Talent management research in Africa: towards multilevel model and research agenda

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically review talent management research in Africa with the aim of developing a multilevel talent management model and defining future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review is performed utilising studies published on the topic from 2008 to 2019 in various research databases. Findings – The findings highlighted various talent management contributions and challenges in the African context. They further revealed major issues with the nature of research method adopted in talent management research in Africa. Moreover, contextually, apart from Southern Africa sub-region, talent management research is highly under-researched in the North African, West African and Eastern African sub-regions of the continent. Therefore, talent management research in Africa can be described as being at an embryonic stage. Practical implications – Effective talent management has significant transformative and growth power through its varied positive contributions. Talent management in Africa is faced with numerous organisational and macro-level challenges and requires attention from relevant stakeholders, if African talents are to be harnessed to facilitate the development of the continent. Originality/value – This systematic review on talent management is the first of its kind focusing solely on Africa. Also, this study contributes further evidence by proposing a multilevel talent management model based on the synthesised evidence since multilevel research in the field of talent management is very limited.