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Purpose: This study aims to examine how transformational leadership impacts learning flows that are critical for enhancing the learning capabilities of organizations. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 502 employees of business organizations located in India. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis. Findings: Transformational leadership behavior positively influences feed-forward learning flows in organizations and strengthens their learning stock. Learning stock held by the individuals emerged as a predictor of feed-forward learning flows in organizations and a partial mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and feed-forward learning flows. The study's findings suggest transformational leadership encourages feed-forward learning flows through the development of individual learning stock. Originality/value: This study empirically supports the theoretical claim of transformational leadership behaviors as an important antecedent to fostering organizational learning.

The study determined how employers' assessment of graduates' utilization of employability skills influences organizational growth and sustainable development in Nigeria. The design was ex-post facto with a population of 42 registered business organisations in Nigeria. Thirty-five organisation employers and 492 graduate employees were sampled through multistage techniques. Data were collected with "Employers' Assessment of Graduates' Employability Skills Utilization Questionnaire" (EAGESUQ) and "Sustainable Development University Education for Graduates' Skills Acquisition Questionnaire (SUDUEFGSAQ). Validated EAGESAQ and SUDUEFGSAQ were tested for reliability using Cronbach alpha statistic yielded reliability coefficients of 0.94 and 0.89 respectively. Inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The findings and conclusion showed that graduates skills, gender and fields of specialization significantly influence organization growth and sustainable development in Nigeria. Recommendations include: government agencies need to review university programmes and curriculum in line with labour market required skills; they need to monitor the implementation of internship for students and on-the-job-training of new graduate employees.

Purpose: This study examined the economic and social impact of Malaysian universities on their communities from stakeholders' perspectives. It analysed whether university stakeholders' spending, human capital (HC) and knowledge exploration (KE) will impact aggregate income (AI), quality of life (QOL) and business growth (BG) in surrounding communities. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted among 540 university stakeholders from the southern, northern and eastern regions of Malaysia, representing the alumni, community and industry. Data were subjected to factor analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings: Results showed that universities impacted communities' economic development and wellbeing, thereby fulfilling their community-related role. Originality/value: This study addressed universities' role in communities' economic growth and social development. Universities' contributions towards communities can be improved through the proposed model, which suggests ways to maximise their impact. A more detailed study of a particular university is needed to identify other factors that can strengthen universities' impact, even at national and global levels.

The entrepreneurship and higher education literatures suggest that universities cannot generate significant knowledge spillovers unless knowledge creation is followed by knowledge transformation and commercialization. Although several university business models have been proposed in the literature, extant studies assume that the elements required by and involved in the creation of new knowledge for commercialization are automatically aligned. A paucity of research exists explaining how entrepreneurial and knowledge capital congruence contributes to teaching, research and entrepreneurial activity -- the 'three-ring entrepreneurial university'. This study develops a conceptual business model of entrepreneurial universities, and introduces and demonstrates how knowledge spillover occurs, which stakeholders are involved and at which level of entrepreneurial university (individual, organizational, institutional).

This paper discusses the role of open, distance and e-learning in the development of human resources by examining human capital development related disclosures in the corporate annual reports (CARs) of top South African listed companies. The study employed content analysis method to analyse the CARs of these companies with the aid of qualitative analysis software known as Atlasti. The results show that open, distance and e-learning plays a significant role in the development of human capital in the new economy organisations.

Both businesses and recent college graduates in the United States attribute the lack of soft skills in recent college graduates to the colleges' inability to prepare students for the workforce. This article explores the literature on social capital, human capital and social learning theory, offering an alternative hypothesis for why recent graduates are missing soft skills: namely, that it is the decline in social capital that is influencing the graduates' ability to master those skills. Through the process of building social capital, college students gain the cultural and behavioural information and sensitivity they need to learn soft skills. College graduates are no longer accessing this experience; as a result, businesses and graduates are suffering the consequences of a decline in social capital. Therefore, the results of this study give rise to the hypothesis that the decline in social capital at the macrosocial level is negatively influencing recent college graduates' formation of soft skills. This may be due to the decrease in building social capital through face-to-face interaction, rather than due to colleges not preparing graduates for success in the business environment.

