Developing generic competencies for infrastructure managers in India
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
ISSN: 1753-8378
Article publication date: 16 April 2018
Issue publication date: 2 May 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for generic competencies based on lifecycle orientation of projects to support infrastructure managers (IMs) in India.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has reviewed literature on competency theories and their advancement of knowledge in management, construction and engineering projects. This study has applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to structure generic competencies founded on infrastructure practices in India. Further this study has applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test for confirmation on emerged dimensionality of the competence construct for IMs in India.
Findings
Using data collected from 175 usable questionnaires of managers serving in infrastructure firms in India for EFA followed by CFA, six generic competencies have been established in the domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions significantly impacting competent performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study has applied plausibility sampling and it presents only generic competencies for executives working in the infrastructure sector alone.
Practical implications
Due to the growth in number of executives to be employed in infrastructure firms in India, academic institutions in this subcontinent have gained momentum in offering programmes covering the field of infrastructure management. These institutions are believed to be covering domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions for assuring competent performance of IMs in India.
Social implications
Attention to these generic competencies can help IMs to contribute towards better performance, academic institutions to design curriculum, recruiters to acquire talent and executives to advance professionally.
Originality/value
Extant academic studies relating to generic competencies are available mostly in project and construction domains. There is a paucity of such academic studies in the domain of infrastructure.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors express sincere thanks to the Editor-in-Chief Professor Nathalie Drouin for her insightful comments and suggestions. The authors are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable review and would also like to sincerely thank Ms Sachyatoua Chowdhuri, Ms Sherine Mathew and Ms Aswathy Murali for their efforts in collection of relevant and meaningful data. The authors are also thankful to Mr Rahul Gangawane for his secretarial assistance.
Citation
Shah, M.N. and Prakash, A. (2018), "Developing generic competencies for infrastructure managers in India", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 366-381. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-03-2017-0030
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited