Mastering Techniques or Brokering Knowledge? Middle Managers in Germany, Great Britain and Italy

What do middle managers do? Based on a conceptualization of knowledge as the capacity to act in response to uncertain, complex and ambiguous environmental stimuli, we analyse the role of middle managers in Germany, Great Britain and Italy as holders of different types of knowledge in relation to national institutions such as the education system, the system of industrial relations and the career system. We identify the common role of middle managers in the three countries as the responsibility to both maintain a positive social environment and to handle exceptions and solve unexpected problems. German and Italian managers are directly involved in the solution of technical problems, while their British counterparts act as brokers of technical specialized competences. Italian firms differ from German ones in that the role of middle managers is less formalized.