A Critical Review of the Literature and Practice of Competency Modelling

Competency models are commonly practiced today in many organizations as they lead to significant human resource development that provides organizations with a competitive edge. Because of their immense importance, measurement and modelling of competencies has become an important research field. However, despite the extensive research, there are large research gaps regarding the empirical knowledge and applicability of competency models. This article presents a critical review of competency modelling literature and practice from the major perspectives (including applied, academic, and professional) in an attempt to shed additional light on the advantages and practices of competency modelling, as well as outlining current challenges in such a vibrant domain. The intention, in this article, was to build a coherent argument with an objective of illustrating the effective use, as well as deficiencies in this domain based on aggregated experiences of many authors across many years and settings. The author explicitly acknowledges that the approach for this critical review has many limitations, since it is experience-based rather than empirically based. Yet, it is believed that this article may provide a framework that can lead to a solid investigation of competency modelling with more rigor than they have been afforded to date.     Keywords: Competency Modelling, Behavioural Paradigm, Job Analysis, Performance, NViv