Advancement along a career path: the influence of human capital and performance

Following the path metaphor of careers along with signalling and human capital theories, we examine important factors that predict individuals' advancement in a career. With a unique sample of A merican football players, we tested the influence of individuals' human capital on their performance, value and advancement along a career path. Our findings indicate that individuals' human capital assessed in the first stage of the career path is positively related to individuals' performance in the second stage of the career path and the value placed on individuals in the third stage of the career path. We also found that performance in the second stage mediated the relationship between human capital assessed in the first stage and the value placed on individuals in the third stage of the career path.