Managing talent in a competitive global economy : does psychological need satisfaction matter ?

In today's highly competitive global economy, talent management is very critical for any organization to survive and succeed. Organizations that are able to manage their talent effectively have an edge over organizations that do not have effective talent management strategy. It has been argued that retaining talented employees is very crucial for organizations since talent management is inextricably linked to organizational performance (Mobrman, 2007). Researchers argue that satisfaction of basic psychological needs of employees can lead to a favorable perception of, and enhanced emotional attachment to, the organization. The concept of need has occupied an important place in the areas of psychology and work and organizational psychology and several researchers have tried to understand various needs that govern human behavior (e.g., Maslow, 1943; McClelland, 1965; Murray, 1938). More recently, Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000) is proposed to understand various factors that govern human behavior. SDT maintains that the fundamental process to understand individual's optimal and dysfunctional functioning is to understand the satisfaction/dissatisfaction of the basic psychological needs. SDT postulates three innate psychological needs which have to be satisfied for individuals to flourish - the need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence.