The effect of talent management and leadership styles on firms’ sustainable performance

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to develop a framework that examines how different leadership styles influence talent management (TM) and how these leadership styles and TM influence firms’ sustainable performance considering the moderating role of environmental dynamism. Design/methodology/approach To achieve these objectives, an empirical survey was conducted among 480 participant firms in Greece. Hierarchical regression was performed to test the hypotheses. Findings This study reveals the significance of authoritative and transformational leadership on TM. The results also show the positive effect of talent development on sustainability. Moreover, entrepreneurial leadership is found to be the most influential style for economic sustainability, whereas transformational and transactional leaderships are the most influential leadership styles for social and environmental sustainability performance. Research limitations/implications The data was collected at only one point in time, while sustainability is a continuous process. Moreover, only four leadership styles were addressed. Practical implications Proper leadership style should be selected to facilitate different sustainability dimensions. Talent development is a valuable investment toward sustainable performance of firms. Originality/value This study contributes to the upper echelon theory, identifying whether and how different leadership styles affect TM and sustainability. The study also advances the human recourse development literature by critically reviewing and identifying the influence of TM on firms’ sustainable performance. Moreover, the role of environmental dynamism is revealed on all the above relationships.

Environmental dynamism and sustainability: the mediating role of innovation, strategic flexibility and HR development

“…Lack of knowledge and experience of sustainability practices, lack of non-monetary motivation mechanisms and tedious paperwork are major obstacles to successful sustainability. Specific training and development programs could assist employees to improve the skills that would enable them to better exhibit sustainability behaviors (Kafetzopoulos and Gotzamani, 2022). Furthermore, leaders have to create an environment which is conducive to sustainability by encouraging employees to share their ideas, information and risk taking, fostering sustainable development (Iqbal et al ., 2020).…”

“…They further noted that managers need to pay close attention to their environment when making strategic and operational decisions. Moreover, Kafetzopoulos and Gotzamani (2022) point out that in a highly volatile environment with fleeting opportunities and ever-present threats from competitors, environmental turbulence reduces the competitive position and affects sustainable performance. Moreover, this study tested the mediating role of internal organizational factors between ED and sustainability.…”

Big data analytics: from leadership to firm performance

“…The question of how strategic leaders drive firm performance extends back decades and is one of the most studied areas of management (Bergh et al ., 2016). One of the critical choices of the strategic leader is the leader-talent team, which has also been explored extensively in the literature (Kafetzopoulos and Gotzamani, 2022; Wang et al ., 2014). We need specific research to get a more nuanced picture of the role of leadership and talent in emerging technology environments.…”

How cultural leadership ideals shape entrepreneurship?

“…Scholars, such as DeGroot et al (2000), found out that charismatic leadership is a significant and valuable dimension to anchor the beneficial outcomes of an organization such as leader and employee effectiveness and employee job satisfaction and commitment. Charismatic characteristics have a way of influencing individuals and organizational performance (Kafetzopoulos and Gotzamani, 2022; Milosevic and Erin Bass, 2014). Weber (1968) was the first person to use the word “charisma” in his work and define charismatic leader as the individual who could contribute to social change.…”