Reacting and managing: an exploratory study of how middle managers perceive an offshoring decision and implementation program

Abstract

The paper aims to study the implementation of an offshoring to captive centres initiative from an organisational change and middle management perspective. Middle managers' views are explored in relation to six dimensions of organisational change, summarised on the basis of the change management literature. The study was carried out at the IT Department of a multinational bank in a Nordic country. The findings show that practices within all dimensions were perceived as highly relevant, showing that implementation of an offshoring initiative may be approached in the same manner as other forms of organisational change. Generally, the practices were perceived to be less-than-well executed, and middle managers felt the need to take on some of the practices typically referred to top management. In sum, when middle managers need to give sense to and implement decisions they are struggling to make sense of themselves, this hampers the possibility for a successful implementation.