The mediating effect of personal values on the influence of human capital on the production of artisanal cheeses

Abstract

This study proposed the identification of personal values and their role as mediation between human capital and the expression of quality. The relationship between these factors in artisanal food production in small companies is still little explored, so this work has the objective of bringing advances in this theme. For the analysis of the results, a quantitative method was used, structural model equations, through the partial least squares regression method (PLS) and the questionnaires were applied to 171 artisanal cheese producers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The sample population considered was the number of families registered in the state Program of Family Agroindustry, which has a total of 429 registrations. For the collection of responses, an online questionnaire was used, which was sent through emails and WhatsApp. The results found were satisfactory, demonstrating that investments in human capital must be the object of public policies, as their influence overlaps the influence of the personal values of each entrepreneur for the expression of quality conventions. The assumptions about the effect of mediation of values in the relationship between human capital and quality worlds are positive and significant, demonstrating that the values had a complementary partial mediation effect between human capital and quality, but with less importance than the direct impact of human capital in quality. It was possible to verify the importance of personal experience, combined with constant training for the development of human capital in the company. In small companies, as is the case with the production of artisanal Brazilian cheeses, in which production and handling are under the control of the family, the contribution of human capital to quality is even more evident. At the same time, personal values have a strong influence on small companies, where the characteristics, behavior, attitudes and beliefs of the entrepreneur are decisive for the results of the enterprise.