Proceedings of ICLT 2017
THE EFFECT OF VALUE CHAIN CAPABILITIES ON SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY
Schavana Phillips & Vinh V. Thai
School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
International Conference on Logistics & Transport 2017, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 373-387
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Abstract
Purpose: This research examines the value chain capabilities and their effect on sustainable performance of airlines in the US and Asia Pacific markets and discusses some resulting academic and managerial implications. Research Design and Methodology: The initial phase of this research involves the case study approach with the full-service airline industry. Three major airlines, one is based in North America and the other two in Australasia, were chosen as case studies, in which six in-depth phone and Skype interviews with the senior executives in charge of respective value chain areas in each airline were conducted i.e. Operations, Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, Technology, Customer Service and IT. This is to investigate the effect the value chain capabilities on sustainable firm performance in terms of economic, social and environmental performance. Findings: It is found that there is a positive relationship between value chain capabilities and sustainable firm performance. Especially, it is consistently acknowledged that resourcebased value chain capability such as people and technology are at the core of sustainable performance but management-based value chain capability such as meritocracy, high performing teams and culture are also fundamental and in line with the relevant theories on how firms develop capabilities to improve performance. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this research is that the data collected are only from the initial phase of a bigger study and thus may not fully unveil the whole findings. Practical implications (if applicable): This research recognises that there are cultural differences between the airlines and their performance can be reflected by cultural norms. Therefore, monetary reward for high performance by staff is not necessarily accepted in some companies’ or national cultures. Originality/value: There is a link between sustainability and core business which has not been sufficiently recognized by
Keywords
Value chain; capabilities; airline value chain; sustainability
Citation
Schavana Phillips & Vinh V. Thai (2017). THE EFFECT OF VALUE CHAIN CAPABILITIES ON SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY. Proceedings of the International Conference on Logistics & Transport (ICLT 2017), Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 373-387.