Assessment of Competences in Sustainability Management: Analyses to the Construct Dimensionality

Abstract

Abstract. The paper discusses an examination of the dimensions of a competence model for sustainability management. A central assumption is that the dimensions of the competence model differ according to knowledge representation (i. e., declarative vs. schematic and strategic knowledge) and content area (i. e., business administration and sustainability from a societal perspective, as well as sustainability management). Study participants included 850 students from 16 universities in Germany, and the analyses were conducted on the basis of structural equation modeling. The results reveal an expectation-compliant finding whereby the types of knowledge addressed by different assessment formats and content requirements can be presented in two disjunct dimensions. On the one hand, the model analyses indicate a better fit to the multidimensional model, which distinguishes between declarative knowledge in the field of business administration and sustainability from a social perspective, while on the other hand, the analyses suggest a better fit to sustainability management.