Organizational Human Capital Retention: A Qualitative Study of HRM as a Mechanism for Long-term Knowledge Retention

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which human resource management (HRM) can contribute to the long-term organizational retention of human capital, specifically in the form of employee knowledge, within multinational corporations (MNCs). While the existing HRM literature has not explicitly addressed human capital retention, it has done so implicitly by focusing on employee retention. This study, however, aims to make that connection more explicit by exploring whether HRM can support knowledge retention beyond individual tenure, thereby contributing to a more long-term preservation of employee knowledge. In doing so, it integrates concepts from previously distinct bodies of literature, including knowledge identification, the routinization of knowledge and the practical enactment of routines. A qualitative multiple-case study design was employed, with semi-structured interviews conducted across several MNCs. This approach made it possible to assess whether certain similarities or differences in practices existed between cases, thereby contributing to an understanding of how knowledge retention is supported within organizations. The findings indicate that HRM can play a partial role in supporting long-term organizational knowledge retention. More specifically, it does so through the proactive identification of employee knowledge, particularly via in-person mechanisms and the involvement of line management and higher organizational levels. However, limited empirical evidence was found for the routinization of knowledge and the support for practical enactment of routines. As a result, the findings suggest that knowledge retention remains largely dependent on individual employees as carriers of knowledge, rather than being structurally embedded within organizations. Consequently, the extent to which HRM can contribute to long-term organizational human capital retention, in the form of knowledge, within MNCs, appears to be limited.