A COMPETENCY MODEL FOR FINANCIAL MANAGERS IN IRAQI OIL COMPANIES BASED ON GROUNDED THEORY AND FUZZY QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS (FSQCA)

Abstract

This research explores the competence of financial managers as a critical success factor for business, broadly applicable in the context of the oil industry, and serving as an important criterion for sustainability. In the context of a developing economy like Iraq, the oil industry challenges the economy as a major catalyst for economic activities; however, it is presently faced with certain issues of developing their human resources. Developments in identifying competence levels of financial managers for ensuring the development of the organization are no more the need of the hour but imperative for an urgent solution. Despite the presence of heavy cash flows and unique tasks of the oil industry, it is observed that the maximum work for ensuring competency of the staff in an integrated approach for developing their skills remains pending in the Iraqi context. The current study aims to propose a competency framework for the financial managers of the oil industry of the country of Iraq by using grounded theory and fuzzy set qualitative comparison analysis. It is revealed that problem-solving competency is the most important aspect that needs to be amalgamated into the competency framework. These are followed by three other factors of reduced importance: leadership and development of skills, communication skills, and flexibility.