Managing conflicting demands: The contributing factors influencing middle managers’ paradox mindsets

Abstract

Middle managers face an increasingly complex, dynamic and, frankly, stressful business environment as they direct instructions down the organisation, while influencing strategy and synthesising information upwards to the top management teams of organisations. While juggling an array of competing demands, middle managers face the taxing complexity of code-switching numerous times a day, switching between high- and low-power roles, often numerous times a day. This study paradox theory research to explore the perceived cognitive abilities of middle managers to combine contradictory demands to fuel on-the-job and firm performance. Adopting a quantitative methodology this research report studies the influence of individual demographic characteristics, including age and job experience, on the perceived adoption of paradox mindsets to manage competing tensions. The results of the study challenge extant literature on the impact of age and experience, while supporting previous findings on the influence of education. The study concludes with future research opportunities.