Managing empowerment: adjusting organisational units' autonomy to achieve corporate agility
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose Empowerment is recognised as being a key to achieving organisational agility. Typically associated with a particular leadership style, implications of empowerment for management have remained vague in the literature. Thus, this study aims at unpacking the facets and mechanisms of empowerment in the context of organisational units (OUs). Design/methodology/approach First, the authors review the extant literature and discuss the crucial concepts in the context empowerment. Then, the authors analyse qualitative data from interviews conducted in four research and development (R&D) departments in the industrial manufacturing industry. Findings This study finds that the empowerment of business entities is crucial when operating in turbulent conditions. However, empowerment must be accompanied by a clear focus when aiming at higher agile performance. Moreover, different autonomy types and their interplay with critical factors of middle management empowerment could be identified. The research results also reveal important details about the effects of autonomy on motivation and performance and the role of OUs' dependencies. Practical implications The model proposed in this paper can help senior and middle managers better manage the empowerment of OUs required to enhance middle management agility and, in turn, increase overall organisational adaptability. Originality/value Beyond regarding empowerment as a leadership style, this paper takes a middle management perspective and unfolds the facets of empowerment in the context of OUs. Adding to the theory of self-organisation, a model is proposed to capture the key factors to determine and manage the autonomy of OUs. These insights are essential to managing autonomy successfully at the middle management level.
Authors: Joachim Kahl, Saskia de Klerk, John Whiteoak
Institution: University of the Sunshine Coast
Language: English
Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4376647757