Middle Management Perspective Research Articles

Middle power plays: How and when Mach middle managers use downward abuse and upward guanxi to gain and maintain power

SummaryGiven Machiavellianism's strong historical and theoretical roots in power and politics, there are surprisingly few empirical studies, if any, that directly examine how Machiavellians attain and maintain power in organizations. Understanding this is important because Machiavellian employees have managed to effectively gain power to reach managerial positions of influence in organizations despite their negative reputation. Further, there are contradictory theories and peripheral empirical findings that suggest they gain power either by strategically forging important connections or through coercive force. We propose that a Mach middle manager perspective can help illuminate which power‐gaining strategy is used. Drawing from the Machiavellianism literature and power dependence theory, we theorize how Mach middle managers gain coercive power through abusive supervision on those with less power (their subordinates), while building close guanxi with those with more power (their senior manager) to obtain relational empowerment. Moreover, we theorize that they maintain power by increasing both power‐gaining strategies when Mach middle managers perceive a high threat to hierarchy from subordinates, suggesting these parallel relations are positively connected. We found support for our theoretical model using data from a multi‐confederate experimental lab study and two multi‐wave field studies. The theoretical and empirical implications of our findings are discussed.

Intended or unintended strategy? The activities of middle managers in strategy implementation

When top managers task middle managers with implementing strategies, those strategies are often executed in a deviated form, which leads to the creation of unintended strategies. Despite much research on middle managers and their role and behaviors in strategy implementation, there is still only a limited understanding of the implementation activities that result in intended and unintended strategies. Using a strategy-as-practice perspective and interviews with 40 middle managers about 122 strategy implementations, we investigate strategy implementation activities and develop a model of middle manager activities in strategy implementation. We find that seven of the ten activities differ in frequency between intended and unintended strategies. This study extends the strategy implementation literature by conceptualizing a critical link in how different strategy implementation outcomes come about. We also broaden the middle management perspective in strategy by extending the range of activities that explain middle managers’ engagement with strategy and differentiating them across two strategy implementation outcomes.

Implementation and Development of an Ethics and Compliance Program: A Middle Management Perspective (WITHDRAWN)

Implementation and Development of an Ethics and Compliance Program: A Middle Management Perspective (WITHDRAWN)

Managing empowerment: adjusting organisational units' autonomy to achieve corporate agility

PurposeEmpowerment is recognised as being a key to achieving organisational agility. Typically associated with a particular leadership style, implications of empowerment for management have remained vague in the literature. Thus, this study aims at unpacking the facets and mechanisms of empowerment in the context of organisational units (OUs).Design/methodology/approachFirst, the authors review the extant literature and discuss the crucial concepts in the context empowerment. Then, the authors analyse qualitative data from interviews conducted in four research and development (R&D) departments in the industrial manufacturing industry.FindingsThis study finds that the empowerment of business entities is crucial when operating in turbulent conditions. However, empowerment must be accompanied by a clear focus when aiming at higher agile performance. Moreover, different autonomy types and their interplay with critical factors of middle management empowerment could be identified. The research results also reveal important details about the effects of autonomy on motivation and performance and the role of OUs' dependencies.Practical implicationsThe model proposed in this paper can help senior and middle managers better manage the empowerment of OUs required to enhance middle management agility and, in turn, increase overall organisational adaptability.Originality/valueBeyond regarding empowerment as a leadership style, this paper takes a middle management perspective and unfolds the facets of empowerment in the context of OUs. Adding to the theory of self-organisation, a model is proposed to capture the key factors to determine and manage the autonomy of OUs. These insights are essential to managing autonomy successfully at the middle management level.

The Microfoundations of Strategic Entrepreneurship: A Middle Management Perspective

Strategic entrepreneurship (SE) has attracted increased research attention, given its dual focus on creating competitive advantage and exploiting new opportunities. While research interest in SE has grown at a rapid pace in the past two decades, understanding of its microfoundations is limited. This conceptual paper contributes to the development of understating from a middle management perspective. It argues that middle managers’ five strategic roles serve as the microfoundations to firm’s SE. It also drills down to explore individual differences as antecedents in shaping these roles. This paper develops a research framework along with fine-grained propositions, aimed to shed light on future research and implications for practice.

