Pernilla Bolander

Talent Management (TM) is currently on top of the HR agenda of managers all over the world. Still, TM research and writing has to a large extent been focused on multinational, US-based firms. Recent research has identified a need for empirical research on TM in other national and cultural contexts. The current study focuses on TM practices in the Swedish context which is characterized by collectivistic and egalitarian values at odds with the individualistic and elitist values of TM. Based on a study of 16 organizations, three approaches to TM are identified – a Humanistic approach, a Competitive approach and an Entrepreneurial approach. The three approaches are described and discussed in relation to the organizational and cultural context in which they were identified. Hereby, the paper contributes to a more context-specific understanding of TM, which has been called for in previous research.

Research on the recruitment process has traditionally been dominated by two approaches, namely the psychometric and the social process approaches. However, both of these have been critisized for focusing exclusively on scientific rationality and effeciency. In this paper an interpretative approach is used to study recruiters' conceptions of the recruitment process. Four perspectives on recruitment are identified. The study illustrates how the recruiter's perspective on recruitment influences how he or she uses the different selection tools that are available. It also shows that the recruiters, within each perspective, relate to both the psychometric and the social process approaches.