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Performance impact of middle managers' adaptive strategy implementation: The role of social capital
Author(s) -
Ahearne Michael,
Lam Son K.,
Kraus Florian
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
strategic management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.035
H-Index - 286
eISSN - 1097-0266
pISSN - 0143-2095
DOI - 10.1002/smj.2086
Subject(s) - social capital , middle management , business , perspective (graphical) , strategic business unit , differential (mechanical device) , unit (ring theory) , strategy implementation , industrial organization , microeconomics , marketing , economics , classical economics , sociology , computer science , psychology , social science , mathematics education , artificial intelligence , engineering , aerospace engineering
This article reconciles mixed findings about the performance impact of middle managers' strategy involvement. We propose that the relationship between middle managers' adaptive strategy implementation—through upward and downward influence—and objective business performance can be curvilinear and contingent on formal and informal structures. Applying a multilevel perspective to social networks, we empirically show that reputational social capital enhances the performance impact of middle managers' upward influence while informational social capital elevates the performance impact of their downward influence. The size of a business unit or region has differential moderating effects. The curvilinear effects of middle managers' upward influence and reputational and informational social capital on business unit performance reflect paradoxes. We discuss the implications of these findings for strategy implementation research and practice . Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.