Organizational change initiatives in the United States frequently fail with estimated failure rates as high as 90%. Change failure rates resulting from underused and poorly trained front-line managers (FLMs) remained high, with no signs of improvement in the past 2 decades. The purpose of the correlational study, grounded in servant leadership theory, was to examine the relationship between employee perceptions of their FLM's servant leadership dimensions and employee affective commitment to change. A purposive, nonprobability sample of 107 employees of a U.S. manufacturing organization that had recently undergone organizational change completed a questionnaire for the study. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis were not significant, F(7, 107) = .714, p = .660, R2 = 0.045. Though results were not statistically significant, the beta weights for creating value for the community (β = .165) and behaving ethically (β = .168) indicated that creating value for the community and behaving ethically were potentially the most important variables in accounting for variance in the model. The beta weights for emotional healing (β = -.048) and conceptual skills (β = -.047) indicated that emotional healing and conceptual skills were potentially the least important variables in accounting for variance in the model. The findings may be of value to manufacturing leaders developing initiatives to improve change initiative success rates. Support for servant leadership during periods of organizational change has positive social change implications for employees. The practice of servant leadership reduces employee uncertainty and anxiety incurred during periods of change by resolving uncertainties and sustaining employee motivation for supporting organizational change.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to study the interplay between middle managers (MMs) and front-line managers (FLMs) in strategy implementation (SI). To successfully manage and run a complex technology corporation a well-performed strategy is essential. By comparing MMs’ and FLMs’ different views and responsibilities in the SI process, both theoretical and empirical. Methodology: Theoretical material regarding leadership, middle and front-line manager roles and responsibilities, as well the strategy implementation process, obstacles and success factors are compared in the study. Supplemented by a general pilot study and primary interviews covering their view of the SI-process, obstacles and leverages, leadership, and their roles description. In total, ten pilot interviews and 12 primary interviews have been conducted, with MMs and FLMs, equally represented. Findings: In large, the main findings regarding the creation of a dynamic interplay between MMs and FLMs were three identified key attributes. Firstly, success in the SI process and constructive dynamic require a clear distribution of tasks and responsibilities between MMs and FLMs or the key responsibilities in the process. Secondly, select key people for the SI process, picked from different levels in the organization with different viewpoint and expertise. Making sure that there are total transparency and knowledge sharing between all key members and organizational levels. This will enable a greater involvement and commitment in the SI-process. Finally, to create a successful SI-process and a dynamic interplay between MMs and FLMs, strategic work must be rewarded equally compared to operational excellence and product-development efforts. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att få en förståelse för samspelet mellan Mellanchefer (MM) och Linjechefer (FLM) vid genomförandet av en strategiimplementering (SI). För att lyckas kontrollera och driva en komplex teknikorganisation är en väl genomförd strategi essentiell. Detta gjordes genom att jämföra MMs och FLMs olika syn och ansvarsområden i SI-processen, både teoretisk och empirisk. Metodik: Det teoretiska materialet som har jämförts i studien inkluderar ledarskap, Mellanchefers och Linjechefens roller och ansvar, samt strategiimplementeringsprocessens hinder och framgångsfaktorer. Detta kompletterades med en övergripande pilotstudie och med primära intervjuer som visade på MMs and FLMs respektive syn på hinder, hävstänger och ledarskap under SI-processen samt deras syn på sin roll. Sammantaget hölls 10 pilotintervjuer och 12 primära intervjuer, där mellanchefer och linjechefer var lika representerade. Resultat: Rapporten konkluderar tre viktiga attribut för skapandet av ett dynamiskt samspel mellan mellanchefer och linjecheferna. För det första, krävs en tydlig fördelning av uppgifter och ansvar mellan MMs och FLMs alternativt mellan de nyckelpersonerna som är inblandade och ansvarig i processen. För det andra, är det viktigt att välja rätt nyckelpersoner i SI-processen och att plocka dessa från olika nivåer i organisationen då de besitter olika erfarenheter. Viktigt är att skapa en total transparens och kunskapsöverföring mellan alla nyckelpersoner i processen samt mellan de olika organisatoriska nivåerna. Detta kommer att resultera i ett större engagemang och en känsla av mer inflytande på SIprocessen. Slutligen, för att skapa en framgångsrik SI-process och ett dynamiskt samspel mellan MMs och FLMs, måste det strategiska arbetet belönas lika mycket som operativa och produktspecifika insatser.