Linking Training with Competitive Strategy: The Mediating Role of Human Capital
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| Title: | Linking Training with Competitive Strategy: The Mediating Role of Human Capital |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Andres A. Osorio-Londoño (ORCID |
| Source: | International Journal of Training and Development. 2025 29(1):74-93. |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Human Capital, Training, Competitive Selection, Human Resources, Personnel Management, Strategic Planning, Foreign Countries, Corporations, Industry |
| Geographic Terms: | Colombia |
| DOI: | 10.1111/ijtd.12343 |
| ISSN: | 1360-3736 1468-2419 |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. It provides a novel contribution to strategic human resource management literature by exploring mechanisms linking training with competitive strategies. The Resource-Based View of the firm and Miles and Snow's opposite strategies are used herein to connect training, human capital, and competitive strategy. Hypotheses about human capital's mediating role in the relationships between training and prospector and defender strategies, respectively, were proposed and empirically tested in 245 large Colombian industrial companies by structural equation modeling. This study found that human capital mediates the relationship between training and competitive strategies. In practical terms, training facilitates competitive strategy implementation via human capital improvement. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1460059 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwGP2ZDEocMZrjtjjpn2zgr4AAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDOBfKjn1XpUnFuUYvgIBEICBm4m9-qMFHp70UYPq7Osew3TAnHDdrW2MyFeighexxFrvE72w8VZ2Qc4LRBxcGFoiFV8xQLkFtAwk6ilmu9x2TUr3bG0LuRCRib_2LDt2IGQ6sngcN9fLbaSN-gxPYGQ5GY_1J7xcI4VYdyGG8k2fPMzOwCES4wMCJJT6WH6CZh9uzWLgp4QQXM36vpR4V7aPSoih3hQqFLBUC1va Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0183977233;bpu01mar.25;2025Mar26.05:26;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0183977233-1">Linking training with competitive strategy: the mediating role of human capital </title> <sbt id="AN0183977233-2">INTRODUCTION</sbt> <p>This study evaluates the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. It provides a novel contribution to strategic human resource management literature by exploring mechanisms linking training with competitive strategies. The Resource‐Based View of the firm and Miles and Snow's opposite strategies are used herein to connect training, human capital, and competitive strategy. Hypotheses about human capital's mediating role in the relationships between training and prospector and defender strategies, respectively, were proposed and empirically tested in 245 large Colombian industrial companies by structural equation modeling. This study found that human capital mediates the relationship between training and competitive strategies. In practical terms, training facilitates competitive strategy implementation via human capital improvement.</p> <p>An important concern regarding training is understanding how it leads to organizational‐level outcomes (Saks, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref1">51</reflink>]). Multiple studies of the relationship between these variables have shown that the former positively influences the latter (Garavan et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref2">23</reflink>]; Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref3">41</reflink>]). Moreover, recent research indicates that training improves sustainability at the organizational level (Aftab et al., [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref4">1</reflink>]). Since this stream of research focuses on the direct influence of training on organizational‐level outcomes, some studies complement it by explaining the mechanisms through which these two variables are related (Garavan et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref5">24</reflink>]). These studies have identified human capital as a variable of high relevance, as it is considered the main mediating mechanism explaining the relationship between training and organizational‐level outcomes (Danvila del Valle et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref6">15</reflink>]). As a result, they have shown that for training to impact operational and finance performance, human capital must first be improved (Choi &amp; Yoon, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref7">11</reflink>]; Sung &amp; Choi, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref8">55</reflink>]).</p> <p>However, research on the relationship between training and organizational‐level outcomes has failed to explain how this human resource practice connects to competitive strategy implementation (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref9">41</reflink>]), a crucial organizational‐level outcome that allows firms to differentiate themselves from their competitors (Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref10">32</reflink>]). Researchers studying the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation have postulated and empirically shown that the former has a positive and direct influence on the latter (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref11">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref12">48</reflink>]). This finding confirms the strategic significance of training for organizations, but research remains incomplete regarding the mechanisms by which training supports competitive strategies. Therefore, studies on the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation have followed the same pattern as Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) research, which consists of evaluating the direct impact of human resource practices on organizational‐level outcomes (Wright &amp; McMahan, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref13">60</reflink>]). According to this pattern, training itself contributes to organization success rather than the competences and characteristics it enhances in individuals (see Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref14">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref15">48</reflink>]). Due to this, research examining the relationship between training and strategy has neglected to examine the mediating effect of human capital between the two variables, even though SHRM literature establishes that the primary purpose of training is to enhance human capital, which is a valuable resource that drives competitive strategies implementation (Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref16">32</reflink>]; Ployhart, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref17">43</reflink>]).</p> <p>The purpose of this article is to evaluate the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. Specifically, we seek to answer a key question that has not previously been examined in the training literature: does human capital mediate the relationship between training and the implementation of different competitive strategies? As a result, this study provides empirical support for the rarely explored theoretical argument that training influences competitive strategies by improving human capital. This is a significant contribution to the literature on SHRM since previous research has not elucidated how training influences an organizational‐level outcome as important as competitive strategy implementation (Baraldi &amp; Cifalinò, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref18">4</reflink>]; Cifalinò &amp; Lisi, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref19">13</reflink>]). In addition, this article theoretically departs from seminal and recent studies that assume simplistically that training directly influences competitive strategy implementation (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref20">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref21">48</reflink>]). Instead, it provides a better understanding of the relationship between these two variables by examining the mediating role of a strategic resource such as human capital that can be improved through training.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-3">THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183977233-4">Training, human capital and competitive strategy implementation</hd> <p>Training is a human resource practice focused on enhancing the characteristics, skills and competences of individuals that support the achievement of positive outcomes in the activities they perform (Ployhart &amp; Moliterno, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref22">45</reflink>]), as empirically demonstrated (Jiang et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref23">34</reflink>]). Consequently, training contributes to the development of human capital (Danvila del Valle &amp; Sastre Castillo, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref24">16</reflink>]; Lepak et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref25">36</reflink>]), which is the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that enable employees to support business performance (Becker et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref26">7</reflink>]). When human capital is accumulated and combined at the organizational level, it enables firms to build and maintain strategic capabilities that support their competitiveness in the marketplace (Wright &amp; McMahan, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref27">60</reflink>]). These capabilities are the source of firm differentiation, given that they are business activities that are firm‐specific and difficult to imitate by competitors (Desarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref28">19</reflink>]). Thus, strategic capabilities represent the accumulation of specific human capital and are a key component of implementing competitive strategies and generating sustained competitive advantages (Becker et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref29">6</reflink>]). Following this rationale, studies have found that human capital enhances firms' ability to implement competitive strategies effectively (Hitt et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref30">30</reflink>]; Thomas &amp; Ramaswamy, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref31">58</reflink>]).