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Administrative Sciences
Special Issues
Rethinking Talent Management for Sustainable Organizations
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Rethinking Talent Management for Sustainable Organizations

A Special Issue of Administrative Sciences (ISSN 2076-3387).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 6120

Editor

Prof. Dr. Nhung T. Hendy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252, USA
Interests: personality testing; situational judgment testing; business ethics education; talent management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As technologies continue to transform the workplace, more human resource (HR) functions are outsourced to vendors. Talent acquisition, once done in-house, is now the largest HR function outsourced to vendors in terms of business revenue at USD 751 billion (Cappelli & Schwartz, 2024). According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Talent Access Benchmarking report, 77% of job vacancies were filled externally in 2021 (Society for Human Resource Management, 2022). Coupled with the decline in organizations’ investment in employee training and development since the COVID-19 pandemic, talent management has become increasingly difficult when employers outsource their talent acquisition and performance management.

Against the above industry backdrop, the definition of “talent” remains less than well understood and investigated in human resource (HR) management and organizational research (Vardi & Collings, 2023). Talent, as a construct, has been conceptualized differently (e.g., high potential, stars, talent), each with its own dimensions and outcome prediction. In addition, talent means different things to different stakeholders (McDonnell et al., 2023), types of organization (public vs. private), and work arrangement (regular employees vs. leased/non-employees), offering research opportunities to rethink talent and understand the various perspectives of talent within organizations (Vardi & Collings, 2023), as well as across multiple-employer organizations. We invite researchers to join us in publishing research examining talent from multiple stakeholder’s perspectives, utilizing diverse arrays of research methods. We welcome studies that are interdisciplinary on improving our knowledge and theories of talent management, as well as its construct measurement, to contribute to sustainable human resource management.

We suggest that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this proposal to the Assistant Editor Ms. Zoya Zhang (). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue.

References

Cappelli, P., & Schwartz, S. (2024). The rise of the human capital industry and its implications for research. Human Resource Management, 63(1), 107–120.

McDonnell, A., Skuza, A., Jooss, S., & Scullion, H. (2023). Tensions in talent identification: A multi-stakeholder perspective. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34, 1132-1156.

Society for Human Resource Management Talent Access Benchmark Report. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/content/dam/en/shrm/research/benchmarking/Talent%20Access%20Report-TOTAL.pdf on January 9th 2025.

Vardi, S., & Collings, D. G. (2023). What’s in a name? Talent: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Journal, 33, 660–682.

Prof. Dr. Nhung T. Hendy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • talent
  • talent acquisition
  • talent identification
  • talent management
  • human capital management
  • human capital theory
  • paradox theory
  • competencies
  • human capital industry
  • global talent management

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 576 KB  
Article
The Evolution of Talent Management: From Broad Strategies to Integrated Succession Planning
by Catherine Daus, Gloria Sweida, Adira Romanoff and Dylan Zimmerman
Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(7), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16070336 - 10 Jul 2026
Viewed by 734
Abstract
We present two studies within the talent management umbrella. In the first, we explored procedural justice as an outcome of talent management strategies, with the mediating role of perceived fairness and the moderating role of gender. A survey of 100 full-time US workers [...] Read more.
We present two studies within the talent management umbrella. In the first, we explored procedural justice as an outcome of talent management strategies, with the mediating role of perceived fairness and the moderating role of gender. A survey of 100 full-time US workers yielded positive, significant relationships between the inclusivity of talent management practices, procedural justice, and perceived fairness. Further, perceived fairness emerged as a partial mediator in the relationship between the inclusivity of talent management practices and procedural justice. In the second study, we examined a specific type of talent management, succession planning. We explored the development of a measure that assesses employees’ perceptions regarding their company’s succession planning process, and provided initial predictive validity by examining the relationship between the type of succession plan and perceived organizational support (POS). We assessed 96 employees’ succession planning perceptions with an adapted model of succession planning, examining integrated and informal categories. The measure’s initial psychometric and conceptual fidelity, as well as predictive validity, were promising. Further, we found that perceptions of an organization’s succession planning process, specifically the level of integration, are positively related to perceptions of organizational support. Both of these studies represent a substantial addition to the literature regarding talent management broadly and succession planning, specifically. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Talent Management for Sustainable Organizations)
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23 pages, 412 KB  
Article
Uncovering Gender and Temporal Dynamics: Career Resources Impacting Career Success
by Wika Malkowska, Vicki Elsey, Laura Longstaff and John Arnold
Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16010036 - 12 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1260
Abstract
(1) Background/Purpose: Talent management research has typically focused on early-career entrants or high-potential employees, leaving mid-career professionals underexplored despite their pivotal role in organisational continuity and leadership pipelines. This study examines whether the principles of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory apply to careers, [...] Read more.
(1) Background/Purpose: Talent management research has typically focused on early-career entrants or high-potential employees, leaving mid-career professionals underexplored despite their pivotal role in organisational continuity and leadership pipelines. This study examines whether the principles of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory apply to careers, testing whether career resources predict objective and subjective career success, and whether gender differences emerge. (2) Study Design/Methodology/Approach: A three-wave survey of 543 individuals employed in the United Kingdom (UK) (mean age 39) was analysed using Latent Growth Modelling and hierarchical regression to capture the temporal dynamics of career resources and their links to success. (3) Findings: Subjective career success declined overall, but increased among participants with high human capital, environmental resources, career self-management behaviours, and baseline motivation. Gender differences were found: human capital and self-management were stronger predictors for men, while environmental resources were more important for women. Objective success was predicted by human capital only for women, while private-sector employment and subjective success were the strongest predictors for men. (4) Originality/Value: Our unique contribution advances understanding of mid-career dynamics among women and men, highlighting critical implications for talent management. Some, but not all, predictions of COR theory are supported. Women and men experience the benefits of resources differently. Whilst career resources were critical for career success, caring responsibilities were not, irrespective of gender. Organisations must recognise that subjective career success needs resources to sustain it and move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches by tailoring development, mobility, and support systems to gendered and career-stage-specific needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Talent Management for Sustainable Organizations)
15 pages, 386 KB  
Article
The New Management Imperatives: Culture, Connectedness, and Performance
by Wayne F. Cascio
Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16010022 - 1 Jan 2026
Viewed by 2701
Abstract
Working remotely during the pandemic changed workplace culture for millions of employees and managers, fueling a desire for more flexible work arrangements. About 75 percent of companies now support hybrid work, meaning managers often oversee workers both in and out of the office. [...] Read more.
Working remotely during the pandemic changed workplace culture for millions of employees and managers, fueling a desire for more flexible work arrangements. About 75 percent of companies now support hybrid work, meaning managers often oversee workers both in and out of the office. Two large-sample surveys on these new work models reveal three management challenges: creating a consistent culture that includes both hybrid and in-office employees, strengthening connections among staff regardless of their location, and implementing effective performance management for both groups. In the management literature, existing research on each of these topics is limited. This article recommends solutions to each of these challenges based on available evidence, while exploring related topics such as new-hire and virtual onboarding, strategies to combat loneliness at work, proximity bias, and employee monitoring. The article concludes with a set of research questions that emerge from the topics reviewed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Talent Management for Sustainable Organizations)
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