Talent Management in a Collectivistic and Egalitarian Context – The Swedish Case

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.