Abstract

This longitudinal, qualitative study examined ‘sensemaking’ during an imposed shift from hierarchical to decentralized organization. We identified a ‘replacement’ pattern of schema development in which middle managers moved from shared through clustered sensemaking, to shared but differentiated sensemaking. Our findings provide evidence that different change processes lead to different patterns of schema development. Further, they highlight the socially negotiated nature of schema change and the significance of middle managers' lateral social interactions in shaping change in the absence of senior management.

Editors' introduction

This paper was selected for several reasons. First, it is a very interesting exploration of the role of middle managers in ‘doing strategy’. It responds to the calls in chapter 1 for plurality in levels of analysis and in actors and it also takes a dynamic perspective, tracing strategy activities over time. Secondly, it is an illustration of the mobilization of the sensemaking perspective – one of the possible theoretical resources for studies of Strategy as Practice introduced in chapter 2. Finally, as mentioned in chapter 3, the paper uses an innovative set of methods, including diaries and focus groups.

The introduction to the paper describes the context and objectives for the research.