Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Meaning of Competence, Commitment, and Contribution in Talent Definition

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Managing Talent

Abstract

Despite the growing amount of academic and practitioner literature in the field of talent management, ‘talent’ is not defined in organizations in a consistent manner. This is arguably one of the factors leading to the variable success of talent management. A way to define talent, introduced in this chapter, uses a formula comprising three components: competence, commitment, and contribution. The components are multiplicative not additive such that if one of them is small, then the overall product will also be small. Furthermore, the three components are divided into two time dimensions (present/future) to allow the inclusion of, for example, the future business needs of the organization and the notion of ‘potential’.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    If competence is the ‘ability to engage in an overt behavioural system or sequence’ the overarching ability, that is, the associated meta-competence , is the ability to engage in activities using what the researchers call functional intelligence. Where a certain competence is needed to handle routine and programmed tasks with procedures known to the person, the meta-competence can be seen in the person’s ability to engage in non-routine and previously unfamiliar tasks. Further, a competence can be considered to show when an individual is able to operate in a stable environment that managers face on a daily basis in an organization.

References

  • Berman, S. L., Down, J., & Hill, C. W. L. (2002). Tacit knowledge as a source of competitive advantage in the National Basketball Association. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 13–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolander, P., Werr, A., & Asplund, K. (2017). The practice of talent management: A framework and typology. Personnel Review, 46(8), 1523–1551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyatzis, R. E. (2008). Competencies in the 21st century. Journal of Management Development, 27(1), 5–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. B. (1993). Meta-competence: A recipe for reframing the competence debate. Personnel Review, 22, 25–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. B., & McCartney, S. (1995). Competence is not enough: Meta-competence and accounting education. Accounting Education, 4(1), 43–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham, M., & Vosburgh, R. (2001). The 21st century human resources function: It’s the talent, stupid! Human Resource Planning, 24, 17–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Church, A. H., & Silzer, R. (2013). Going behind the corporate curtain with a BluePrint for leadership potential – ProQuest. People and Strategy, 36(4), 50–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutterbuck, D. (2012). Riding the talent wave. London: CIPD. Available at http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/09/talent-management-harness-the-energy-of-the-talent-wave.htm

  • Collings, D. G., & Mellahi, K. (2009). Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 19(4), 304–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulson-Thomas, C. (2012). Talent management and building high performance organisations. Industrial and Commercial Training, 44(7), 429–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downs, Y., & Swailes, S. (2013). A capability approach to organizational talent management. Human Resource Development International, 16(3), 267–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dries, N., Vantilborgh, T., & Pepermans, R. (2012). The role of learning agility and career variety in the identification and development of high potential employees. Personnel Review, 41(3), 340–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Aráoz, C. (2014). The big idea 21st century talent spotting. Harvard Business Review, 92(6), 2–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groysberg, B. (2010). Chasing stars: The myth of talent and the portability of performance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Groysberg, B., Lee, L.-E., & Nandia, A. (2008). Can they take it with them ? The portability of star knowledge workers’ performance. Management Science, 54(7), 1213–1230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groysberg, B., Nanda, A., & Nohria, N. (2004, May). The risky business of hiring stars. Harvard Business Review, 82, 92–100, 151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D. T., & Briscoe, J. P. (1999, Autumn). Grooming and picking leaders using competency frameworks: Do they work? An alternative approach and new guidelines for practice. Organizational Development, 28(2), 37–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huckman, R. S., & Pisano, G. P. (2006). The firm specificity of individual performance: Evidence from cardiac surgery. Management Science, 4, 473–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huselid, M. A., Beatty, R. W., & Becker, B. E. (2005). “A players” or “A positions”? The strategic logic of workforce management. Harvard Business Review, 83(12), 110–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Deist, F. D., & Winterton, J. (2005). What is competence? Human Resource Development International, 8(1), 27–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lombardo, M. M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. R. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39(4), 321–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucia, A. D., & Lepsinger, R. (1999). The art and science of competency models: Pinpointing critical success factors in an organization. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumme-Tuomala, R. M. (2017). Talent management in the humanitarian aid context. Aalto University, Business Economy http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-3736-3

  • Meyers, M. C., & van Woerkom, M. (2014). The influence of underlying philosophies on talent management: Theory, implications for practice, and research agenda. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 192–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyers, M. C., van Woerkom, M., & Dries, N. (2013). Talent – Innate or acquired? Theoretical considerations and their implications for talent management. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 305–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michaels, E., Handfield-Jones, H., & Axelrod, B. (2001). The war for talent. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, C., Fetters, R., Riester, D., & Bracco, A. (2009). The paradox of potential: A suggestion for guiding talent management discussions in organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(4), 413–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, S. (2013). How definitions of talent suppress talent management. Industrial and Commercial Training, 45(3), 166–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silzer, R., & Church, A. (2009a). The pearls and perils of identifying potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(4), 377–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silzer, R., & Church, A. H. (2009b). The potential for potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(4), 446–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swailes, S., Downs, Y., & Orr, K. (2014). Conceptualising inclusive talent management: Potential, possibilities and practicalities. Human Resource Development International, 17(5), 529–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tansley, C., Stewart, K., Harris, L., & Turner, P. (2006, October). Talent management: Understanding the dimensions (pp. 1–26). London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teodorescu, T. (2006). Competence versus competency. Performance Improvement, 45(10), 27–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thunnissen, M., Boselie, P., & Fruytier, B. (2013). A review of talent management: “Infancy or adolescence?”. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(9), 1744–1761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, D., & Smallwood, N. (2012). What is talent? Leader to Leader, 63, 55–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalto University Executive Education, Aalto University School of Business, Helsinki, Finland

    Riitta Lumme-Tuomala

Authors
  1. Riitta Lumme-Tuomala
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Riitta Lumme-Tuomala .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Talent Lab, Zealand Institute of Business and Technology, Slagelse, Denmark

    Billy Adamsen

  2. Huddersfield Business School, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK

    Stephen Swailes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Lumme-Tuomala, R. (2019). The Meaning of Competence, Commitment, and Contribution in Talent Definition. In: Adamsen, B., Swailes, S. (eds) Managing Talent. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95201-7_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation