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Playing Small as Big: Entrepreneurial Middle Manager at the Intersection of Translation and Transformation

Dastan Khussainov

Published 2025 in FIIB Business Review

ABSTRACT

This article examines how a middle manager navigated tensions arising at the intersection of institutional translation and transformation. Drawing on a longitudinal real-time case study, this article explores how a middle manager of a newly created organizational unit managed a tension caused by stakeholder resistance. The study reveals that by shifting the audience’s sensemaking frame from structure to scale, the manager was able to facilitate organizational transformation. The findings reveal that, through the process of tactical sense giving, the manager was able to outgrow the power frame causing the tension and gained the acceptance from stakeholders. Through mechanisms of an altering sense-giving frame and renewed sense giving, the manager successfully navigated the tension and gained acceptance. With these insights, I contribute to the literature by offering a process model of tactical sense giving for middle managers to overcome the tension in the context of intersection of institutional translation and organizational transformation. Practically, the study provides actionable insights for change agents; when they encounter tensions arising from limiting frames, they should seek alternative frames that offer greater potential.

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