</p> <p>The significance of this finding can be explained by the fact that competitive strategy is a method by which an organization achieves market superiority (Giles, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref32">26</reflink>]). Companies formulate their competitive strategies, which must then be implemented to achieve business success (Porter, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref33">46</reflink>]). As a result, competitive strategy implementation emerges as an organizational‐level outcome that involves implementing a method that will enable a company to compete and adapt to market conditions (Hitt &amp; Ireland, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref34">31</reflink>]). This study chose a competitive strategy implementation model that corresponds to Miles and Snow's ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref35">38</reflink>]) typology. Through their research, these scholars identified three types of competitive strategies: prospectors, defenders, and analyzers. First, prospector companies seek growth through innovative products and services, as well as defining new markets for their traditional and new product portfolios (Anwar &amp; Hasnu, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref36">3</reflink>]). They develop strategic capabilities in R&amp;D, marketing, and sales to support their innovation and market development efforts (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref37">19</reflink>]). Second, defenders emphasize on increasing operational efficiency to improve quality and reduce costs of their traditional product and service portfolio (Aljuhmani et al., [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref38">2</reflink>]). Their strategic capabilities include operations management, finance, and quality management that support improvement of organizational efficacy and quality (Raghuram, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref39">47</reflink>]). Third, analyzers are bold organizations capable of keeping pace with their competitors' innovation while maintaining acceptable costs and quality (Miles &amp; Snow, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref40">38</reflink>]). In consequence, these companies have both prospector and defender strategic capabilities (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref41">20</reflink>]). Lastly, Miles and Snow's strategy typology has been found to guide firms' training designs to develop human capital conducive to the achievement of their corporate objectives (Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref42">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-5">Research on the relationship between training and organizational‐level outcomes</hd> <p>The primary objective of training research has been to evaluate its impact on individual and team performance (Noe &amp; Tews, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref43">40</reflink>]). As a result, numerous studies have shown that training improves this kind of performance (Salas et al., [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref44">53</reflink>]). For this reason, training research has been criticized for failing to incorporate a strategic perspective that enables an understanding of training's impact on organizational‐level outcomes (Baraldi &amp; Cifalinò, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref45">4</reflink>]; Ployhart, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref46">43</reflink>]). To address this issue, diverse studies have been conducted on training's impact on organizational‐level outcomes (Garavan et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref47">23</reflink>]). Training has been extensively investigated in relation to operational and financial performance, showing that the former influences the latter directly and positively (Saks, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref48">51</reflink>]). Additionally, studies have shown that training has a positive and direct impact on competitive strategies implementation (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref49">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref50">48</reflink>]).</p> <p>In general, research on training and organizational‐level outcomes has been supported by the Resource‐Based View of the Firm (RBV). This theoretical framework asserts that organizational resources contribute to competitive advantages when: (l) the resources add value to the firm; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref51">2</reflink>) the resources are unique or rare among current and potential competitors; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref52">3</reflink>) the resources must be imperfectly imitable; and, finally, (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref53">4</reflink>) the resources cannot be substituted for others by competing firms in the marketplace (Barney, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref54">5</reflink>]). Accordingly, if human capital developed and improved by training within an organization possesses these characteristics and enables the performance of activities required to achieve company goals, this human resource practice may be regarded as a strategic resource that produces positive organizational‐level outcomes (Wright &amp; McMahan, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref55">60</reflink>]). Following this rationale, the RBV has been used to justify research that postulates and tests that training has a positive impact on these outcomes (Tharenou et al., [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref56">57</reflink>]).</p> <p>A theoretical problem with this stream of research is that it assumes that training has a direct impact on organizational‐level outcomes (Wright &amp; McMahan, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref57">60</reflink>]). Theoretically, it seems to be far more logical to establish that training influences these outcomes indirectly through the creation of human capital (Boon et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref58">9</reflink>]; Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref59">32</reflink>]). In this regard, studies have found that training impacts operational and financial performance through human capital (Park &amp; Jacobs, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref60">42</reflink>]; Saks &amp; Burke‐Smalley, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref61">52</reflink>]). Consequently, the findings of these studies provide a deeper understanding of how training influences organizational‐level outcomes, identifying human capital as a mediator variable (Choi &amp; Yoon, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref62">11</reflink>]).</p> <p>Despite this, training researchers have not addressed the central theoretical rationale of SHRM research, which acknowledges that training enhances a company's human capital, which further influences its ability to implement its competitive strategy (Becker et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref63">6</reflink>]; Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref64">32</reflink>]). This is consistent with the key objective of human resource practices, as described in SHRM literature, which is facilitating the implementation of competitive strategies by improving human capital (Wright et al., [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref65">59</reflink>]). RBV is the foundation of the prior arguments because it asserts that training results as human capital are not valuable in and of themselves; they are valuable to the extent that they contribute to the improvement of key organizational‐level outcomes like competitive strategy implementation (Ployhart, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref66">44</reflink>]). Thus, this study evaluates the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-6">INVESTIGATIVE HYPOTHESES</hd> <p>Based on the RBV, human capital must be examined as a mediator that explains the relationship between training and organizational‐level outcomes (Boon et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref67">9</reflink>]). As previous research has demonstrated that the main impact of training is improving firms' human capital (Jiang et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref68">34</reflink>]), which, respectively, has been shown to positively influence competitive strategy implementation (Chung et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref69">12</reflink>]; Díaz et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref70">22</reflink>]), it is reasonable to assume that human capital also mediates the relationship between training and competitive strategy. Considering Miles and Snow's opposing competitive strategies, human capital's mediating role in this relationship is explained as follows.