Three trends leading to increasing middle management involvement

i)                    Decentralisation of organisational structures to increase accountability and responsiveness in volatile and competitive environments; responsibility in result is moved down the hierarchical ladder

ii)                  Rise of business education means that middle managers better trained and confident in their domain, thus more eager to participate

iii)                Shift away from traditional manufacturing economy to one with based more on professional services, meaning sources of competitive advantage are no longer resources such as capital but knowledge of knowledge of people involved in the operations of the business (knowledge middle managers have)