Contextualizing Talent Management in Russian IT Companies

Abstract

This article presents the results of a comparative qualitative study of talent management systems in six large companies from the information technology industry conducted by the authors in 2015–2017. Applying a contextual approach to the study of management practices, the authors have identified of external and internal factors affecting the definition of talented employees and the choice of tools for working with them, as well as a feedback of talent management systems on the context. The article contributes to the theory by describing the interaction between context and management system and explaining the industry model of talent management in the IT sector. The authors also proposed a new concept of “flexible talent pool” and showed a practical solution to the theoretical dilemma of “inclusivity — exclusivity” when identifying talented employees by IT companies and the dilemma of internal vs. external sources for hiring talents.