Search results

The past 40 years of reform and opening up have seen the role of core competence receive unprecedented attention because of the impact of the new normal economy as well as the pressure of transformation and upgrading. Few Chinese enterprises have effectively constructed core competence, and there is also a lack of strategic perspective and contextual embedding of its construction process in theory. This study aims to analyse the unique contextual characteristics of China in the transitional period and the impact on the core competence construction of Chinese enterprises and proposes its construction mechanism for Chinese enterprises.

Through theoretical deduction and speculation, this paper analyses the process of concept formation, clarifies the concept, analyses its connotations and structure and emphasises its relativity. Based on a review of the theoretical research on the core competence construction process and an analysis of dual contextual impact, this paper puts forward a mechanism for core competence construction.

The results reveal that four specific characteristics of entrepreneurs in balancing and coping with the dual nature of external context constitute the key driving force for a Chinese enterprises’ core competence construction; under the influence of this driving force, the core competence construction mechanism includes process mode, knowledge source, management mode and key success factors.

Approaching it from a Chinese context, this study deepens the concept of core competence; enriches and develops the research related to the core strategic research proposition of its construction; and provides positive significance for Chinese enterprises to effectively build, develop and strengthen core competence and enhance their international competitiveness.

Design‐build (DB) clients play a vital role in the delivery of DB system and the clients' competences are critical to the success of DB projects. Most of the DB clients, however, remain inexperienced with the DB system. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key competences that DB clients should possess to ensure the success of DB projects in the construction market of China.

Five semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews and two rounds Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted in the construction market of China to identify the key competences of DB clients. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance.

Six ranked key competences of DB clients have been identified, which are, namely: the ability to clearly define project scope and objectives; financial capacity for the projects; capacity in contract management; adequate staff or consulting team; effective coordination with DB contractors; and experience with similar DB projects. Calculation of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) indicates a statistically significant consensus of panel experts on these top six key competences.

Clients should clearly understand the competence requirements in DB projects and should assess their DB capability before going for the DB option.

The examination of DB client's key competences will help the client deepen the understanding of the DB system. DB clients can also make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence.

Industry 4.0 processes brought dramatic changes in skills and competences needed at the firm level. The purpose of this paper is: to identify and quantify key competences required for workers with economics-and-business background; to evaluate development level of those competences among the currently employed workforce; to investigate degree of match between required and currently developed competences; and finally to assess how this (mis)match translates to firm performance.

This research is based on primary data, collected through questionnaires, and secondary data of firms’ financial and structural characteristics. Key competences were estimated using factor analysis and were then used as covariates in explaining differences in firms’ performance in both static and dynamic production function specifications using standard regression model, Heckman selection model and Arellano–Bond estimation.

Results show that mismatches in competences basic algebra; collectedness, conflict resolution and presentation; and motivation and organization are all negatively associated in explaining the variation of firm performance, with motivation and organization having the most significant effect.

This paper focuses on competence mismatch by including both sides of the labor market (employers and employees) in the analysis. This paper offers: a theoretical structure for understanding and investigating existing competence mismatches; a step-by-step industry-driven method for deriving key required competences, including an initial exploratory phase (combination of literature review, exploratory interviews and pilot study) followed by a descriptive and implementation phases (design, implementation and analysis of nationally representative survey); and finally, analysis phase (associating competence mismatches to firm performance).

The purpose of this paper is to find a framework for the assessment of the learning outcomes of entrepreneurship education as a cross-curricular subject. The problem is twofold: the first difficulty is the relationship to the general issues regarding competence and its assessment; the second difficulty is the assessment of competencies in cross-curricular education in diverse contexts such as school and work.

The European key competence for lifelong learning of the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and the European qualification framework (EQF) are convenient to benchmark the outcomes of enterprise education. In order to assess and develop competence in vocational students, educators should design real life problem solving situations, which are new for the students and closely related to their vocations.

The study describes an assessment process of the learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and competence. While the authors tested knowledge by giving the students open-ended questions, the authors assessed the skills and competence with a practical problem concerning the students’ vocational discipline to be solved in groups.

The paper calls for a better alignment between work experience, teaching for competence and assessment of key competences – such as the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship – taught as a cross curricular subject.

The assessment makes use of a theoretically grounded definition of competence, and considers varied forms of evaluation of entrepreneurship education. Educators can use it across Europe as it refers to a common background, the European key competences and the EQF, and it promotes the students’ transitions to work and mobility. It is rigorous, and, at the same time, adaptable to the context. It is meaningful for the various stakeholders at various levels: students, employers, schools, workplaces and institutions.

The purpose of this study is to identify specific qualifications and competences required within the field of logistics and supply chain management from the perspective of lifelong learning and hierarchical level. It also reveals a hierarchy level-specific job profile for logistics and supply chain management jobs based on the European Framework for Key Competences and the German Federal Employment Agency.

A review of the literature on competences and skills in the field of logistics is combined with an analysis of 832 job postings by means of content analyses and thematic mapping.

The academic literature discusses more than 280 skills and competences related to the job profile of logistics and supply chain managers. The majority of these skills represent social skills. Analyses of job postings show significant differences in the required portfolio of skills and competences depending on the hierarchical level of the position. Contrary to the literature, job postings include more cognitive competences and meta-competences than social skills.

