Fostering strategic awareness at an organization's boundary

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of strategy messages emanating from both top and middle/supervisory managers regarding five different aspects of strategy on strategic awareness among boundary personnel.Design/methodology/approachThe results come from a survey of bank tellers and customer service representatives within a single large regional bank.FindingsThe findings support a differential main effect on strategic awareness among boundary personnel depending on the source of messages, whether top management or middle management. More interestingly, there appears to be an interaction effect between the two sources regarding which will be the dominant information source for boundary personnel.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey data were collected within a single banking institution at one time point.Practical implicationsThe results provide useful information concerning the efficacy of messages concerning strategy from middle and top management in organizations.Originality/valueThe paper extends past research by investigating different levels of strategic understanding within the firm across different levels and determining information dissemination strategies for increasing the level of strategic awareness among boundary personnel.