Middle Manager Identification and Strategic involvement

Today's competitive advantage comes to a large extent from innovation and close customer relations. Accordingly, the last decades have emphasized flatter organizational structures, and changes middle manager roles thereby implying their increased involvement in strategy work. More specifically, instead of viewing middle mangers as barriers to change, a tendency is now to approach them as having an active and supporting role in strategy making. At the same time, case studies have exemplified both successes and failures in relation to middle managers' direct involvement in strategy development and implementation. When asked, middle managers in a Danish context still perceive strategy mainly as top management's responsibility.

This project is based on a survey of Danish middle mangers, through which we will investigate the relation between middle managers' identification with different organizational groups (the organizational level, peers, and subordinates), and their perceived strategic responsibilities.