The Antecedents of Management Competence: The Role of Educational Background and Type of Work Experience

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between managers’ demographic characteristics (educational background and work experience) and their management competence (preference for problem solving strategies and managerial behavior). Based on this overall research question, two underlying research questions were also investigated: What is the joint effect of educational background and work experience on management competence, and to what extent are demographic characteristics such as educational background and work experience good proxies for management competence? These research questions were first investigated through an exploratory study. The hypotheses developed from the exploratory study and the literature review were tested in a survey study.