Exploring the relation between strategic openness, alignment, and employee engagement : the case of Bank of Beirut

Abstract

Purpose – This research attempts to unveil the plausible relations that may exist between internal strategic openness, perceived alignment, and engagement, as well as scrutinize how each may vary between employees of different demographic characteristics at microlevels of an organization. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a mixture of deductive and inductive reasoning approaches, this study poses six research questions and quantitatively tests twenty four hypotheses using a sample of 216 employees working in core banking functions at Bank of Beirut. Findings – The findings show that perceptions of openness and alignment, as well as engagement significantly vary amongst employees according to certain demographic characteristics pertaining to each. Moreover, internal strategic openness was found to affect perceived strategic alignment, and both openness and perceived alignment were found to significantly impact employee engagement. Practical implications – The findings provide Bank of Beirut with empirical proof that openness, which can be controllably managed towards different internal stakeholders, positively contributes to employees’ level of perceived alignment and employee engagement. Hence, through applying different “open” tactics, the organization can dualistically benefit from a more diversified and richer flow of strategic input, as well as improve alignment and engagement levels of its growing workforce. Theoretical implications – This research advances the literatures on three currently popular topics, as it empirically examines the unexplored relationships between internal strategic openness on one hand, and both alignment and engagement on the other. The revealed relationships are interpreted through a unique theoretical triangulation of the legitimacy and stakeholder theories along with the foundations of SAP.