Saying ESG, Doing Less: Importance-Performance Gaps in Project Managers’ ESG Competencies Across Europe

Abstract

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration in project management depends on the competencies of project managers, yet it remains unclear whether the gap between perceived importance and self-reported performance of these competencies is uniform across the three ESG dimensions or whether it is shaped by the maturity of organizational ESG integration. This study examines the magnitude, distribution, and contextual sensitivity of the importance–performance gap in ESG competencies. A structured survey measuring perceived importance and self-reported performance across 45 ESG competency items (15 per dimension) was administered to 754 project professionals from European countries. Paired-sample comparisons and effect sizes assessed gap magnitude; Kruskal–Wallis tests, a trend test, and pairwise comparisons assessed its variation by organizational ESG integration status; person-level correlations, benchmarked against the correlations of the importance and performance indices and adjusted for response style, examined whether dimension-specific gaps co-vary within individuals. A statistically significant positive gap was found for all 45 competencies (medium effect sizes, d = 0.51–0.54). Gap magnitude varied with organizational ESG integration status: it was largest, at 0.63–0.68 scale points, among professionals in organizations that had not yet integrated ESG and smallest, at 0.22 scale points, among those in organizations with one to three years of integration, with a partial rebound (0.24–0.34) beyond three years. Although the three dimensions cover distinct competency content, environmental, social, and governance gap scores correlated strongly within individuals (r = .77–.85), and remained high (r = .69–.79) after controlling for individual response style. The study documents person-level consistency in gap magnitude across the three ESG dimensions and interprets the patterns through institutional decoupling and value-action gap theory. ESG competency development should take account of organizational integration status and should address general enactment conditions alongside dimension-specific content. Article history: Received (July 2, 2026); Revised (September 19, 2026); Accepted (September 20, 2026); Published online (September 25, 2026)