The Role of Middle Management in the Strategy Process: Group Affiliation, Structural Holes, and Tertius Iungens

This study explores the relationship between eight distinct brokerage roles of middle managers and their involvement in achieving different strategic goals. The authors argue that each role contributes to different aspects of middle managers’ strategic goals and that some roles are more likely to realize brokerage advantages than others. They further suggest that bridging structural holes may not be an optimal strategy in all situations. Important implications of their model are discussed and several future research directions are proposed.