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When Hard Skills Are Not Enough: Behavioral Competencies of Data Scientists and Data Analysts

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Behavioral Competencies of Digital Professionals

Abstract

This chapter contributes to the current debate on how to overcome the skill shortage that characterizes the demand of big data professions in the labor market. If the technical competencies expected for these responsibilities have been defined, their behavioral skills are still under-explored. The chapter addresses this void through an exploratory study providing empirical evidence collected through the Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) technique. Drawing on an Italian sample of data scientists and data analysts, the study provides a description of the competency portfolio manifested by the two professional roles. The results show that both data scientists and data analysts manifest a wide repertoire of behavioral competencies that are needed to attain successful performance and to face the challenges of the digital transformation.

What makes analytical organizations so interesting, in our view, is the needed combination of human and computational perspectives. Analytical decision-making is at the intersection of individual and organizational capabilities.

(Davenport et al. 2010: 17)

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Correspondence to Sara Bonesso .

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Bonesso, S., Bruni, E., Gerli, F. (2020). When Hard Skills Are Not Enough: Behavioral Competencies of Data Scientists and Data Analysts. In: Behavioral Competencies of Digital Professionals. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33578-6_4

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