Why do they come back? Returnees’ presence, talent management and firms’ innovative capabilities

Purpose Investigation of returnees receives much attention in management as due to obtaining international human and social capital, returnees contribute to economic and non-economic performance, internationalization, corporate social responsibility activities, social change, innovativeness, and competitive advantage of companies where those returnees work. Returnees’ effect on innovative capabilities, i.e. antecedents of innovativeness, is dependent on the extent to which these individuals can share their knowledge and experience. The paper aims to investigate the role of talent management (TM) practices for returnees in shaping firms’ innovative capabilities. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from the knowledge-based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities theory, the authors use a sample of 80 companies with returnee employees to empirically test the hypotheses. Findings The authors show that attraction, development and retention practices aimed at returnees are positively associated with innovative capabilities and innovativeness of companies. Moreover, TM for returnees moderates the relationship between innovative capabilities and innovativeness in firms with returnee employees. Originality/value The authors provide statistical evidence of TM practices as a mechanism through which highly skilled returnees impact organizational outcomes in the context of emerging economies. As highly skilled returnees may be considered talents, a TM system may facilitate knowledge sharing and eliminate possible issues in cross-cultural adaptation and integration.