Journal of Human Resource Management

2017; 5(6): 90-94

http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/jhrm
doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20170506.11
ISSN: 2331-0707 (Print); ISSN: 2331-0715 (Online)

Review Article
Talent Management: A Conceptual Framework from Review
of Literature and a Research Agenda
Faith Wanjira Muriithi, Muathe Stephen Makau
Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

Email address:
[email protected] (F. W. Muriithi), [email protected] (M. S. Makau)

To cite this article:

Faith Wanjira Muriithi, Muathe Stephen Makau. Talent Management: A Conceptual Framework from Review of Literature and a Research
Agenda. Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol. 5, No. 6, 2017, pp. 90-94. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20170506.11

Received: November 16, 2017; Accepted: November 29, 2017; Published: January 2, 2018

Abstract: With the emerging trends in human resource practices, talent management has become an area of concern globally.
Talent management activities are occupying a very significant amount of organization resources. Most organizations have
formed a link between talent management and the overall business strategies. Several studies have been carried out with the aim
of finding out the impact talent management has on organization performance, as it has become very popular. This paper
critically looks at studies conducted on the subject, identifying empirical and contextual gaps that exist in the literature subject,
and proposing a conceptual framework on the subject. From the studies, talent management is at the centre of the survival of the
profit organizations in the contemporary world and the stiff competitive business world. The study concludes that even though
there is a high correlation between the management of talent, and both financial and non-financial performance of organizations,
it would be of worth to include other variables which may include the organization strategies, its structures and policies, the
leadership styles and beliefs and others that might be of help to explain the relationships extensively.
Keywords: Talent Management, Talent Attraction, Talent Retention, Learning and Development, Career Development,
Organization Performance

up. In the Strategic talent management field, there ought to

1. Introduction include the organization’s culture and the task ought not to be
From a talent management perspective, today is a unique the talent age came after the agricultural, industrial and
time. Boston Consulting Group argues that there has been an knowledge age. In the agricultural era, land, a basic physical
irreversible shift from lifetime employment. 1 There is a and tangible asset was what formed the root basis of the
growing propensity for talent to move and a narrowing focus economy. Afterwards, the industrial era set in which was
on high potential talent. There is also a shrinking pool of grounded on the manufacturing economy. It is by use of the
resources to spend on talent. However, there is a greater need most efficient factories and distribution networks that the
to anticipate strategic shifts and their implications on firm business performance is boosted. Later the economic value was
performance. advanced where information assets was born via the integrated
Talent management is said to be intricate set of bonded communications and computer technology. At the present time,
human resource course that delivers an easy basic gain to an the talent age, the war is on the tough competition for the finest
organization. The performance dividends are realized by people as they are said to be the true creators of value.
organizations that maximum incorporates talent management According to various researches, the group that has the finest
practices. Integrated strategic talent management is an people are at a lofty platform than their competitors. It is crystal
alternative to the talent management practice as the talent soars clear that outstanding financial performance is the end result of
finer talent. Talent management is the strategy.2

1 Boston Consulting Group [BCG] (2009). Creating People Advantage. Boston, 2 Morton, L. (2004). Integrated and integrative talent management: A strategic HR
Mass: Boston Consulting Group. framework, Research Report R-1345-04-RR, The Conference Board, New York, NY.
91 Faith Wanjira Muriithi and Muathe Stephen Makau: Talent Management: A Conceptual
Framework from Review of Literature and a Research Agenda

