Talent management and management fashion in Chinese enterprises: exploring case studies in Beijing

Preece, David; Iles, PA; Chuai, Xin

Abstract

Many HR apologists have long shown concern about the status and legitimacy of the
occupation in the eyes of executives and other actors, and, arguably, this has not been
unconnected to the range of titles it has been given over the years. For some time,
commentators debated whether there was an element of management fashion about
these title changes, or whether they reflected some real change at the level of practice.
Talent management (TM) has recently emerged as a focus of interest in HRM, although
differences exist over its definition and rationale. The contribution examines TM in
similar terms. Drawing upon the management fashion literature and an empirical study
of seven companies in Beijing, it analyses the role of fashion setters and followers in
the fashion-setting process. Given TM’s recent emergence and the paucity of empirical
material, it is too early to be definitive, but on the basis of our analysis we argue that,
whilst in some of these organisations TM did exemplify certain characteristics of
management fashion, it could not be adequately explained by management fashion
theory alone. The companies embraced TM because they thought it could address their
need to attract, retain and motivate ‘talented’ people in an intensifying talent war.

Citation

Preece, D., Iles, P., & Chuai, X. (2011). Talent management and management fashion in Chinese enterprises: exploring case studies in Beijing. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(16), 3413-3428. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.586870

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 6, 2011
• Deposit Date: Oct 5, 2011
• Journal: International Journal of Human Resource Management
• Print ISSN: 0958-5192
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 16
• Pages: 3413-3428
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.586870
• Keywords: Beijing; China; human capital
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.586870