The role of human capital in organizational-change processes

Environmental complexity and dynamism leads us to view change as a necessity, a key element in the process of strategic and organizational development rather than as an exceptional event. The best "antidote" to this complexity is always the staff who work in the companies and possess specialized skills. This paper seeks to provide answers to the following research questions: • What are the best conditions for actually carrying out organizational change? • What is the role of the staff in this process? To this end, we analysed the different variables that come into play in the process of change, and considered the different stages of this process. By analysing staff-related variables we discovered the importance of the relationship between resistance management and enhancement of said staff. Particular attention is paid to the risk of organizational inertia, where resistance from staff is recognized as one of the factors that can determine the success or failure of a program of change. Thus, the importance of being able to correctly manage this resistance becomes very clear. In this context, the human capital available to the company, along with the other elements of intangible capital, is able to increase the competitive capacity of the company in the process of creating value for its various stakeholders. With this point of view, this paper examines the case of a known Italian company and the process of change that it has affected.