Strategy maps: the middle management perspective

PurposeThe second major step in the development of the balanced scorecard was the introduction of strategy maps. Although much has been written about the benefits of strategy maps, there have been relatively few empirical studies that explore their use in a real-world setting. Additionally, the studies that have been done do not focus on the perspective of middle managers and employees who execute the strategy on a daily basis. This study addresses these gaps through observing the construction of strategy maps in two main business lines of a commercial bank. The participating managers are then asked if they agree that the resulting strategic performance measurement system assist organizations in the three ways most discussed in the literature: translating and operationalizing strategy, communicating the strategy and measuring the strategy. This study also provides some additional insights regarding the construction and use of strategy maps in organizations. The findings provide evidence to management that strategy maps are beneficial and guidance on how these could be implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of strategy maps in a real-world setting. Strategy maps are an extension of the well-known and adopted balanced scorecard, but have received little attention in empirical studies.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher introduced middle managers and operational staff to strategy maps and assisted them in the construction of a map for their business unit. The participants were then interviewed as to whether they agree with the benefits outlined in literature.FindingsParticipants agreed with the three main benefits outlined in literature and also provided additional feedback on the use of strategy maps from the perspective of their role as middle managers and those who had not used strategy maps in the past.Research limitations/implicationsThis study should be replicated in a larger setting. It would be particularly helpful to involve multiple departments across one organization or replicate the research in different organizations in the industry.Practical implicationsIt would be helpful to guide business units through the construction of strategy maps and then survey employees at different levels throughout the business units to obtain their feedback concerning the resulting product.Social implicationsBecause this study involves middle managers and operational level employees, it provides insight on the use of strategy maps, which could be extrapolated to other strategic performance management tools. This is a level of management that has not been involved to a large extent in previous research.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to observe middle managers in their development of a strategy map, which puts it in the unique position to note the opinions of this group on the benefits of the tool.

Understanding ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘Political Skill’ in Academy Middle Management During Organisational Change in Professional Youth Football

ABSTRACT The use of political skill to further employees’ self-interests and their ability to cope with ambiguity and employment vulnerability during periods of organizational change is an important yet under researched phenomenon. Taking a middle management perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of Richard, a newly appointed professional youth football Academy Manager during the process of organizational change. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, formal academy team meetings, co-worker interviews, and informal observations and conversations, which were analyzed through the process of narrative analysis. Findings highlighted the hierarchical sensemaking challenges of vertically ‘managing up’ (e.g. Chairman, Board of Directors, 1st Team Manager) and ‘managing down’ (e.g. academy employees), and horizontally ‘managing across’ (e.g. Head of Coaching) during the process of organizational change. Importantly, managing expectations and influencing significant others, through skilled micro-political activity, was central to successfully negotiating the ambiguity and vulnerabilities of organizational life during change. MAD statement This study is the first to examine the micro-political actions and behaviours of middle managers as both recipients and deliverers of organizational change. The self-interests of middle-managers tend to influence strategic change; however, we do not understand how middle-managers make sense of the micro-political nature of such interests during change. This study highlights the complexity of coping with employment vulnerability when negotiating and influencing the actions of senior management whilst also supporting subordinate staff with resistance and uncertainty during change. Furthermore, the micro-political actions and strategies of a middle-manager to develop ‘trust’ amongst colleagues, both vertically ‘above’ and ‘below’ them, and horizontally ‘across’ from them in the organizational hierarchy, are evidenced.

Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research

In the last years, scholarly attention was on a steady rise leading to a significant increase in the number of papers addressing different technological and organizational aspects of digital transformation. In this paper, we consolidate existing findings which mainly stem from the literature of information systems, map the territory by sharing important macro- and micro-level observations, and propose future research opportunities for this pervasive field. The paper systematically reviews 58 peer-reviewed studies published between 2001 and 2019, dealing with different aspects of digital transformation. Emerging from our review, we develop inductive thematic maps which identify technology and actor as the two aggregate dimensions of digital transformation. For each dimension, we derive further units of analysis (nine core themes in total) which help to disentangle the particularities of digital transformation processes and thereby emphasize the most influential and unique antecedents and consequences. In a second step, in order to assist in breaking down disciplinary silos and strengthen the management perspective, we supplement the resulting state-of-the-art of digital transformation by integrating cross-disciplinary contributions from reviewing 28 papers on technological disruption and 32 papers on corporate entrepreneurship. The review reveals that certain aspects, such as the pace of transformation, the culture and work environment, or the middle management perspective are significantly underdeveloped.

The impact of organisational politics and trust in the top management team on strategic decision implementation success: A middle-manager's perspective

The implementation of strategic decisions is a complex and demanding process that requires an open and lateral communication of free-flowing information to make sense of and champion a firm's intended changes. For the process to be effective, middle managers need to operate within an environment that nurtures a pro-social mindset and helps to cope with stressors caused by the possibility of harm done by the intended changes to their vested interests. Drawing from the job demands-resources model, we argue that organisational politics represent an organisational demand, which may hinder the implementation of strategic decisions. To cope with this demand, implementers recruit organisational resources (i.e. trust in the top management team) that may moderate the negative effects of dysfunctional politics. To test our hypotheses, we drew on a sample of 228 middle managers from 114 private Greek firms with more than 100 employees across various industries. We found that when organisational politics were high during the implementation process, implementation success diminished. However, their negative impact was reduced when trust in the top management team was high. Conversely, when organisational politics were low, middle managers reported a higher implementation success regardless of how highly the top management team was trusted. Our study is the first to test the influence of organisational politics on the success of the implementation process from a middle manager's perspective. In addition, we show that implementation success can be viewed through a demands-resources lens, which provides a meaningful contribution to research on strategy implementation.

Innovative management control systems in knowledge work: a middle manager perspective

Integrating theorizing in sensemaking and conceptual or contextualized metaphor theory, this study investigates how middle managers in knowledge work settings support or contest the implementation of changes in management control systems (MCS) by examining how they make sense of the new control roles allocated to them. It draws on case study evidence from an organizational unit of a US multinational technology company. Results from qualitative analysis show that managers employed contextualized metaphors as collective symbols to make sense of and deal with differing views of changes in MCS and the impact on their roles, responsibilities and identity at work. Specifically, the results indicate that individuals’ acceptance of innovative control practices varied and that by remaining unaware of managers’ dilemmas, the organization ran the risk of failing to properly implement the changes, even though the system had been deemed appropriate for knowledge work. Because of their fundamental role in the success of implementing MCS-related changes in knowledge work settings, realizing how middle manager develop an understanding and react to changes in MCS is a critical endeavor for both researchers and practitioners alike.

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

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.

The involvement of middle management in strategy development —Development and implementation of a foresight-based approach

In times of increasingly uncertain and volatile markets, corporate foresight is becoming a relevant contributor to the long-term strategy of players, particularly multinational ones. A variety of foresight tools are in place to support top management's strategic decision-making. However, leaders cannot claim to have the full scope of knowledge and capabilities required for creating a long-term, robust and implementable strategy. Today, many experts with the relevant detailed knowledge about future developments and organisational capabilities can be found in middle management, which needs to be reflected in an integrative approach towards strategy development.In this paper, an approach is presented that describes how a foresight-based strategy development approach can be designed in order to leverage the potential of middle management. This approach is applied in strategy development to the supply chain management of a multinational manufacturing company. The case focuses on Asia, and includes 37 middle managers plus their staff – totalling approximately 70 employees – from 13 countries. The results indicate that top and middle management were willing to follow the highly structured process, contributing to strategy development in terms of ideas, data, time, resources and analytical work. The developed strategy integrated the middle management's perspective successfully and strategy implementation started immediately.

A middle manager perspective on strategy formulation and implementation effectiveness

In this paper we explore some of the organizational contextual variables (senior management support, participation, information availability, control and reward mechanisms) which influence strategy...

