Strategy implementation obstacles: Iceland fishery CEO perspectives

Empirical research on strategy implementation obstacles affecting specific industries is limited. Few studies have been conducted worldwide and none in Iceland, although Iceland is one of the world's leaders in fisheries, ranked 19th as a major marine capture producing country. Consequently, the aim of this research is to identify critical internal and external strategic obstacles faced by Icelandic fishery companies and to capture the perspective of CEOs in the fisheries industry. The generic attributes of these companies, as expressed by the CEOs, are compared with analogous studies. This empirical study consists of in-depth interviews with the CEOs of the largest fisheries’ companies in Iceland. This study identifies two internal strategy implementation obstacles not identified in earlier studies: language barriers and a multicultural workforce. It also recognizes external obstacles not found in prior research, such as lack of governmental vision for the industry, hostile regulatory bodies and persistent changes to industry regulations, high political uncertainty, time-consuming lobbyism and, often, unsympathetic political and media discussion. The study has theoretical implications for academia, impacting strategy implementation in the Icelandic fishing industry and elsewhere. These findings can help policymakers and CEOs understand and minimize the influence of strategy implementation obstacles. It can serve as a reference point to create and plan more holistic policies supporting CEOs and policymakers in the fisheries to develop more efficient and profitable strategies. Furthermore, these findings can help policymakers to build consensus on fisheries management, benefitting the fishing industry and society.