EFFECT OF STRATEGIC LOCATION ON THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF WILSON AIRPORT
A RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Several theories have been developed to explore the concepts of strategic location and competitive advantage. Strategic location is supported by competitive Advantage theory, which suggests that everyone is better off if decisions are made based on the competitive advantage at all levels national, corporate, local, and individual. The Competitive Advantage of Nations Theory states that a nations competitive advantage depends on its industrys capacity to innovate and upgrade. Companies gain an advantage against the worlds best competitors because of pressure and challenge. They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers from the location of the business.
Competition in the aviation industry in Kenya is becoming stiffer and stiffer with time. More locally owned airline companies are getting registered, and more international airlines are coming to do business in Kenya (Kimani, 2016). Business strategic location has become increasingly important for organizations in the private and profit-making organizations because competition has increased in recent years. A strategic location of the organizations in the business environment helps to understand and respond to their competitors and the competitive environment (Hooley and Davis, 2015). Alli (2017) noted that business location had had a relationship with business success. In his study, the measurement of business success can vary. Still, it is most likely related to subjective and objective data on multiple aspects of performance such as sales growth, market share, and profitability. A decision on business locations is one of the most critical strategic decisions an entrepreneur has to make for its long-term strategic success.
A strategic location is a plan for obtaining the optimal location for a firm by identifying the firm’s needs and objectives and searching for geographical locations with offerings that are compatible with these needs and objectives (Dawes, 2013). The decision about the strategic location is one of the most important decisions taken by the firm because of its long-term impact on the business. In each step of the decision-making process, the business owner has to analyze to what extent the characteristics of the location meet the specific requirements of their businesses (Wickham, 2016). The secret of choosing the right location lies in knowing the most critical factors to the firm’s success and finding a location that satisfies them the most. For example, business owners must consider the size of the trading area, parking spaces, availability of space for expansion, and location visibility (Nikola, Kristina & Rudolf, 2014).
An estimation of the market area in which the business is located in a crucial strategic tool to attract customers’ attention (Cottrell, 2017). According to Davis (2016), business convenience has the most direct contact with customers. Good locations allow ready access, attract large numbers of customers, and increase the potential sales of the firm. In a highly competitive environment such as the air transport industry, even slight differences in location can significantly impact the market. Ghosh (2014) asserts that as different from other marketing-mix elements that may be easily changed under changing environmental conditions, locations are changed only at considerable cost; thus, it represents a business long-term fixed investment.
Organization strategic location is concerned with the impact on the strategy of the external environment, internal resources and competencies, and the expectations and influence of stakeholders within the sphere of geographical influence (Wickham, 2016). According to Janiszewska (2012), a consideration of the environment, strategic capability, the expectations the purposes within the cultural and political framework of the organization provides a basis for understanding the strategic location of an organization. In support of this, (Tamirisa 2013) noted that strategic location provides a vehicle for creating organizational focus and a framework for considering resource allocation questions. When an organization articulates its perceptual location, the complexities surrounding these decisions are significantly reduced. Henry (2015) asserts that being in the right location is a critical ingredient in a business’s success. However, if a company selects the wrong location, it may not have adequate access to customers, workers, transportation, materials, and so on and hence disadvantaged competitively.
Competitive advantage refers to factors that allow a company to produce goods or services better or more cheaply than its rivals (Green, 2014). The business world nowadays is featured with the intensive competition with national and foreign rivals. As a result, businesses that fail to deal with the changes surely lose a considerable share of their market and profit. Therefore, finding a suitable place in the intensive competitive environment is the key to long-term profitability and survival. This goal is only attainable through creating and keeping competitive advantages. The term competitive advantage refers to a set of capabilities that permanently enable the business to demonstrate better performance than its competitors (Bobillo, 2017). According to Porters reasoning, there are three ways to achieve competitive advantage; cost leadership, centralization, and product differentiation. In addition, he argued that businesses should think about how they enter a market and then create and keep a proper competitive position for themselves (Porter, 2010).
According to Porter (1985), competitive advantage can arise from making products of the highest quality, providing the customers with superior services, achieving lower than rivals’ cost levels, or just having the most convenient geographic location. Competitive advantage can also arise from designing products whose performance is better than competing brands. A successful competitive advantage position arises when the firm provides superior value for the customers’ money. Generally, according to Hambrick (2018), it enables a firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself. Large firms have traditionally commanded a competitive advantage over small firms. This is because large firms use substantial resources to conduct extensive market research, mount powerful advertising campaigns, place their products in readily accessible outlets and dominate selected markets with their products.
