Managing Talents for Global Leadership Positions in Multinational Corporations

Abstract: The identification and development of internal high-potential employees is referred to as „talent management‟ within the human resources function. Previous research argues that national culture influences organizational culture and leadership, and that human resource management practices should be adapted to local needs. There is little prior research in regards to how Western multinational corporations address this issue within their global approach to talent management, especially in China, where there is an acknowledged shortage of Chinese nationals that operate effectively within higher leadership levels of Western multinational corporations. This study shows how those multinational corporations identify and develop local leadership talents for global leadership positions, globally compared to in China. The research is based on more than 20 qualitative interviews with 14 large multinational corporations across different industries. The main finding is that in most corporations, adaptations of talent management processes in China are limited, but do exist. However, at the higher leadership levels, there are virtually no adaptations of global leadership standards as of today, and most multinational corporations are striving to continuously improve and implement a global talent management approach.