1. !
Talent Management
A case study of the constitutive power of LMX relationships in
capitalising talents into performance
Bachelor Thesis
by Malene Villadsen
Marketing and Management Communication
Department of Business Communication
Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)

2. Bachelor Thesis
Malene Villadsen Talent Management 5 May 2015
BA in Marketing and Management Communication
Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)
SUMMARY
The fast-changing business environment and increasing global competition of today, has made human
capital the number one competitive advantage for businesses. In this realisation, Talent Management
(TM) “has become a fashion trend in modern organisations” (Ariss 2014: 3). However, little
agreement has jet appeared as to the definition and strategy implications of this concept, neither
among practitioners nor academic scholars. Following Buckingham and Vosburgh (2001 cited in
Dries et al. 2014: 16), this thesis defines TM inclusively as “the art of recognising where each
employee’s areas of natural talent lie, and figuring out how to help each employee develop the job-
specific skills and knowledge to turn those talents into real performance […] elevating each person’s
performance to its highest possible levels, given the individual’s natural talents”. In this definition,
TM is conceptualised as relational, as uncovering the talent of each employee and turning it into real
performance becomes a negotiated process between leader and member, making leader-member
exchange communication essential for effective TM, i.e. for capitalisation of talents.
Drawing on a case study and the kind collaboration of MAN Diesel & Turbo, this thesis therefore
investigates the role of leader-member communication in TM and more specifically 1) How
employees at MAN Diesel & Turbo make sense of their leader-member relationships and 2) How
members at MAN Diesel and Turbo understand the link between communicative practices and
leader-member relationships. The thesis takes the philosophical perspective of social
constructionism, seeing the world as a constructed reality, continuously negotiated and re-negotiated
in interactions (Burr 2001; Daymon and Immy 2011; Bryman 2008), and therefore conducts a
qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with members at MAN Diesel & Turbo.
The research findings suggests that Graen and colleagues’ (1995; 1887) 7-item LMX is a too simple
measurement for determining leader-member exchange quality, as these relations rather than being
progressively stabile are continuous by nature. As such, a narrative approach to leader-member
relationships provides valuable insight into how members make sense of and re-construct exchange
experiences in communication, talking them into existence. The study suggests that high vs. low-
quality exchange relationships have a significant effect on employee motivation, satisfaction,
performance levels and ultimately organisational capitalisation of talents. Thus, in order to build
effective talent management, today’s leader fronts the task of working out the meanings for LMX in
communication with each member individually (Fairhurst 2007B).
Without neglecting the argument that exchanges are relative, the thesis shows evidence for three
themes of communicative practices that on a cumulative level seem to be constitutive of high-quality
exchanges. These include 1) high communication frequency as a means for providing support 2)
authoritative, but open communication causes efficiency and 3) recognitive and issues-oriented
communication builds high-quality exchanges. Hereby, the thesis provides a first hand guideline for
TM practitioners, while emphasising that the themes are not prescriptive of effective TM and that
rather than searching for a “best practice” template, practitioners should take a “best fit” approach to
TM, recognising its continuous nature.
Key words: Talent Management – talent – LMX relationship – sensemaking – narrative analysis –
theoretical thematic analysis – social re-negotiation – communication practices

