The role of Executive Directors and Senior Managers in the Knowledge Economy

Recent research by the Open University Business School suggests that senior managers believe newly appointed directors often struggle to understand the distinction between their corporate and divisional roles.

Funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the NHS has provided the support for a series of case studies to explore the key factors which dictate the success and impact of new directors in a company.

Despite the huge amount of attention paid to the strategic importance of knowledge in organisational competitiveness, much of the discussion has been at a theoretical level, and the role of senior managers in influencing their organisations is often poorly understood and may hinder an effective dialogue at the strategic-operational boundaries.

Through a series of related projects across a number of organisations in a range of sectors in the UK and worldwide (including airlines, pharmaceuticals, construction, media organisations, local government, facilities management and retail services) the goal is to develop a core model of a senior manager’s role, and of their influence within the knowledge economy.

One key issue to be resolved is the nature of the knowledge used by directors and executive teams, and the ways in which this knowledge is acquired, deployed and developed at senior strategic levels. Another is the nature of senior managers’ engagement with relationships across supply chains and with networks beyond their organisational boundaries. Finally, the research team have examined the way in which policy makers and senior managers use their ‘theories’ and knowledge of the way organisations work in order to ’reorganise’ – and some say ’re-disorganise’ corporate functionality.

Contact:
Professor John Storey