Douglas McGregor (1960) a thinker, leader, management and leadership theorist postulated over threedecades ago that every leader has core assumptions about human nature and these assumptionsinfluence the style of leadership practiced by the leader. McGregor's views on leadership are importantbecause he was the first to apply behavioural science findings to the world of business and leadership.He postulated the core leadership assumptions (Theory X and Theory Y) to assist leaders questiontheir underlying assumptions and perceptions about people.
PurposeThere is a paucity of research on the causal relationships between talent management (TM), decent work and national well-being. Hence, this study examines the nexus between macro talent management (MTM) practices, decent work and national well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed longitudinal data from 77 developing countries across the globe and also utilised panel data estimators and the bootstrapping mediation method for the analyses.FindingsThe results indicated that macro-level TM strategies can have a positive impact on decent work. Decent work also significantly improves national well-being (both subjective and economic well-being) over time as it shows a significant positive impact on change in national well-being measures. Furthermore, decent work serves as a mechanism that links MTM to improved national well-being at the macro level.Practical implicationsTM investments by governments can empower citizens to escape the tragedy of vulnerable and low-quality employment and well-being deficit as it has the potential to improve decent work and national well-being as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Originality/valueBeyond the myopic organisational and managerialist view, the authors show that TM can have a positive spillover impact on people and the general society across time by enhancing decent work opportunities to improve both subjective and economic well-being of citizens in a country. Additionally, because decent work has psychosocial and economic dimensions, this study has revealed a complex and compelling conduit for translating the gains of macro-level TM strategies to improve national well-being. Moreover, it provides original empirical evidence to expand the limited longitudinal TM literature. Lastly, it adds to knowledge in the developing countries' context.
