Evaluating human resource competitiveness based on an improved TOPSIS method: The case of automotive industry

Human resource plays an essential role in the sustainable development of modern industry, especially the talent-intensive industries. Evaluating the human resource competitiveness is the basis for quantifying industrial competitiveness and shaping development strategies. In this study, an improved Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is developed to evaluate the national human resource competitiveness by using the case of automotive industry. The new approach averts information loss effectively by combining subjective and objective weights, which reflect both the experience of experts and information of the data. Empirical results show that the proposed method is a viable, systematic approach in solving the problem. It is found that the factors of R&D expenditure, granted patents and published papers are the major factors determining national human resource competitiveness.