Strategic Implementation in Pluralistic Organizations: Roles of Top Management and Middle Management

Evandro Oliveira Monteiro; Samir Lótfi Vaz; Athos Carlos Silva

doi:10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e16614

Autores

Evandro Oliveira Monteiro Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9497-103X
Samir Lótfi Vaz Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0330-9233
Athos Carlos Silva Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3253-4309

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e16614

Palavras-chave:

Middle management, top management, participation, pluralistic organizations

Resumo

This article investigates how different managerial levels participate and interact in the execution of strategy within a pluralistic organization, characterized by the coexistence of multiple logics and value criteria. The study adopts a qualitative and longitudinal approach, combining participant observation and semi-structured interviews conducted with members of top management, middle management, and the core team throughout several cycles of strategic planning and implementation. The results indicate that successful strategy realization depends on the ability to articulate across hierarchical levels, with middle management serving as the key link that translates, adapts, and negotiates meanings between strategic directives and operational practices. The analyses reveal the coexistence of prescribed and emergent roles, which are reconfigured as organizational tensions and legitimacy demands evolve. The study also identifies distinct mental models associated with prioritization, learning, and decision-making, whose convergence enhances the quality and consistency of outcomes, although often at a higher temporal cost. The article contributes by empirically demonstrating how the extended participation of managers in pluralistic contexts supports more coherent and inclusive strategy formulation and implementation processes, and by showing that integration between top and middle management is essential to balance organizational stability and adaptation. The theoretical and practical implications highlight the relevance of structures and routines that foster strategic dialogue and coordination among different organizational levels.

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Tradução

Este artigo é uma tradução em English do artigo: Realização estratégica em organizações pluralistas: Papéis de alta administração e média gerência

Biografia do Autor

Evandro Oliveira Monteiro, Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Doutor em Estudos da Linguagem pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Possui experiência em estudos do discurso e na análise de materialidades linguístico-discursivas. Desde a graduação até o doutorado, seu trabalho acadêmico tem se concentrado em temas relacionados à língua, cultura e sociedade húngaras, área na qual recebeu duas bolsas de estudo integrais na Hungria. Seus interesses de pesquisa incluem estudos interdisciplinares sobre nacionalismo, linguagem, discurso político, memória e identidade, bem como sobre línguas fino-úgricas

Samir Lótfi Vaz, Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Doutorado em Administração. Professor e Pesquisador nas áreas de Estratégia a Comportamento Organizacional.

Athos Carlos Silva, Fundação Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Mestre em Administração pela Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), com especialização em Estratégia e Supply Chain, direcionou sua pesquisa para como a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos pode servir como um catalisador estratégico em grandes organizações. Atualmente, cursa dois doutorados: em Administração pela FEA/USP e em Economia Aplicada pela Universidade de Antuérpia (Bélgica).

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