The Effectiveness of Soft Skills in Generating Dynamic Capabilities in ICT companies and the Impact of Blockchain Technology and Dynamic Capabilities on Banks’ Performance

Abstract

This doctoral thesis aims to show the effectiveness of soft skills in increasing the dynamic capabilities of information and technological companies. The research was carried out to examine the effects of soft skills in ICT firms located in European Countries. Results obtained from various projects, such as Skills Match, research sources show that 86% of respondents indicate an increased emphasis on soft skills and that organizations now consider soft skills more important than employees. The research tries to show that ICT firms with employees with a high level of soft skills derive dynamic capabilities than those with employees with a deficit of soft skills. The search was conducted through the scientific databases: Web of Science and Scopus, with specific journals, articles, book chapters, and reports. The search then narrowed to some specific subject areas. The search span was from 2016-2020. To avoid mistranslation, articles not written in English were discarded, thereby left with published articles between 2016-2020 limited to countries in European countries alone. Based on the search results, the literature was synthesized, and the importance of soft skills to generate dynamic capabilities in ICT firms were identified. Soft skills are not only necessary for work; they are vital for daily living. This study showed that there is a wide range of soft skills that the employers and staff of ICT companies should possess to be successful. The research is limited to ICT companies and excludes other sectors of the economy. Evidence pointed to ICT firms that employed staff with soft skills or systems of training and retraining their workers in soft skills, generate dynamic capabilities above those that do not. This work implies that firms can no longer take with levity the acquisition, training, and continuous development of soft skills if it is generating dynamic capabilities. Also, blockchain technology has sparked significant interest and is currently being researched by academics and practitioners due to its potential to reduce transaction costs, improve the security of transactions, increase transparency, etc. However, there is still much doubt about its impact, and the technology is still in its infancy, with varying degrees of adoption among different financial institutions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was utilized to test the impact of blockchain and dynamic capabilities on the Bank’s Performance of top banks in Spain. The innovative approach seeks to understand how performance can be improved by deploying blockchain technology (BC) in banks. Results showed a significant association between banks’ adoption of blockchain and the generation of dynamic capabilities and financial performance. Thus, we can confirm that a bank adopting blockchain will more likely create dynamic capabilities than those that do not. Hence, blockchain technology is an important tool for achieving dynamic capabilities and increasing performance in banks. Based on the findings, we suggest areas for additional research and highlight policy considerations related to the wider adoption of blockchain technology