Differential effects of competency due to BPO and KPO industry differences in ITES sector in Sri Lanka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify competency requirements that discriminate between Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and IT‐enabled business process outsourcing (ITES‐BPO) industries. Design/methodology/approach – There are 25 firms operating in Sri Lanka that fall into the category of ITES‐BPO/KPO. HR managers of the 25 firms and a random sample of 117 employees from those 25 firms responded to the survey. In addition to descriptive statistics, independent sample t ‐test and logistic regression were used in the data analysis. Findings – There are differences in competency requirements for KPO and BPO services. Further, demographic variables, namely, age, the level of education, and total years of industry experience shape competency requirements. Originality/value – Despite greater volume of theoretical foundations and empirical evidence for people management in BPO/KPO services, specific literature investigating and comparing competency requirements, recruitment, selection and training of ITES‐BPO and KPO employees is scarce. Therefore, a research addressing those in a South Asian country that is considered as active and promising destination for ITES‐BPO/KPO services could provide practitioners with key information that could enable them to make informed managerial decisions.