Losing the Plot? Middle Managers and Identity

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Abstract
There is now a large body of research attempting to `discover' the `answer' to the question `what is happening to middle management in contemporary organizations?', following unprecedented levels of delivering, downsizing and restructuring. Two contrasting views, positive and negative, on the state of middle management have been identified in the literature. Adopting a social constructionist framework, this paper argues that there is a need to move beyond current attempts to find the most `accurate' and `truthful' picture on the state of middle management, to adopt a theoretical framework that can accommodate both diversity and agency. Drawing from interviews with middle managers, the paper illustrates how middle managers construct their identities, what discourses they draw on in this construction process and what tensions are present in their attempts to secure economic and social legitimacy during organizational restructuring.