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Managers on flexibility and innovation: are Porter's assumptions on leadership right? An empirical exploration
Author(s) -
Kasper Helmut,
Mühlbacher Jürgen
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
strategic change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1099-1697
pISSN - 1086-1718
DOI - 10.1002/jsc.759
Subject(s) - flexibility (engineering) , clarity , empirical research , creativity , hierarchy , business , balance (ability) , control (management) , marketing , management , industrial organization , process management , economics , political science , market economy , medicine , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , epistemology , law , physical medicine and rehabilitation
This paper is based on an empirical test of Porter's strategic model of role allocation between top and middle management. The empirical results show that in future both hierarchy levels favour flexibility instead of innovation. Although this tendency makes sense from a practitioner's point of view, it is completely inconsistent with the sustainable development of a company. Only a balance between flexibility and sufficient stability makes a company successful. Therefore managers have to find a fit between creativity, innovation and speed with clarity of focus, co‐ordination and control. The authors recommend putting the anticipated change on a company's agenda as soon as possible. Only this will ensure the development of targeted qualification programmes and a future‐oriented distribution of competencies and responsibilities, within the framework of strategic HRM well before the first conflicts within companies occur.Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.