Manufacturing to Asia: Who will win the emerging battle for talent between dragons and tigers?

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the issues relating to recruiting highly skilled managerial and professional staff experienced by multinational companies (MNCs) manufacturing in six Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Design/methodology/approach - Data collected from 529 MNCs were used to examine critical human resource planning and recruitment concerns of companies operating in high growth "Dragon" and newly developed "Tiger" economies. The study examined the differences in recruitment practices between manufacturing and service companies and the issues relating to how manufacturers maintain an adequate skills basis. Findings - There appears a considerable extent of battle for talent among Dragon and Tiger economies with the latter required to be more aggressive as they attempt to sustain growth. Manufacturing companies are experiencing a higher demand for more job-related managerial and technical capabilities whilst competing with service companies that are also in need for more talent. To succeed, manufacturing MNCs will need to adopt a strategic approach for recruitment and retention, and internal capability training to maintain their skilled employees in order to sustain competitive advantage. Originality/value - The results shown in the paper provide manufacturing MNCs with insights into managerial and professional recruitment trend in Asia.