</p> <p>According to Miles and Snow ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref71">38</reflink>]), opposing competitive strategies, like those of the defender and the prospector, require distinct types of human capital to be successfully implemented. This is in line with RBV, which postulates that specific and unique human capital supports the implementation of competitive strategies (Hitt et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref72">30</reflink>]). Consequently, the competences or contents trained in employees for supporting defender and prospector strategies are different, given the specific requirements of human capital for implementing each one, which has been evidenced in previous research (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref73">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref74">48</reflink>]).</p> <p>As a result, research and development (R&amp;D), marketing, and sales training contribute to the development of a human capital pool of experts in these functions (Raghuram, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref75">47</reflink>]). This type of human capital helps a company build and strengthen its strategic capabilities in R&amp;D, marketing, and sales (Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref76">48</reflink>]). Due to these capabilities, a firm can develop and exploit new products, services, and markets, which allows it to compete effectively in the market as prospectors (Hambrick, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref77">29</reflink>]). Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-7">1 Hypothesis</hd> <p>Human capital will mediate the relationship between training in R&amp;d‐marketing‐sales and prospector strategy implementation.</p> <p>In addition, operations management, finance, and quality management training enables the development of a human capital pool with skills related to these key business functions (Raghuram, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref78">47</reflink>]). It is through this type of human capital that the organization can build and strengthen its strategic capabilities in the areas of operations management, finance, and quality (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref79">41</reflink>]). As a result of these capabilities, the company can offer a high‐quality product portfolio at an affordable price, which means that it can compete in the market as a defender (Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref80">48</reflink>]). Considering this, the following hypothesis is posited:</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-8">2 Hypothesis</hd> <p>Human capital will mediate the relationship between training in operations management, finance and quality management and defender strategy implementation.</p> <p>Figures 1 and 2 show graphically the relationships established in the two previous hypotheses.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/BPU/01mar25/ijtd12343-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="ijtd12343-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 Relationship established in hypothesis 1." /> </p> <p></p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/BPU/01mar25/ijtd12343-fig-0002.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="ijtd12343-fig-0002.jpg" title="2 Relationship established in hypothesis 2." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183977233-11">METHOD</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183977233-12">Sample</hd> <p>This research was conducted in large Colombian companies operating in the manufacturing sector. The rationale behind this decision is the fact that, in previous studies, Colombian manufacturing organizations were found to implement both prospector and defender strategies (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref81">41</reflink>]). As a matter of strategic importance, prospectors and defenders can emphasize improving competencies in marketing, research‐development, sales, operations management, finance, or quality management (Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref82">48</reflink>]). Additionally, large companies were chosen because they implement structured training programs guided by the human resource management function (Muñoz Castellanos &amp; Salinero Martín, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref83">39</reflink>]).</p> <p>The manufacturing sector in Colombia has played a great role during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic, given that, even though the sector contracted in 2020, by 2022 it presented a positive reaction in terms of growth and contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (La República, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref84">49</reflink>]). According to Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref85">14</reflink>]), manufacturing was the largest contributor to national productivity in 2021. Consequently, the sector has been recovering its capacity as one of the most important generators of employment in the Colombian economy. The diversity of this sector in Colombia (see Table 1), according to its subsectors, is an advantage in terms of finding both prospectors and defenders. In accordance with Colombian commercial legislation, the companies participating in this study qualify as large companies. In other words, they generate US$ 15,000,000 in annual sales to be large companies.</p> <p>1 Table Percentage of companies participating in the study by each manufacturing subsector.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Manufacturing subsector&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th align="left"&gt;Number of firms&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Percentage&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Food and beverages&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;25&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;10.2%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Chemicals&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;9%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Plastics and rubber&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Textiles, apparel, design and fashion&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;18&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;7.3%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Iron, steel and other materials&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;9.4%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Graphic industry&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;7.7%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Construction products&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;6.5%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Furniture and accessories&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;8.2%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Cosmetics&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;15&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;6.1%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Machinery and equipment&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Leather and footwear&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;9%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Vehicles and accessory parts&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;9.4%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0183977233-13">Data collection process</hd> <p>To evaluate the hypotheses formulated in this study, three surveys were applied: one oriented towards the measurement of content‐specific training; one focused on the measurement of human capital; and, finally, one oriented towards the measurement of competitive strategy implementation. First, the survey on content‐specific training was sent to directors, leaders or coordinators of the training practice in the organization. Second, the survey on human capital was sent to managers, directors, leaders, or coordinators of the human resource management function in the organization. Third, the survey on competitive strategy implementation was sent to presidents, managers, or CEOs of the participating companies since their participation is usually very active and decisive in the strategy formulation and implementation processes. As a result, this avoids biases among the answers obtained from the three surveys.</p> <p>The three surveys were sent to the entire population of large manufacturing companies in Colombia. This corresponds to 765 companies in total. This means that 2295 surveys were sent through the <emph>surveymonkey</emph> platform. This made it possible to track the response rate of the managers participating in this study. Finally, 276 companies (36%) responded to the survey on content‐specific training, 261 companies (34%) completed the survey on human capital, and 245 companies (32%) participated in the survey on competitive strategy implementation. Therefore, the content‐specific training survey had a higher response rate. Overall, 245 large manufacturing companies responded to all three surveys, representing a response rate of 32%. The data collection process lasted approximately 8 months, between July 2020 and February 2021. Table 1 shows the percentage of companies that participated in this study according to each subsector of the manufacturing sector in Colombia.