Talents as career capitalists: how talent management programs influence individual career paths

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of global talent management (TM) on the career paths of those individuals identified as talents by their organisation, taking a career capital perspective. The research is based on a qualitative, explorative single-case study in a multinational company (MNC). 37 interviews were conducted, including 29 with talents and 8 with HR managers working in seven countries across Europe. The results show that exclusive TM programs lead to the accumulation of career capital and more precisely company-specific career capital, which influences the career paths of participants: it leads to a hybrid intra-organisational career type with frequent career moves (including across divisions) and expatriate assignments. Finally, my work suggests that talents accumulate company-specific career capital, which increases their career satisfaction and intention to stay within the company. The findings of this research contribute to the careers and TM literature streams by making three research propositions to be tested. It also provides practitioners with insights into how to develop and retain talent.