The competency niche: An exploratory study

Dob owolski, Zbysław; D ozdowski, G zego z; Ledzianowski, Jóse A icle The compe ency niche: An explo a o y s udy Risks P o ided in Coope a ion wi h: MDPI – Mul idisciplina y Digi al Publishing Ins i u e, Basel Sugges ed Ci a ion: Dob owolski, Zbysław; D ozdowski, G zego z; Ledzianowski, Jóse (2021) : The compe ency niche: An explo a o y s udy, Risks, ISSN 2227-9091, MDPI, Basel, Vol. 9, Iss. 11, pp. 1-11, h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ isks9110187 This Ve sion is a ailable a : h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/258271 S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen: Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den. Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen. So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen (insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en, gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e. Te ms o use: Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal and schola ly pu poses. You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public. I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence. h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ isks A icle The Compe ency Niche: An Explo a o y S udy Zbysław Dob owolski 1,* , G zego z D ozdowski 2and Józe Ledzianowski 3   Ci a ion: Dob owolski, Zbysław, G zego z D ozdowski, and Józe Ledzianowski. 2021. The Compe ency Niche: An Explo a o y S udy. Risks 9: 187. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ isks 9110187 Academic Edi o : Mogens S e ensen Recei ed: 10 Sep embe 2021 Accep ed: 19 Oc obe 2021 Published: 21 Oc obe 2021 Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional claims in published maps and ins i u ional a il- ia ions. Copy igh : © 2021 by he au ho s. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land. This a icle is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms and condi ions o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps:// c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1Ins i u e o Public A ai s, Jagiellonian Uni e si y, 30-348 K aków, Poland 2Depa men o Economics and Finance, Jan Kochanowski Uni e si y in Kielce, 25-369 Kielce, Poland; [email p o ec ed] 3Managemen Facul y, Mili a y Uni e si y o Land Fo ces, 51-147 W ocław, Poland; [email p o ec ed] *Co espondence: zbyslaw[email p o ec ed] Abs ac : In he e a o a u bulen and less-p edic able business en i onmen , as con i med by he COVID-19 pandemic, he abili y o e icien ly use human esou ces has become pa icula ly impo an . The e is a need o educe employees ' compe ency niche, and compe ency misma ches ha e become no iceable in he Eu opean Union. We pe o med quali a i e in e iews (n = 282) o de e mine he compe ency niche o employees om p i a e i ms in Poland. Resul s show ha employees we e passi e in iden i ying hei compe ence needs. Mo eo e , i ms did no use he weak signals me hodology o elimina e he compe ency niche. This no el s udy ound ha i ms should be mo e ac i e in iden i ying employee compe ency niches by analyzing ea ly signs o be eady o any changes wi hou delays. The indings c ea e a basis o p oposing p e en i e measu es, and we poin ou a enues o u u e esea ch. Keywo ds: compe encies; weak signals; o esigh ; agile; business and managemen JEL Classi ica ion: L2; O3; P5; M10 1. In oduc ion Despi e he many domes ic and in e na ional p og ams implemen ed in ecen yea s, business ailu es ha e inc eased in di e en coun ies, pa icula ly du ing he c isis in 2008. Fi ms need o be eady o di e en obs acles, and hey ha e o ma ch he bes managemen p ac ices wi h hei business ope a ions. Con inuing business e o s owa ds an “open mind” s a egy, which he au ho s o his a icle de ine as he ongoing p ocess o iden i ying a compe ency niche, equi e mul i ace ed o ganiza ional p ocesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed he u e unp epa edness o many go e nmen s and companies o ope a e unde condi ions o unce ain y. In ying o adap o he new equi emen s due o he COVID-19 pandemic, many companies wo ldwide ha e made ex ensi e changes, which en ail he need o e i y he exis ing app oach o human capi al managemen . The In e ne o Things and big da a gene a e business isk (Dob owolski 2021a). Companies mus ensu e accoun abili y, which is a equi emen o he mode n capi al ma ke , and some companies may addi ionally pe o m public asks (Dob owolski 2021b;Dob owolski and Sułkowski 2020;Sułkowski and Dob owolski 2021). The e o e, he e is a need o business agili y, which e e s o he abili y o an o ganiza ion o apidly adap o changing condi ions in he mode n en i onmen (A ms ong 2013;Delcou e al. 2013;Bal and Lange 2015). Business agili y is no he only Agile Mani es o o be ini ially de ined o he IT en i onmen . I is necessa y o ake ad an age o weak signals in o de o use an agile app oach unde condi ions o unce ain y (Ka abase ic e al. 2018; Dob owolski 2020a,2020b,2021c). Despi e he many s udies on compe encies (see e.g., Wood u e 1993;Ma in and Rubin 1995;Ho mann 1999;A hey and O h 1999;Ro hwell and Lindholm 1999;Chung-He e a e al. 2003;Sha elson 2010;Tabo sky and Oli ei a 2012;Yin 2019;Dob owolski 2020c; Risks 2021,9, 187. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ isks9110187 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ isks Risks 2021,9, 187 2 o 11 Dob owolski e al. 2021a;D ozdowski e al. 2021;B undie s e al. 2021;Fe e as-Ga cia e al. 2021;González-López e al. 2021;Kippe e al. 2021), he e emains a need o deepen he esea ch on he e ec i e iden i ica ion o employees’ compe encies unde condi ions o unce ain y. We unde s and he exp ession “e ec i e” o mean he deg ee o achie emen o assumed goals and he speed a which he necessa y compe encies a e iden i ied and he changes in i ms a e in oduced. We de ine ‘compe ency niche’ as he gap be ween he expec ed and equi ed compe encies and he compe encies possessed by employees. Mo eo e , he e m ‘employee’ e e s o all pe sons employed in companies ha do no own hem. We belie e ha he lack o employees’ compe encies necessa y o achie ing a compe i- i e ad an age gene a es isk o any business. We a e no alone in his belie . Resea ch om he Eu opean pe spec i e has e ealed a se ious p oblem. A ound hal o he Eu o- pean popula ion is a ec ed by a compe ency misma ch (Eu opean Wo king Condi ions Su ey 2020). The e o e, his s udy aimed o de e mine he compe ence gap o employees and whe he i ms use he weak signals me hodology o iden i y he u u e compe encies necessa y o achie e a compe i i e ad an age. We o mula ed he ollowing esea ch hypo hesis: he inc easing complexi y o he en i onmen and he g ow h dynamics o he changes equi e agile compe encies. This means he apid and sys ema ic modi ica ion o beha io in changing si ua ions cha ac e is ic o cu en and u u e changes in he busi- ness en i onmen . Du ing a li e a u e e iew, we ound li le in o ma ion abou Poland’s compe ency niche om such a pe spec i e as p oposed in his s udy. The empi ical s udy o employees’ compe encies in ol ed 282 pe sons om i ms loca ed in wes e n Poland. We conduc ed he s udy in 2019–2020. The indings show ha employees o he analyzed companies we e no eady o apply he agile app oach and we e no amilia wi h he weak signals me hodology. 2. Li e a u e Re iew The analysis o compe encies h ough he p ism o employees’ beha iou has led esea che s and p ac i ione s o de e mine he easons o he ailu e o adap employees’ compe encies o he en i onmen ’s needs. I was ound ha a ound hal o he Eu opean popula ion is a ec ed by he misma ch, and ha he ex en o his misma ch is g owing (Eu opean Wo king Condi ions Su ey 2020). The e is no need o con ince anyone ha he compe encies gap is a se e e o ganiza ional p oblem in an ageing Eu opean socie y ha main ains a ela i ely high s anda d o li ing and is accus omed o he wel a e s a e. Globaliza ion has in ensi ied he compe i ion and hose o ganiza ions ha a e good a iden i ying and closing compe ency gaps will win. The e o e, among o he hings, com- pe encies ha e become he subjec o schola s’ pa icula a en ion (see e.g., Ma in and S aines 1994;No dhaug and G ønhaug 1994;Hage and Gonczi 1996;G eene e al. 1989; Denzin 2009;E e s 2011;Mills e al. 2003;Caspe and Whi ley 2004;Le Deis and Win e - on 2005;Wi mann e al. 2009;Hays 2020;Foss e al. 2021). Many i ms wan o inc ease hei s a egic posi ion, which many schola s ha e poin ed ou (see e.g., Olhage 2003; Skaggs and Yound 2004;Thi e 2004;D ozdowski 2017;Be be and Leko ic 2018;Chen and Hu 2021). Howe e , wi hou compe en people, any company may ha e di icul y wi h achie ing p ope ly de ined goals and ca ying ou planned asks, o i ms may pu sue he w ong a ge s (Scholes and Endaco 2003;Kuk e al. 2007;Ten Ca e and Scheele 2007;Kau and Kuma 2013;Chuang e al. 2020). Many esea che s p esen he no ion o o esigh and unde line he ac ha he essence o o esigh migh be summa ized as he p ocess ha looks in o he u u e bu simul aneously enables he usage o solu ions o p esen ac i i ies (Ma in 1995;Ba ke and Smi h 1995;Cuhls 2003,2019;Iden e al. 2017). This concep is linked o weak signals, which can be unde s ood as ea ly signs o u u e e en s (Hil unen 2008;Sa i as and Smi h 2011;Haup man e al. 2015;Dob owolski 2020a,2020b,2021). The weak signals me hodology can iden i y u u e needs, including desi ed compe encies, and enable i ms o gain a compe i i e ad an age in he business en i onmen . The use o he weak signals Risks 2021,9, 187 3 o 11 me hodology is linked o he concep o agili y as p esen ed in he li e a u e (see e.g., Boehm 2002;Hodgson and B iand 2013;Wells 2014;Moe e al. 2009;Wells 2014;Po da e al. 2017;Dob owolski e al. 2021b,2021c). The concep o agili y implies minimizing o mal equi emen s o p ocesses, and lexibili y mani es s in he abili y o espond o en i onmen al needs immedia ely (Cockbu n and Highsmi h 2001;Williams and Cockbu n 2003;Aga wal e al. 2006;Lyy inen and Rose 2006;Conboy 2009). The in e nal need o p io i ize he lexibili y o compe encies among employees shapes he igh way o hinking abou o esigh . The eadiness o human capi al o changes is a condi ion o he high deg ee o lexibili y o p o-de elopmen beha io s (Jones 2017;Hines e al. 2017;Way e al. 2018;Sabuha i e al. 2020;Foss e al. 2021). The limi ed lexibili y o compe encies unde condi ions o pe manen a iabili y, complexi y, and u bulence in he en i onmen is a condi ion ha h ea ens a business’s s abili y. F om his pe spec i e, employees’ compe ence capi al mus be egula ly upda ed acco ding o he needs imposed by a apidly changing en i onmen . Each employee should build sensi i i y o a high deg ee o lexibili y indi idually and use i as an essen ial elemen o hei compe i i e po en ial and he e o o ensu e wo kplace de elopmen . The compe ence niche model desc ibes his phenomenon, which is a componen o a b oade p oblem, namely he adjus men gap a he en e p ise le el exp essed by he di e ence be ween he desi ed and he exis ing s a e. The adjus men gap a ises due o dynamic changes in he business en i onmen . This esea ch model was c ea ed based on an analysis o he li e a u e on he subjec and ou own esea ch. The compe ence assessmen o human capi al, which is he basis o lexible adap a ion o changing ope a ing condi ions, is based on he exis ing ela ionship be ween employees and ex e nal condi ions. The ela ionship be ween employees’ beha io and he en i on- men is dynamic and bila e al. Human capi al adap s i s ac i i ies o i s en i onmen . A he same ime, employees in luence indi idual componen s o he en i onmen h ough hei compe ence po en ial. Al hough he cha ac e is ics o he labo ma ke ha e been p esen ed in many s udies (see e.g., P ahalad and Hamel 1997;Mills e al. 2003;Alniacik e al. 2013;Kau and Kuma 2013;Ap iana e al. 2019;D ozdowski 2020), he e emains a need o explo e he compe ency niche p oblem among employees, pa icula ly a e he publica ion o he Eu opean Wo king Condi ions Eu opean Wo king Condi ions Su ey (2020), which e ealed he se e e p oblem wi h compe encies e sus business needs. 