Contemporary Purchasing Challenges: Key Competencies in Purchasing

Purpose: The aim of the study is to identify key competencies of purchasing department employees. This is a response to the need to identify crucial so-called soft and hard competencies, divided into employee's management directly performing the purchasing function. Particular attention was paid to answering the research questions: Which competencies are key in the purchasing area for Support and Specialist and Management Staff? Design/Methodology/Approach: The answers to the research questions were obtained on the basis of the results of surveys conducted using the CAWI method based on the original questionnaire. A statistical method was used; the factor analysis and varimax rotation increased the interpretability of factors by sharpening factor loadings. The study covered a group of respondents with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the field of purchasing. Findings: The considerations and research results presented in the article constitute the basis for the characterization of key competencies, taking into account soft and hard competencies and including aspects of sustainable development in the area of purchasing competences divided into positions held. Practical Implications: The obtained research results can be used both to assess the competence gap of employees from purchasing departments and to build customized training programs for the development of soft and hard competencies. Future in-depth research may focus on identifying statistically significant relationships in the explored topic. Originality/Value: The study proves that in the area of purchasing both soft and hard competencies are important, and the results presented in the paper contribute to expanding the current state of research in the context of competencies in the area of purchasing, presenting models taking into account soft and hard competencies in two job groups.