Exploring barriers to the successful implementation of a formulated strategy

This paper reports a case study conducted to identify barriers to the successful implementation of activities as part of a planned strategy in a Norwegian ferry-cruise company. Data were gathered among workers on one of the company's vessels using a structured sequence of questions with open-ended answers. Our findings indicate that various types of communication problem which may be influenced to some extent by the organizational structure, constitute the key barriers to the implementation of planned strategic activities.