The nexus of supply chain managerial competence expectation and possession in the new era: the case of Vietnam

Purpose The new era of supply chain management is characterised by key change drivers, e.g. Industry 4.0, and post-COVID-19 VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) business environment, in addition to the rising requirements for sustainability, responsiveness and customer centrism. An important and topical question in this context is what supply chain managerial competence logistics managers need to possess in order to enhance their individual performance in the new era. This question is addressed in this paper, which also explores the nexus of supply chain managerial competence expectation and possession upon which human resource development strategies are proposed accordingly. Design/methodology/approach The survey research design is adopted to empirically examine logistics managers’ supply chain managerial competence in the new era, and the forward-backward translation process was strictly followed. Data were collected through a survey conducted with owners or managers of Vietnamese firms whose business is in the logistics and related business areas, and 269 valid responses were used for analysis. Findings Results indicated that the proposed profile of four groups (foundation, core, specialist and technology-IT) and 38 competencies are valid and important to the individual performance of logistics managers in the context of Vietnam, which supports the tenet that logistics managers in the new era need to have a well-rounded profile of competencies, including those derived from contemporary change drivers. It was also found that the foundation competency group is perceived as more important than others, which is context specific given the current logistics development in Vietnam. Besides, it was also revealed that respondents in this research currently possess those competencies at a level which is lower than their perceived importance. An Importance-Possession (IPM) Matrix of Competency Development was mapped accordingly. Research limitations/implications The generalisation of this study would require further empirical examination from similar studies in other contexts, i.e. in other manufacturing and service sectors as well as in other developing and developed countries where logistics development is at different stages. Practical implications This research provides insights into the current competency profile of logistics managers in Vietnam, which can assist senior management with human resources development in their firms. Specifically, it is essential that Vietnamese logistics firms focus on providing education and training opportunities, both internally and externally, to enhance the level of possession of all competencies whose gaps between perceived importance and possession are the largest across the groups, especially those in the Maintaining Sustainably and Growing quadrants of the IPM. Originality/value Firstly, this research introduces an improvised framework of logistics managers’ supply chain managerial competence adopting the contingency approach, contributing to expanding the body of knowledge on how the competency profile of logistics managers should be developed. Secondly, the IPM matrix of competencies introduced in this research can be used as both the conceptual and managerial tool to classify and prioritise competencies for various purposes, e.g. education, training and policy implementation based on the nexus of supply chain competence expectation and possession.