3. Ma e ials and Me hods This s udy aims o de e mine he compe ence gap o he examined employees and hei e o s o elimina e his gap. The e o e, i s ly, he ac o s de e mining he compe ence o employees we e iden i ied. Secondly, a sel -assessmen o compe encies was conduc ed, making i possible o p esen employees’ pa icipa ion in shi s. Thi dly, a ange o compe- encies was de ined o es ablish employees’ deg ee o de e mina ion exp essed by he need o supplemen hei compe ence po en ial by adap ing o he exis ing equi emen s and using he weak signals me hodology o de e mine u u e needs. The ollowing esea ch assump ion was o mula ed: he inc easing complexi y o he en i onmen and he g ow h dynamics o he changes equi e agile compe encies. The empi ical s udy o employees’ compe encies in ol ed 282 pe sons om i ms loca ed in wes e n Poland (see Table 1). A pu posi e sample was used in he s udy, which means ha i is no a s a is ical sample. We chose Poland because one o he membe s o ou esea ch eam s a ed hei esea ch in his coun y, and we could explo e ou opic on he compe ency niche in Polish i ms based on an ea lie analysis o he p oblem o employees’ compe ency gap in a Eu opean con ex . The esea ch was ca ied ou in 2019–2020 ( he esea ch was conduc ed in he pe iod be ween la e 2019 and ea ly 2020). Su eys we e mailed o subjec s du ing No embe and Decembe 2019. Pa icipan s in he s udy included indi iduals wi h a college deg ee (74%) and a high school educa ion (26%). The su eys we e e u ned o he esea che s in Feb ua y–Ma ch 2020. Risks 2021,9, 187 4 o 11 Table 1. O ganiza ional p o iles o pa icipan s. Indus y Numbe o Employees Numbe o Responden s Accoun ing company 94 34 Powe enginee ing >250 88 Food manu ac u ing >250 54 T anspo company 68 17 Food wholesale 58 12 Indus ial wholesale 96 16 Deli e y company 81 42 Consul ing company <50 19 Sou ce: Own s udy. The esul s we e p epa ed o he whole se o su eyed pe sons wi hou di ision in o subse s ( o example, women and men, younge and olde ). Ques ionnai es and a li e a u e s udy we e used o he esea ch. As he people pa icipa ing in he s udy asked o emain anonymous, we ha e no p o ided he names o companies o o he da a ha could iden i y he esponden s. We also compa ed esea ch esul s om di e en sou ces, which may educe he in e p e i e unce ain y (G eene e al. 1989;Ma in and S aines 1994). Du ing he analyses o he ob ained esea ch esul s, i was assumed ha he p obabil- i y o answe ing he gi en ques ions is equal o each o he op ions. Adop ing an a bi a y alue o he numbe o expec ed answe s made i possible o e i y he hypo hesis o he signi icance o he ob ained esul s. The esul s ob ained we e subjec ed o a Chi-squa e es o obse ed e sus expec ed alues using TIBCO so wa e 2017 and S a is ica e sion 13 (h p://s a is ica.io. accessed on 1 June 2021). The chi-squa e es was pe o med o examine he ela ionship be ween wo nominal a iables. The es in ol es compa ing obse ed alues (ob ained in he su ey) and heo e ical alues (calcula ed unde he assump ion ha he e is no ela ionship be ween he a iables). Signi ican di e ences indica e he exis ence o a ela ionship be ween he a iables. Tables 2–5p esen he alues o he Chi-squa e es oge he wi h he numbe o deg ees o eedom (d ) and he signi icance le el. In all es ed cases, he p obabili y o making a mis ake o he i s kind was e y low—much less han p= 0.0001. The es s ca ied ou indica e signi ican di e ences be ween he es ed popula ion g oups. Thus, i can be concluded ha he assump ions made o he s udy a e co ec . Table 2. De e minan s a ec ing employees’ compe encies. Which Fac o s Mos In luence Employees’ Compe encies? Responden s N % indoo en i onmen 51 18% ou doo en i onmen 231 82% To al 282 100% Tes Chi squa e = 1,148,936; d = 1; p= 0.000000. The ou doo en i onmen is an ex e nal o ganiza ional en i onmen ha includes legal, poli ical, economic, and demog aphic elemen s (Ha ch 2018). The indoo en i onmen e e s o he wo kplace’s condi ions. The esponden s we e in o med in he ques ionnai e abou he componen s o he in e nal and ex e nal en i onmen . We ollowed Ha ch o dis inguish elemen s o he o ganiza ional en i onmen . Risks 2021,9, 187 5 o 11 Table 3. The in luence o he en i onmen on he shaping o employees’ compe encies. How Does he En i onmen A ec Employees’ Compe encies? Responden s N % exac s change 180 64% suppo s change 79 28% hinde s change 23 8% To al 282 100% Tes Chi squa e = 1,347,021; d = 2; p= 0.000000. Table 4. In ol emen o employees in changes o compe encies. How Do Employees Engage in Changes o Thei Compe encies? Responden s N % ac i e coun e ac ing o changes 9 3% lack o in ol emen 39 14% suppo ing changes 161 57% Inspi a ion 