Understanding Talent in Foreign Subsidiaries: A Review, Synthesis, and Way Forward

Foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations are strategically important, requiring them to tailor their human capital resources to specific needs. Although talent serves as the micro‐level foundation of subsidiaries’ organizational‐level human capital resources and strategic outcomes, the current literature is fragmented and fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of what is known, what remains unknown, and what future research should explore about talent in subsidiaries. To this end, we synthesize the literature on talent in subsidiaries over the past two decades, mapping it onto the model of human capital resources emergence. First, we build on existing classifications by integrating the recognized distinction between headquarters‐assigned or locally hired talent with talent nationality, providing a structured perspective that better reflects the realities of subsidiary talent. Second, we examine how talent’s individual knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) and social interactions evolve into four subsidiary‐level human capital resources, which in turn contribute to a variety of strategic subsidiary outcomes. Finally, we conclude our review with a future research agenda.