Middle managers in the crossfire: combining supervisory responsibilities with global strategy implementation

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative research is to explore the ways in which middle managers’ place and position in a company influences the corporate strategy of a multinational company. The focus is on strategy implementation and it incorporates two main themes: middle manager work and strategic management in a global context. Both themes have received a fair amount of attention in management research but seldom jointly. The theoretical framework is constructed according to these two themes and leads up to an understanding of middle managers’ position in multinational strategic management This is done by comparing strategic management literature with literature on middle managers’ work to develop an idea of the effect of middle managers in strategic management. The outcome of this discussion is then placed within the arena of multinational strategic management.

This research was conducted as an empirical study of middle managers located worldwide in subsidiaries of a multinational company. Empirical data was collected in nine interviews with middle managers and one interview with a member of strategic management. Secondary survey data was used to support findings from interviews and this brought a quantitative dimension to the study. The method used to analyze interview data was that of qualitative content analysis.

This research is relevant to both strategic management theory and practice. The obtained results reveal that middle managers’ position not only sets constraints for direct strategy implementation but also that the practices used by middle managers to implement strategy are not solely a reflection of the mode of strategic management used. Instead these findings suggest that contextual factors, such as the cultural background of middle managers, may shape implementation effort and practices. Current multinational strategic management practices and theory as well as existing knowledge of middle manager behaviour are subsequently placed under scrutiny.

Asiasanat:Middle manager, strategy implementation, multinational company, qualitative content analysis