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

Vathsala Wickramasinghe; Saman Kumara

doi:10.1108/13620430910950764

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Career Development International

ISSN: 1362-0436
Previously published as: International Journal of Career Management
Incorporates: Executive Development

Online from: 1996

Subject Area: Human Resource Management

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

Document Information:
Title:	Differential effects of competency due to BPO and KPO industry differences in ITES sector in Sri Lanka
Author(s):	Vathsala Wickramasinghe, (Department of Management of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka), Saman Kumara, (IFS Sri Lanka Limited, Kandy, Sri Lanka)
Citation:	Vathsala Wickramasinghe, Saman Kumara, (2009) "Differential effects of competency due to BPO and KPO industry differences in ITES sector in Sri Lanka", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss: 2, pp.169 - 185
Keywords:	Communication technologies, Outsourcing, Skilled workers, Sri Lanka
Article type:	Research paper
DOI:	10.1108/13620430910950764 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:	The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments on the earlier version of this paper.
Abstract:	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.