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Managing Change, or Changing Managers? The role of middle managers in UK public service reform

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  • Mark Gatenby
  • Chris Rees
  • Catherine Truss
  • Kerstin Alfes
  • Emma Soane

Abstract

Drawing upon interview data from three case study organizations, we examine the role of middle managers in UK public service reform. Using theory fragments from organizational ecology and role theory, we develop three role archetypes that middle managers might be enacting. We find that rather than wholesale enactment of a 'change agent' role, middle managers are balancing three predominant, but often conflicting, change-related roles: as 'government agent', 'diplomat administrator' and, less convincingly, 'entrepreneurial leader'. Central government targets are becoming the main preoccupation for middle managers across many public services and they represent a dominant constraint on allowing 'managers to manage'.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Gatenby & Chris Rees & Catherine Truss & Kerstin Alfes & Emma Soane, 2015. "Managing Change, or Changing Managers? The role of middle managers in UK public service reform," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(8), pages 1124-1145, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:17:y:2015:i:8:p:1124-1145
    DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2014.895028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven W. Floyd & Bill Wooldridge, 1997. "Middle Management’s Strategic Influence and Organizational Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 465-485, May.
    2. Graeme Currie & Stephen J. Procter, 2005. "The Antecedents of Middle Managers’ Strategic Contribution: The Case of a Professional Bureaucracy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7), pages 1325-1356, November.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jacek Rudewicz, 2023. "The Role and Importance of the Street Manager Function in Revitalization Processes," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 509-522.

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