Middle management and telework adoption: Development of an instrument using Delphi and exploratory factor analysis for the financial services industry

Telework and related technological advances have allowed for a retreat from the traditional office environment to more nontraditional work locations, such as home offices. The adoption of telework has involved a shift in management supervision philosophy, requiring managers to supervise work output or outcomes rather than physically monitoring employees carrying out work. Middle management was defined as the layer of management above first line supervision and below the CEO or top management. A gap existed in the literature with regard to middle management perspectives as factors preventing the adoption of telework. The current study was quantitative, explanatory, non-experimental, and cross-sectional, and the goal was to develop a survey instrument to determine middle management attitudes toward telework. Fourteen panel experts volunteered to participate in a Delphi technique that was used to develop the survey. The sample population and the location for this study were middle managers within the financial services industry in the United States. The financial service industry was defined as banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, accounting firms, money exchanges, brokering services, and finance companies. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to establish construct validity of the instrument, and Chronbach's alpha was used to test for reliability. Self-efficacy, contingent decision behavior theory, and the technology acceptance model formed the theoretical foundation support. Eight factors were identified reflecting the beliefs and attitudes of middle management. These eight factors allow for an understanding of the beliefs and attitudes of middle management toward the adoption of telework in the financial service industry. A key finding was that middle management supports the use of telework in the financial service industry; however, the traditional form of management by observation no longer suffices. Upper management should assure middle managers that adopting telework would not lead to the elimination of the role performed by middle management.