Diffusing Strategy Implementation Throughout the Organization: Adopting a Social Learning Lens

Well-formulated strategies only result in superior returns for an organization when they are implemented successfully. We examine the dissipative processes underlying the role of relationship quality (leader-member exchange and team-member exchange) through to the individual level of the strategy implementation process. We propose a contingent model based on social learning theory using data generated from a retail bank. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we find that social exchange relationships embedded in a work team setting influence individual employee's strategy implementation support. Namely, the higher an employee's leader-member exchange, the stronger is the positive relationship between supervisor modeling behavior and team member strategy support. Additionally, the higher an employee's team-member exchange, the stronger the positive relationship between work team strategy support and individual strategy support.