Hugh Scullion

Talent management decision making

Purpose – The paper sets out to understand the key issues that emerge in the context of decision making.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a literature review.Findings – First, the authors review debates around talent management decision making. Second, they examine some of the main factors currently influencing decision making in talent management. Third, they seek to identify some future research areas that will inform future decision making in talent management.Practical implications – The paper will be of interest to practitioners in designing and developing talent management decision systems.Originality/value – The paper presents a state of the art review of talent management decision marking.

Global staffing: a review and thematic research agenda

This paper provides the context for the current special issue on global staffing and provides an up to date review of the state of the art in the literature in the area. We explore the key role played by global staffing in strategic international human resource management, with a particular focus on innovation, organisational learning and corporate integration. We then consider the evolution of global staffing research over time. Finally, we point to a number of key contemporary issues which could help to guide future research in global staffing.

Staffing Policies and Strategic Control in British Multinationals

While the effective management of human resources is increasingly being recognized as a major determinant of success or failure in international business (Tung, 1984), in practice many organizations are still coming to terms with the human resources issues associated with international operations (Dowling, 1986). In the international arena, the quality of management seems to be even more critical than in domestic operations (Tung, 1984, p. 129). This is primarily because the nature of international business operations involves the complexities of operating in different countries and employing different national categories of workers (Morgan, 1986, p. 44). Yet, while it is recognized that HRM problems become more complex in the international arena, there is evidence to suggest that many companies underestimate the complexities involved in international operations. The field of international human resource management, however, is only slowly developing as a field of academic study and has been described by one authority as being in the infancy stage (Laurent, 1986, p. 91). Moreover, there is relatively little empirical research that documents the international HRM strategies and practices of international firms particularly firms that have their headquarters outside North America.

European perspectives on talent management

While talent management has gained a central place in the managerial discourse, academic research in the area has lagged behind. This paper considers talent management with a particular focus on the European context and sets the scene for the special issue which it precedes. Given that much of our understanding of talent management is premised on work by North American colleagues, the paper and special issue are intended to provide a European contribution to the field. We hope that through empirical insights from the European context combined with the theoretical approaches adopted in the various papers, we will at minimum provide a point of departure for the field of talent management in the European context.

Repatriation of European female corporate executives

The increased internationalization of business in recent years has made the understanding of international human resource management problems more important for executives in multinational companies. In recent years, researchers have paid considerable attention to the issues of adjustment of managers to international assignments. Interestingly, comparatively little research has been undertaken on the topic of repatriation, i.e. re-entry and readjustment of international managers and their families to their home countries. Despite the growth of women in international management there are very few studies that document the repatriation experiences of female international managers. In particular, very few studies have been conducted outside North America on the topic of repatriation of female corporate executives. This paper reports on the experiences of re-entry to home organizations and home countries by an exclusively senior sample of female international managers in Western Europe. Based on extensive empirical research, the findings establish that the repatriation phase of the international career move may be even more stressful than expatriation. The findings also establish that female international managers experience more difficulties than their male counterparts because of their pioneering roles. Finally, the paper suggests that home-based mentors and access to networks while abroad are important factors in contributing to the successful repatriation of international managers. The research findings make a theoretical contribution, not only to the analysis of gender and international human resource management but, also, to wider debates within the contemporary women in management and career theory literatures.

Talent management in medium-sized German companies: an explorative study and agenda for future research

This study seeks to make a contribution to our conceptual and empirical understanding into the nature of talent management (TM) in German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an under-researched area in the field. The approach of this investigation recognizes that TM may vary significantly between different types of companies and national contexts. The findings are based on data collected from 700 SMEs in Germany. Three distinct clusters of TM intensity profiles are identified (highly engaged talent managers, reactive talent managers and retention-based talent managers), which vary according to annual sales volumes, industry affiliations, cooperative behavior with respect to human resource (HR) and TM networks, the long-term focus of TM and future HR and TM budgets. In summary, most of the investigated companies place a high importance on TM reflecting a developmental approach which fits well with the German business system. One key finding of the study was the preference of most German SMEs to choose a more inclusive approach to TM and target all or most employees, in contrast to large multinational enterprises where a more elitist approach is favored. Another major finding was that TM cooperation with other firms and institutions was used as a strategy to cope with the war for talent in a country, which despite the Global Financial Crisis is characterized by strong economic growth and important demographic challenges. Based on these findings and the contextual approach to TM, a comprehensive agenda for future research areas in TM is outlined.

Female expatriates in international business: Empirical evidence from the German clothing industry

The article empirically analyses the situation of male and female expatriates in the German clothing industry in terms of selection, preparation, support during assignment, job satisfaction, goal attainment and future perspectives. In general, female expatriate managers face more difficulties than male expatriates at each stage of the international transfer cycle. The results of this single sector study demonstrate the importance of the cultural, national and sectoral context for the interpretation of results.

Barriers to women's participation in international management

From the extant research in international human resource management it is evident that women are not progressing to senior international management positions at comparable rates to their male counterparts. Previous research has estimated that only 3 percent of expatriate managers are women. This paper argues that female international managers have to overcome many additional overt and covert barriers before being developed for international assignments. Based on an extensive empirical research study conducted with senior female international managers in a European context, the paper highlights a number of the barriers which the interviewees believed limit women’s international career opportunities. The paper also highlights the implications of these barriers for international human resource management policies and practices.

The repatriation of female international managers: An empirical study

This paper focuses on the repatriation of senior female international managers in western Europe and establishes that the repatriation phase of the international career move may be even more stressful than expatriation. It is argued that female international managers may experience more difficulties than their male counterparts because of their pioneering roles. Finally, the paper identifies that home‐based mentors and access to networks while abroad are important factors in contributing to the successful repatriation of international managers.

An analysis of the talent management challenges in a post-communist country: the case of Poland

There is a dearth of empirical studies on talent management (TM) in the emerging markets, and in particular a lack of research on TM in the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Our empirical study in 58 organisations in Poland, a major economy in the CEE region, is one of the first studies to examine TM in this context. Our study highlights the particular nature of the TM challenges facing organisations in Poland and shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Polish practice is converging with Western models. Our paper suggests that TM is likely to challenge many traditional management practices and attitudes which continue to dominate Polish culture in the period of transition to a market economy.