A Competency Model for the Selection and Performance Improvement of Project Managers in Collaborative Construction Projects: Behavioral Studies in Norway and Finland

Guidance for management competency identification and development in the health context: a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

Using management competency-based frameworks to guide developing and delivering training and formal education to managers has been increasingly recognized as a key strategy in building management capacity. Hence, interest in identifying and confirming the competency requirements in various contexts have been witnessed. Therefore, learnings from how competency studies were designed and conducted, how competencies were identified, and strategies in ensuring success in competency identification are of great value to researchers planning and conducting competency studies in their own country.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted guided by the Arksey and O'Malley framework and reported according to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). All papers that published empirical studies aiming at identifying and assessing manager's competencies at the peer-reviewed journals were identified from Web of sciences, PubMed, Scopus and Emerald Management between 2000 and 2021. In order to maximize learning, studies focusing on health and non-health sectors are all included.

RESULTS

In total, 186 studies were included in the review including slightly more than half of the studies conducted in health sector (54.5%). 60% of the studies focused on mid to senior level managers. Surveys and Interviews were the two most commonly used methods either solely or as part of the mix-method in the studies. Half of the studies used mixed methods approach (51.1%). Large proportion of the papers failed to include all information that is necessary to contribute to learning and improvement in future study design. Based on the results of the scoping review a four steps framework was developed that can guide designing and implementing management competency studies in specific country vs. sector context and to ensure benefits of the studies are maximised.

CONCLUSION

The review confirmed the increasing trend in investing in management competency studies and that the management competency identification and development process varied substantially, in the choice of methods and processes. The identification of missing information in majority of the published studies calls for the development of more rigorous guidelines for the peer-review process of journal publications. The proposed framework of improving the quality and impact of the future management competency study provides clear guidance to management competency identification and development that promotes the functional alignment of methods and strategies with intended uses and contexts.

Analytical and Conceptual Perspectives toward Behavioral Elements of Collaborative Delivery Models in Construction Projects

Collaborative models and working practices have considerably contributed to the evolution of construction project delivery in the last four decades. The promising performance results of construction projects with collaborative delivery models are mostly attributed to their behavioral elements (e.g., mutual trust), which have been frequently mentioned in the literature. However, the interrelationships between these behavioral elements as well as the enablers of these behavioral elements are two knowledge gaps which need to be addressed. Therefore, this study aims to fill the mentioned knowledge gaps by addressing the behavioral elements of collaborative project delivery models from analytical and conceptual perspectives. To do so, a systematic literature review was undertaken by locating 201 relevant studies and reviewing them. This was followed by the thematic analysis of the obtained research data and the development of a model for meeting this study’s objectives. The findings present a model, illustrating the behavioral elements of collaborative delivery models in construction projects, their interrelationships, as well as their enablers. The model reveals that the establishment of equality and mutual respect between project team members is a fundamental step toward mutual trust and open communication. These findings can be insightful for the research community and project professionals interested in collaborative construction project delivery.