The first contribution of this research is that competences were examined from the perspective of lifelong learning, revealing how this is applied in the field of logistics. The second is that this conceptual framework can be utilised to compare skills and competences between different hierarchical levels. The third contribution refers to identifying a set of skills and competences different to what had been presented in the literature.

Argues that key account management (KAM) in industrial and business‐to‐business markets has its roots in sales management where it has long been recognized that customers of strategic importance require special treatment. Explains that, more recently, growing interest among academics and practitioners in relationship marketing has forced KAM centre stage as one of the few seemingly tried and tested approaches to customer retention and development, but that this trend has exposed three interrelated problems for the adoption of KAM systems. Maintains that: first, many companies have merely extended their traditional approaches to major account selling, rather than transforming their internal processes to accommodate the wider relational aspects of KAM; second, there has been a rush to define managerial competences and best practice, with little theoretical or empirical underpinning; and third, despite parallel developments in purchasing and supply‐chain management, there has been a tendency for the sellers’ perspective to dominate implementation issues. Addresses these problems by operationalizing the relational development model outlined in an earlier article entitled “From key account selling to key account management” (JMP, Vol. 1 No. 1). Draws on the findings from ongoing empirical research which takes the buyer/seller dyadic relationship as the unit of analysis to provide a critique of the relative neglect of KAM processes in preference to outputs in the form of managerial competences.

Unlike previous studies which emphasize market oriented performance from the perspective of firms or customers, but mainly internally, the paper proposes that firms should prioritize customer‐focused performance defined totally externally from the perspective of targeted customers, which are the fundamental drivers of purchasing or repurchasing behaviors of customers and consequently the key to successful competition in the customer‐centered era. Then, the role of customer‐focused performance in the overall business performance system is examined. After the components and dynamics of customer‐focused performance are analyzed, much attention is given to its key determinants in perspective of a resource‐based view, which aims mainly at bridging the current gaps between strategic management and service management. In addition, important propositions are presented and future implications are discussed.

This study aims to provide an overview of the past two decades of lifelong learning (LLL) policies for enhancing employability and reduce social exclusion in young people of European countries through the development of the so-called LLL key-competences.

Built on a quasi-systematic review, this contribution explores traditional and new methods for promoting the LLL transition, and then employability, in young adults (e.g. apprenticeship, vocational training, e-learning, etc.).

It argues the need to identify all the possible approaches able to support policymakers, as they can differently impact key-competence development.

Finally, based on the consolidated EU policy experience, we propose a strategy of implementation of the LLL programmes that facilitates the institutions’ decision processes for policy-making through the use of decisional support system.

For professional sustainability work, graduates need to be able to work in teams and collaborate with stakeholders; in other words, they need to have developed interpersonal competence. There is growing evidence that project-based sustainability courses facilitate interpersonal competence development. However, research so far has focused on single case studies and on assessing learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of how graduate students learn interpersonal competence in project-based sustainability courses.

This study adopts a multi-case study approach triangulating observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups supported by Photovoice method. A comparison of three project-based sustainability courses in graduate programs at universities in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Spain is conducted to gain generalizable insights on how interpersonal competence can be developed through project-based sustainability courses.

Receiving inputs, experiencing, reflecting and experimenting are four learning processes supportive of interpersonal competence development. Interpersonal attitudes seem to be mostly learned through a combination of experiencing and reflecting, followed by experimenting; not surprisingly, interpersonal knowledge is mostly developed through a combination of receiving inputs, experiencing and (collective) reflection; and interpersonal skills seem to be mostly learned through a combination of receiving inputs and experimenting, or, more directly, experiencing and experimenting.

These findings support the unique learning opportunities offered through project-based sustainability courses and can help instructors to better facilitate students’ development of interpersonal competence.

The value of this study is three-fold: (i) it provides a comprehensive picture of interpersonal competence, including attitudes, knowledge, and skills; (ii) it spells out specific teaching and learning processes; and (iii) it links these to specific interpersonal competence facets and components.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how competences for sustainable development and research interrelate within a context of competence-based higher education. Specific focus is oriented towards strengthening research competences for sustainability.

Following a hermeneutic–interpretive methodology, this paper builds upon a critical literature review to demarcate the theoretical framework and an in-depth analysis of a case study exploring the interrelations between both types of competences.

The paper discusses current issues in the integration of competences and explores the contribution of research-based methods to acquire competences for sustainable development. The analysis shows that research skills are often mentioned to contribute to this acquisition, though from a general perspective, or from the sidelines of the learning process. A holistic view on how both concepts are linked is missing.

First, the complex nature of competences and their integration in higher education could lead to difficulties in interpreting and analysing them. Second, the analysis is based on a single-case study, limiting possibilities to generalise the results. Third, this study is not looking at curriculum practices in these fields.

There is a need to holistically (re-)frame research competences within the concepts of education for sustainable development and, to a wider extent, sustainable development.

Framing research competences within the concept of sustainable development enables a thorough and “conscious”, rather than coincidental, acquisition of competences for sustainable development.

The originality of this paper lies in the fact that there is little literature about the interrelations between competences for sustainable development and research competences.