Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate a set of competencies that characterizes effective public middle managers. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 20 middle managers from several public agencies were interviewed in person using the behavioral event interview technique. In all, 80 stories were deductively coded based on the existing National Civil Service Agency’s managerial competency dictionary and inductively examined through a thematic analysis to discover new themes. Findings: This study’s findings suggest that communication, organizing, information seeking, analytical thinking and planning competencies are common competencies, but essential for effective public middle managers. Conversely, achievement orientation, leadership, directiveness, persuasiveness and innovation are competencies that characterize effective public middle managers and distinguish them from average performers. In addition, some other new competencies inductively obtained using a thematic analysis are also important for effective public managers: adherence to laws and regulations, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and technical competencies (technology management, human resource management and financial management). Research limitations/implications: The research was undertaken using 20 samples divided into superior and average performers; thus, it is limited to developing competency levels to new competencies. Originality/value: This study identifies the competencies necessary for effective middle managers within the public sector context. Conducting behavioral event interviews with two distinct groups provides empirically unique behavioral evidence of competencies that characterize effective public middle managers and enables to discover new competencies.

Interview for competency assessment takes essential roles in Human Resource Management practices. However, the traditional competency interview process needs considerable time and costs and often requires face-to-face meetings that may endanger both interviewers and interviewees during a pandemic. This study aims to present the development of an interview bot for identifying competency based on the Behavioural Event Interview method by using artificial intelligence technology. It is an automation of the interview process to explore a person’s competencies levels based on past behavioural experiences. The development of the interview bot involved two main activities. The first is the data training process to develop learning models to determine competency levels based on provided valid participant’s responses. The second is the testing and evaluation model for assessment to determine competency levels. We found that our method can predict a person's competence levels based on their responses. Our approach can make predictions with acceptable accuracy. The interview bot is a valuable and reliable tool to conduct online interviews and support the assessment centre process, especially with conditions of physical and social distancing constraints. It provides flexibility in terms of time and place for participants, and its process is delivered in Indonesia's Language. The interview bot is more cost efficient than traditional interviews with the same behavioural event interview methods, and it would also be preferable for millennials.

Purpose: This study aims to draw lessons on how talent identification becomes a critical factor in the field of talent management (TM).Design/methodology/approach: A simulation approach with three developed scenarios is used in the paper. The first utilised the standard deviation of skewed performance scores, the second applied the standard deviation of normalised data and the third practised a percentile approach. Concerning the normalisation process of employee performance data, the paper proposed a weighted function to address skewness.Findings: The results indicate that the process of identifying talent using a nine-grid box is sensitive to changes in the classification criteria used, indicating a bias in identifying talent. In sum, using a standard deviation approach using transformation data is the most appropriate choice for use in performance data with a skewed distribution.Practical implications: The Government of West Java Province, Indonesia, can use the simulation results to objectively identify excellent civil servants and develop an appropriate TM strategy. A similar process treatment can be implemented in other organisations that have skew distribution issues.Originality/value: This paper introduces a weighted function approach to address practical problems in the unsymmetrical distribution of employee performance scores when identifying talent using a TM framework. It shows the application of a unique mathematical technique to solve issues found in the field of human resources management systems.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a model that will explain the impact of government policies to the competitiveness of palm oil industry. The model involves two commodities in this industry, namely crude palm oil (CPO) and refined palm oil (RPO), each has different added value. Design/methodology/approach: The model built will define the behavior of government in controlling palm oil industry, and their interactions with macro-environment, in order to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Therefore the first step was to map the main activities in this industry using value chain analysis. After that a conceptual model was built, where the output of the model is competitiveness of the industry based on market share. The third step was model formulation. The model is then utilized to simulate the policy mix given by government in improving the competitiveness of Palm Oil Industry. Research limitations/implications: The model was developed using only some policies which give direct impact to the competitiveness of the industry. For macro environment input, only price is considered in this model. Practical implications: The model can simulate the output of the industry for various government policies mix given to the industry. Originality/value: This research develops a model that can represent the structure and relationship between industry, government and macro environment, using value chain analysis and hierarchical multilevel system approach.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate a set of competencies that are important for superior performance across three top levels of management in the provincial government executive offices.Design/methodology/approach: Using the case of the West Java Province Government, Indonesia, a qualitative approach with document analysis and behavioural event interview techniques were employed. The results were confirmed using focus group discussions. The Mann–Whitney U test was also conducted to further analyse the results.Findings: The authors found 19 competencies grouped into five competency clusters: managing personal, managing task, managing work unit, managing socio-cultural and functional aspects. The Mann–Whitney U test results showed that managing work unit and socio-cultural aspects were more important for upper-level management, while functional aspects were more necessary for lower and middle levels of management. Two competencies, that is, achievement orientation and innovation, were the main characteristics of superior performers across all management levels, differentiating them from average performers.Practical implications: The study suggests the need for the Government of Indonesia to improve the current competency model. Its implications on educational and training institutions are discussed.Originality/value: This study considered three different levels of management, grouped into superior and average performers and thematically analysed their past experiences when performing their jobs. It thus extends previous competency studies that mostly focus on a particular management level and individuals' perceptions.

The Business Model Canvas and value chain have significantly impacted how companies and entrepreneurs develop their business strategies. Both the Business Model Canvas and the value chain provide a simple, visual approach to effectively map out the key elements of a business. They have also been used as foundational models for ecosystem business models. Ecosystem business models are created by integrating the Business Model Canvas and the pie model, known as the Integrated Business Model. Another method for generating an ecosystem business model is integrating the value chain and the pie model, known as the service-dominated business model radar. Ecosystem business models with an organizational approach also provide a broad view of the roles of each organization, divided into five actors: governor, input provider, aggregator, enabler, and end user. In this research, the perspective of the ecosystem business model originates from an ecological analogy. The ecological concept consists of community ecology and ecosystem ecology. Community ecology relates to the types of actors that play roles in the ecosystem, while ecosystem ecology pertains to the value chain processes within the ecosystem. This research will discuss the advantages and limitations of the Business Model Canvas, the value chain, and organizations as foundational models for ecosystem business models, as well as opportunities to create new ecosystem business models based on the concepts of community ecology and ecosystem ecology. The new business model developed will be applied to electric vehicles in sustainable tourism areas.