There is burgeoning literature on principal investigators (PIs) and their influential role in
science, technology transfer and research commercialisation. However, there is yet no analysis
of this actor from the perspective of their human capital (HC), i.e., the combination of
knowledge, abilities and skills that they possess. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is
to fill this gap by identifying whether a range of different PI profiles exists, based on their
different HC. A cluster analysis was developed using a database comprised of 224 PIs of
research teams, from a wide range of scientific fields. Three different PI profiles were identified,
research-oriented PIs, accomplished PIs, management-focused PIs. The relationship
between each of these profiles and their performance was analysed at both individual and
research team level, and our findings reinforce the idea that there is not a size that fits all.
Indeed, contrary to the ‘more is better’ statement, higher levels of HC are not necessarily
connected to better results, our findings suggested an adequate combination of HC as the
best option for PIs. Results of the relationship between PI gender, performance and the
three different PI profiles have been examined, as well
