Do U.S. Firms Invest Less in Human Resources?: Training in the World Auto Industry

Abstract

We investigate the common assertion that U.S. firms invest less in human resources than key international competitors, testing four alternative explanations for differences in training effort found in survey data from an international sample of fifty‐seven automobile assembly plants. We find the strongest support for the view that the level of training is derived from the requirements of the business/production strategy and the overall “bundle” of human resource policies—beyond training—adopted by the firm.