Commitment, control, and the use of competency management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the commitment‐ and control‐approaches on the use of competency management, and to investigate whether attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control mediate these effects. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, using a survey, employees indicated whether their organization adopted a commitment‐ or a control‐approach towards competency management. Moreover, they rated their own attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, and behaviour. In Study 2 a scenario experiment was conducted in which the authors manipulated the commitment‐ and control‐approaches towards competency management in order to establish causal relations. Findings – Results consistently showed that the use of competency management is higher within a commitment‐ than within a control‐approach. Furthermore, attitude and perceived behavioural control were found to mediate the relationship between the commitment‐approach and the use of competency management. Research limitations/implications – Future research should include other organizational members, for example (line) managers, to create future insight in the effects of commitment‐ and control‐approaches on the use of competency management. Practical implications – The results of the studies highlight that a commitment‐oriented approach increases the use of competency management by employees and that a positive employee attitude and perceived behavioural control are of considerable importance when increasing the use of competency management is an organization's primary goal. Originality/value – The paper gives insight in how to persuade and stimulate employees to use competency management more frequently.