A fundamental assertion of the resource-based view (RBV) is that a firm gains competitive advantage through the exploitation of developed or acquired resources that are valuable, rare, in-imitable, and non-substitutable (VRIN). The purpose of this study is to examine the micro-foundations of the individual level precursor process in resource development prior to gaining competitive advantage. The study does not claim to explain a causal link between resource and competitive advantage. The study explores the process of embedding individual level managerial attributes or capabilities of competency and confidence in human capital resource in the knowledge intensive Canadian medical healthcare sector. The medical healthcare setting provided a unique and important setting to investigate and empirically test the micro-foundations of RBV. The study investigated the impact of management training and education of Canadian medical professionals’ self-reported confidence and competency on various clinical and management tasks. The results of the study indicated that, first, for a number of management tasks; there is a statistically significant increase in self-reported competency if the medical professionals had some form of formal management education and/or training. Second, a high degree of competency and confidence in clinical tasks was observed and was not affected by management education. Third, different types of management training can produce small but statistically significant differences in the level of self-rated competency in management tasks. The primary conclusion of the study was first, in the micro-foundation investigation, that individual level attributes or managerial capabilities of confidence and competency can be embedded in the development of the human capital resource through management training and education. Second, the individual level attributes or managerial capabilities of medical professionals, once embedded through management training in the medical healthcare setting, fulfill the VRIN criteria as set by the RBV for a firm to gain competitive advantage. The study further offers a mixed methods approach template to study the micro-foundation of the RBV. Finally, the study, through empirical findings, makes a mid-level theoretical contribution supporting the underpinnings of the resource-based view concepts related to human capital resource development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:570030 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Khan, Asif R. |
| Publisher | University of Glasgow |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4205/ |
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