A multi-level investigation of individual and unit-level human capital complementarities

Human capital theory has recently expanded to include multi-level analysis by conceptualizing the unit-level human capital resource. At the same time, the value and interdependency of complementary resources have been theorized to provide competitive advantages for firms. Thus, complementary human capital at one level may impact the performance of human capital at another level in the firm. Through a multi-level analysis performed using hierarchical linear modeling of Major League Baseball data, we show that the relationship between individual human capital and individual performance is impacted by higher unit-level complementary human capital resources. This relationship is found to be positive across levels despite contradictory findings at the lower within-level analysis. As such, this paper contributes to the understanding of how complementary individual and unit-level human capital resources relate to performance outcomes. Implications of our findings include support for the notion that more is not a...