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-14">Measures</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183977233-15">Training in specific content</hd> <p>Content‐specific training was measured as the level of emphasis the organization places on each content (Blakely et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref86">8</reflink>]). Therefore, in this study it was measured as the company's level of emphasis on R&amp;D, marketing, sales, operations management, finance, and quality management training content, using a 7‐level Likert‐type scale (1: very low ‐ 7: very high). In the analysis of the results, in accordance with the hypotheses proposed, two constructs or groupings of training content are proposed: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref87">1</reflink>) R&amp;D, marketing and sales; and (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref88">2</reflink>) operations management, finance, and management quality. This grouping has been suggested in previous studies on the relationship between training and strategy (Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref89">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-16">Human capital</hd> <p>In reference to measuring human capital, the training transfer perspective was used as a guiding argument, which indicates that human capital, derived from the practice of training, is reflected in the improvement of the individual's performance and the organization's processes (Wright &amp; McMahan, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref90">60</reflink>]). The measurement of the human capital construct established by Carmeli and Schaubroeck ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref91">10</reflink>]) was then adapted. This measurement aims to define whether training has resulted in: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref92">1</reflink>) the improvement of employees' performance in their positions; and (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref93">2</reflink>) the strengthening of key processes that enable the implementation of the organization's strategy. It is necessary to clarify that this study evaluated both the human capital related to the implementation of both a prospector and a defender strategy. Thus, it was evaluated, using a Likert scale of seven (<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref94">7</reflink>) levels (1: Strongly disagree ‐ 7: Strongly agree), whether the design and implementation of training programs, which the company emphasizes when training its employees, have produced: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref95">1</reflink>) employees performing better in positions related to R&amp;D, marketing, and sales; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref96">2</reflink>) employees performing better in positions related to operations management, finance and quality management; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref97">3</reflink>) improvement in organizational processes related to R&amp;D, marketing and sales; and (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref98">4</reflink>) improvement in organizational processes related to operations management, finance and quality management. Items 1 and 3 constitute the human capital related to the prospector companies, while items 2 and 4 comprise the human capital related to the defenders.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-17">Competitive strategy implementation</hd> <p>The measurement of the implementation of the competitive strategy was carried out using the Dess and Davis ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref99">21</reflink>]) scale, which has been shown to be effective in previous studies in measuring the types of strategic implementations proposed by Miles and Snow (see Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref100">41</reflink>]). In this scale, five items assess the implementation of the defender strategy and 8 assess the implementation of the prospector strategy. Each item was measured using a 7‐level Likert‐type scale (1: completely disagree ‐ 7: completely agree). The measurement of competitive strategy implementation through this scheme is related to the fact that thirteen specific methods for generic competition in companies are evaluated (Day &amp; Wensley, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref101">17</reflink>]). Eight of these methods are based on how prospectors compete, while five are based on how defenders compete.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-18">Data analysis technique</hd> <p>In this study, the analysis of the data obtained through the surveys was performed by applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), with special use of the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. PLS‐SEM is the appropriate strategy when evaluating a relationship that has to do with a novel theoretical development in the field of management (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref102">28</reflink>]), such as the mediation hypotheses postulated in this study. The literature on PLS‐SEM establishes two stages in the analysis of the data (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref103">27</reflink>]): the assessment of the measurement model and the assessment of the structural model. The first evaluates the validity and reliability of the operationalizations used in this study for the intervening variables in the hypotheses. The second allows evaluating the relationships established in them (for the case of this study, the mediation relationships were evaluated). Both stages are presented in the following section of the article.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-19">RESULTS</hd> <p>Table 2 provides descriptive statistics and correlations between study variables.</p> <p>2 Table Descriptive statistics and correlations between study variables.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Variable&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Mean&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Standard Deviation&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;1&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;2&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;3&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;4&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;5&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Prospector training &lt;ext-link href="a" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;4.17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,52&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Defender training &lt;ext-link href="b" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;5.06&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0,10&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. Prospector human capital&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;4.04&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0,61&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.16&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. Defender human capital&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;4.88&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,33&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722; 0,15&lt;ext-link href="*" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.42&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.08&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;5. Prospector strategy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;4.66&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,35&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0,75&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.19&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.72&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.19&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;list list-type="Bullet"&gt;&lt;list-item&gt;&lt;p&gt;6. Defender strategy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/list-item&gt;&lt;/list&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;5.80&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;1,11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722; 0.43&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0,58&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.35&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.45&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;#8722;0.44&lt;ext-link href="**" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <p>1 a Training in R&amp;D, marketing and sales.</p> <ulist> <item>2 b Training in operations management, finance and quality management.</item> <item>3 * <emph>p</emph> &lt; 0.05;</item> <item>4 ** <emph>p</emph> &lt; 0.01.