ABSTRACT

University middle leaders play a significant role in change management. While research examines the outcomes of change management, far less attention has been paid to how middle leaders develop agency and negotiate their identities in achieving these outcomes. This study presents the cases of two middle leaders in Shanghai enacting a curriculum reform at their respective universities. Participants were interviewed at the beginning and the end of the first innovation year and relevant curriculum documents were collected. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis protocol. Figured worlds theory provides a conceptual lens for analysis. The two leaders demonstrated distinctly different patterns of response. Agency and negotiations strongly related to whether they saw themselves as ‘sandwiched’ between conflicting priorities or ‘filtering’ these priorities to produce meaningful outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including understanding and development of middle leaders’ agency and identity in the face of complex innovation priorities.

摘要

大学中层领导在变革管理中发挥着重要作用。尽管研究检查了变更管理的结果，但对于中层领导者如何发展代理和协商其身份以实现这些结果的关注却很少。本研究以上海两位中层领导在各自大学进行课程改革为例。在创新第一年的开始和结束时对参与者进行了采访，并收集了相关的课程文件。使用主题分析协议分析数据。数字世界理论为分析提供了一个概念镜头。两位领导人表现出截然不同的回应方式。代理和谈判与他们是否将自己视作“夹在”相互矛盾的优先事项之间还是“过滤”这些优先事项以产生有意义的结果密切相关。讨论了对研究和实践的影响，包括面对复杂的创新重点时对中层领导者机构和身份的理解和发展。