Emerging Markets and Regional Patterns in Talent Management: The Challenge of India and China

• Main Authors: DOH, Jonathan P., SMITH, Richard Raymond, STUMPF, Stephen A., TYMON, Walter G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Human Resources Management; Strategic Management Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3689; https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139424585.013
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The business context of growth in emerging markets has considerable implications for talent-management strategies. There is a changing balance of economic power from developed to developing countries, accompanied by a new geographical demography that is giving rise to enormous talent pools in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In particular, China and India have emerged as the two most dynamic of the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). These giant labor and consumer markets have attracted large shares of foreign investment, have developed strong indigenous industrial and service sectors, and have experienced rapid market growth, resource acquisition, and deployment. Both countries have served as springboards for the growth of emerging market multinationals, as large heretofore domestic companies globalize. This chapter has three objectives. First, it addresses the need for talent management in the Indian and Chinese context and the challenges associated with talent management in those regions. Second, it considers the state of talent-management practices in China and India and how they have evolved in recent years. Third, it explores the implications of that evolution for management practice and research and our understanding of talent practices generally in the next wave of emerging markets economies. Economic development in both China and India has led to a focus on those factors that enable growth such as the availability of natural resources, investment funding, favorable regulatory policies, and a supportive infrastructure. China and India are the world’s most populous countries. They have sustained the highest annual GDP growth rates over the past decade among all major economies – 9% for China and 6 to 7% for India. Both have exerted strong influence and leverage among the ten emerging-market countries in the G-20. China is the world’s largest source of net capital outflows and India is the world’s largest recipient of foreign outsourcing of computer-based services. China and India are each heavily dependent on imported oil. They are the second and fourth largest importers, respectively. These two countries are by far the most important emerging markets in terms of economic and demographics factors.