Journal article
Agile strategies for middle managers
Management Decision, Vol.60(1), pp.146-166
2022
Abstract
Purpose:
This paper takes a holistic and process-based view on agility from a Middle Management (MM) perspective. Its purpose is to identify subjective factors of agility emerging from people's interpretations and perceptions and to integrate them into the process of agile strategy-making.
Design/methodology/approach:
To provide a theoretical foundation, literature was reviewed in the area of agile diversity and strategy-making. A qualitative study based on interviews was conducted to uncover the hidden subjective factors from the personal experiences and perceptions of the participants.
Findings:
The study has revealed that individual opinions in terms of agility can originate from three sources: individual understandings, contextual drivers and personal beliefs.
Research limitations/implications:
The research contributes to dynamic capability theory by providing a better understanding of agile diversity at the MM level. The findings can help mid-level executives to cope with the complexities and ambiguities in managing agility by aligning the different understandings and people's perceptions. This is crucial, as missing alignment of team members can lead to poor dynamic capabilities of business entities and thus threatens overall organisational agility.
Originality/value:
A model was developed to align the subjective factors of agility during the process of agile strategy-making at the MM level. The framework allows a flexible adaptation to the individual demands of organisational units, as well as concentrated measures for effective agile management. It contributes to organisational agility and business success by scaling the dynamic capabilities of MM.
Details
- Title
- Agile strategies for middle managers
- Authors
- Joachim Kahl (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesSaskia de Klerk (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesRobert Ogulin (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative Industries
- Publication details
- Management Decision, Vol.60(1), pp.146-166
- Publisher
- Emerald Publishing Limited
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1108/MD-07-2020-0889
- ISSN
- 1758-6070; 0025-1747
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering; Faculty of Arts, Business and Law; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; USC Business School - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99544108702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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