In the contemporary business environment, the markets rise of the outsider ‘white knight’ executive.8
have become global and competitive. Trends of global The third wave of talent management began in the
integration, are calling for all organizations to set specific mid-2000s and is still occurring now. This wave was
standards in talent recruitment, development and characterized by the end of the lifetime employment contract.
management so as to put them in a better competitive level. Employees are not considered to be their own brands. There is
Thus, it is up to the organizations to adjust to the dynamics of also a rise of the freelance/contract workforce. Further, this
talent management and also to the local labour environment.3 wave resulted in a “rate my company” generation.9
It is clear that talent management takes a considerable
quantity of the organizations’ resources. This is supported by 2. Review of Literature
the Economist Intelligence Unit, which revealed that the Chief
Executive Officers (CEO’s) spent more than 50 per cent of Talent management has attracted considerable attention
their crucial time in talent related matters.4 from scholars on its relationship with organization
Talent management is increasingly being carried out at performance. Most of the available literature has focused on
national level, whereby the multi-national companies are the talent management and its components, and their effect on
striving to hang on to talent in every country they operate. organization performance and the underpinning theories.
Interested in identifying the rare talent that eventually boosts
the firm’s financial performance.5 Thus, talent management is 2.1. Theoretical Literature
gaining popularity in the modern time. To be logically relevant The study is based on three theories linked on the Talent
a nexus between talent management strategy and business management, the Maslow theory, human capital theory and
strategy ought to be identified. There are the “champions and the talent DNA model. Though other theories have been used
the losers as similar in business where there is success and in explaining talent management, the researcher in this paper
failure”. Thus, it is only an organization that practices talent is convinced that the above theories cover the concept talent
management that has higher chances of winning the talent management.
war.6 Consequently, top most consideration must be accorded In Maslow (1908-1970) need hierarchy theory, human
to talent management especially by organization. needs are put into five categories starting with the
There are three major waves in which talent management physiological needs which ought to be satisfied first. An
was a focus and they resulted in varied outcomes. The first organization plays a part in satisfying the needs of the
wave occurred between 1970 and 1990. The world was less employee via good basis pay and good working
predictable at this time. For this reason, workforce planning environment.10 11 Maslow’s theory is of great importance as it
was extremely difficult. There was a growing reliance on would draw attention to the employees through an enabling
professionally trained managers such as those with MBAs. environment. Employees draw attention to an organization
Also, strategic thinking was being outsourced. The that gives employees the chance and opportunity to enhance
groundwork was also being laid for executive recruiting.7 their skills, as well as giving a high consideration of their
The second wave of talent management occurred at the wellbeing and growth needs. 12 This theory brings out the
beginning of the 1990s to the mid-2000s. At this time, talent attraction and retention of employees. For an organization to
was acquired and shed through acquisition and layoffs. In this attract and retain the best talents then there must be a high
wave the term talent management was introduced in 1997 by a brand, considerate in employees’ needs, and have a
group of Mckinsey consultants who coined the phrase the War competitive way of meeting them.
for Talent The lifetime employment contract began to Human capital theory comprises of human capital that
disappear. Performance was crucial in maintaining constitutes: the skills of the employees, ability and
employment. Talent mobility was also on the rise. There was knowledge.13 Human capital in this theory is seen as a part of
mass disillusionment with large organizations. This led to the organization’s resource which can be endowed and is of great
value as it makes the organization productive.14 15 16
3 Stahl, G. K., Bjorkman, I., Farndale, E., Morris, S. S., Stiles, P., Trevor, J. and
Wright, P. M. (2007). Global Talent Management: How Leading Multinationals
Build and Sustain their Talent Pipeline. Faculty and Research Working Paper. 8 Iles, Preece & Chuai, (2008). Ibid 7.
Fontainebleau, France: INSEAD. 9 Iles, Preece & Chuai, (2008). Ibid 7.
4 Economist Intelligence Unit (2006). The CEO’s role in talent management How 10 Saleem, N. A. (2006). Principles and Practice of management simplified.
top executives from ten countries are nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. A paper by Nairobi, Saleemi Publication.
the Economist Intelligence Unit in co-operation with Development Dimensions 11 Mwangi, M. (2009). Factors Affecting Talent Management at Nation Media
International (DDI), May. Group, Unpublished thesis (business administration). Strathmore University.
5 Farndale, E., Pai, A., Sparrow, P., & Scullion, H. (2014). Balancing individual 12 Mwangi, (2009). Ibid 11.
and organizational goals in global talent management: A mutual-benefits 13 Becker, G. S., (1964). Human Capital. New York: Columbia University Press.
perspective. Journal of World Business, 49 (2), 204-214. doi: 14 Kessler, A. S., & Lülfesmann, C. (2006). The theory of human capital revisited:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2013.11.004. On the interaction of general and specific investments. Economic Journal, 116
6 Williams, M. (2000). The War for Talent: Getting the Best from the Best. London: (514), 903-923.
CIPD. 15 Lepak, D. P. & Snell, S. A. (1999). The human resource architecture: Toward a
7 Iles, P., Preece, D. & Chuai, X. (2008). Is talent management just “old wine in theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management
new bottles”?: The case of multinational companies in Beijing. Management Review, 24 (1), 31-48.
Research News, 31 (12), 901-911. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170810920611. 16 Strober, M. H. (1990). Human capital theory: Implications for HR managers.
 Journal of Human Resource Management 2017; 5(6): 90-94 92

