Strategic Talent Management and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Nigerian Deposit Money Banks: An Empirical Analysis

This study empirically examines the relationship between strategic talent management (STM) practices and sustainable competitive advantage in Nigerian deposit money banks (DMBs), with data drawn from a national sample spanning all six geopolitical zones. Despite the growing strategic discourse on talent management in Nigerian banking, rigorous empirical evidence linking STM to measured competitive outcomes remains limited. The study adopts a cross-sectional survey design with a positivist orientation, collecting data from 240 senior HR professionals and divisional heads across 18 CBN-licensed DMBs through a validated survey instrument. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is employed to test hypothesised relationships among talent identification, talent development, talent retention, and three competitive advantage indicators: market share growth, innovation rate, and customer retention ratios. The study is grounded in the Dynamic Capabilities Framework and the Talent Management Configuration Theory. SEM results confirm that talent development and retention are the STM dimensions with the strongest direct paths to all three competitive advantage measures. Talent identification practices significantly mediate the talent development-innovation relationship, suggesting that how banks identify talent shapes the returns they derive from development investments. The study also identifies a significant interaction effect between talent retention and leadership quality on competitive sustainability. Recommendations include adopting integrated STM architectures, investing in leadership talent pipelines, and institutionalising talent analytics. This study provides a methodologically rigorous contribution to Nigerian banking HRM literature. Keywords: Strategic Talent Management, Competitive Advantage, Banking, Structural Equation Modelling, HR Strategy.