From top executives to departmental managers : a comparative study of strategic issues perceived by hotel corporate executive and general managers

Abstract

To achieve optimal strategy development and implementation, an organization should identify relevant strategic issues, and ensure that the strategies are understood and supported at all levels of the organization. However, literature suggests that lower- and middle-level managers, while playing a critical role in an organization’s strategy development and implementation, may not necessarily always share the same understandings and goals with the top managers regarding strategic issues. In this study, we seek to complement existing research in organizational strategy by exploring (1) whether the strategic issues perceived by hotel organizations’ executives at the corporate level are consistent with those perceived by hotel general managers (GMs) at the property level, and (2) whether such consistency/inconsistency is influenced by those managers’ demographic characteristics. The findings will not only contribute to the strategic management literature in general, but also enhance our understanding of multi-level hotel management in particular.