ABSTRACT
This chapter provides foundations to understand the rest of the book. It briefly reviews the historical evolution of the human capital and exposes as to how this concept was theorized. In the first part of the chapter, a brief review of the human capital definitions has been provided to understand the meaning of human capital in a contemporary environment. Further, by shedding light on the contemporary disruptive developments, both constructive and destructive, in the form of COVID-19 and cutting-edge digital technologies, the chapter demonstrates the significance of understanding, measuring, managing, and developing human capital for performance at micro, meso, and macro levels. A brief review of the human capital theory has been undertaken to expose the foundations of linking HC with performance. This will further help to build the conceptual understating on human capital's role, discussed in detail in each of the subsequent chapters. The chapter concludes by exhibiting the focus of the rest of the book.
