Doomed to Fail: A Case Study of Change Implementation Collapse In the Norwegian Civil Aviation Industry

Abstract

Managerial choices for change implementation methods have a direct impact on strategic change outcomes. In a three-year longitudinal case study of the Norwegian airport management and air navigation services provider – Avinor – a fundamental mismatch between organizational culture type and change implementation method contributed to the premature collapse of a deliberate strategic change initiative. The major contribution of this article is to expand our knowledge about identifying and avoiding potential pitfalls resulting from a fundamental mismatch between organizational culture in place and change implementation methods during deliberate organizational change. The findings from this case study will show how managerial choices and actions, such as: consensus building, communication and use of participation during deliberate change processes, can positively influence attitudes towards change. However, it will also show that a sudden reversal from a participatory process to purely top-down implementation can lead to a breakdown in consensus and trust, leading to internal and external resistance, and the premature collapse of a change process.