The key role played by innovation in the talent management and organizational performance relationship

Purpose The key aspect of this study is the mediating role of innovation in the relationship between talent management (TM) and organizational performance (OP). Design/methodology/approach A structural equation model with AMOS software is used to gauge the impact of TM on innovation and OP. In this regard, innovation is the mediating variable of the model. The author uses Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2018) and the mediating procedure of Baron and Kenny's model (1986). Findings Results show that innovation is a full mediating variable that captures the whole variance of the model in the relationship between TM and OP. Practical implications The results of this study are important for organizations since they emphasize the need to adapt TM strategies to innovation and improvement in the organization. This involves not only managers and their training and development plans but also employees in their attraction, development and retention strategies. Originality/value The originality of this study is that it explores the causal relationship between the three variables considered in the model, that is, TM, innovation and OP. These relationships evidence gaps in human resource management and TM literature, improving current understanding of the role of innovation in the organizational context.