Human Capital Investment and Firm Financial Performance: the Mediating Role of Employee Well-being and the Moderating Role of Financial Constraints in Project-based Organisations in Uzbekistan
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Firms often treat spending on employee training, development and well-being as a discretionary expense rather than an investment. The aim of this article is to examine whether human capital investment improves firm financial performance through employee well-being, and whether this effect depends on the firm's financial constraints. The study integrates human capital theory, the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model and the corporate finance literature on financing constraints. A moderated-mediation model is proposed in which employee well-being mediates the link between human capital investment and financial performance, while financial constraints weaken the link between investment and well-being. The model is tested on matched employer–employee data from 50–60 project-based organisations in the construction, IT, consulting and engineering sectors of Tashkent. Multilevel moderated-mediation analysis is applied. The scientific novelty lies in treating human capital investment as a financially constrained corporate investment and testing this integrated model in the under-researched context of Central Asia. The results help managers and policymakers understand the financial rationale for investing in employees under different financing conditions.
Source: YASHIL IQTISODIYOT VA TARAQQIYOT
Author: Aziza, U. Shokirova
Institution: New Uzbekistan University
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225016268