Achieving strategic renewal: the multi-level influences of top and middle managers’ boundary-spanning

Abstract

Drawing on corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and social network research, this study focuses on strategic renewal as a form of CE and examines the impact of boundary-spanning at top and middle management levels on business units' exploratory innovation. Analyses of multi-source and multi-level data, collected from 72 top managers (TMs) and 397 middle managers (MMs) operating in 34 units of a multinational organization, indicate that TMs' boundaryspanning is positively related to units' exploratory innovation, but also has a cascading effect on MMs by increasing their perceived role conflict. MMs' role conflict is negatively related to units' exploratory innovation and thus offsets some of the benefits gained through TMs' boundary-spanning activities. Taking a configurational perspective on social exchanges at multiple levels, we show that role conflict is reduced by overlapping boundary-spanning ties among TMs and MMs. Surprisingly, MMs' boundary-spanning does not relate to exploratory innovation. Our study shows that with regard to boundary-spanning, a top-down approach to CE as strategic renewal may be most effective because TMs play a key role in driving exploratory innovation. However, TMs need to be aware of the cascading social liabilities of their boundary-spanning behavior and ensure MMs develop similar networks. We advance ongoing debates in studies about CE and social networks by providing empirically validated insights into who drives strategic renewal and by uncovering the benefits and costs of social exchanges for strategic renewal. Furthermore, we uncover potential causes of mixed findings in network theory research and highlight a remedy to social liabilities.

Product Innovation and Educational Diversity in Top and Middle Management Teams

“…Because MMTs are more likely to understand the causal ambiguities of specific problems and the firm's internal competences , they have a strong influence on how effectively the resources allocated to innovation are used. Accordingly, Glaser et al (2015), Floyd and Lane (2000), and Raes et al (2011) claim that the central importance of MMTs is their role of implementing the strategic intent of TMTs. 2 We posit that MMTs diversity positively affects the success of innovation activities by guaranteeing greater efficiency in resource utilization.…”

Transformational leadership, social capital and organizational innovation

“…To the authors' knowledge, relationships between CEO's TFL and TMT's ESC have not been directly tested but the literature has provided some grounds for connecting TFL and ESC. First, transformational leaders model boundary-spanning behavior: scanning the environment, interacting with external entities (Heavey et al, 2009), absorbing information and insights, and identifying options for choosing strategic directions (Glaser et al, 2015). Their inspirational motivation and idealized behaviors then incentivize TMT members to build external networks and sharpen their boundary-spanning abilities.…”

Corporate Entrepreneurship: A Review and Future Research Agenda

“…Top management team (Behrens & Patzelt, 2015;Glaser et al, 2015;Hayton, 2005;Heavey & Simsek, 2013;Ling et al, 2008;Naldi et al, 2015;Simsek, 2007;Wang et al, 2015;Zahra, 1996;Zahra et al, 2000) 2. Firm (Behrens & Patzelt, 2015;Kellermanns & Eddleston, 2006;Nason et al, 2015;Simsek et al, 2009;Thorgren et al, 2012;Yiu et al, 2007;Yiu & Lau, 2008) 3.…”