Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T04:16:11.568Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Management Innovation and Middle Managers: The Role of Empowering Leadership, Voice, and Collectivist Orientation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2021

Sylvia Rohlfer Open the ORCID record for Sylvia Rohlfer [Opens in a new window] ,
Abderrahman Hassi  and
Simon Jebsen Open the ORCID record for Simon Jebsen [Opens in a new window]
Sylvia Rohlfer*
Affiliation:
CUNEF University, Spain
Abderrahman Hassi
Affiliation:
Al Akhawayn University, Morocco
Simon Jebsen
Affiliation:
University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
*
Corresponding author: Sylvia Rohlfer (srohlfer@cunef.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Exposing under which conditions management innovation diffuses within firms, this study investigates at the individual level the mediating influence of middle managers’ voice behavior on the relationship between CEOs’ empowering leadership behavior and perceived management innovation. We also propose that the magnitude of this relationship depends on middle managers’ collectivist orientation. This study exploits a unique Moroccan sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and utilizes structural equation modeling to analyze the studied relations. We found that the positive relationship between CEOs’ empowering leadership behavior and management innovation is mediated by middle managers’ voice. This effect is conditioned by middle managers’ collectivist orientations, which positively influence their attention to CEOs’ signals and the value and frequency of their contributions to management innovation. While research has identified the external and organizational factors that shape management innovation, our study concentrates on the individual level and accentuates that middle managers’ closeness to management processes, combined with their access to technical knowledge, renders them essential to management innovation. We contradict arguments that middle managers may be less inclined to help management innovation to emerge. SMEs can systematically invest in management innovation by advancing their managerial capabilities and considering individual value orientations.

摘要

为了揭示管理创新在企业内部扩散的条件，本文考察了中层管理者建言行为对CEO授权与其感知到的企业管理创新之间的中介作用，并提出中层管理者的集体主义导向会调节这三者之间的关系。作者在摩洛哥收集了独特的中小企业样本，并采用结构方程模型进行分析，发现CEO授权型领导行为使得中层管理者更敢于建言，公司的管理创新因此越多。同时，中层管理者的集体主义导向影响他们积极关注CEO发出的信号，及他们在管理创新上所作贡献的价值和频率。虽然过往研究已经发现了一些塑造管理创新的外部因素和组织因素，但本研究聚焦于个体层面，强调中层管理者与管理过程的密切关系及其所掌握的技术知识对管理创新的重要作用。本文反驳了中层管理者可能不太愿意推进管理创新的观点，并启示中小企业可以通过投资中层管理者的能力并考虑个体的价值取向来系统地开展管理创新。

Keywords

empowering leadershipmanagement innovationmiddle managervalue orientationsvoice授权型领导管理创新中层管理者价值导向建言行为
Type
Article
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 108 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Association for Chinese Management Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

