“As the CEO said, we should …” – Elena Tavella will present research findings on skillful middle managers and their discursive competence in strategy processes.

Have you ever noticed that, in a meeting, people make a point that they don’t present as their own but as coming from “higher up”? Dr. Elena Tavella from the University of Copenhagen (DK) will talk about an empirical research project in collaboration with Jane Lê that uses a practice and discursive perspective to understand how middle managers try to shape strategy dynamics by invoking top managers in strategy conversations. Via “presentification”, middle and top managers gain authority to speak in particular ways thereby influencing how strategic projects are discussed, planned, and enacted. This kind of research contributes to explaining how strategizing happens in practice, drawing on discursive competence, and it is relevant – for better or worse – to people involved in strategy processes at all levels.