Middle managers are the lynchpins of organizational strategy and operations, yet their role is increasingly questioned in today’s fast-changing, technology-driven workplaces. This special issue brings together cutting-edge research examining how middle managers create value, navigate digital transformation, drive innovation, and manage intergroup dynamics, while balancing the pressures of hierarchy and organizational change. From exploring the behaviours that help (or hinder) their influence, to understanding the emotional and strategic challenges they face, these studies provide actionable insights for organizations aiming to leverage the full potential of their middle management talent.
Read the full issue here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14676486/2023/60/7 or browse the individual articles below.
Heroes or Villains? Recasting Middle Management Roles, Processes, and Behaviours by Murat Tarakci, Mariano L. M. Heyden, Linda Rouleau, Anneloes Raes and Steven W. Floyd
Opportunity or Threat? Exploring Middle Manager Roles in the Face of Digital Transformation by Sebastiaan Van Doorn, Dimitrios Georgakakis, Jana Oehmichen and Marko Reimer
Selecting Innovation Projects: Do Middle and Senior Managers Differ When It Comes to Radical Innovation? by Ralf Wilden, Nidthida Lin, Jan Hohberger and Krithika Randhawa
An Integrative Model of the Role of Structural, Behavioural, and Cognitive Coordination in Intergroup Effectiveness: How Middle Managers Play a Role by Jeanine Pieternel Porck and Daan van Knippenberg
Achieving Product Ambidexterity in New Product Development: The Role of Middle Managers’ Dynamic Managerial Capabilities by Andrea Greven, Sebastian Kruse, Anne Vos, Steffen Strese and Malte Brettel
Walling in and Walling out: Middle Managers’ Boundary Work by Ricardo Azambuja, Gazi Islam and Annick Ancelin-Bourguignon
Kiss-Up-Kick-Down to Get Ahead: A Resource Perspective on How, When, Why, and With Whom Middle Managers Use Ingratiatory and Exploitative Behaviours to Advance Their Careers by Fabiola H. Gerpott and Niels Van Quaquebeke
Middle Managers’ Struggle Over Their Subject Position in Open Strategy Processes by Violetta Splitter, Paula Jarzabkowski and David Seidl
Remembering Steven W. Floyd’s Impact on Middle Management Research by Mariano L. M. Heyden, Murat Tarakci, Linda Rouleau and Anneloes Raes
List of Reviewers for this Special Issue