The career readiness of high school students has been a longstanding issue that has received renewed attention in recent years. To document an approach to promoting career readiness in the United States, we conducted an exploratory case study of a distinguished information technology career academy. Using the premises of capital building as a frame of reference, we found a community who viewed career readiness as a form of investment in human capital development. As such, a network of business partners collaborated with academy staff in providing school- and work-based learning opportunities for academy students. This approach was complemented by an emphasis on the development of social capital with social bonds, bridges, and linkages in place to sustain the network identity and development.

This article illustrates how the generic employability skills approach to critical thinking suffers from serious conceptual and epistemological difficulties that impact deleteriously on both its practical effectiveness and democratic appropriateness. Unlike technical skills, employability skills, in this case cognitive capacities such as critical thinking and problem solving, are traditionally presented as not job specific, and are intended to remain broadly applicable across a variety of occupations and professions. The emphasis that career education places on technical rationality in critical thinking violates principles of democratic learning by disregarding the historical context of vocational experience. Within career education, critical thinking conceived as technical rationality refers to means/end reasoning that pursues human capital and business objectives with the maximum possible effectiveness. This article proposes that a more effective, politically empowering, and epistemically coherent approach to critical thinking promotes student understanding of the various forces shaping contemporary vocational experience. Finally, this article proposes a revised critical thinking construct based on foundational rationality to remedy these problems, and offers examples of concrete classroom strategies, such as praxis, problem-posing education and collaborative learning, that protect democratic learning in career education programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of communities of practice in organizations and their most beneficial effects for both individual and collective development. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on a literature review, from the first authoritative texts by Lave and Wenger until the most recent critiques, the paper has attempted to conciliate the individual and the organizational perspectives about this precious tool for knowledge management and creation. Findings: Because of their distinctive features, a joint enterprise, a mutual engagement and a shared repertoire, if strategically managed, might resort to individual and organizational positive outcomes. From an individual perspective, communities could be beneficial in developing professional skills, a stronger sense of identity and finding continuity even during discontinuity and change. From an organizational perspective, communities of practice could help drive the strategy, start new lines of business, solve problems quickly and transfer best practices. Research Limitations/Implications: Many limitations about this conceptualization have been presented. Therefore, future research should try to focus on communities within different socio-cultural contexts and within different kinds of organizations. Practical Implications: Practical implications about the use of communities of practice within organizational contexts are mainly linked to the enhancement of human and social capital seen as a strategic, although intangible, asset. Social Implications: The social implications of this paper are connected to the contribution to the discussion on the theme which is quite uncommon in human resource management research. Originality/Value: The value of this paper is the attempt to connect the communities of practice to human and social capital.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore human resource development (HRD) in Mauritius and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations in different sectors in adopting HRD practices. Findings: This special issue presents four papers that explore dimensions of HRD in public sector, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tourism organisations. It also reports on human capital development in the Mauritian economy generally. Research limitations/implications: There is a paucity of knowledge and understanding on HRD in Mauritian organisations. There is significant scope to further explore the effectiveness of national policies and interventions in enhancing HRD and human capital capability. Practical implications: The four papers highlight the important role of organisational champions and of the selection and implantation of HRD practices that are good contextual fit and which can contribute to organisation performance.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the applicability of Strategic HRD in Mauritius. Additionally, it assesses if Mauritius, with a high HDI factor, can take the lead on Strategic HRD in Africa. Design/methodology/approach: This paper used a mixed-approach questionnaire. A sample of 21 managers was contacted and received a response rate of 67 per cent. Findings: Most organisations in Mauritius do not practice human capital development at a strategic level but rather at a tactical one. Strategic HRD is mostly practiced at the implementation level of the business strategy rather than at the formulation stage of the mission, vision and strategy itself. However, the practice of strategic human resource development stays a minority within some very few organisations, as they acknowledge the benefits that Strategic HRD brings along. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the sample considered for this research is a relatively small one to be representative of the Strategic HRD practices in Mauritius as a whole. It identifies implication for improving the current Strategic HRD state in the island. Practical implications: The paper directly impacts on the Strategic HRD practices of organisations and reveals loopholes to be remedied within the present HRD systems. Originality/value: This paper not only proposes a first research in terms of Strategic HRD in Mauritius but also assesses the island's position as being an HRD leader in Africa. Simultaneously, it provides a tailor-made conceptual framework for Strategic HRD in Mauritius.

