Competency training for the purchasing profession: The relationship between perceived competency significance and training received by purchasing personne

The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a positive linear relationship between the perceived significance of forty-eight purchasing competencies and the amount of training received by purchasing professionals in each of the competencies. A hierarchy of competencies was constructed using Q-sort methodology and a panel of six experts (three practitioners and three academicians). This process established the mean perceived significance for each of the competencies.;To determine the quantity of training purchasing practitioners had received in each competency, a questionnaire was developed and mailed to five hundred members of the Purchasing Management Association of Carolinas - Virginia (PMAC-V). Three hundred and fifty-six usable questionnaires (75.9% return rate) were analyzed to establish the mean amount of training received for each of the forty-eight competencies.;Regression analysis was used to test the first null hypothesis that there is not a positive linear relationship between the perceived significance of the competencies and the mean amount of training received in each competency.;The t-test was used to determine if personnel in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing segments received (for each competency) significantly different amounts of training. Eleven of the forty-eight competencies were significantly different at the 5% level.;Factor analysis reduced the raw data to eight factors that described the characteristics of the training received by the participants. Factor scores were tested by analysis of variance for significant differences in the amount of training between the manufacturing, service, and government segments. The factors that were designated as "Accounting Concepts Applicable to Purchasing" and "Analytical Applications for the Profession" indicated that for these factors, there are significant differences in the amount of training received by purchasing personnel from the manufacturing, service, and government segments.