ACCEPTED BY Deputy Editor Helena Barnard

References

REFERENCES

Acock, A. 2013. Discovering structural equation modeling using Stata. Texas: Stata Press.Google Scholar
Ahearne, M., Mathieu, J., & Rapp, A. 2005. To empower or not to empower your sales force? An empirical examination of the influence of leadership empowerment behavior on customer satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5): 945–955.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andries, P., & Czarnitzki, D. 2014. Small firm innovation performance and employee involvement. Small Business Economics, 43(1): 21–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonakis, J., Bendahan, S., Jacquart, P., & Lalive, R. 2010. On making causal claims: A review and recommendations. Leadership Quarterly, 21(6): 1086–1120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, J., Arad, S., Rhoades, J., & Drasgow, F. 2000. The empowering leadership questionnaire: The construction and validation of a new scale for measuring leader behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(3): 249–269.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashford, S., Sutcliffe, K., & Christianson, M. 2009. Speaking up and speaking out: The leadership dynamics of voice in organizations. In Greenberg, J., & Edwards, M. (Eds.), Voice and silence in organizations: 175–202. Emerald: Bingley.Google Scholar
Axtell, C., Holman, D., Unsworth, K., Wall, T., & Waterson, P. 2000. Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of ideas. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3): 265–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baer, M., & Frese, M. 2003. Innovation is not enough: Climates for initiative and psychological safety, process innovations and firm performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(1): 45–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandalos, D., & Finney, S. 2001. Item parceling issues in structural equation modeling. In Marcoulides, G., & Schumacker, R. (Eds.), New developments and techniques in structural equation modeling: 269–296. Muhwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Birkinshaw, J., & Mol, M. 2006. How management innovation happens. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(4): 81–88.Google Scholar
Birkinshaw, J., Hamel, G., & Mol, M. 2008. Management innovation. Academy of Management Review, 33(4): 825–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brislin, R. 1980. Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In Traindis, H., & Berry, J. (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: 389–444. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Chang, Y. 2016. Multilevel transformational leadership and management innovation. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 37(2): 263–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheong, M., Spain, S., Yammarino, F., & Yun, S. 2016. Two faces of empowering leadership: Enabling and burdening. Leadership Quarterly, 27(4): 602–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheong, M., Yammarino, F., Dionne, S., Spain, S., & Tsai, C. 2019. A review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 30(1): 34–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clugston, M., Howell, J., & Dorfman, P. 2000. Does cultural socialization predict multiple bases and foci of commitment? Journal of Management, 26(1): 5–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connelly, L., Certo, S., Ireland, R., & Reutzel, C. 2011. Signaling theory: A review and assessment. Journal of Management, 37(1): 39–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damanpour, F. 2014. Footnotes to research on management innovation. Organization Studies, 35(9): 1265–1285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damanpour, F., & Aravind, D. 2012. Managerial innovation: Conceptions, processes and antecedents. Management and Organization Review, 8(2): 423–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dedahanov, A., Lee, D., Rhee, J., & Yoon, J. 2016. Entrepreneur's paternalistic leadership style and creativity. The mediating role of employee voice. Management Decision, 54(9): 2310–2324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delmestri, G., & Walgenbach, P. 2005. Mastering techniques or brokering knowledge? Middle managers in Germany, Britain and Italy. Organization Studies, 26(2): 197–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Detert, J., & Burris, E. 2007. Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal, 50(4): 869–884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donovan, M., O'Sullivan, M., Doyle, E., & Garvey, J. 2016. Employee voice and silence in auditing firms. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 38(4): 563–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorfman, P., & Howell, J. 1988. Dimensions of national culture and effective leadership patterns: Hofstede revisited. In McGound, E. (Ed.), Advances in international comparative management: 127–50. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Dorfman, P., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., Dastmalchian, A., & House, R. 2012. GLOBE: A 20-year journey into the intriguing world of culture and leadership. Journal of World Business, 47(4): 504–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., & Ackers, P. 2004. The meanings and purpose of employee voice. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(6): 1150–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutta, S., Lanvin, B., & Wunsch-Vincent, S. 2017. The Global Innovation Index 2017. Innovation feeding the world. Geneva: Ithaca.Google Scholar