Applying a life-span approach of human development and using the example of science-based business idea generation, the authors used structural equation modeling to test a mediation model for predicting entrepreneurial behavior in a sample of German scientists (2 measurement occasions; Time 1, N = 488). It was found that recalled early entrepreneurial competence in adolescence predicted business idea generation. This link was mediated by entrepreneurial human and social capital. Moreover, an entrepreneurial Big Five profile was associated with early entrepreneurial competence and predicted entrepreneurial human and social capital. Results underscore the relevance of the long-neglected developmental approach to entrepreneurship.

Career and technical education (CTE) programs generally attract a deeper level of involvement with the business community, given their shared interest in workforce preparedness. There are significant opportunities to increase the depth and scope of business and community engagement, which can lead to more resources, better operations and improved outcomes for students. And the first step is to understand what's possible by considering the full spectrum of community support. Getting the community behind a CTE program is vital to keeping it alive; but support isn't just about money, it's about a full spectrum of opportunities that add up to expenditure savings, and resources and human capital upon which one can depend.

This paper provides insights into the human capital development of a group of young entrepreneurs, all of whom have built growth businesses with turnovers of between 1M British Pounds and 90M British Pounds. Their development of knowledge and skills was investigated before and during the creation of their first main ventures. This is significant in the context of current UK government policies to encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career. The study considers the relevant skills and knowledge the young entrepreneurs developed prior to starting their businesses, the influences they experienced and how this pre-entrepreneurial learning affected their venture creation activities. Finally, the paper considers the challenges the entrepreneurs faced as they grew their businesses. (Contains 3 notes and 1 table.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand why high-skilled immigrants from a developing country (Colombia) are returning to their home country to create businesses instead of starting up in their host country (Spain). Design/methodology/approach: A case study methodology was used to present the experiences of three high-skilled immigrants. All subjects presented had migrated from Colombia to Spain, held degrees from a Colombian university, had a university background in entrepreneurship and intended to run a business in Colombia instead of in Spain. Findings: This study shows how the expectations of highly-skilled immigrants can influence their decision to return to their home country to set up in business. Because of their skills and international experience, these individuals have good professional prospects in their home countries and a lower tolerance of the barriers and difficulties encountered in the host country than immigrants with other profiles. Research limitations/implications: In exploring the high-skilled immigrants' reasons for returning home, future research should pay more attention to personal motivations and cultural differences. Practical implications: The findings will enable policy makers in developing and developed countries to improve policies for attracting or retaining highly-skilled immigrants or emigrants, especially those with entrepreneurial intentions. Originality/value: In a group of immigrants whose skills and talents could offer considerable added value either to their host country or to their home country, this paper examines some of the key processes that influence their decision of where to locate their entrepreneurial activity. (Contains 2 tables.)

Curley and Formica's (2008, 2010) studies of high-expectation entrepreneurship focus on the role of "experimental laboratories" in promoting the start-up and successful development of high-expectation firms. Although it is not difficult to understand the potential usefulness of these experimental labs--business simulators in which skilled partners test high-expectation business ideas proposed by prospective entrepreneurs--some aspects of their implementation need to be clarified. There is a need for such a facility because the demand for knowledge from high-expectation entrepreneurs is currently not being met by the supply of available knowledge from experts. The "experimental lab" process is regarded as coming to an end when the idea has been thoroughly tested and is ready for launch into the marketplace. However, some uncertainties remain about the nature of the proposed process, especially with regard to the precise means adopted to achieve the final aim. This article extends the authors' previous commentaries (Matricano, 2009; Pietrobon, 2009) on Curley and Formica's proposal. It considers the key role of the "venture-sitter" in an experimental business laboratory. Venture-sitters are experts who, mirroring the approach of the baby-sitter, aim to obtain the trust of other experts (the "relatives") and aspiring entrepreneurs (the "parents") while looking after the new entrepreneurial idea (the "child") to ensure that it is nurtured and developed in the best way possible. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

