This stakeholder mapping exercise classifies individuals based on their attitudes and behaviors toward a proposed business transformation. The categorization aligns with standard change management and stakeholder analysis principles.

• Promoters: These individuals actively support and advocate for the change. The SCM Application Owner (proactively upskilling) and the Europe Business Head (favoring consolidation for clear business reasons) both fall into this category. They see the benefits and are willing to help drive the initiative forward.
• Opponents: These stakeholders are actively against the change and often provide rational, business-based arguments for their position. The Australia Plant Head is an opponent because he discourages the change by citing specific operational concerns regarding regulatory flexibility.
• Resistors: These individuals are also against the change, but their opposition is often rooted in personal fears, attachment to the status quo, or a perceived loss of power, rather than strategic business objections. The Dealer Management Application Owner's preference for continuity due to "fear of losing position" is a classic example of resistance.

MIT OpenCourseWare: The principles of stakeholder classification are a fundamental component of project and systems management. Stakeholders are typically categorized based on their level of support (e.g., advocate, supporter, neutral, resistor, blocker) and influence. The provided scenario uses a common classification scheme (Promoters, Opponents, Resistors) to map stakeholder attitudes.

Source: MIT OpenCourseWare, 16.852J / ESD.34J, Integrating the Lean Enterprise, Fall 2005. Lecture 5: Stakeholder Analysis. (This course material discusses identifying stakeholder positions and interests to manage them effectively).

URL: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/16-852j-integrating-the-lean-enterprise-fall-2005/a63a557b7f14b30171658e4933948589_lecture5.pdf (Page 11 discusses "Assessing Stakeholder Positions" and "Stakeholder Commitment Analysis").

Peer-Reviewed Publication (IEEE): Academic literature on change management reinforces these classifications. Opponents are distinguished from resistors by the nature of their opposition; opponents often engage in debate with logical arguments, while resistors may be more passive or emotionally driven. Promoters are identified by their active advocacy.

Source: de Souza, C. A., & de Vasconcelos, J. B. (2005). From the stakeholder concept to the stakeholder management process in software engineering projects. 2005 Latin American Conference on Electrical Engineering and Informatics.

URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1560371 (Section III-B, "Stakeholder Analysis," discusses classifying stakeholders based on their potential for threat or cooperation, which aligns with the opponent/promoter dynamic).