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0183977233-20">Measurement model evaluation</hd> <p>This section shows the measurement model evaluation carried out in this study. The measurement model in this study consisted of six constructs: prospector training (training in marketing, R&amp;D, and sales), defender training (Training in operations management, finance and quality management), prospector human capital, defender human capital, prospector strategy implementation, and defender strategy implementation. For each construct, according to the recommendations of the PLS‐SEM literature, convergent validity was assessed first (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref104">27</reflink>]). The assessment of this type of validity involved the evaluation of the standardized loadings at the level of each item belonging to the constructs, most of which exceeded the threshold of 0.7 recommended by the PLS‐SEM literature (see Table 3). Two standardized loadings were below the 0.7 threshold, but are accepted because, as indicated below, the convergent validity values at the construct level were adequate. It also covered the evaluation of Cronbach's Alpha (α), Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) criteria at the construct level. Regarding Cronbach's Alpha, all constructs exceeded the threshold of 0.6 (see Table 3) established in the literature (Taber, [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref105">56</reflink>]). In reference to CR, this result was above 0.7 for all constructs (see Table 3), which is the threshold recommended by the PLS‐SEM literature (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref106">27</reflink>]; Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref107">28</reflink>]). For the AVE indicator, this exceeded the PLS‐SEM literature threshold of 0.5 in all constructs (see Table 3). From an overall view, these results allow us to consolidate that the measurement model possesses convergent validity.</p> <p>3 Table Convergent validity results.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Item&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Standard loadings&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;&amp;#945;&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;CR&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;AVE&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PT1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.81&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.79&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.88&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.71&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PT2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.87&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PT3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DT1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.89&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.68&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.82&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.61&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DT2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.75&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DT3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.68&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PHC1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.87&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.74&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.88&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.79&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PHC2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.90&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DHC1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;.68&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.73&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DHC2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.86&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.81&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.92&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.93&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.66&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.79&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.89&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.87&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.70&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PSI7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.86&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;PS8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.67&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DSI1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.61&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;.84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.89&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.63&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DSI2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.89&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DSI3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.78&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DSI4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.80&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;DSI5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.85&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>5 <emph>Note</emph>: All standard loadings are significant to a 0.001 level (2‐tailed).</item> <item>6 Abbreviations: DHC, composed of the items that evaluate the human capital that is improved in a defender; DSI, defender strategy implementation; DT, composed of training in operations management, finance, and quality management; PHC, composed of the items that evaluate the human capital that is improved in a prospector; PSI, prospector strategy implementation; PT, composed of training in R&amp;D, marketing, and sales.</item> <item>7 <emph>Source</emph>: Ringle et al. ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref108">50</reflink>]).</item> </ulist> <p>Secondly, according to the recommendations of the PLS‐SEM literature (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref109">28</reflink>]), the discriminant validity between the intervening variables in each hypothesis model was evaluated. First, discriminant validity was evaluated for the model composed of prospector training, prospector human capital and prospector strategy implementation. Second, discriminant validity was evaluated for the model composed of training for defenders, human capital for defenders and defender strategy implementation. Discriminant validity, according to recent literature on PLS‐SEM (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref110">28</reflink>]), should not exceed a value of 0.9 for pairs of variables, when assessed using the Heterotrait‐Monotrait Ratio of Correlations (HTMT), as was done in this study. According to Tables 4 and 5, for all variable pairs in both models, HTMT values were less than 9. This indicates that the measurement model achieved discriminant validity as well.</p> <p>4 Table Discriminant validity among intervene variables in hypothesis 1.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Variable&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Prospector training&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Human capital&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Prospector&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Training in marketing, R&amp;D and sales&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Human capital&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.79&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Prospector strategy&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.87&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.87&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>8 <emph>Source</emph>: Ringle et al. ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref111">50</reflink>]).</item> <item>5 Table Discriminant validity among intervene variables in hypothesis 1.</item> </ulist> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Variable&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Defender training&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Human capital&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Defender&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Training in operations management, finance and quality management&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Human capital&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.63&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Defender strategy&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.77&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.62&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <p>9 <emph>Source</emph>: Ringle et al. ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref112">50</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-21">Structural model assessment</hd> <p>Regarding the analysis of the structural model, i.e., the evaluation of the hypotheses, the results obtained using the PLS‐SEM method are presented in Table 6. First, we found that human capital positive and significantly mediates the relationship between R&amp;D, marketing, and sales training and prospective strategy implementation (<emph>β</emph> = 0.25; <emph>t</emph> = 6.83). Second, we also found that human capital positive and significantly mediates the relationship between training in operations management, finance and quality management and defensive strategy implementation (<emph>β</emph> = 0.10; <emph>t</emph> = 3.99). As a result, hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported. However, as the direct relationships (training in marketing, R&amp;D and sales vs. prospector strategy; training in operations management, finance and quality management vs. defender strategy) were positive and significant (see Figures 3 and 4), the found mediation of human capital must be considered partial (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref113">28</reflink>]).