Today's businesses operate under constant pressure to adapt due to globalization, digital transformation, sustainability initiatives, and increasingly competitive market conditions. However, one of the most significant barriers to organizational transformation is resistance to change, which emerges at both individual and organizational levels. In this context, this chapter introduces the concept of “Mussel Syndrome” as a metaphorical framework for understanding resistance to change in organizations. Mussel Syndrome refers to the tendency of employees and managers to adopt defensive attitudes toward change by maintaining existing practices and routines, avoiding innovation, preserving their comfort zones, and supporting the continuation of organizational status quo.

Drawing upon leadership and organizational behavior perspectives, the chapter examines the underlying causes of Mussel Syndrome, its organizational implications, and its effects on change management processes. In particular, authoritarian leadership styles, ineffective communication, low levels of psychological safety, organizational inertia, risk-averse behaviors, and cultures resistant to learning are identified as key factors contributing to the development of this syndrome. Furthermore, the chapter emphasizes that Mussel Syndrome should not be viewed solely as an individual resistance behavior; rather, it represents a multidimensional phenomenon that is reinforced by organizational culture and may spread collectively throughout the organization.

The study develops a conceptual framework by linking Mussel Syndrome to resistance to change, status quo bias, organizational inertia, and innovation avoidance behaviors. Additionally, it argues that leaders can mitigate the effects of the syndrome by promoting a change-oriented vision, adopting participative management practices, fostering psychological safety, and encouraging a learning-oriented organizational culture. Consequently, Mussel Syndrome is presented as an original organizational metaphor for understanding and managing resistance to change in business organizations and as a promising avenue for future theoretical and empirical research.