Hitt (2017) urges that the resource-based view of competitive advantage assumes that each firm collects unique resources and capabilities. These resources and capabilities are a source of organizational strategy and competitive advantage. He further states that superior value is earned when an organization uses its core competencies to establish a competitive advantage over rivals. Sustainable competitive advantage is born out of the core competencies that yield long-term benefits to the company. Prahalad and Hamel (2014) defined core competencies as an area of specialized expertise that harmonizes complex streams of technology and work activity. They further explain that a core competence has three characteristics; first, it provides access to a wide variety of markets; second, it increases perceived customer benefits; and lastly, it is hard for a competitor to imitate. To build a competitive advantage, a firm must provide what buyers will and perceive as superior. This entails either a good quality product or a lower price or a better quality product worth paying more.
Wilson Airport is a domestic airport managed by Kenya Airports Authority. Wilson Airport is the oldest airport in Kenya, having been founded in 1927. The airport is located within Nairobi County in Nairobi City. The airport lies approximately 4 kilometers from the Nairobi Central business district. The airport is approximately 18 kilometers by road, west of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Paul, 2018). According to the Kenya Airports Authority website, the airport is named Wilson Airport after a lady pioneer operator named Ms. Florence Wilson. The airport is the second busiest aircraft movement in Africa after Lanseria in South Africa and Luxor in Egypt. It is home to a wide variety of light aircraft and is designed for aircraft with a maximum all-up weight of 19,000 Kilograms. In recent years, Wilson airport has attracted many budgets or Low-Cost Carrier Airlines, much in contrast with JKIA, home to the standard legacy airlines.
According to KNBS (2018), Wilson Airport is one of the busiest airports in aircraft movement in East and Central Africa. Domestic flights constitute 90% of the total flights from the airport, with international flights accounting for 10%. The airport is utilized as a transit point for both business and leisure travelers. The airport supports both domestic and regional Tourism. The most popular local tourism destination is the Maasai Mara for wildlife and safari, followed by Ukunda, Mombasa, Malindi, and Lamu for beach tourism. Most of the Tourists who depart to regional destinations are destined for Kilimanjaro. For business travelers, the most popular routes are Mombasa, Malindi Eldoret, and Kapese. The passengers choose to use a scheduled airline or a Charter airline though the scheduled is more popular.
Wilson Airport management recognizes the need for radical change to ensure its survival and prosperity due to the many challenges they face now and in the future. This has prompted the need to ensure effective strategic choices have to be made to successfully tackle high operation costs and improve their products(Kamau & Kavale, 2015). Even the licensed airlines that serve the local market face stiff competition given that the market is narrow while the number of airlines is increasing. Still, the airport has marketed its strategic location to attract and sustain its position within the region. The stiffer competition is a direct challenge to the ability of the airlines to gain a competitive advantage over competitors and calls for careful Strategic location.
Companies must constantly explore practical ways to leverage resources in today’s rapidly changing, highly competitive, and complex business environment. Those who see location and the ability to strategically configure their facility network as a competitive advantage can significantly impact the business’s short- and long-term success (Fredrick, 2017). A solidlocation has a substantial bearing on a company’s labor cost, tax burden, transportation costs, utility expenditures, and other major expense categories. Location decisions also affect the ability to recruit and retain the right talent, improve delivery times to customers and key suppliers, manage risk due to natural disasters and even create synergies with industry partners. Yet, some companies still approach location decisions to find suitable real estate and possibly apply for public incentives. This limited approach can lead to a poor decision, which can negatively impact a company’s future and become a challenging and costly mistake to correct (James, 2019).
Some international literature and studies in this field of strategic change management practices, such as Burnes, 2004; Leanne, O’Shea & Connolly, 2015; Cummings & Worley, 2016, have attempted to explain the forces, approaches, and challenges of strategic location. Locational factors like the quantity and quality of skilled labor, demanding customers, competitors, supporting industries, and research institutions are assumed to influence the competitiveness of a region and the performance of the regional actors (Kutschke, Rese & Baier, 2016). Kutschke, Rese & Baier argues that two locational factors that are quality and quantity of the demand conditions and skilled labor, have positive effects on competitive advantage. Wambugu (2012) study on factors influencing the competitive advantage of firms in the microfinance industry in Kenya indicates that location influenced the competitive advantage of firms in the microfinance industry only to a small extent while other factors such as leadership, quality of service offered, and innovation were key factors that influenced competitive advantage of firms in the microfinance industry to a great extent. Furman (2013) explored the influence of location on pharmaceutical research organization; the research findings suggested that location-specific characteristics may be necessary for driving firm heterogeneity and ultimately competitive advantage. However, many firms have negated this strategic location. Some unexpected, undesirable results have attracted theoretical and practical experts’ attention to the output of strategic location and the main questions involved in managing it.
