Global Talent Flow as 'Musical Chairs' : Driving Forces of Young Talents:An Examination of Italy and Lithuania

Sammanfattning: This Master thesis examines the impact of the individual driving forces of young highly educated talents from Italy and Lithuania to apply for a job abroad after the graduation. By investigating the motivations and influences during this decision-making process, we clarify the role of different impulses on the individual’s decision to become part of the phenomenon known as the global talent flow. Within this study, we obtain the actor’s view, while we use an inductive approach to put the construction of meaning of the participants in the center of our study. This aim of our qualitative study is further strengthened by the use of semi-structured interviews and the usage of the phenomenology approach. The data is analyzed and interpreted according to the emerged themes and linked back to the existing theory on‘migration’, the ‘Push-Pull-Mooring’ paradigm, the ‘gravity’ model, and the knowledge flow according to ‘brain gain’, 'brain drain’, and ‘brain circulation’. This study highlights the variety of facets which are of importance to the individuals within the decision-making process of the non-rational phenomenon of the global talent flow. Although the main motivation - the opportunity to grow - is shared among all participants, a clear distinction can be made between the ‘professional’ and the ‘personal’ growth. Furthermore, our study reveals the direct influence of initiatives taken by the European Union (EU), such as the ERASMUS+ Programme on the mobility of young talents and the impact of possible unforeseen side effects such as the ‘brain drain’ in some of the member countries of the EU. Our findings contribute another layer to the understanding of the driving forces of tomorrow’s mobile workforce to apply for a job abroad. This comprehension is fundamental to policymakers, companies, the society at larger, and the young talents themselves, as it becomes crucial to attract this ‘brain’ to secure long-term development of all stakeholders of the global talent flow within the EU.