Opportunistic Behavior and Employee Competitiveness in a Modern Organization

Abstract

Under modern economic conditions, the attribute of competitiveness of economic agents is of particular importance. In the innovative economy, competitiveness at both the macro and meso levels and within the organization is provided by not only reducing costs, but also by maximizing the use of internal capabilities. Labor resources, in their turn, are the most important factor in creation of competitive advantages. It's possible to increase the competitiveness of the organization if only to increase the competitiveness of its employees: to develop labor potential, to form necessary competencies which meet the requirements of production and managerial processes. However, to maintain the competitiveness, employees often resort to opportunistic behavior, by regarding it as one of the factors for achieving it. Within the generally accepted approach, opportunism is regarded as an exclusively negative phenomenon. But does the employee always consciously choose such a model of behavior instead of conscientious labor performance? In this regard, influence of opportunism on the competitiveness of an employee is a particularly relevant issue.