Change management and the managers' constraints and challenges during change processes: An exploratory study of some chain hotels in Stavanger

Abstract

Change management is an organizational necessity in the hotel industry, especially in Stavanger as one of the important cities in Norway which has experienced difficult time due to the dramatic drop in oil prices. This paper concentrates on the constraints of the managers who work in different departments in some of the chain hotels in Stavanger. According to the market situations, the hotel managers have to perform a lot of corrections, adaptations based on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats in the market in order to control the situation. Although they encounter with many internal and external challenges in this regard. It is investigated that some items such as competitors, communicational problems and other issues could make some challenges for the managers. The data collection was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 10 managers of different chain hotels in Stavanger. The theoretical framework of the paper is designed based on the theory of Kotter (1996) and Porter's model (1985). It reflects more practical view of the change processes and restraints of the managers in this regard. In the end, the findings, research and managerial implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Key words: change management, constraints of the managers, drop in oil prices, internal and external challenges, Stavanger