The relevance of this theory is that there is provision of incorporation of talent management in HRM activities. In
talent management especially to the scholars with relevant addition, the development of the technical specialists was said
structure so as to scrutinize an array of issues that are linked to to be a normal practice. A model based was a proposal that
human capital of the high levels. If organizations pursue goal should act as guidance in the implementation of talent
congruence, and focus more on retaining top performers, the management.
huge amount invested in top performers pays off with long A study on the effect of talent management centered on the
term benefits to the organization. If employees are adequately performance of organizations was carried out in the listed
invested in, well managed and retained, they will be companies in the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya.21
innovative and creative, readily useful and available to the The study was focused on an indepth analysis of the impact
organization to do the right job for all the right reasons, and of talent attraction, the retention of talents, learning and
goal achievements becomes glaring and tangible.17 development and the management of careers based on the
A talent management model was a proposal of the performance of the organizations listed in NSE in Kenya.
knowledge infusion. The talent DNA theory searches for a The findings of the study was that there was a positive
way that will fully accomplish the objectives of the immense impact between talent management and the
organization. The basis of the model is primarily grounded on performace of organizations. The study suggests that if talent
the ‘DNA’ concept that is composed of three elements: Key management is heavily put into practice, the results will be a
roles identification, competencies identification necessary for performance that is of superior significance in the
crucial rolesTalent DNA that forms the root ground for a organization world.
linkage in the HR processes that include career planning and A study on learning and talent development conducted by
performance management.18 CIPD, revealed that: In-house development programmes and
The relevance of the talent DNA model to the study is coaching conducted by line managers were at the top of the
crucial in talent management and organization performance as list in the effective learning and development practices.
it emphasizes on two components; Necessary skills and Others identified included E-learning. In addition, senior
capabilities are outlined and must correspond to the job and managers and human resource department supervised the
organization needs. Thus, after identification of the three learning process. This was a survey of a number of
components, organizations can go ahead and employ the talent organizations. Leadership skills, people management skills
DNA model.19 and business awareness were the major areas identified by
top managers in order to fulfill the business objectives.22
2.2. Empirical Literature Kahinde, did a study in Nigeria centered on talent
Yllner and Brunila 20 carried out a study on talent management; the study revealed that a high correlation
management and the manner in which companies work between talent management, profitability and return on
towards retaining and managing technical specialists in a investment existed. Albeit, the index of talent management
technical career. The researchers found out that Talent had a higher correlation at 3.72 than return on investment at
management is of great importance especially in the ever 3.62 this was due to Nigerians’ perception of the interest in
changing contemporary world as a strategic and competitive profit making in all ways including management of talent.23
tool. In addition, when associated with corporate strategy, All these studies have demonstrated a relationship between
talent management becomes a motivating factor in realizing talent management and organization performance. However
greater profits in the corporate world. Qualitative method was there is lack of similarity variable components used on both
employed. The study was contextualized on oil and gas the talent management and organization performance.
industry based in Norway. Furthermore, there was a
comparison between the Norway industry and another in 3. Conclusion and Recommendation
Sweden. The two were compared as they had similarity in
variables used which were size and technical capabilities. An 3.1. Conclusion
empirical and literature research resulted into a necessity of From the studies, talent management is at the centre of the
linking HRM activities with corporate strategy, survival of the profit organizations in the contemporary world
re-classification of career concept was suggested and and the stiff competitive business world. Management of
talent is normally perceived as a better organization
performance linked to the strategy of the corporate is realised
Industrial Relations, 29 (2), 214.
17 Herbling, D. (2012). More than a third of NSE firms lack women directors. and thus suitable strategies ought to be executed for a better
Business Daily, May 13. performance in the organization. From the finds, even though
18 Shravanthi, S. & Sumanth, G. (2008). Talent DNA Model. Journal of Human
Resource Management, 22 (1), 78-85.
19 Subramaniam, I. D. & Mahan, P. (2012). Determinants of successful talent 21 Lyria, R. K. (2014). Effect of Talent Management on Organizational
management in MNCs in Malaysia. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Performance in Companies Listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya. xviii.
Research, 2 (12), 12524– 12533. 22 CIPD (2010). The Talent Perspective: What does it Feel Like to Be
20 Yllner, E. & Brunila, A. (2013). Talent Management – Retaining and Managing Talent-Managed? London: CIPD.
Technical Specialists in a Technical Career. Master of Science Thesis KTH 23 Kahinde, J. S. (2012). Talent management effect on organization performance.
Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, Stockholm. Journal of management research, 4 (2) 76-88.
93 Faith Wanjira Muriithi and Muathe Stephen Makau: Talent Management: A Conceptual
Framework from Review of Literature and a Research Agenda

