مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Determinants of Human Capital Intensity: An Empirical Analysis on Automotive Suppliers in Turkey

Abstract :

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the determinants of human capital intensity levels of the firms with emphasize on foreign ownership and R D activities, also to make a contribution to the scarce empirical literature in this subject. The evidence is based on a comprehensive firm-level survey data gathered through face-to-face questionnaire with the top executives of suppliers operating in Turkish automotive industry. The key findings can be summarized as: (1) foreign ownership is the only variable that has positive (and significant) impact on all senses of supplier’s human capital intensity as expected; (2) the impact of foreign ownership on a supplier’s human capital is higher for white collar intensity-(general) than for engineer intensity-(specific); (3) being an older or larger supplier negatively (and significantly) impacts a supplier’s specific human capital intensity, while performing R D activities (having an R D department), and being a firsttier supplier impact positively (and significantly). These findings reveal that smaller and younger first-tier foreign suppliers performing R D activities employ more specific (engineers) human capital stock.