Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

Leadership & Organizational Development Journal

Volume

33

Issue

4

First Page

322

Last Page

341

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of strategy messages emanating from both top and middle/supervisory managers regarding five different aspects of strategy on strategic awareness among boundary personnel.

Design/methodology/approach – The results come from a survey of bank tellers and customer service representatives within a single large regional bank.

Findings – The findings support a differential main effect on strategic awareness among boundary personnel depending on the source of messages, whether top management or middle management. More interestingly, there appears to be an interaction effect between the two sources regarding which will be the dominant information source for boundary personnel.

Research limitations/implications – The survey data were collected within a single banking institution at one time point.

Practical implications – The results provide useful information concerning the efficacy of messages concerning strategy from middle and top management in organizations.

Originality/value – The paper extends past research by investigating different levels of strategic understanding within the firm across different levels and determining information dissemination strategies for increasing the level of strategic awareness among boundary personnel.

Keywords United States of America, Banks, Customer service management, Management strategy, Strategic awareness, Boundary personnel, Information dissemination

Comments

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437731211229287. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

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