3. Bachelor Thesis
Malene Villadsen Talent Management 5 May 2015
BA in Marketing and Management Communication
Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Altman, I., Vinsel, A., & Brown, B. B. (1981). Dialectic Conceptions in Social Psychology: An
Application to Social Penetration and Privacy Regulation . In L. Berkowitz (ed.) Advances
in experimental and social psychology. New York: Academic Press, 107 – 160.
Ariss, A. A. (2014) Global Talent Management: An introduction and a Review. In A. A. Ariss (ed.)
Glabal Talent Management: Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities. New York: Spinger
Cham Heidelberg, 3 – 13.
Baxter, L. A. (1990) Dialectical Contradictions in Relational Development. Journal of social and
Personal Relationships (7), 69 – 88.
Baxter, L. (1988). A Dialectical Perspective on Communication Strategies in Relationship
Development . In S. Duck, D. Hay, S. Jobfoll, W. Ickes, and B. Montgomery (edn.) Handbook
of Personal Relationships: Theory, Research, and Interventions. Chichester: Wiley, 257 – 274.
Burr, V. (2001) Introduction: What is social constructionism? In V. Burr (ed.) An Introduction to
Social Constructionism. Routledge, 1 – 38.
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) Using Thematic Analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology (3), 77 – 101.
Brown, A. D., Colville, I. and Pye, A. (2015) Making Sense of Sensemaking in Organization Studies.
Organisation Studies (36), 265 – 277.
Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods, 3th edn. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (1999) First, Break All the Rules. What the World’s Greatest
Manangers Do Differently. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Cheney, G., Christensen, L. T., Zorn Jr., T. E. and Ganesh (2010) Organizational Communication in
an Age of Globalisation: Issues, Reflections, Practices, 2nd edn. Long Grove: Waveland Press,
Inc.
CIPD (2006) Reflections on Talent Management. Available at:
http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F473B522-DD49-49E2-9021-
59E0B2BDA288/0/reftalmanca0306.pdf [Accessed April 22, 2015].
Collings, D. G. and Mellahi, K. (2009) Strategic Talent Management: A Review and Research
Agenda. Human Resource Review (29), 304 – 313.
Czaja, R. and Blair, J. (2005) Designing Surveys: A guide to Decisions and Procedures, 2nd edn.
California: Pine Forge Press.
Daymon, C. and Immy, H. (2011) Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing
Communication, 2nd edn. Oxon: Routledge.

4. Bachelor Thesis
Malene Villadsen Talent Management 5 May 2015
BA in Marketing and Management Communication
Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)
Fairhurst, G. T. (2007A) Two Traditions. In G. T. Fairhurst (ed.) Discursive Leadership: In
Conversation with Leadership Psychology. Thousand Oaks: SAGE publications, Inc, 1 – 23.
Fairhurst, G. T. (2007B) Narrative Logics. In G. T. Fairhurst (ed.) Discursive Leadership: In
Conversation with Leadership Psychology. Thousand Oaks: SAGE publications, Inc, 119 –
141.
Fairhurst, G. T. (2007C) Appendixes. In G. T. Fairhurst (ed.) Discursive Leadership: In Conversation
with Leadership Psychology. Thousand Oaks: SAGE publications, Inc, 191 – 203.
Daft, R. L.(2011) The Leadership Experience, 5th edn. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., Willmot, H. (2010) Organization Theory and Design, 9th edn. Hampshire:
Cengage Learning EMEA.
Dries, N., Cotton, R., D, Bagdadli, S. and Oliveira, M., Z. (2014) HR Directors’ Understanding of
‘Talent’: A Cross-Cultural Study. In A. A. Ariss (ed.) Glabal Talent Management: Challenges,
Strategies, and Opportunities. New York: Spinger Cham Heidelberg, 15 – 28.
Graen, G. B. and Uhl-Bien, M. (1995) Relationship-Based Approach to Leadership: Development of
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory of Leadership over 25 Years: Applying a Multi-
Level Multi-Domain Perspective. Leadership Quarterly (6), 219 – 247.
Graen, G. B. and Scandura, T. A. (1987) Toward a Psychology of Dyadic Organizing. Organisational
Behavior (9), 175 – 208.
Huemer, L. (2012) Organizational Identities in Networks: Sense-giving and Sense-taking in the
Salson Farming Industry. The IMP Journal (6), 240 – 253.
Hopp, Armin (2013) Empowered Talent Begins with Communication. Human Resource Management
International Digest (6), 30 – 32.
Iles, P., Preece, D., and Chuai, X. (2010). Talent Management as a Management Fashion in HRD:
Towards a Research Agenda. Human Resource Development International 13(2), 125–145.
Kobza, C., Klotz, A. C. and Buckley, M. R. (2013) Oklahoma-Based Companies: The Attraction and
Retention of Talent under Current Economic Conditions and with a Changing Workforce.
Oklahoma Business Bulletin, 4 – 8.
Kvale, S. (1996) InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks:
SAGE publications, Inc.
Kvale, S. (2009) InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, 2nd edn.
Thousand Oaks: SAGE publications, Inc.
MAN Diesel & Turbo (2015) Company Profile: Company, products and services. Available at:
http://dieselturbo.man.eu/company/about-us [Accessed April 8, 2015].