This study is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the Wilson Airport location in enhancing its competitive advantage in the airline business market. Previous research has focused on the location effects of minimizing input costs such as labor, capital, land, and energy. However, as modern transport and communication technologies increase, the connection between strategic business location and input cost minimization is weakening. Thus, there is a need to deeply research and change this line of reasoning as a business location is still relevant in a competitive world of business. This study is motivated by the fact that Wilson airport has maintained a steady growth rate in passenger numbers over the last five years outperforming its main rival, Jomo Kenyatta International airport(JKIA). Therefore, the study seeks to establish the effect of strategic location on the competitive advantage of Wilson Airport.
The main objective of this study is to establish the effect of strategic location on the competitive advantage of Wilson Airport.
The findings will be significant to the theory of strategic location by assessing whether there is a relationship between strategic location and competitive advantage. Suppose strategic location strategies affect competitive advantage in the aviation industry in Kenya. In that case, scholars can pursue scholarly discussions that will show the relationship between strategic location and competitive advantage in emerging markets such as East Africa. As for future researchers, the study will fill the knowledge gap regarding how strategic location frameworks adopted by local airports assist in gaining a competitive advantage in Kenya. Future researchers will use the findings as a reference in discussions concerning firm location strategies.
Policymakers in the ministry of transport will benefit from this study by assessing how strategic location frameworks used by airport authorities are affecting competitiveness. If airports become less competitive in the face of increasingly stiff competition, this might dent the performance of the airports. This can effectively lead to low competitiveness in the industry and might affect economic growth. The findings of this study may be used as input for making decisions regarding the location choice for new airports in Kenya. Regarding the management of the airports, the study will provide an objective assessment of how their airport’s strategic location in air transports and how it is affecting their competitiveness.
The findings of this study will benefit future researchers, the management of airports, policymakers in the ministry of transport, and the theory of strategic location choice for the firm. Equally, it will guide the airport authority when selecting an optimal location for an upcoming new airport now that counties within Kenya have expressed their desire to have Airports located therein. This study will also influence an airline to select a home base airport and in origin and destination route planning. Finally, the Kenya Airport Authority management will benefit from this study by understanding its contribution to its uniqueness.
This chapter presents a review of the literature related to this study. Then, the chapter discusses the theoretical models concerning approaches firms utilize regarding optimal strategic location choice and positioning of the firm. The chapter also discusses the theoretical models regarding competitive advantage before highlighting the various theoretical models on a strategic location.
As noted, Porter (1980) examined the industry environment in which firms work or might work to identify the main factors that determine the possibilities for gaining competitive advantage and thereby profit and success. According to this theory, the state of these five forces in the industry in question about the individual company will determine its competitive power and ability to achieve competitive advantage. The theory suggests that states and businesses should pursue policies that create high-quality goods to sell at high prices in the market. Porter emphasizes productivity growth as the focus of national strategies (Porter, 1985). This theory stresses maximizing scale economies in goods and services that garner premium prices. An organization is said to have a competitive advantage when executing a value-creating strategy not concurrently being affected by any existing or probable player (Karaba, 2012). Competitive advantage occurs when an organization acquires or develops attributes or combinations of attributes that outperform its competitors. This attributes includes access to highly trained and skilled personnel human resources (Green, 2014).
The theory of corporate competitive advantage is based on a fundamental assumption that adequate employment opportunities are available to those who are engaging themselves to leverage the competitive advantage of others to the degree that they can optimize their potential- for example, move up the value chain if they were constrained so far due to capacity instead of capability (Porter, & Kramer, 2002). Similarly, it assumes that resources will move to where they find their best employment opportunities irrespective of sociocultural differences. Thats not necessarily the case in the real world, but it is not altogether untrue either. We observe that, at a macro level, those forces will be at play; that is, people will redeploy themselves to the best possible opportunities available and relocate if necessary. However, there may be adjustment pains at an individual level due to lack of societal support, capability gaps, and personal financial situations (Powell, 2001). While that is true at the micro-level, the trend does not negate that it is beneficial to everyone at a macro level. Artificial obstacles can slow it down but not reverse the trend that offers a beneficial outcome to everyone involved. Therefore, off-shoring services to the nations and locations which offer a competitive advantage is an irreversible trend.
