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HYBRID UPPER MIDDLE MANAGER STRATEGIZING PRACTICES: LINKING ARCHETYPES AND CONTINGENCIES IN THE UK BUSINESS SCHOOL DEANSHIP By Julie Davies BA(Hons), LLB(Hons), MA, MBA, PGCE, FCIPD A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2014 Warwick Business School TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... viii DECLARATION AND DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................ ix GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................. x ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 14 1. Summary ........................................................................................................................ 14 2. Research objectives ....................................................................................................... 17 3. Research questions ........................................................................................................ 22 4. Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER TWO: MIDDLE MANAGERS’ STRATEGIC ROLES ...................................................... 26 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 26 2. What is a middle manager? ........................................................................................... 28 3. Middle managers’ strategic value .................................................................................. 30 4. Floyd and Wooldridge’s middle management strategic roles ....................................... 32 4.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 32 4.1.1 Facilitating adaptability ..................................................................................... 34 4.1.2 Synthesizing information .................................................................................. 37 4.1.3 Championing alternatives ................................................................................. 40 4.1.4 Implementing deliberate strategy .................................................................... 41 4.1.5 Influencing from the middle upwards .............................................................. 46 4.1.6 Influencing from the middle downwards ......................................................... 48 4.1.7 Combining the four roles .................................................................................. 49 4.2 Critique of Floyd and Wooldridge’s model .............................................................. 50 4.2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 50 4.2.2 Contingent factors ............................................................................................ 55 4.2.3 Temporal perspectives ...................................................................................... 62 4.2.4 Strengths and limitations of the model ............................................................ 63 4.2.5 Studies that have used Floyd and Wooldridge’s model.................................... 65 5. Professional context....................................................................................................... 67 ii 6. Public sector middle managers and academic leadership ............................................. 74 7. Archetypes ..................................................................................................................... 76 8. Summary and conclusion ............................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER THREE: STRATEGIZING PRACTICES OVER TIME ...................................................... 80 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 80 2. Strategic management ................................................................................................... 81 3. Strategy-as-practice ....................................................................................................... 82 4. Strategists, practices, and processes ............................................................................. 86 5. Middle managers’ practices ........................................................................................... 88 6. Temporal perspectives on strategizing practices .......................................................... 90 7. Summary and conclusion ............................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER FOUR: THE RESEARCH SETTING ........................................................................... 100 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 100 2. Debates on business schools ....................................................................................... 101 3. Critiques of business and management education ...................................................... 103 4. Key challenges .............................................................................................................. 106 5. Global developments in the business school industry................................................. 114 5.1 Historical developments and debates in North America ....................................... 115 5.2 British business schools ......................................................................................... 118 6. Overview of UK business and management education ............................................... 120 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 120 6.2 A historical view of the UK’s higher education landscape ..................................... 121 7. The policy context for UK management education since 1945 ................................... 125 8. An overview of Warwick Business School .................................................................... 132 9. The deanship ................................................................................................................ 145 10. Summary and conclusion ........................................................................................... 158 CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH METHODS .................................................................................. 160 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 160 2. Research design ........................................................................................................... 161 2.1 Research paradigm ................................................................................................ 163 2.2 Research schedule ................................................................................................. 164 2.3 Sampling ................................................................................................................. 165 iii 2.4 Case study design ................................................................................................... 169 2.5 Interviews ............................................................................................................... 171 2.6 Documentary data ................................................................................................. 176 2.7 Triangulation .......................................................................................................... 178 3. Evaluating the quality of the research ......................................................................... 184 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 184 3.2 Validity ................................................................................................................... 185 3.2.1 Construct validity ............................................................................................ 187 3.2.2 Internal validity ............................................................................................... 188 3.2.3 Descriptive