A review of talent management: ‘infancy or adolescence?’

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the academic literature on talent management in search of alternative perspectives. We found three dominant themes: the exploration of the concept of talent (definitions), the intended outcomes or effects of talent management and talent management practices. These themes are explored in more detail, and we discuss possible limitations of the current points of view on talent management. Our main finding was that the current talent management literature has a too narrow and one-dimensional approach. It can be characterized as managerialist and unitarist and has a limited view of the practices and activities of human resources. To broaden this view to a more balanced or pluralistic approach to talent management, we added new perspectives, such as stakeholder theory, multiple goals and an extended consideration of practices. The new perspectives are not only valuable for the development of the field of talent management in general but also essential for a broader theoretical framework for talent management in different contexts.

Keywords:

• balanced approach
• literature review
• strategic human resource management
• talent
• talent management

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants of the Dutch HRM Conference 2011 and of the first EIASM Workshop on talent management (2012), the editors of this special issue and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on earlier drafts of the paper.