This article offers a critical analysis of the New Labour government's skills policy, with special reference to its impact on higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is argued that, as developed by the Leitch Review of Skills, and by advocates of the discourse of "Knowledge Exchange", the policy engages in the "skillification" of higher education. The concept of skillification refers to the reduction of education to a matter of economically valuable skills. This reduction is the equivalent, in the sphere of adult education, of Margaret Thatcher's famous claim that "there is no society". As such, it is likely to undermine the New Labour government's objective of using the policy "to maximise economic prosperity, productivity and to improve social justice". (Contains 38 notes.)

Most UK Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have committed themselves to developing an Enterprise Strategy for their region. This commitment is mainly in response to the current Labour government's keenness to see enterprise and entrepreneurship at the centre of any economic development agenda. Pro-entrepreneurship policies have been embraced as a means of generating economic growth and diversity, ensuring competitive markets, helping the unemployed to create jobs for themselves, countering poverty and welfare dependency, encouraging labour market flexibility and drawing individuals out of informal economic activity. The regional dimension of economic regeneration has been influenced, in part, by increasing interest in the local ramifications of national innovation and entrepreneurship policies, and also by growing awareness of the local or regional phenomenon of enterprise creation and innovation. The authors examine the connection between R&D activities in universities and the creation of new businesses (in particular ICT firms), and especially the role that social capital plays in fostering these relationships or connections. Preliminary empirical analyses suggest the importance of university-high-tech industry social capital in generating technology based start-ups. The findings suggest a case for fostering "connectedness" between research universities and high-technology firms in regions with interest in technology-based entrepreneurship. (Contains 9 figures and 3 tables.)

Last fall, Saint Louis University participated in St. Louis, Missouri's, first Human Capital Performance Study alongside several of the region's largest for-profit employers. The university also participated this year in the benchmarking of employee engagement factors conducted by the St. Louis Business Journal in its effort to quantify and select the "Best Places to Work" in the region. This article recaps the biggest lesson learned from these studies: that the academy is neither adept nor disciplined in capturing human capital performance data; but when these data are captured, a university can perform very well in comparison with companies from the for-profit sector.

The shift in the U.S. economy from a manufacturing powerhouse to a service-driven economy has placed a great emphasis on human capital planning within organizations in order to remain competitive in a new global economy. The link between critical business strategy and the successful implementation of strategy has been well documented in the literature. This article examines the literature surrounding human capital, human capital planning, and the implications for human resource development (HRD). The results of the review and synthesis of the literature are provided, and the implications for HRD scholars and practitioners are reported in detail. The research reports an in-depth justification and rationale for the incorporation of human capital planning into practice and research to determine the impact on HRD interventions and organizational performance through the use of a model and process for human capital planning. (Contains 2 figures.)

Industrial culture focuses mainly on the production of "things"--of static objects. Knowledge, on the other hand, is constantly in flux, like a flowing stream. Conventional industrial notions lead policy makers to believe that the addition of a knowledge-based industry to an existing industrial base makes a knowledge economy. This is not the case. Pieces of knowledge, purchased like objects, do not make a knowledge economy. What is missed in such perceptions is the importance of managing and synthesizing knowledge and of conducting conventional business in innovative ways. Capitalizing the knowledge economy requires an entirely new way of viewing the economic landscape. An emerging breed of knowledge entrepreneurs--intellectual venture capitalists--is setting the scene for an entrepreneurial revolution that will transform that landscape. (Contains 1 table, 5 notes and 5 figures.)