</p> <p>6 Table Structural model evaluation results for indirect effects.</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table&gt;&lt;thead valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;tr valign="bottom"&gt;&lt;th&gt;Hypothesis&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Indirect Relationship&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Path coefficient&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;&lt;italic&gt;t Value&lt;/italic&gt;&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Decision&lt;/th&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/thead&gt;&lt;tbody valign="top"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;H1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;T&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;&amp;#8594;&amp;#8201;HC&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;&amp;#8594;&amp;#8201;PSI&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.25&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;6.83&lt;ext-link href="a" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Supported&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;H2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;T&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;&amp;#8594;&amp;#8201;HC&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;&amp;#8594;&amp;#8201;DSI&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;0.10&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;3.99&lt;ext-link href="a" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Supported&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;HC&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;: R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,38; Q&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,29HC&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;: R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,17; Q&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,12PSI: R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,67; Q&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,44DSI: R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,44; Q&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;0,27&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>10 <emph>Note</emph>: To calculate the significance level of the relationships tested, a bootstrapping was performed based on=5000 subsamples. T<sups>1</sups>: R&amp;D, marketing and sales training; HC<sups>1</sups>: human capital related to prospector strategy; T<sups>2</sups>: operations management, finance and quality management training; HC<sups>2</sups>: human capital related to defender strategy; PSI: prospector strategy implementation; DSI: defender strategy implementation.</item> <item>11 a <emph>t</emph> ≥ 2.58 significance to 0.001 level (2‐tailed).</item> <item>12 <emph>Source</emph>: Ringle et al. ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref114">50</reflink>]).</item> </ulist> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/BPU/01mar25/ijtd12343-fig-0003.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="ijtd12343-fig-0003.jpg" title="3 Results for the model comprised of R&amp;D, marketing, and sales training, human capital, and prospector strategy implementation (convergent validity and structural model evaluation). *t ≥ 2.58 significance to 0.001 level (2‐tailed)." /> </p> <p></p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/BPU/01mar25/ijtd12343-fig-0004.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="ijtd12343-fig-0004.jpg" title="4 Results for the model comprised of operations management, finance and quality management training, human capital and defender strategy implementation (convergent validity and structural model evaluation). *t ≥ 2.58 significance to 0.001 level (2‐tailed)." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Finally, the relationship models evaluated were found to possess in‐sample and out‐of‐sample predictive power, which was assessed by the R<sups>2</sups> and Q<sups>2</sups> indicators, respectively. Table 6 shows that for the dependent variables of the model (human capital and competitive strategy implementation), the R<sups>2</sups> values exceeded the threshold of 0.1 recommended by the literature in PLS‐SEM (Hair et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref115">28</reflink>]). This indicates the predictive power of the model within the sample. Likewise, the Q<sups>2</sups> values for the same dependent variables were greater than 0, indicating the predictive power of the model outside the sample (see Table 6).</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-24">DISCUSSION</hd> <p>Using RBV, we argued that human capital mediates the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. Accordingly, this study postulated that human capital mediates the relationship between training and the implementation of opposing competitive strategies (defender and prospector) based on Miles and Snow's typology (1984). As a result of our findings, we can conclude that training indirectly impacts competitive strategy implementation by enhancing human capital.</p> <p>A specific research question was posed at the start of this article, which should be revisited at this point. We sought to answer a key question that has not previously been addressed in the training literature: does human capital mediate the relationship between training and the implementation of different competitive strategies? Our study indicates that human capital plays a mediating role in the relationship between training and the implementation of competitive strategies, regardless of whether defender or prospector strategies are pursued. It follows from this finding that for training to influence competitive strategies implementation, firms must first improve their human capital. This was in line with previous research that found that training improves human capital (Jiang et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref116">34</reflink>]), a resource that, in turn, has been demonstrated to impact the implementation of the organization's competitive strategy (Chung et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref117">12</reflink>]; Díaz‐Fernández et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref118">22</reflink>]).</p> <p>Specifically, this study found that human capital mediates the relationship between R&amp;D, marketing and sales training and prospector strategy implementation. This finding supports hypothesis 1. In accordance with previous research, R&amp;D, marketing, and sales training improve firms' human capital expertise in these business functions, enabling them to implement prospector strategies more effectively (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref119">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref120">48</reflink>]). In reference to hypothesis 2, this study also found that human capital mediates the relationship between training in operations management, finance and quality management and the defender strategy implementation. Research indicates that operations management, finance, and quality management training develop a human capital pool skilled in these functions (Raghuram, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref121">47</reflink>]), which is essential for the implementation of the defender strategy (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref122">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref123">48</reflink>]).</p> <p>It is striking that the mediation of human capital was greater in the relationship between training in R&amp;D, marketing and sales and the implementation of the prospector strategy, than in the relationship between training in operations management, finance and quality management and the implementation of the defender strategy. This finding reaffirms Miles and Snow's ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref124">38</reflink>]) assertion that a way of competing based on product and market innovation, which is the central feature of prospector strategy implementation, relies heavily on human capital. It is argued that achieving these types of innovations is a process highly dependent on human characteristics (Schuler &amp; Jackson [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref125">54</reflink>]) and how they are used by organizational units. In contrast, the defender strategy, focused essentially on operational efficiency to get lower costs and better quality in the market, is more dependent on improvements in machinery, operations, and equipment.</p> <p>Finally, as there was a partial mediation of human capital between the relationship between training and the opposing competitive strategies of Miles and Snow, this means that other variables also have a mediating role in this relationship. Although training produces human capital (Jiang et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref126">34</reflink>]), this human resource practice could also lead to outcomes in the individuals and teams such as motivation or opportunity to contribute that could benefit the implementation of competitive strategies. Therefore, human capital, according to this study, cannot be considered as the unique strategic resource produced through training that supports strategy implementation in a firm.