Social Networks and Strategic Renewal: A Middle Management Perspective

Even though middle managers have been suggested to be essential change agents for strategic renewal processes, very few studies have investigated this crucial function. To advance our understanding...

Nurse Empowerment from a Middle-Management Perspective: Nurse Managers' and Assistant Nurse Managers' Workplace Empowerment Views

Researchers have explored empowerment as an important condition for nursing staff but little current research focuses on empowerment from a middle-management perspective. The purpose of this study was to assess the empowerment of a middle-management group made up of only nurse managers (NMs) and assistant nurse managers (ANMs) in an acute-care hospital setting. A questionnaire was distributed online to a convenience sample of NMs (n = 11) and ANMs (n = 31) working in an ethnically diverse acute-care hospital. Overall, this middle-management group did not feel empowered. Empowerment as perceived by middle management is crucial for carrying out leadership duties and, in turn, empowering frontline staff. Even though the work is challenging, resources and support, among other constructs of empowerment, must be improved to increase the empowerment of middle management. Nursing administration must understand the importance of an empowered middle management so that middle management can lead effectively and facilitate the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.

Pushing the Envelope: Creating Public Value in the Labor Market: An Empirical Study on the Role of Middle Managers

This article analyzes public value creation by the German Federal Labour Agency (FLA) from a middle management perspective. We relate the role description of a public value manager by Mark Moore with middle management research inspired by Floyd and Wooldridge. As a result of a case study we conceptualize critical experience of middle management and its antecedents in balancing different value dimensions. The conflict potential is seen less in managing different expectations from the top and the front line, but rather in enacting an integrative public value manager role itself which requires significant adaptive and value-balancing work customarily attributed to professional (private) leadership.

The Middle Management Perspective on Strategy Process: Contributions, Synthesis, and Future Research

During the past 25 years, a substantial amount of research in strategic management has focused on the contributions of middle management. Although useful, the research is characterized by considerable diversity in terms of focal constructs and relationships. The purpose of this review is to organize this research and identify important constructs, relationships, and contributions. The review serves not only to catalog the state of the art and accumulate knowledge; it also facilitates the critique necessary for charting directions and enhancing the cumulative nature of future research.

Managing Change: Steering a Course between Intended Strategies and Unanticipated Outcomes

It is well known that managed change within an organisation can result in unpredictable outcomes. In this paper a sensemaking framework is developed to demonstrate how both intended and unintended outcomes can result from the way middle managers – who are usually the recipients of a change strategy devised at the top – make sense of the senior management initiatives. This framework highlights the significant impact of change recipients on the outcomes achieved and suggests we need to reconsider both what we mean by “managing” change, and the way senior managers lead change. A case study that looks at a privatised utility undergoing strategic change from a middle manager perspective illustrates how the framework can account for the phenomenon of unintended outcomes. As the implementation largely follows what could be described as a textbook, top-down approach to change, it illustrates the problems many organisations face when implementing such change programmes. The paper also draws out the implications for the practice of change management.

Exploring the Determinants of Unit Performance

This article sets out to identify the origins of performance differences between units within the same organizational and industry context. Building on and reconciling diverse research streams, it empirically tests the effect of strategic, individual, and context factors on performance over time. The study complements traditional research in strategy by advancing a middle manager perspective. More specifically, it highlights the importance of middlemanagers' actions aligned with strategy, their demographic characteristics, and their immediate competitive environment in stimulating performance. Data on 119 managers and units of a European financial services firm suggest that how middle managers enact strategy, who they are, and where they are significantly affect profit growth in their units.

Achieving Strategic Consensus in the Hospital Setting: A Middle Management Perspective

This study adopts a social network methodology to explore the achievement of strategic consensus in a hospital system. On the basis of responses from 88 middle managers, the authors determined that a manager's (1) knowledge of the internal capabilities and the external environment of an organization and (2) his or her social position in a management structure significantly affect the realization of strategic consensus. Managerial knowledge is essential, and its importance in the consensus-building process is enhanced by a manager's social position.