This study examines the role of HR systems and HR managers in human capital resource emergence (HCRE). Drawing on the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework, HR systems and HR managers are expected to individually and jointly influence the amplification of the individual KSAO-performance links. To test these hypotheses, this study collected data about patent attorneys with large US law firms using web scrapping techniques and developed a new technique, group-split multilevel contextual effects models, to assess the impact of HR systems and HR managers’ KSAOs on the emergence of the individual KSAO-performance link to a higher level. Supplemental analyses were also used to examine the potential impact of alternative configurations and levels of HR bundles and HR managers’ KSAOs. The findings from this study suggest that (1) the relatively high KSAOs of HR managers and (2) the configurations of high levels of motivation/opportunity bundles are associated with the amplification aspects of HCRE.
