Middle Managers and the Translation of New Ideas in Organizations: A Review of Micro‐practices and Contingencies

Abstract

Translation theories argue that the transformation of new ideas is 'in the hands of people' and that actors at multiple organizational levels interact to affect this process. However, previous research has focused mostly on executive managers or R&D departments, while other organizational actors, who have a comparable influence on the translation process, have received little systematic analysis of their role. This study draws upon this premise to review the existing literature on middle managers' engagement with the translation of new ideas. The findings follow middle managers throughout the translation process, i.e. from the acquisition of the new ideas to its stabilization. The authors identify the micro-practices pursued by middle managers to affect the travel of the new idea within the organization, and the contingencies that explain when and how middle managers engage in specific translation stages. The paper concludes with discussions of the main implications and indications for middle managers and future directions for research.

Us and Them – First-line Management and Change Resistance

“…The study provides specific examples of these challenges-including persuading recipients to follow routines, procedures, and innovations-and also cites examples of structural and interpersonal issues related to the change agent's role. The results, which indicate the challenging nature of the change agent's role, are similar to those found in research and development departments and executive managers, supporting the assumption of Radaelli and Sitton-Kent (2016) that resistance from first-line staff can be a limiting factor. In answer to Radaelli and Sitton-Kent's (2016) call for further studies, this research illustrates the personal and positional challenges change agents face in public welfare organizations.…”

“…The results, which indicate the challenging nature of the change agent's role, are similar to those found in research and development departments and executive managers, supporting the assumption of Radaelli and Sitton-Kent (2016) that resistance from first-line staff can be a limiting factor. In answer to Radaelli and Sitton-Kent's (2016) call for further studies, this research illustrates the personal and positional challenges change agents face in public welfare organizations. These can be sorted into two main categories: 1) resistance to change among recipients of the change and 2) the nature of the manager's role in enacting change.…”

“…She found that managers handled challenges by conducting 'emotional work', 'emotional labor', and 'emotional balancing' in response to the increased complexity of organizational expectations during change processes. In their literature review, Radaelli and Sitton-Kent (2016) found that managers also overcome resistance by influencing the travel of new ideas through micro-practices such as bridging diverging goals and hand-picking likeminded allies. This suggests that managers have a role in translating and legitimatizing ideas as well as enrolling and aligning employees to partake in change.…”

“…As Radaelli and Sitton-Kent (2016) noted, research has identified a range of activities that change agents do, but we know curiously little about the challenges they face in their role. This study seeks to explore this knowledge gap.…”

“…The role of the change agent in organizations has drawn interest from researchers (Balogun 2003;Balogun & Johnson 2004;Floyd & Wooldridge 1992;Rouleau & Balogun 2011), yet we know little about change agents outside of the executive suite or research and development departments (Radaelli & Sitton-Kent 2016). In their review, Radaelli and Sitton-Kent (2016, p. 326) explicitly identified the lack of research concerning first-line managers' relationship with their staff members, a knowledge gap they attribute to generic assumptions about resistance to change as a limiting factor.…”