Abstract

The link between global talent management (GTM) and multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) performance has not been theorised or empirically tested. We develop a theoretical framework for how GTM links to performance at the headquarters (HQ), subsidiary, and individual employee levels. Using the resource-based view as a frame, we highlight the routines of pivotal positions, global talent pools, and a differentiated HR architecture as central to GTM. We show that at the HQ level, an MNE’s adoption of a global, multidomestic, or transnational strategy determines the objectives of the GTM system and significantly influences the performance of the enterprise. At the subsidiary level, the alignment between HQ intentions and subsidiary implementation of GTM routines is a key variable in our analysis. We consider the effects of these higher-level factors on individual performance through the lens of human-capital resources, focusing on how individual human capital can translate or amplify to a unit-level human-capital resource. We argue that, through the vertical fit of these higher-level factors with GTM routines at a given level, an MNE can develop an effective GTM system and expect that to translate into sustainable performance aligned with objectives set at headquarters. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research.