Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant detrimental impacts on the hotel industry. This situation requires hoteliers to implement strategies to strengthen their organisational resiliency and rebound from the crisis. However, it has been observed that hotel management’s capability and ability to deal with crises are limited (Henderson, 2004). Leadership competencies have a significant impact on crisis management practices. However, they remain underexplored territory that needs to be addressed and recognised. While contemporary literature delves into generic leadership competencies, crisis leadership competencies in the specific context of the facilities management function in the Singapore hotel industry requires closer attention.This research aims to identify crisis leadership competencies in the facilities management function that influence organisational crisis recovery in the Singapore hotel industry. Three research questions guide the study: What are the challenges that emerged during the course of the crisis? How do these challenges impact crisis recovery? And, What are the leadership competencies required to overcome the challenges during a crisis recovery period?
The study adopted an explorative approach. A Delphi study used three rounds of opinion evaluation from facilities management experts, based on which a questionnaire survey instrument was developed and administered. Factor analysis was used to identify important leadership competencies for managing facilities in crisis recovery situations. The results reveal that the most important competencies for effective facilities management in the Singapore hotel industry during crisis recovery are situational leadership, empathetic leadership, collaborative leadership, and digital leadership. The possession of these competencies is crucial in fulfilling the obligation to ensure a prompt recovery from crises and provide guidance to their teams.
The findings of this research have useful practical applications for hotel managers in Singapore on how to efficiently and effectively execute strategies using the right competencies during a period of crisis recovery. Finally, this research adds to the existing body of knowledge by offering a fresh outlook on the leadership skills required in Facilities Management within the Singapore hotel industry during the period of recovering from a crisis.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Irfan KHAN (Supervisor) & Naomi DALE (Supervisor) |