@article{2017:ferencikova:perceived_,
title = {Perceived differences of Austrian, Czech, and Slovakian managers regarding the need for change of future competencies: A self-affirmation perspective},
year = {2017},
note = {Managers, and especially top and upper managers, are supposed to act
as “change leaders” who embrace future changes and constantly
improve the status quo. As individual competencies play a key role in
tackling upcoming challenges and changes, the purpose of this article
is to determine whether top, upper and middle managers from three CEE
countries perceive future management competencies differently. The
sample consists of 482 managers from different hierarchical levels and
industries. After categorizing the answers of two open questions
regarding present and future management competencies in five
competence classes, a cluster dendrogram as well as a multidimensional
scaling method have been used to visualize the expected changes within
these competence classes for each country. The analysis reveals that
the Austrian top management and Slovakian upper management do not show
any willingness to change, leading to a provoking question concerning
the role of the middle management as the real driver of change. This
surprising finding will be discussed in light of the self-affirmation
theory (Steele 1988) describing a psychological mechanism behind the
resistance to change.},
journal = {JEEMS Journal of East European Management Studies},
pages = {144--168},
author = {Ferencikova, Sonia and Mühlbacher, Jürgen and Nettekoven, Michaela and Putnova, Anna and Siebenaler, Tom},
volume = {22},
number = {2}
}