Manager Sustainability Strategy at BMW, Stefanie Gamperl has extensive expertise in controlling, internal control systems, sustainability strategy, and sustainability reporting.
She defended her thesis on “Management von Hochintelligenten und Hochbegabten als Variante von Neurodiversität in Unternehmen. Im Spannungsfeld zwischen Talent- und Diversitätsmanagement” (in English: “Managing Highly Intelligent and Gifted Individuals as a Variant of Neurodiversity in Companies: Between Talent and Diversity Management”) in March 2025 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Anne Bartel-Radic, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France. Her research focuses on the intersection of talent management and giftedness, exploring how companies can effectively integrate and support highly intelligent and gifted individuals to maximize their potential and drive organizational success.
Thesis Direction
Prof Bartel-Radic Anne
Thesis Title
Management of highly intelligent and highly gifted people as a variant of neurodiversity in companies. In the area of conflict between talent and diversity management
Abstract
The ‘war for talent’ was first discussed by McKinsey in the late 1990s to highlight the im-portance of talent in building high-performing organisations (Gelens et al., 2013; Michaels et al., 2001). In recent years, the German labour market has become a highly competitive employer market, and finding and retaining talent has become increasingly important. At the same time, employees with high intellectual potential experience stigmatisation and discrim-ination in companies.
What are the experiences of highly intelligent and talented people in working life, and what factors influence their well-being at work? What measures support the realisation of the potential of highly intelligent and gifted people, and how can companies make better use of them?
To answer these questions, both systematic and non-systematic literature reviews were conducted in the areas of diversity, talent management and giftedness. The systematic literature review uses bibliometric and keyword analyses. It was found that there is almost no research on gifted and talented people in the workplace, either in the area of talent management or in the area of diversity management.
As part of a mixed methods approach, a qualitative study of 31 expert interviews was conducted. These were open and axial coded and an adapted coding paradigm (according to Corbin & Strauss, 1990) was developed. A quantitative survey was then conducted with 637 respondents. Of these, 238 had been formally assessed as highly intelligent or gifted. The survey used existing scales to measure well-being at work, burnout and the ethical behaviour of the manager.
The qualitative study shows that in most cases gifted people are not specifically identified in companies. The highly intelligent and gifted report two possible scenarios. Either the environmental conditions are right and they are able to reach their full potential, or the environment reacts negatively to the highly intelligent and gifted, which can lead to conflict or even departure. It is worth noting that all the highly intelligent and gifted people interviewed have experienced both scenarios. The older they are, the more they have developed strategies to feel comfortable and successful in their working lives. The quantitative study shows that highly intelligent and intellectually gifted people attach great importance to the meaningfulness of their work, but that they have less good relationships with their environment. They rate their superiors as less ethical than non-highly intelligent and gifted people, while there is a lower correlation between ethical leadership and burnout.
For organisations to fully exploit the potential of highly intelligent and gifted people, they need to be identified and both they and their environment need to be supported and trained. However, external stakeholders such as academia, the general public, consultancies and policy makers should also contribute to breaking down stereotypes.
Since giftedness and high intelligence are still stigmatised and disadvantaged, they need to be based on solid research. This work can serve as a first approach for further and more detailed research.