These are wide-ranging enough to tap a variety of human capital dimensions.
The use of focus groups allows us to probe the general subject of human capital and
“check the pulse” of organizational alertness on human capital issues. In total, six focus
groups, comprising 27 informants (22 from the management level and five from the
non-management level) were organized in three countries. Case descriptions
transcribed from tape recordings and personal notepads were produced and
analyzed using the content analysis technique. This involved performing a
word-frequency count in order to make inferences about key emerging themes in the
data (Weber, 1990). Two interview formats were employed.
First, semi-structured interviews were scheduled so as to allow the interviewees
greater freedom in expressing the issues that they felt were most relevant from their
own points of view, and to potentially highlight issues not envisaged at the interview
design stage. Interviews with 40 key individuals, ranging from top management to
non-management employees as well as external consultants, who are centrally
engaged in the human capital concepts in practice, were conducted for around an hour
and a half each. Second, given some of the interviewees’ busy schedules, the interviews
were conducted via telephone.
Once the data were collected, two types of analysis were performed. First, the
tape-recorded interviews were transcribed as case descriptions and subsequently
examined where appropriate. Second, overarching themes were identified based upon
an established typology. These were cross-checked to strengthen the validity of the
defined constructs.
Case findings
From the focus group and interview data, a number of recurring themes emerged
covering human capital development, the rhetoric surrounding its introduction and
implementation, and the actual experience of employees. They are:
. corporate strategic rhetoric;
. corporate structural rhetoric; and
. HR management rhetoric
All of these are underpinned by individual cognition.