73 26% To al 282 100% Tes Chi squa e = 1,839,858; d = 3; p= 0.000000. Table 5. Employees’ compe encies in he con ex o he equi emen s o he en i onmen . How A e Compe encies Assessed wi h espec o he Requi emen s o he En i onmen ? Responden s N % Ve y high 68 24% App op ia e 163 58% Insu icien 51 18% To al 282 100% Tes Chi squa e = 7,751,064; d = 2; p= 0.000000. I was assumed ha ou esea ch, which was ocused on employees’ compe encies, did no ha e o be e lec ed in he o malized language o ma hema ical logic and did no ha e lead o he cons uc ion o unchanging heo ies, bu would only esul in socially and his o ically limi ed gene aliza ions. Howe e , ega dless o he o mula ed gene aliza ions, he c ea ed concep s mus be based on commonly sha ed cogni i e assump ions e e ed o as he pa adigm. We used he Bu ell and Mo gan classi ica ion o pa adigms o conside which pa adigm i ou s udy bes (Bu ell and Mo gan 1979). We decided o choose he s a egy o epis emological plu alism, which allows o he combina ion o app oaches d awn om di e en pa adigms o ob ain p ecise cogni i e esul s. The e o e, one may use unc ionalis concep s ( e i ica ion and alsi ica ion) and in e p e a i e concep s (meaning and in e p e a ion). Thus, we chose di e en me hods o ob ain a b oade iew o he s udied issues (Campbell and Fiske 1959;G eene e al. 1989). 4. Resul s and Discussion The esul s show (see also he Chi-squa e es ) ha he ex e nal en i onmen is he main ac o de e mining employees’ compe ence (82 pe cen ) gi en he iden i ied compe- ence de e minan s. The esul s indica e ha he impo ance o ac o s ha ing hei sou ce in he company’s in e nal a ea is mino (Table 2). These indings suppo hose o Nonaka (1994), P ahalad and Hamel (1997), Cla ke and Clegg (2000), Min zbe g e al. (2009), Anso (2019), and Ganguly e al. (2019). The ou doo en i onmen signi ican ly impac s he o ma ion o employees’ compe encies, as i p o ides guidelines o he de elopmen o hei po en ial (D ozdowski 2020). One may s a e ha he dynamically changing ou doo en i onmen equi es employees o adap hei compe encies o espond app op ia ely o ex e nal signals. Risks 2021,9, 187 6 o 11 The p oblem is he ollowing. Do employees ac i ely i hei compe encies o new ou doo equi emen s o disco e hem when hey occu and hen change hei compe en- cies? We belie e ha he la e is wo se because i c ea es a dual isk. Fi s , he gap be ween equi ed and achie ed compe encies may no be elimina ed due o bounded a ionali y and incomple e in o ma ion. Secondly, i may c ea e a compe ency gap ha exis s o a long ime be o e employees iden i y and elimina e i . Ou s udy ound ha he ex e nal en i onmen o ces changes in employees’ compe encies (64 pe cen ). Conside ing he si - ua ion ha has a isen, i can be concluded ha he employees du ing he pe iod conside ed we e aced wi h he need o ake adjus men measu es (Table 3). Table 3 e e s o he ex e nal en i onmen ha he esponden s conside ed mos ele an om he poin o iew o compe ence. The esea ch esul s (including hose o he Chi-squa e es ) allow us o s a e ha he signals ha eached he su eyed employees om he ex e nal en i onmen ook he o m o impulses ha o ced changes in compe ence. Gi en he si ua ion ha has a isen, i can be concluded ha he employees we e aced wi h he need o ake adap a ion measu es. They should he e o e demons a e a high deg ee o compe ence lexibili y. Simila conclusions we e eached in Kallebe g (2001), Rönnma (2004), and Knox and Walsh (2005). In sum, we ound ha employees we e no in e es ed in pa icipa ing in change un il hei en i onmen o ced hem o do so. Meanwhile, he eadiness o employees o adap o change is a condi ion o a high deg ee o lexibili y o p o-de elopmen beha io s (see e.g., Jones 2017;Hines e al. 2017;Way e al. 2018;Sabuha i e al. 2020;Foss e al. 2021). Ou indings suppo hose o o he esea che s (Swailes 2004;Fos e 2010;Kallebe g 2001; Be ge and Be ge 2004;Alniacik e al. 2013;Schad e al. 2016;Ap iana e al. 2019). Ou indings a e p esen ed in Table 4. One may s a e ha inspi ing changes was an impo an , al hough no dominan , ype o employee ac ion (26 pe cen o esponden s). Only a small numbe o esponden s s a ed ha hey we e ac i ely coun e ac ing changes (3 pe cen ), which means hey we e ying o iden i y compe encies ha i he new equi emen s o he ex e nal en i onmen . The Chi-squa e es esul s ob ained con i m he high signi icance o he di e ences in he esponden s’ answe s. The analysis (including ha o he Chi-squa e es esul s) con i med a dys unc ion o compe ence ha e lec s he misma ch be ween human capi al’s undamen al compe encies and new compe ence pa e ns o mula ed by he en i onmen . Mos employees a ed hei compe encies as app op ia e (58 pe cen ) o e y high (24 pe cen ) wi h espec o he equi emen s o hei en i onmen (Table 5). I can be concluded ha he su eyed employees conside ed he s a e o hei compe ence o be a a le el app op ia e o he e- qui emen s di ec ed by he en i onmen . This mani es s a posi i e sel -assessmen o one’s compe encies and es i ies o an excessi ely op imis ic image o one’s compe ence p o ile. This pic u e is a mani es a ion o he subjec i e assessmen ha es i ies o he low s eng h o he in e nal mo i a ion o aising compe encies in he di ec ion o de elopmen al ac- i i y, which allows one o adap o he inc easing demands o he changing en i onmen . Thus, i s a pe cei e hei compe encies o be a a sa is ac o y le el, hey may no pe cei e o app ecia e he new si ua ional demands c ea ed by he ex e nal en i onmen . Such beha io con ibu es o he phenomenon o a disjunc ion (a compe ence gap) be ween he needs o he en i onmen and one’s compe ence po en ial. Hence, he lack o a c i ical iew o he need o lexibly adap one’s compe encies in he ace o si ua ional condi ions esul ing om apid and unexpec ed changes may mani es in he o m o beha io s ha de e mine un a o able phenomena in en e p ise managemen . To sum up, he alue o sel -assessmen o compe encies was e y posi i e, which in he case o adical changes in a u bulen en i onmen may be a ac o ha dis u bs he p ocess o employees’ pe cep ion o signals sen o hem by he en i onmen con aining new compe ence equi emen s, which a he same ime indica es he di ec ion o app op ia e de elopmen ac i i y. A simila iew is held by P ahalad and Hamel (1997) and D ucke (2007) , who poin ed ou ha success ul employees a e awa e o hei limi a ions and know which a eas o hei compe ence hey need o de elop. One may a gue ha employees who Risks 2021,9, 187 7 o 11 we e unable o lea n om hei mis akes and ailu es we e much less likely o admi hei aul s and we e unable o do any hing o change. Mos o he su eyed employees s a ed ha human esou ce de elopmen in hei i ms is o malized, and ha o en hei aining needs we e no p omp ly ealized by employe s. They belie ed (82%) ha hei i ms we e no eady o immedia ely espond o en i onmen al signals. Thei belie in adequa e compe encies (58%) leads o he ollowing gene alisa ion. The employees’ posi i e opinion, exp essing he compa ibili y o hei possessed compe encies wi h he en i onmen ’s equi emen s and unc i ical con idence in hei abili ies, sugges s a nega i e phenomenon showing a lack o a need o changes in he s uc u e o he possessed compe encies ha would co espond o he si ua ional demand. Based on he analysis o he employees’ esponses, one may s a e ha none o he examined employees was amilia wi h he weak signals me hodology. The su eyed employees indica ed ha hei i ms had ne e used such me hods o iden i y compe ency niches. 5. Conclusions As one may igh ly poin ou , he e is much esea ch on compe encies, bu in ou opinion he esea ch opic o his a icle emains li le s udied bo h heo e ically and p ac- ically. Ou s udy allowed us o iden i y he ac o s de e mining he compe encies o he su eyed employees. Mo eo e , he esea ch allowed us o es ablish he ela ionship be ween he en i onmen and compe encies. Fu he mo e, we ha e iden i ied how he su - eyed pe sonnel e alua ed hei compe encies agains he equi emen s o he en i onmen . Employees who a e ocused on p ac ical p oblem sol ing a e awa e o hei limi a ions, so hey know wha a eas o hei compe ence hey need o de elop. Employees who ha e no lea ned om hei mis akes and ailu es a e much less likely o admi hei aul s and canno do much o change. We ound ha many employees lacked an unde s anding o hei limi a ions. The empi ical ma e ial collec ed du ing he s udy allowed us o d aw he ollowing