Firm-specific human capital and compensation organizational tenure profiles: An archival analysis of salary data for it

Abstract

We examine determinants of IT compensation using archival salary data from 2,251 IT professionals in Singapore. Consistent with human capital theory, we find that professionals in IT jobs requiring more firm-specific human capital are paid more than those in jobs requiring less firm-specific human capital. Moreover, compensation increases with organizational tenure at an increasing rate for professionals in higher firm-specific human capital IT jobs, but at a decreasing rate for those in lower firm-specific human capital IT jobs. Our results reveal firm-specific human capital as a primary determinant of compensation and a moderator of IT compensation-organizational tenure profiles. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.