In summary, it is to a firms advantage to adopt strategies that reduce the powers of buyers and suppliers, reduce the possibilities for new entrants and substitutes and thereby reduce rivalry. A companys location strategy deserves the attention and resources of company leaders who recognize the impact on their firms short- and long-term success (Porter, 1985). As with any strategy, it requires comprehensive planning and thorough execution, and continuous measurement, evaluation, and review. Markets and supply chains evolve, and so too must a company’s location strategy. Effectively executed strategies boost a firm to a more excellent performance by enabling the firm with a competitive advantage to outdo probable or present players (Passemard & Calantone, 2000). The corporate competitive advantage theory is relevant to this study. It postulates that a unique feature of a strategic location gives a firm an edge over its competitors in the business environment, thus leading to its more significant competitive advantage.
Michael Porter went on to look at a national competitive advantage (Porter, 1990). Porter argues that national prosperity is created, not inherited; it does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool. Its interest rates or its currency values, as classical economics insists. A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade. Companies gain an advantage against the world’s best competitors because of pressure and challenge (Smit, 2010). They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers. In a world of increasingly global competition, nations have become more nor less critical (Grant, 1991). As the basis of competition has shifted more and more to the creation and assimilation of knowledge, the nation’s role has grown. Competitive advantage is created and sustained through a highly localized process. Differences in national values, culture, economic structures, institutions, and histories contribute to the competitive success (Huggins & Izushi, 2015).
There are striking differences in the patterns of competitiveness in every country; no nation can or will be competitive in every or even most industries. Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their home environment is the most forward-looking dynamic and challenging. Labor costs, interest rates, exchange rates, and economies of scale are the most potent determinants of competitiveness (Harzing & Giroud, 2014). In addition, the theory that joint forces at the national (and possibly regional) level can affect firms to the extent that, acting together, these can help create a competitive advantage at the industry level (Yasar, 2010). In other words, success does not just depend on the correct analysis of the five forces affecting the industry environment and the choice of correct corporate strategies accordingly but also perhaps exclusively – upon advantages deriving from the particular location that can assist the performance of all companies there.
Companies must constantly explore practical ways to leverage resources in today’s rapidly changing, highly competitive, and complex business environment. Those who see location and the ability to strategically configure their facility network as a competitive advantage can significantly impact the business’s short- and long-term success (Henry, 2015). According to Nikola, Kristina & Rudolf (2014), location is one of the most important decisions taken by firms because of its long-term impact on the company. Their study on location and layout as sources of competitive advantage of small retailers indicates that in each step of the decision-making process, firms have to analyze to what extent the characteristics of the location meet the specific requirements of their businesses. Therefore, their study sought to elaborate on location as one of the critical components of the retail strategy and highlight the importance of location and layout as sources of competitive advantage for small retailers.
A solid location strategy has a substantial bearing on a company’s labor cost, tax burden, transportation costs, utility expenditures, and other major expense categories. Location decisions also affect the ability to recruit and retain the right talent, improve delivery times to customers and key suppliers, manage risk due to natural disasters and even create synergies with industry partners (Lewis, 2019). The secret of choosing the right location lies in knowing the most critical factors to the firm’s success and finding a location that satisfies them the most. They argued that retailers must consider the size of the trading area, parking spaces, availability of space for expansion, and location visibility to achieve competitive advantage (Pioch & Bryom, 2014).
Companies must take a comprehensive approach. Thoroughly analyze where to locate a new facility or how best to configure an existing facility network through expansion, consolidation, or relocation projects. Develop a decision model with input from various perspectives and divisions to identify and adequately weigh all critical factors to align with the overall strategy (Espitia, Garcia & Munoz, 2015). Anyone who has been involved in a site selection process will tell you it is easy to find location options: the challenge is knowing how to evaluate them and choose the best. Without the right team mobilized from the start and a clear consensus on what will drive the decision, the site selection process will miss the mark (Barney, 2019). Bennet & Smith’s (2014) study on competitive conditions, competitive advantage, and SMEs’ location suggest that policy-assisted areas have no association with different local competitive conditions or advantages or disadvantages. Instead, they suggest that firms increasingly obtain a competitive advantage from developing trading relationships with other regions or countries beyond their locality. As a result, policy assistance should be tailored closely to the needs of the SME rather than locality.
