Middle Level Managers and Strategy: Exploring the Influence of Different Roles on Organisational Performance

The purpose of this paper is to explore how middle level managers contribute to the formulation and implementation of strategic decisions and to measure the influence of different roles on organisational performance. Discussions with around 15 middle level managers in an Indian Power Transmission Company helped to present a narration of various roles of middle level managers. 200 middle level managers from a few Indian public sector organisations completed a survey assessing their involvement in various roles. Central tendencies were identified and regression analysis was undertaken to understand the influence of different roles on organisational performance. It was found that the most prominent role of the middle level managers is that of an implementer and the role has a strong influence on organisational performance. The role of an entrepreneur emerged strong with respect to influence on organisational performance, hinting at the entrepreneurial mindset that is present in public sector employees. The study fills a gap in literature by measuring the influence of different roles of middle level managers on organisational performance in public sector organisations. The extant literature lacked similar mixed-method research.