Talent recruitment and development in hockey: A multiple-case study involving four Swedish ice hockey clubs

Sammanfattning: Even though talent management has received more and more attention in the recent years, the research around it is still young and lacking especially in empirical research in different kinds of organizational environments. The aim of this study is to broaden the scope of talent management research by examining how talent is managed, acquired and developed in professional ice hockey organizations in Sweden. In order to do this, an explorative multiple-case study was planned. Four Swedish ice hockey clubs playing in SHL, the highest ice hockey league in Sweden, were included in the study. Altogether 19 people were interviewed in these clubs with the intention of getting an understanding of the talent management practices applied. The results of the study show that variety of talent management activities are undertaken by these organizations and that the clubs themselves exhibit approaches very similar to each other in identifying, selecting and developing talent.