Recent surveys have indicated that the most difficult task for entrepreneurial structures is the selection and training of staffers whose qualities are in keeping with the realities of Russia. Contributing to this difficulty, according to this author, is the fact that the traditional forms and methods of training in colleges and universities are not only failing to foster but are in many ways inhibiting the development of the abilities that young people already had when they enrolled. Hence, the problem of searching for up-to-date forms of organizing the teaching and learning process in higher educational institutions takes on special urgency. In this paper, the author defines the basic qualities that are essential for entrepreneurial activity and presents proposals to revise the basic teaching process and the activities of college and university instructors.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present empirical evidence of the nature of corporate rhetoric in developing human capital and how it becomes embedded within a large international organization operating in the Nordic region. The qualitative case study aims to examine the sensemaking of individual managers, and how human capital rhetoric is selected, acted upon, and retained by employees. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory case study approach is taken in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the rhetoric and reality of human capital development. Focus groups, archival data, and interviews with key informants (i.e. external consultants, senior executives, managers, and employees from various departments across the Nordic business units) are used to explore different perspectives on the phenomena of human capital development. Findings: The findings highlight a number of key dimensions that can distort the rhetoric of human capital: corporate strategy, organizational structure, managerial style, and the cognitive frames of individuals. Practical implications: The study suggests a need for senior managers to take pre-emptive actions to close the gap between the rhetoric of human capital development and what actually happens in practice. A lack of clarity concerning human capital concepts and their outcomes is to be overcome through more effective communication strategies. Originality/value: The research suggests that managers construct rhetoric that has to be absorbed by multiple audiences and that, in some cases, a counter-rhetoric of human capital is formed. Employees interpret human capital rhetoric, shape it and alter it in their own interests. Ambiguity and ignorance over human capital concepts is succeeded by pragmatic assessment and refinement on the part of employees, with the initial human capital development program iteratively amended as it passes through the organization.

The paper presents the processes of entrepreneurial human capital accumulation and its impact on rural business growth. Data are derived from four surveys on rural businesses in mountainous and less favoured areas in Southern Europe. Formal pathways of entrepreneurial human capital accumulation refer to education and training, while informal pathways include the cognitive processes of work and managerial experience acquisition and the non-cognitive processes of being raised within an entrepreneurial family environment and/or being raised in the area within which the business is later set-up. The studies reveal that there is a variety of processes of entrepreneurial human capital and knowledge accumulation that are case study specific. Human capital accumulation processes related to education and training or to work and managerial experience still plays the prime role in predicting successful businesses. Results indicate the need for decentralised, flexible and selective entrepreneurial human capital accumulation support programmes that take into account local idiosyncrasies and needs.

The paper reports on public sector organisations'/institutions' work to develop knowledge management and intellectual capital statements. Building on experiences collected during 2001-2002 where 26 public sector institutions in Denmark sought to develop intellectual capital statements, this paper discusses their experiences and in particular, it addresses the role of intellectual capital in relation to the development of the new public management philosophy. It is suggested that these public sector organisations use intellectual capital activity to promote themselves as "businesses" with their own strategies and modes of operations. Intellectual capital helps these firms differentiate themselves and develop their own strategic approach to their mode of functioning by showing how they function as enterprises.

Institutions like Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) provide New England with cultural wealth in a variety of ways, including the great art and design housed in their museums and their vibrant faculty and student body, which numbers in RISD's case, 1,900 undergraduates and 375 graduate students from the United States and almost 50 countries. Traditionally, institutions have relegated their relationship with their neighbors to a discreet set of activities referred to as "town-gown relations," but RISD considers itself an active participant in the ongoing redevelopment and future aspirations of the city. In the 1970s, Gerald Howes, a RISD architecture professor, conceived of a plan to change the fundamental structure and appearance of Providence. After the city relocated railroad tracks and uncovered a long hidden river running through its center, RISD found itself with a spectacular riverfront campus. RISD's reorientation to downtown Providence physically positions the college for direct collaboration with leaders of the city's business community, government officials, nonprofit organizations and local residents. This engagement has helped RISD to flourish and also helped revitalize the city. With a population of just over 175,000, Providence has the advantage of size. The city can claim an intimacy, a sense of community. So in addition to collaborating with the college's immediate neighbors, RISD faculty and staff engage in a multitude of conversations to improve the city, ranging from the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council's attempt to designate Providence a world design capital to the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council's debating of state budget issues to the CEOs for Cities and the Providence Foundation's work on revitalizing the city's downtown. RISD is committed to helping nurture Providence into a creative city that is competitive with any in the 21st century. What exactly can an institution of higher education bring to the infrastructure, the vitality of a city, and the quality of life for all its residents? This article describes RISD's contributions which take many forms.