Middle management micropractices and their relationship with dynamic capabilities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5585/riae.v19i2.15167Keywords:
Middle management, Micropractices, Dynamic capabilities.Abstract
Objective: Although there prevails a growing interest in the studies on middle management (MG) within the scope of strategy and organizations, considerable research that explores the perspective of dynamic capabilities (DC) under the lens of the agents’ micropractices remains scarce. Thus, this study identifies and describes the ways in which the micropractices conducted by MG professionals from four companies embedded in the competitive environments are related to the DC dimensions.
Methodology: A qualitative research strategy was employed, and the multiple case study method, with the appropriation of semistructured interviews conducted with MG professionals, was used.
Originality: This study innovatively emphasizes the importance and influence of MG in the development of three DC dimensions (sense, seizing, and reconfiguration) by highlighting the functions of MG through micropractices, thereby empirically associating it with the DC dimensions.
Results: The study results demonstrate that MG acts in the formation, development, and modification of the three DC dimensions in a balanced way. The results also reveal that from the five managerial functions emphasized in this study, MG seems to play a greater role in the micropractices of synthesizing information.
Theoretical contributions: This study contributes to the advancement of literature in the area of strategy and DC, particularly by drawing attention to the critical role played by MG in the DC development, an aspect predominantly investigated in the literature from the senior management perspective.
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