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-25">Theoretical implications</hd> <p>Our study has implications for several issues that are relevant for theory building and research on training and competitive strategy implementation. First, this study is among the first to demonstrate the theoretical rationale that indicates that training enhances human capital in such a way that firms can use it as a strategic resource, which has been expressed repeatedly by SHRM researchers (Garavan et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref127">25</reflink>]; Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref128">32</reflink>]; Ployhart &amp; Moliterno, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref129">45</reflink>]). Therefore, this study is novel in the sense that it provides empirical support for such a theoretical argument.</p> <p>Second, this article focused on understanding how training influences competitive strategy implementation, which has not been investigated in SHRM literature (Baraldi &amp; Cifalinò, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref130">4</reflink>]; Cifalinò &amp; Lisi, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref131">13</reflink>]). The findings of this study led to the theoretical conclusion that training is an enabler of human capital development, which, in turn, is a driver of competitive strategy implementation. This theoretically aligns with the SHRM research rationale that asserts that human resource practices enable the development of individual and team characteristics and competencies that drive competitive strategy implementation (Becker et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref132">7</reflink>]; Huselid et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref133">32</reflink>]). Therefore, this study contributes to SHRM research by providing a systematic explanation of how training influences competitive strategy implementation. Additionally, RBV's principles are adequate and useful to explain the mechanisms that connect training to competitive strategy implementation, according to this study. As a result of RBV theory, human capital can be considered a mediating resource that links human resource practices to organizational‐level outcomes that involve strategic aspects.</p> <p>Finally, this study goes beyond recent and seminal studies on how the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation can be theoretically and empirically examined. Previous research suggests that training influences competitive strategy implementation directly (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref134">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref135">48</reflink>]). However, this study modifies this rationale. As a result, it is demonstrated that the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation is produced indirectly, via results improved by training as human capital. Accordingly, theoretical analysis of the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation must consider the mechanisms that connect both variables, so this relationship may not be as straightforward as previously suggested in seminal and recent studies (Osorio‐Londoño et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref136">41</reflink>]; Raghuram &amp; Arvey, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref137">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-26">Practical implications</hd> <p>This study highlights the importance of establishing the type of human capital that organizations must improve to facilitate the implementation of competitive strategies they wish to implement. Therefore, if this type of human capital is clearly identified, it can establish the contents on which employees should be trained. This makes training a strategic initiative of the human resource management department. Moreover, this study suggests that organizational and human resource management leaders should evaluate training efforts based on how they facilitate the implementation of competitive strategies through the development of strategic capabilities. Consequently, the training effort must not only be measured and valued, but also assessed for its strategic impact to prevent it from being eliminated or reduced in times of financial difficulty.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-27">Limitations and future research</hd> <p>Interpreting the results of this study requires consideration of its limitations. Firstly, this study was conducted in large organizations in the manufacturing sector in Colombia. These organizations were selected because of their highly structured human resources management processes and, indeed, training. In this sense, although the results of this study are consistent with previous literature and theory, caution should be exercised in their contextualization within other sectors and countries. Thus, this study's findings are limited to large manufacturing companies in Colombia. Furthermore, the use of Colombian manufacturing firms as a sample, where quality and operations management are obviously relevant, could have influenced the results of the survey. The respondents might have considered that aspects related to training, human capital, and strategic implementation focusing on operations, finance, and quality are always important regardless of whether a prospector strategy is implemented. Secondly, the results of this research do not imply causality, since the study was cross‐sectional, i.e., the measurement of the variables training, human capital and strategy was carried out at the same time.</p> <p>Thirdly, it is pertinent to note that these three variables were measured perceptually, so this study relied on managers' knowledge to complete the questionnaires. This does not reduce the reliability of the results achieved in this study, since it has been shown that managers' perception of business practices and performance is positively correlated with organizational results that are objectively determined (Delaney &amp; Huselid, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref138">18</reflink>]). Nonetheless, future studies could benefit from the input of employees participating in both prospector and defender companies, as they are the ones receiving training. Results such as those of this study, based on managers' perception, could be compared with results based on employees' perception. Additionally, to improve knowledge of training contents that influence competitive strategy implementation, analyzing both successful prospectors and defenders' training programs would be helpful. In this way, it would be possible to determine the relative importance placed on training content in both types of companies. Consequently, it would also be possible to identify the differences in training content emphasis between them. Fourthly, this study evaluates the mediation of human capital in prospector and defender strategies according to Miles &amp; Snow's ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref139">38</reflink>]) model. This means that the results should be examined in terms of these generic strategies. As a result, this study did not consider the analyzer strategy, which is also part of this model; this is because it mixes prospector and defender characteristics, which does not allow us to define exclusive human capital characteristics.</p> <p>Fifthly, this study does not address the particularities of training execution in the companies studied, i.e., it does not evaluate its effectiveness as a human resource management practice, but rather its relationship to human capital and competitive strategy. Consequently, future research should focus on understanding how training contributes to the creation and improvement of human capital to ensure that both prospectors and defenders are able to differentiate themselves in the market. In particular, it is necessary to conduct a multi‐case analysis in which, starting with the identification of successful prospectors and defenders, specific details regarding how these companies have developed and implemented their training programs are examined. Researchers could examine in depth how prospectors and defenders transfer specific training content to employees and how training strategic impact is assessed. As a result of the above, it is important to analyze how the repeated effort in training on specific content, as well as the continuous adaptation of training methods and the constant updating of contents, make the value propositions of both prospectors and defenders more specific and differentiated.</p> <p>Therefore, it would be possible to compare the previous aspects between prospectors and defenders, attempting to comprehend generalizable characteristics of training implementation from a strategic perspective, and more importantly, understanding the contingency aspects of such implementation for each strategy type. This would be an important contribution at a practical level for those who lead the human resource management function and coordinate the training practice in companies, as it will give advice on how to implement training strategically when competing as a defender or prospector. As a result of examining in greater detail how training in specific content is implemented in prospectors as well as defenders, it would be possible to identify particular aspects of excellence in training that allow the development and improvement of high‐quality human resources. This is relevant since the quality of how human resources management practices −including training− are implemented plays a critical role in strengthening firms' strategic performance (Huselid &amp; Becker, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref140">33</reflink>]).