage. In this regard, human resource (HR) systems are acknowledged as the most important mechanism by which companies use to develop their intellectual capital and then, achieve competitive advantage. In this study, a correlation design was utilized to measure the type and the degree of correlation between HR systems, intellectual capital and competitive advantage. The results of the study demonstrate that the practices and systems of human resource management do play a significant role in the development of intellectual capital. In addition, human capital drives an organization's strategic competitive advantage. Additionally, acquisition HR practices were found to be significantly correlated with strategic competitive advantage and thus, the findings partially support that HR systems not only affect competitive advantage through the facilitation of intellectual capital, but also represent a direct basis for the achievement of competitive advantage.