Uddannelsesmæssig baggrund og virksomhedsperformance: Betydningen af Human Capital

Abstract

This study examines the importance of human capital and investigates whether the educa-tional background of directors and rank-and-file employees provides valuable insights for predicting future operating earnings. By employing proprietary panel data from Danish small and medium-sized firms spanning 17 years, the paper analyzes the impact of educational levels and academic performance. First, the findings indicate that the average grades of di-rectors and rank-and-file employees do not affect firms’ future earnings. Neither does the proportion or number of directors (rank-and-file employees) with a university degree. How-ever, a positive association is revealed between the number of rank-and-file employees with a university degree and the change in gross profit and operating costs. Conditioned by the firms’ economic situation, the results indicate that the effects on these financials are different between prior-year loss and prior-year profit firms. While prior-year profit firms experience a greater increase in gross profit, the increase in operating costs seems to overrule the added value in gross profit in prior-year loss companies. Secondly, the results disclose that higher grades in high school and educational length are positively associated with individual salaries. Lastly, Danish SMEs generally underpay their employees compared to model predictions. However, the underpayment decreases as the firm becomes more profitable. Overall, the study emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of human capital and firms’ educa-tional structure as these might have implications for companies, stakeholders, and regulators.