The general management in the era of hyperconnectivity: the new coordinates

In the last 10-15 years there have been major changes in the competitive scenario that have pushed companies to undertake major transformations in their organization and management systems. However, little is known about the impact that all these transformations have had on the CEO's day-to-day and how the heads of organizations adapt their roles, functions, and priorities to the new demands.

The objective of this work is to study how the changes in the competitive environment and those that the organizations themselves, in turn, have undertaken to adapt to them are reconfiguring the roles and tasks carried out by managers and, particularly, by senior management. To carry out this analysis we have combined theoretical research, based on the analysis of recent literature, with empirical research, based on fieldwork carried out on a representative sample of 52 senior managers.

The results obtained show that both the changes in the competitive environment and the transformations undertaken by the organizations themselves to adapt to them are reconfiguring the roles, priorities, and management styles of their top executives, modifying the focus and scope of their responsibilities, transforming their way of exercising leadership and incorporating new variables into their management strategies.

The paper concludes with a series of proposals for reviewing, updating, and adapting managerial roles and priorities to the new competitive and organizational conditions imposed on 21st-century organizations: (1) the emphasis on purpose, vision, mission, and values; (2) the creation of a powerful and attractive corporate identity; (3) the adoption of new styles of leadership; (4) a more outward-oriented direction with greater attention to stakeholders; (5) the focus on people and their development; (6) the importance of training and organizational learning; and (7) faster and more frequent decision making.

Keywords: management styles, managerial priorities, leadership, purpose, agility, stakeholders, speed, complexity.