Talent and Talent Management: Definition and Issues

Abstract

Talent’ has become a popular term amongst academicians and practitioners during the last two decades. A general problem, despite this increased interest on “Talent”, is that the construct of Talent and Talent Management lack theoretical vigor and standardized definition. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to the literature on “Talent” and “Talent Management” by a critical review of the construct of “Talent”. The evolution of the definition of the term “Talent” was traced through different time periods starting from the Biblical Times when talent was used for a very large sum of money to the present times when it is considered as a cognitive ability. A philological perspective was also taken to identify the roots of different approaches towards “Talent” in speakers of different languages and terms, that are interchangeably used in lieu of Talent were also explored. Different definitions of the term “Talent Management” were analyzed to understand the different approaches taken by the authors. The dominant approach used in the definitions of Talent Management was found to be exclusive. The study concluded that it is important to develop a uniform definition of Talent and Talent Management for a shared understanding for both academic work on the topic and its practical implication for the corporate world.