The Impact of Competence on Performance in Industrial Engineering and Management: Conceptualization of a Preliminary Research Model

Industrial companies are constantly confronted with a variety of challenges caused by competitive pressure, globalization, and changing customer behavior. The discipline of Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) aims to educate the engineers for tomorrow that balance economic competitiveness, environmental protection, and social acceptance towards facing grand issues of the world, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and energy transition. However, the critical success factors of engineering education remain insufficiently studied. A realignment of engineering education and training requires, on the one hand, a deep understanding of the necessary competences and, on the other hand, an empirically based investigation of the relationship between competences and performance in the actual working environment. This paper conceptualizes a preliminary research model for measuring the impact of competence on the performance of IEM professionals. After discussing the IEM job profile and the core working areas of IEM professionals, the preliminary research model is presented, and future implications are derived.