Mastering Techniques or Brokering Knowledge? Middle Managers in Germany, Great Britain and Italy
研究了德国、英国和意大利中层管理者的角色，发现他们共同负责维护社会环境和处理意外问题，但德国和意大利管理者直接解决技术问题，英国管理者则充当技术专长的中介。
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.