conclusions: • he mos c ucial ac o de e mining he compe ence o employees is he company’s en i onmen , which a he same ime se s speci ic equi emen s; • employees showed no in e es in pa icipa ing in changes un il ex e nal ac o s o ce hem o do so; and • employees we e no amilia wi h he weak signal me hodology. Howe e , iden i ica- ion o ea ly signs o upcoming e en s is c ucial o he apid elimina ion o compe ency niches. Rapid iden i ica ion o upcoming h ea s o oppo uni ies enables a company o mo e ahead o o he companies, adap o new equi emen s, and gain a compe i i e ad an age. I is also c ucial o he well-known ( o heo is s and p ac i ione s) agile app oach. Employees mus , he e o e, ac i ely pa icipa e in he p ocess o iden i ying weak signals in hei companies. We ound ha i ms knew li le abou how o use he weak signals me hodology o educe he compe ency niche bo h in heo y and p ac ice. The e o e, we may s a e ha he s udy con i med ha i ms should be mo e ac i e in iden i ying employee compe ency niches by analyzing ea ly signs i hey wan o be eady o changes wi hou delays. These esul s a e p elimina y, and, he e o e, we did no de elop a de ailed model o compe encies. The ob ained esul s o m he basis o p epa ing he nex s age o ou esea ch, which aims o o mula e heses on models o changes in employees’ compe encies and es ima e he s a is ical sensi i i y o he ob ained esul s. In he case o a comp ehen- si e da abase, we belie e ha i will be necessa y o use mo e ad anced s a is ical ools, which allow o a deepe analysis o he dependency s uc u e. We belie e ha he e is a need o con inuous a emp s o es ablish he easons o he ailu e o adap employees’ compe encies o he en i onmen ’s needs. F om a b oade pe spec i e and conside ing ha a ound hal o he Eu opean popula ion is a ec ed by he compe ency misma ch Risks 2021,9, 187 8 o 11 (Eu opean Wo king Condi ions Su ey 2020) , one may a gue ha his s udy is a s a ing poin o u he analysis o compe ency niches in o he coun ies. T adi ional heo ies o human esou ce managemen , including s udies on mo i a ion me hods, a e based on p edic able en i onmen s. In o he wo ds, one may e alua e he isk o occu ence o di e en ac o s ha a ec employees. Unde condi ions o unce ain y, he si ua ion is di e en . Unce ain y is no he same as isk. The e o e, o example, he weak signals me hodology is help ul. The COVID-19 pandemic p oduced a comple ely di e en si ua ion han exis ed be o e. I is he i s such pandemic o occu in so many coun ies and he Eu opean Union. I is commonly known ha i ms and go e nmen s we e no eady o he COVID-19 pandemic. We belie e ha u u e esea ch should aim o de e mine: (1) whe he i ms use he weak signals me hodology o iden i y compe ency niches; (2) whe he i ms espond p omp ly o employee’s aining needs; (3) how i ms dis inguish hei ac ual aining needs om he aining needs o employees, as he needs do no always coincide; and (4) how he elimina ion o compe ency niches a ec s isk managemen in companies. Au ho Con ibu ions: Concep ualiza ion, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; me hodology, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; so wa e, Z.D.; alida ion, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; o mal analysis, Z.D.; in es iga ion, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; esou ces, G.D.; da a cu a ion, J.L.; w i ing—o iginal d a p epa a ion, Z.D. and G.D.; w i ing— e iew and edi ing, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; isualiza ion, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; supe ision, Z.D., G.D. and J.L.; p ojec adminis a ion, Z.D.; unding acquisi ion, J.L. All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed o he published e sion o he manusc ip . Funding: This esea ch ecei ed no ex e nal unding. Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es . Re e ences Aga wal, Ashish, Ra i Shanka , and Manoy Kuma Tiwa i. 2006. Modelling he me ics o lean, agile and legible supply chain: An ANP-based app oach. Eu opean Jou nal o Ope a ional Resea ch 173: 211–25. [C ossRe ] Alniacik, Es a, Ümi Alniacik, and Se ha E a and Kul igin Akçin. 2013. 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