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As information technology continues to bring together people and organizations from disparate parts of the world, new ways of doing business give rise to innovative products and services. In this global economy, the quest for talent by employers is key to the survival of organizations. Wages will have to increase in these sectors to get people back into tough, low-paid jobs (Taylor, 2021 Tharoor, 2021). As global demand rises, China’s factories are struggling amidst labor shortages. In Asia, the growing shortage of skilled workers and low wages is leaving youth disenfranchised. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 26 million people lost their jobs in pandemic-era shutdowns, according to the United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO, 2021). Yet, ironically, companies in Western Europe and North America are reporting a shortage of skilled workers leading to shortages in production and supply chain disruptions. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that while millions have been furloughed or moved onto reduced hours, millions of others have lost their jobs entirely, with little improvement in sight (OECD, 2020). In most of the advanced industrial democracies comprising 38 member countries, about 20 million fewer people are in work than before the coronavirus struck. Despite staff shortages the experience of a sustained public health emergency has prompted many to reevaluate their work options. In the West, workers are leaving low-wage jobs in favor of better working conditions, offering greater importance on personal priorities and work life balance. Known as “the great resignation”, there is a dramatic shift in global workforce. In this opening up, people are leaving jobs, changing occupations and moving to geographical locations that offer a better quality of life. The papers in this issue add to what is known about how digital competency can be stimulated through investments in ICT training programs, how innovations take place in the development context and insights into conducting context-sensitive research.Īs the pandemic starts to recede, automation, virtual collaboration and the use of large datasets continues to transform the global landscape.

When people have greater freedom and capabilities to improve their knowledge and skills, their incomes increase along with the range of choices and capabilities enjoyed by their households and governments. The development imperative is freedom of choice and can occur through innovation in talent pools stimulated through knowledge networking.

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The GCS explains why wages are declining for some skills while rising for others and asks: what role does a company most effectively play in the global sourcing economy? When workers are free to choose where and when they offer their services, the development imperative comes into effect.

Our work on how knowledge networking enables innovation through the creation of talent pools and the Global Capability Sourcing (GCS) model are combined to offer a view into addressing this challenge.

In honor of Peter Keen, this editorial offers insight into how the quest for global talent can be addressed. As the world opens up from the clutches of the pandemic to heightened demand for goods and services, businesses inextricably interconnected globally are coping to meet this demand due to worker shortages.

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