Paradox and Power: A structurationist perspective on managers’ hesitation regarding people management

Research has broadly investigated the role of line managers in human resource management. However, several studies have shown that line managers perceive there to be high pressure on their operational performance, often at the expense of their role as people managers. Combining Giddens’ theory of structuration and paradox lens as theoretical backgrounds, I aim to explain this phenomenon by accounting for the embeddedness of line managers in organizations as social and political systems. Therefore, I developed a circular structuration model displaying the process and dynamics that influence the development and change of norms for coping with paradoxical tensions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.