</p> <p>Sixthly, this article indicates a novel research path on the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. Specifically, further investigation of the mechanisms connecting both variables is necessary. This would contribute to a more complete understanding of the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation, given that the results of this study only account for partial mediation of human capital. Additionally, the investigation presented in this article should be carried out using a longitudinal data collection process. This would help support the mediation relationships found in this study from a causal perspective. Aside from that, future studies could evaluate the mediating role of strategy in the relationship between human capital enhanced by training and organizations' financial performance. SHRM literature suggests that the strategy variable mediates the relationship between training results and financial performance (Huselid &amp; Becker, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref141">33</reflink>]).</p> <p>Finally, in future research it is critical to select control variables according to generic strategic type. This will allow the indirect impact of training and human capital to be isolated. As control variables in future studies, internal resources and external market conditions that could benefit defenders and prospectors, respectively, should be added. Regarding internal resources, prospector and defender strategies are influenced by specific capabilities. The fact that prospectors compete in the market by developing new products and markets implies that organizational capabilities such as R&amp;D, marketing and information technology are key to the implementation of a prospector strategy (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref142">20</reflink>]). The development of new products requires a significant investment in R&amp;D and product engineering; the identification of emerging markets requires the application of techniques and methods for analyzing the business environment that allow market segmentation, technological trends, competitor movements and emerging consumer needs; and, in addition, ensuring internal communication of the knowledge gained from monitoring the environment depends on information technology (IT) (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref143">19</reflink>]). By using IT infrastructure and technologies, it is possible to integrate the various organizational functions for the development of new products and markets (Lu &amp; Yang, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref144">37</reflink>]). Therefore, with respect to the implementation of the prospector strategy, it is suggested that future studies integrate control variables such as the company's investment in R&amp;D, the implementation of tools for monitoring the business environment and competition, and investment in IT.</p> <p>As defenders focus on improving operational efficiency, cost reduction, and process improvement (Miles &amp; Snow, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref145">38</reflink>]), this implies that it is crucial for these organizations to consolidate technological innovations in manufacturing processes and their installed capacity, the implementation of quality control techniques, and establishing long‐term relationships with customers and suppliers (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref146">19</reflink>]). Thus, with respect to the implementation of the defender strategy, it is suggested that future studies integrate control variables such as investment in technological reconfiguration of manufacturing processes, the application of quality control methods and techniques, and the establishment of long‐term relationships with suppliers and customers.</p> <p>With respect to external market conditions, the implementation of a prospector strategy may be driven by a highly competitive market dynamism, while a defender strategy may be driven by a low dynamism (DeSarbo et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref147">19</reflink>]). The constant evolution and innovation of companies and sectors implies competitive dynamism that drives a prospector strategy; in contrast, the lack of transformation, evolution and innovation in a sector and its component companies facilitates the development of a defender strategy (Laforet, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref148">35</reflink>]). Therefore, the market's competitive dynamism could also be included as a control variable in future studies.</p> <hd id="AN0183977233-28">CONCLUSION</hd> <p>This study evaluated the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation using RBV's principles. We found that human capital mediates the relationship between both variables. Practically speaking, this means that training is a human resource practice that improves human capital, a valuable strategic resource that contributes to competitive strategies implementation. This article fills a gap in SHRM literature by elucidating how training influences competitive strategies.</p> <ref id="AN0183977233-29"> <title> REFERENCES </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref4" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Aftab, J., Abid, N., Cucari, N., &amp; Savastano, M. (2023). 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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Linking Training with Competitive Strategy: The Mediating Role of Human Capital – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Andres+A%2E+Osorio-Londoño%22">Andres A. Osorio-Londoño</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5571-2684">0000-0002-5571-2684</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Julia+C%2E+Naranjo-Valencia%22">Julia C. Naranjo-Valencia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gregorio+Calderón-Hernandez%22">Gregorio Calderón-Hernandez</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22International+Journal+of+Training+and+Development%22"><i>International Journal of Training and Development</i></searchLink>. 2025 29(1):74-93. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 20 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+Capital%22">Human Capital</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Training%22">Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Competitive+Selection%22">Competitive Selection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+Resources%22">Human Resources</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personnel+Management%22">Personnel Management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Strategic+Planning%22">Strategic Planning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporations%22">Corporations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industry%22">Industry</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Colombia%22">Colombia</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1111/ijtd.12343 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 1360-3736<br />1468-2419 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This study evaluates the mediating role of human capital in the relationship between training and competitive strategy implementation. It provides a novel contribution to strategic human resource management literature by exploring mechanisms linking training with competitive strategies. The Resource-Based View of the firm and Miles and Snow's opposite strategies are used herein to connect training, human capital, and competitive strategy. Hypotheses about human capital's mediating role in the relationships between training and prospector and defender strategies, respectively, were proposed and empirically tested in 245 large Colombian industrial companies by structural equation modeling. This study found that human capital mediates the relationship between training and competitive strategies. In practical terms, training facilitates competitive strategy implementation via human capital improvement. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1460059 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/ijtd.12343 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 20 StartPage: 74 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Human Capital Type: general – SubjectFull: Training Type: general – SubjectFull: Competitive Selection Type: general – SubjectFull: Human Resources Type: general – SubjectFull: Personnel Management Type: general – SubjectFull: Strategic Planning Type: general – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries Type: general – SubjectFull: Corporations Type: general – SubjectFull: Industry Type: general – SubjectFull: Colombia Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Linking Training with Competitive Strategy: The Mediating Role of Human Capital Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Andres A. Osorio-Londoño – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Julia C. Naranjo-Valencia – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gregorio Calderón-Hernandez IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1360-3736 – Type: issn-electronic Value: 1468-2419 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 29 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Training and Development Type: main |
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