Core Competencies for Maritime Business Educators in the Digital Era

In light of digitalization, the objectives of this study are to (1) identify the emerging, core competencies of maritime business educators (MBE) and (2) examine their effects on perceived teaching performance. A systematic review of the contemporary literature was first performed to build a competency framework. Subsequently, an online survey was administered to 196 faculty members of the top 10 leading maritime universities as identified from the Worldwide Maritime School Rankings produced by Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The collected data were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis to extract the main competencies of MBE. The results uncovered five key competencies from 22 sub-competencies. Thereafter, Hierarchical Regression Modeling was used to examine the effects of the key competencies on perceived teaching performance. After controlling for teaching experience and job position, it was found that the five competency requirements, in descending order of their importance, have significant positive effects on teaching performance: Pedagogy, Maritime, Interpersonal, Business and Digital. Academically, this study consolidates the literature and identifies the emerging core competencies that are expected from MBE in the digital era. The study also implicates education policy formulation, offering directions for institutions to allocate their resources, develop suitable training and assessment programs, and facilitate benchmarking.