Mapping research on competency management in the age of AI: a bibliometric and systematic review

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness. 2026. P. 1–26.

Asemota M. O.

Purpose

This study maps how the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the definition, development and management of managerial and organizational competencies. It aims to reveal the intellectual structure, thematic evolution and emerging research fronts in competency management in the age of AI.

Design/methodology/approach

This study combines a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis to map the intellectual structure, thematic evolution and emerging research fronts in competency management in the age of AI. Using the Scopus database, 958 records were initially retrieved. After filtering for peer-reviewed English-language journal articles and manually screening for relevance, a final dataset of 198 articles was analyzed. Bibliometric analyses were conducted using VOSviewer for keyword and co-occurrence mapping and Biblioshiny for publication trends and performance indicators.

Findings

Five overarching themes emerged. (1) Rise of AI-focused managerial skills, (2) AI’s role in augmenting strategic skills and routine skills, (3) dynamic managerial capabilities for AI-enabled HRM, (4) selective skill substitution, augmentation and resilience in the AI era and (5) organizational design, power and well-being implications and competencies. The findings show that competency management is increasingly shifting from static, role-based models toward more dynamic, human-centered and technology-augmented capability systems.

Practical implications

Practitioners should move beyond fixed competency catalogs and adopt flexible, development-oriented competency systems that integrate AI-related skills, augmentation strategies and resilience building. HRM and talent development functions need to design learning pathways and organizational structures that support dynamic capability development and address power, well-being and ethical considerations arising from AI adoption.

Originality/value

This study integrates systematic review and bibliometric mapping to provide an integrated overview of how competency management is being redefined under AI-enabled conditions, synthesizing fragmented literature into five clear thematic fronts and offering directions for future research.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, workforce development, HR analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Artificial intelligence; Generative AI; LLM; HR-automation, SLR methodology, Digital Transformation, Competency Management