there is a high correlation between the management of talent, 3.2. Recommendation

and both financial and non-financial performance of
organizations, it would be of worth to include other variables The purpose of this study was to identify research gaps in
which may include the organization strategies, its structures available literature on talent management and use of
and policies, the leadership styles and beliefs and others that information gathered to propose a conceptual framework and
might be of help to explain the relationships extensively. form a research agenda for the researcher. It is evident from
Most studies adopted a descriptive research design the reviewed literature that there is a lot that has been done and
covering particular samples of the target population. Case yet a lot more that still needs to be covered. The researcher
study was also used in some studies. Semi structured were recommends that research be carried out in the following
commonly used, a technique that is good especially when the identified areas which have not been adequately covered;
population is large and diverse. Methodology appropriate In a context of micro and medium organizations in an entire
was adopted from what other researchers had used. This sector, as most studies reviewed were macro enterprises in large
study is both quantitative and qualitative in nature thus both countries. The micro organizations involved were case studies.
descriptive statistics and inferential statistics are appropriate. A combination of both descriptive and inferential statistics
Both descriptive and cross-sectional survey research should be considered. The reviewed studies involved only
designs will be adopted. Stratified sampling will be most one methodology and the most common was descriptive.
appropriate as the study involved groups of respondent. Research should also be carried out with consideration of other
Stratified sampling enhances balanced respondents from the intervening variables. Most reviewed studied showed a direct
specified groups. In this study the population is divided into correlation between the dependent and independent variables.
subgroups or ‘strata,. Use of both primary and secondary Finally the researcher recommends that investigation be
data will be adopted with the use of Semi structured carried out to establish whether and how the labour laws affect
questionnaire comprising of both open-ended and the relationship between talent management and organization
close-ended. Multiple Regression analysis will be employed performance, and the below proposed conceptual framework.
to analyse the data collected.
3.3. Proposed Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework.

 Journal of Human Resource Management 2017; 5(6): 90-94 94

Research Hypotheses [12] Jing, F. F., & Avery, G. C. (2011). Missing links in
understanding the relationship between leadership and
1. H01: Talent attraction does not significantly influence organizational performance. International Business &
performance of organizations Economics Research Journal (IBER), Vol. 7 (5).
2. H02: Learning and development does not significantly [13] Kahinde, J. S. (2012). Talent management effect on
influence performance of organizations organization performance. Journal of management research, 4
3. H03: Talent retention does not significantly influence (2) 76-88.
performance of organizations [14] Kellyservice. (2013). Attraction and Retention of Talent.,
4. H04: Career management does not significantly Retrieved on 16th March 2013 from Kellyservices.co.nz.
influence performance of organizations
5. H05: Labour and international labour laws do not have [15] Kessler, A. S., & Lülfesmann, C. (2006). The theory of human
capital revisited: On the interaction of general and specific
a significant moderating effect on the relationship investments. Economic Journal, 116 (514), 903-923.
between talent management and performance of
organizations [16] Koolen, I. (2014). Investigating the relation between Talent
6. H06: Employees behaviours do not have a significant Philosophies, Organizational Talent Management Approaches
and Workforce Differentiation. 2.
mediating effect on the relationship between talent
management and performance of organizations [17] Lepak, D. P. & Snell, S. A. (1999). The human resource
architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and
development. Academy of Management Review, 24 (1),
31-48.
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