Talent management in small and medium-sized enterprises: towards an integrative multilevel approach in the French context Kousay Abid College of Business, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Doha, Qatar, and Sabrina Loufrani IAE Nice Graduate School of Management, UniversiteC^ote d’Azur, Nice, France Abstract Purpose – This research seeks to unveil an integrative perspective on talent management (TM) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly through a multilevel approach and within the French context. Drawing on dynamic capability theory and focusing on French SMEs as a rich domain for multilevel studies, the research aims to elucidate how these enterprises operationalize TM while addressing and integrating their distinct capabilities and requirements, internal dynamics and challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Through an integrative study based on a qualitative approach, we collect data from 15 French SMEs. In total, 20 semi-structured interviews with individuals from different levels, managing and working in SMEs, were conducted and analyzed thematically to identify patterns across all SMEs. Companies and interviewees represented a variety of sectors such as telecommunication, high-tech, circular economy, etc. Findings – We present an integrative multilevel approach through TM in French SMEs, describing how SMEs operationalize TM. Across three main levels (organizational, collective and individual) and key SMEs’ capabilities, our results underscore the significance of top management commitment capabilities and SMEs’ assessment capabilities, the involvement of line managers in facilitating strategic agility and cultivating the talent ecosystem and the outcomes of TM in driving SMEs’ reconfiguration, extending beyond mere TM-level integrations and articulations. We address these findings for foreign SMEs intending to enter the French context and SMEs’ actors on the importance of contextual issues and level articulations while calling for future research focusing on group-level and managers’ roles in TM. Originality/value – This article moves the TM research towards an integrative multilevel view in SMEs as a fertile ground for studying multilevel TM. As part of recent studies on TM in French SMEs within the broader European competitive context, it expands the integrative approach in SMEs by accommodating the unique requirements, the multilevel dynamics and the challenges that they encounter with TM, especially when compared to multinational enterprises (MNEs). Keywords Talent management, Small and medium-sized enterprises, French context, Integrative multilevel approach Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Given the context-sensitive nature of Talent Management (TM) (Alzbaidi and Abu Madi, 2023; Ghosh et al., 2023), talent-related challenges extend beyond large multinational enterprises (MNEs) or domestic organizations, affecting all organizations, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Jooss et al., 2022). Although over 99% of companies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and G20 are SMEs (OECD, 2019), research on TM in SMEs is limited (Collings et al., 2022; Gallardo-Gallardo et al., 2020). Notably, the role of actors in a specific context, such as HR managers and line managers, has been overlooked in influencing the conceptualization and implementation of TM (Alzbaidi and Abu Madi, 2023; Gallardo-Gallardo et al., 2020). Scholarly attention has Employee Relations: The International Journal The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm Received 13 December 2023 Revised 5 April 2024 21 June 2024 Accepted 21 June 2024 Employee Relations: The International Journal © Emerald Publishing Limited 0142-5455 DOI 10.1108/ER-12-2023-0634