To cite this article: Jim Andersén (2021) Resource orchestration of firm-specific human capital and firm performance-the role of collaborative human resource management and entrepreneurial ABSTRACT Firm-specific human capital (HC) is widely recognised as the most important resource for superior firm performance. Contemporary literature on the resource-based view (RBV) and resource orchestration has stressed the importance of organising resources, such as firm-specific HC, in order to fully

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... it them. However, companies with idiosyncratic resources cannot rely on established resource exploitation practices, making the exploitation of firm-specific HC a complex issue. Nevertheless, few studies have empirically examined how to orchestrate firm-specific HC. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine how resource orchestration-operationalised as collaborative human resource management (CHRM) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) both individually and combined-moderates the relationship between firm-specific HC and firm performance. Based on a sample of 151 Swedish manufacturing firms, the findings demonstrate that CHRM and EO do not independently influence the relationship between firm-specific HC and performance. However, firms with firm-specific HC benefit from either being highly entrepreneurial and relying on CHRM or being non-entrepreneurial and not focusing on CHRM; they perform worst if they are entrepreneurial without using CHRM. Whereas previous RBV-studies on resource exploitation have mainly stressed that HC has to be exploited, this study contributes to the RBV by examining how firm-specific HC should be exploited. ARTICLE HISTORY