Exclusive Talent Management: Unveiling the Mechanisms of the Construction of an Elite Community

This paper aims at contributing to the talent management (TM) and organisation research fields by investigating the mechanisms of elite construction through an exclusive TM programme in a multinational company (MNC). We conducted an exploratory single‐case study in an MNC operating in more than 15 countries, by interviewing HR managers as representatives of top management and participants in a TM programme in seven countries. Other data sources included non‐participant observation and the use of internal and external documents. Our results show that talents develop a common elite identity based on exclusiveness, and additionally they gain access to resources and privileges through the mechanisms of performing rituals, acculturation through symbols, preferential treatment, social networking and the acquisition of insider knowledge. Furthermore, those employees identified as talents organise themselves in a closed, elite community. These results are summarised in a theory‐based framework explaining the building of an elite through exclusive TM.