Elsetouhi, A., Hamad, A., Nagm, A., & Elbaz, A. 2018. Perceived leader behavioral integrity and employee voice in SMEs travel agents: The mediating role of empowering leader behaviors. Tourism Management, 65: 100–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, R., Ferreira, M., Van Meurs, N., Gok, K., Jiang, D. Y., Fontaine, R. J., Harb, C., Cieciuch, J., Achoui, M., Mendoza, M. S. D., Hassan, A., Achmadi, D., Mogaji, A. A., & Abubakar, A. 2019. Does organizational formalization facilitate voice and helping organizational citizenship behaviors? It depends on (national) uncertainty norms. Journal of International Business Studies, 50: 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frynas, J., Mol, M., & Mellahi, K. 2018. Management innovation made in China: Haier's Rendanheyi. California Management Review, 61(1): 71–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, A., & Jiang, J. 2019. Perceived empowering leadership, harmonious passion, and voice: The moderating role of job autonomy. Frontiers in Psychology, 10: 1484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, G., Corbishley, C., Khayesi, J., Haas, M., & Tihanyi, L. 2016. From the editors. Bringing Africa in: Promising directions for management research. Academy of Management Journal, 59(2): 377–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, L., Stam, W., & Takeychi, R. 2016. Managing the risks of proactivity: Multilevel study of initiative and performance in the middle management context. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4): 1339–1360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabo, A., Spisak, B., & van Vugt, M. 2017. Charisma as signal. An evolutionary perspective on charismatic leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 28(4): 473–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman, F., & Espejo, A. 2019. Introducing changes at work. How voice behavior relates to management innovation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(1): 73–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamel, G. 2006. The why, what and how of management innovation. Harvard Business Review, 84(6): 72–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Hassi, A. 2016. Human resource management in Morocco. In Budhwar, P., & Mellahi, K. (Eds.), Handbook of human resource management in the Middle East: 244–260. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassi, A. 2019. Empowering leadership and management innovation in the hospitality industry context. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(4): 1785–1800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, A. 2013. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, A., & Matthes, J. 2009. Computational procedures for probing interactions in OLS and logistic regression: SPSS and SAS implementations. Behavior Research Methods, 41(3): 924–936.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hervas-Oliver, J., Ripoll-Sempere, F., & Moll, C. 2016. Does management innovation pay-off in SMEs? Empirical evidence for Spanish SMEs. Small Business Economy, 47(2): 507–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heyden, M., Sidhu, J., & Volberda, H. 2018. The conjoint influence of top and middle management characteristics on management innovation. Journal of Management, 44(4): 1505–1529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1980. Culture's consequences: International differences in work related values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. 1999. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1): 1–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, D., Lee, A., Tian, A., Newman, A., & Legood, A. 2018. Leadership, creativity, and innovation: A critical review and practical recommendations. Leadership Quarterly, 29(5): 549–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huy, Q. 2001. In praise of middle managers. Harvard Business Review, 79(8): 72–79.Google ScholarPubMed
Jung, D., Chow, C., & Wu, A. 2003. The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation. Leadership Quarterly, 14(4/5): 525–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kline, R. 2010. Promise and pitfalls of structural equation modeling in gifted research. In Thompson, B. (Ed.), Methodologies for conducting research on giftedness: 147–169. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kline, R. 2015. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kock, N. 2015. Common method bias in PLS-SEM. International Journal of E-Collaboration, 11(4): 1–10.Google Scholar
Lee, A., Willis, S., & Tian, A. 2018. Empowering leadership: A meta-analytic examination of incremental contribution, mediation, and moderation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(1): 306–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, A., Legood, A., Hughes, D., Tian, A., Newman, A., & Knight, C. 2020. Leadership, creativity, and innovation: A meta-analytic review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29(1): 1–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y., & Sun, J. 2015. Traditional Chinese leadership and employee voice behavior: A cross-level examination. Leadership Quarterly, 26(2): 172–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, J., Fahr, C., & Fahr, J. 2012. Psychological antecedents of promotive and prohibitive voice. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1): 71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lorinkova, N., Pearsall, M., & Sims, H. 2013. Examining the differential longitudinal performance of directive versus empowering leadership in teams. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2): 573–596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marion, R., & Uhl-Bien, M. 2001. Leadership in complex organizations. Leadership Quarterly, 12(4): 389–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. 1991. Culture and the self: Implications for cognitions, emotions, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2): 224–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meindl, J. 1995. The romance of leadership as a follower-centric theory: A social constructionist approach. Leadership Quarterly, 6(3): 329–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mol, M., & Birkinshaw, J. 2009. The sources of management innovation: When firm introduce new management practice. Journal of Business Research, 62(12): 1269–1280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. 2011. Employee voice behavior: Integration and directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1): 373–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD. 2005. The measurement of scientific and technological activities. Oslo manual, 3rd ed. Paris: OECD EUROSTAT.Google Scholar
Pearce, J. II., & Robinson, R. B. Jr 1987. A measure of CEO social power in strategic decision-making. Strategic Management Journal, 8(3): 297–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N. 2003. Common method biases in behavioral research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879–903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preacher, K., Rucker, D., & Hayes, A. 2007. Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1): 185–227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Satorra, A., & Bentler, P. 1994. Corrections to test statistics and standard errors in covariance structure analysis. In von Eye, A., & Clogg, C. (Eds.), Latent variables analysis: Applications for developmental research: 399–419. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Schaubroeck, J., Lam, S., & Cha, S. 2007. Embracing transformational leadership: Team values and the impact of leader behavior on team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4): 1020–1030.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharma, P., & Kirkman, B. 2015. Leveraging leaders: A literature review and future lines of inquiry for empowering leadership research. Group & Organization Management, 40(2): 193–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M. 1973. Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3): 355–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
StataCorp. 2019. Stata Statistical Software: Release 16. College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC.Google Scholar
Su, S., & Baird, K. 2018. The role of leaders in generating management innovation. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(9): 2758–2779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, D., Au, K., & Ravlin, E. C. 2003. Cultural variation and the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(SI): 451–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, H., Bontempo, R., Villareal, M., Asai, M., & Lucca, N. 1988. Individualism and collectivism: Cross-cultural perspectives on self-in-group relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(2): 323–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uhlaner, L., van Stel, A., Duplat, V., & Zhou, H. 2013. Disentangling the effects of organizational capabilities, innovation and firm size on SME sales growth. Small Business Economics, 41(3): 581–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaccaro, I. G., Jansen, J., Van den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. 2012. Management innovation and leadership: The moderating role of organizational size. Journal of Management Studies, 49(1): 28–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dyne, L., & LePine, J. 1998. Helping and voice extra-role behaviors: Evidence of construct and predictive validity. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1): 108–119.Google Scholar
Van Puyenbroeck, S., Stouten, J., Hofmans, J., Van Meervelt, K., & Vande Broek, G. 2020. Characterizing positive and negative ‘voicers’ in elite sport teams. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 48: 101648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Volberda, H., Van den Bosch, F., & Heij, C. 2013. Management innovation: Management as fertile ground for innovation. European Management Review, 10(1): 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner, J. III. 1995. Studies of individualism-collectivism: Effects on cooperation in groups. Journal of Management, 38(1): 152–172.Google Scholar
Walters, G. 2019. Why are mediation effects so small? International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 22(2): 219–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B., & Aryee, S. 2011. Leadership and management research in Africa: A synthesis and suggestions for future research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(3): 425–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolridge, B., Schmid, T., & Floyd, S. 2008. The middle management perspective on strategy process: Contributions, synthesis and future research. Journal of Management, 34(6): 1190–1221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Economic Forum. 2017. The Global Human Capital Report 2017. Preparing people for the future. Geneva: World Economic Forum.Google Scholar
Xu, M., Qin, X., Dust, S., & DiRenzo, M. 2019. Supervisor-subordinate proactive personality congruence and psychological safety: A signaling theory approach to employee voice behavior. Leadership Quarterly, 30(4): 440–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yammarino, F., Dionne, S., Chun, J., & Dansereau, F. 2005. Leadership and levels of analysis: A state-of-the-science review. Leadership Quarterly, 16(6): 879–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, J., Zhang, Z., & Tsui, A. 2010. Middle manager leadership and frontline employee performance: Bypass, cascading and moderating effects. Journal of Management Studies, 47(4): 654–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Z., & Bartol, K. 2010. Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1): 107–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar