European perspectives on talent management

Abstract

While talent management has gained a central place in the managerial discourse, academic research in the area has lagged behind. This paper considers talent management with a particular focus on the European context and sets the scene for the special issue which it precedes. Given that much of our understanding of talent management is premised on work by North American colleagues, the paper and special issue are intended to provide a European contribution to the field. We hope that through empirical insights from the European context combined with the theoretical approaches adopted in the various papers, we will at minimum provide a point of departure for the field of talent management in the European context.