5. Bachelor Thesis
Malene Villadsen Talent Management 5 May 2015
BA in Marketing and Management Communication
Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)
MAN (2014) Annual Report. Available at:
http://www.corporate.man.eu/man/media/en/content_medien/doc/global_corporate_website_1/i
nvestor_relations_1/gb/2015_5/15_03_11_geschaeftsbericht_2014.pdf [Accessed April 20,
2015].
Mazurkiewicz, A. (2014) Talent management as a New Paradigm in Management Science. Journal of
Positive Management (5), 15-27.
McCauley, C. and Wakefield, M. (2006) Talent Management in the 21st
Century: Help You Compnay
Find, Develop and Keep its Strongest Workers. The Jounal for Quality and Participation (4), 4
– 7.
Meyer, C. B. (2001) A Case in Case Study Methodology. Field Methods (13), 329 – 352.
Meyers, M. C., and Woerkom, M. van (2014). The Influence of Underlying Philosophies on Talent
Management: Theory, Implications for Practice, and Research Agenda. Journal of World
Business, 49(2), 192-203.
Miller, K. (2012) Organisational Communication: Approaches and Processes, 6th edn. Wadsworth:
Cengage Learning.
Mills, J. H., Thurlow, A. and Mills, A. J. (2010) Making sense of sensemaking: the critical
sensemaking approach. Qualitative Reasearch in Organizations and Management: An
International Journal (5), 182 – 195.
Novo Nordisk (2012) Talent Management at Novo Nordisk. Available at: http://www.talent-
dk.dk/Admin/Public/Download.aspx?file=Files%2FFiler%2FTALENT-
DK%2FInspirationsm%C3%B8de+2012%2FNovo+Nordisk.pdf [Accessed 25 April, 2015].
Nordea (2015) Talent Management at Nordea. Available at:
http://www.nordea.com/Career/Career+development/Talent+Management+at+Nordea/1673972
.html [Accessed 25 April, 2015].
PwC (2012) Delivering Better Business Results Through Talent: Talent Management. Available at:
https://www.pwc.com/vn/en/publications/2013/talent_management_flyer.pdf [Accessed May 4,
2015].
Schutt, R. K. (2006) Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, 5th edn.
Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc.
Sonnenberg, M., and van Zijderveld, V. (2015) Realinzing the Highest value of Investments in Talent
Management. In M. Andersen and C. Nowak (ed.) Human Resource Management Practices,
Management for Professionals. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 31 – 51.
Vance, C. M., Vaiman, V., Cosic, A., Abedi, M and Sena, R. (2014) Smart Global Talent
Management: A Promising Hybrid. In A. A. Ariss (ed.) Glabal Talent Management:
Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities. New York: Spinger Cham Heidelberg, 29 – 41.

6. Bachelor Thesis
Malene Villadsen Talent Management 5 May 2015
BA in Marketing and Management Communication
Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS)
Weick, K. E. (1993) The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster.
Administrative Science Quarterly (38), 628 – 652.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M. and Obstfeld, D. (2005) Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking. In
K. E. Weick (ed.) Making Sense of the Organisation: The Impermenant Organization. United
Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 131 – 151.
Wilska, E. (2014) Determinants of Effective Talent Management. Kopernika: Journal of Positive
Management (4), 77 – 88.