Navigating the Talent Development Paradox: How Training Breadth and Depth Shape Lateral Mobility Outcomes within Organizations

Faced with evolving skill demands and retention pressures, organizations are increasingly relying on lateral mobility to redeploy internal talent and maintain agility. Yet, they confront a persistent talent development paradox: how to cultivate deep specialization that supports current-role performance while fostering adaptability for cross-role transitions in dynamic internal talent markets. Drawing on human capital theory and matching perspectives, this study examines how the structure of training investments, characterized by breadth and depth, differentially shapes mobility outcomes across varying internal market conditions. Using seven years of personnel data from a large internet company’s lateral mobility program, we find that a broader training portfolio prior to transfer application is associated with a higher likelihood of transfer, while a deeper, more specialized portfolio predicts a lower likelihood of transfer. Breadth also predicts higher turnover following repeated rejections, but greater retention when rejection rates are low. Notably, post-transfer performance is moderated by job distance: breadth is positively associated with performance in high-distance moves, while depth is negatively associated with performance only when job distance is high. These findings shed light on how organizations navigate the specialization–adaptability trade-off through calibrations of training breadth and depth, offering new insights for talent management and employee career development.