Human capital, businesses & social capital: synergies for growth and competitiveness

The seminar on “Human capital, businesses & social capital: synergies for growth and competitiveness”, held as part of the Aspen Seminars for Leaders program, examined the growing influence of human capital in determining the competitiveness of Italy’s economic system in globalized markets. It was recalled that human capital plays a key role in terms of the internationalization of businesses and the governance of complex organizations. The latter are no longer managed on the basis of strictly hierarchical criteria but increasingly according to a network mechanism, based on the interaction of participants within the network and on horizontal relationships. It was also noted that the culture of growth will need to increasingly rely on a second component, namely, social capital, which entails a sense of local-area, civil and institutional identification and is founded on ethical and civic awareness as well as unwritten rules which provide mutual checks and balances.