Managerial challenges to promoting competency-based intellectual capital in emerging market economies – developing a framework for implications

PurposeThis study aims to explore the challenges experienced by managers in adopting competency modeling (CM) and recommends an approach to overcome these challenges in promoting competency-based intellectual capital in organizations.Design/methodology/approachUsing in-depth interviews with organizational practitioners in India, this study identifies the challenges of competency modeling in emerging market economies.FindingsThis study identified nine contextual and eight non-contextual challenges in implementing CM practices in organizations. The framework addresses the CM challenges using direction setting, negotiation and selling, and monitoring and control dimension of implementation with behavioral, operational and change alignment aspects of CM. The framework proposes a checklist for stakeholders to help them diagnose and analyze the gaps in effective CM implementation.Research limitations/implicationsThis article contributes in the concept of competency-based intellectual capital and adoption of CM practices.Practical implicationsThis framework will assist the change management practitioners, human resources leaders, organizational development consultants and practitioners as a toolkit to address the challenges in the people management intervention.Originality/valueThe framework suggests a checklist for stakeholders to help diagnose and analyze the gaps in effective CM adoption.

Competency Models' Return on Investment

When businesses invest in the competency model, they want to know they are putting businesses' financial resources in the right place. The literature and the evidence support the use of competency models. Those best-in-class organizations outperform their competitors when organizational competencies are in place for employees and the business has a valid competency model. The discussion that follows discusses executives' return on investment (ROI)—providing specific formulas relative to competency modeling. Finally, the discussion supports the reader through various resource tools for the executives to use and questions to be answered when examining competence-based ROI.