Relationships between Learning, Context and Competency: a Multilevel Study

This study aims to identify the predictor variables for three types of management competencies: financial business management, process management and socio-environmental management. It was hypothesized that attributes of bank managers (such as the learning strategies they use) and those of the branches where they work (such as organizational support) are associated with the expression of management competencies at work. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Multilevel regression analyses (HLM) were performed to test the theoretical model of investigation. The sample was made up of 775 managers from the Bank of Brazil, spread among 239 bank branches. The greatest relative contribution to explain the management competencies came from intrinsic and extrinsic reflection, a learning strategy employed by managers at work. The managers’ perceptions regarding the company’s performance management practices, one dimension of organizational support, appeared as another important predictor. Other learning strategies and dimensions of organizational support, as well as the number of hours spent on training activities, revealed less expressive effects regarding management competencies. Practical recommendations are presented and the study’s limitations and contributions are discussed.