The Investments in Human Capital within the Human Capital Management and the Impact on the Enterprise’s Performance

Abstract

Human capital (HC) is a key factor for enterprises’ performance and competitiveness. The aim of this study was to identify how enterprises in Slovakia perceive the impact of the investments in HC on business performance within the context of the implementation of human capital management (HCM). The content analysis was applied to analyze the different authors’ opinions on the substance of HC. These opinions were compared, and the knowledge obtained was synthesized. The article’s originality stems from the evaluation of the results from a unique questionnaire survey conducted with a specific focus on IT companies. This follows the presumption that these companies approach the application of HCM in an exemplary way, while being considered knowledge intensive. To collect the primary data, a questionnaire survey was performed in 113 Slovak IT enterprises and its results were analyzed using statistical tests of independence. The main findings include the corroboration of a positive effect of investments in the employees’ education and the implementation of HCM on the enterprises’ performance. Despite this, more than a third of the enterprises did not evaluate the effectiveness of investment in HC, and more than half of enterprises did not have the HCM concept implemented. Several solutions are recommended with respect to the HR managers’ training.