Cleared for takeoff? A snap-shot of climate for change in a civil aviation context

Abstract

High risk industries are facing increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments requiring continual innovation and change. And this is particularly true within the civil aviation industry where increasing focus on economic performance, increased competition, and growing safety threats, require continual adjustments. In this paper, we present the findings of a case study conducted within the Norwegian national air traffic management organization – Avinor, in preparation for a major reorganization initiative. In this study, we mapped the aggregated positioning for innovation and change in the three main Air Traffic Control Centers in Norway using a multi- method approach that was taken to assess the climate for creativity and change at each ATCC from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, and a separate assessment of individual preferences for change to help organizational leaders better understand each unit’s positioning for change. The results suggest that participants at the different ATCCs had developed distinctly different problem-solving preferences at both the group and individual levels despite the fact that each facility was manned by Norwegian air traffic controllers having similar education and training backgrounds, performed the same high-altitude air traffic control functions, used the same type of equipment, and operated within the same air traffic control environment. Yet, each unit proved to be distinctly different from each other in their positioning and readiness for change.