According to Boasson, MacPherson & Shin (2015), in a study conducted on firm value and geographical competitive advantage, evidence from the U.S. pharmaceuticals industry, firms located in states with clustered pharmaceutical employment and institutions exhibit higher value counterparts located in all other states. This shows that locating a firm strategically affects its competitive advantage and performance. Furthermore, a study conducted on location as a competitive advantage to attract students suggests that strategic location is an essential factor in bringing about competitive advantage (Aydin, 2013). The study finding indicated that location affects the student’s university choice decision, and so it is a kind of competition for Turkish Foundation University. Therefore, this study revealed the essential competitive advantage of strategic location.
Different studies have found positive relationships between product location strategies and the competitive advantage of the firms. According to Kotler (2012), being in the right location is crucial to a business’s success. If a company selects the wrong location, it may have adequate access to customers, workers, transportation, materials, etc. Consequently, location often plays a significant role in a company’s profit and overall success. A location strategy is a plan for obtaining the optimal location for a company by identifying company needs and objectives and searching for locations with offerings that are compatible with these needs and objectives (Wang, 2014). Generally, this means the firm will attempt to maximize opportunity while minimizing costs and risks. This research work demonstrates that a company’s location strategy should conform with and be part of its overall corporate strategy. However, there is a gap in research that does not address how the location of a company positions the business as a global leader in telecommunications equipment. For example, it must consider establishing plants and warehouses in regions consistent with its strategy and optimally located to serve its global customers. A company’s executives and managers often develop location strategies, but they may select consultants (or economic development groups) to undertake the task of developing a location strategy Paul, 2018).
African companies seek new sites; they generally strive to keep operating and start-up costs low, so they often choose locations to collaborate with economic development groups to achieve these goals. Companies also now expect to move into new facilities more quickly than in the past, so they tend to focus more on leasing facilities than purchasing land and building new facilities (Wang, 2014). Also, by leasing facilities, companies can relocate every few years if the market requires it. This study fails to explain how technology, especially communications technology, has not only been a driver of change but has facilitated the site selection process. The current study advocates that managers obtain initial information on alternative locations via the Internet and promotional software. Site selection agencies increasingly use geographical information system (GIS) technology, and e-mail has become a dominant mode of communication in location research and negotiation (Fredrick, 2017).
Competitiveness in the airline industry in Kenya is a vital factor that affects all companies regardless of reputation, age, distribution, and size. The concept of competitive advantage appears ingrained in this emerging market and must be explored and analyzed. National competitiveness is based on the level of productivity determined by countries’ institutions, policies, and environmental factors (Yasar, 2010). However, this notion fails to mention that competitive advantage is based on the developments of markets. In a sense, when a market matures, strategies must adjust accordingly to secure a competitive advantage. Past academic researchers have produced a range of literature on the definition and drivers of competitive advantage; however, there is no unanimous agreement on a final definition or model.
Gikonyo (2019) assessed competitive strategies adopted by small airlines in Kenya. This did not address strategic location as a competitive strategy for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in airports. Grace (2016) conducted a study to establish the product positioning strategies used by the local airlines to gain sustainable competitive and how the strategies contributed to competitive advantage. This study did not address strategic location as a competitive strategy for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in airports. Mutwol (2018) conducted a study to establish how airline positioning strategies in Kenya influence their performance. This did not address strategic location as a competitive strategy for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in airports.
Oya (2013) conducted a study on location as a competitive advantage to attract students, an empirical study from a Turkish Foundation University. The research purpose was to reveal whether the location is a sustainable competitive advantage to attract students. The study consisted of a literature review about location in the higher education area, research about a sample Turkish foundation university enrollment records, and students attending a sample foundation university in Istanbul. The study results indicated that the location affects the students university choice decision, so it is a sustainable competitive advantage for the sample university. Therefore, the paper proposed that the location has a significant effect on attracting students to universities. This will help the university managers decision-making on the strategic planning. Also, Kutschke, Rese & Baier (2016) carried out a study on the effects of location factors on the performance of innovation networks in the Germany Energy sector. The sample size was 128 German innovation networks of companies and research institutes in the energy sector. The study result indicated that two location factors that are quality and quantity of the demand conditions and skilled labor, have positive effects.
From the above studies and empirical literature, there are limited local studies on the effects of strategic location on the competitive advantage of firms. This study, therefore, seeks to dig deeper into the strategic location and competitive advantage of Wilson Airport. The theories and empirical literature reviewed suggest a strong positive relationship between strategic location initiative and the gaining of competitive advantage by the firms using the strategies. However, the location strategies only work if they are the right ones. Given the difficulties experienced by local Kenyan airports to gain a competitive advantage, an airports strategic location has been deemed an enabler in competitive advantage. Studies have been made on the competitive strategies applied by Kenyan airlines. Still, a small study had been done to assess the strategic location initiatives used by airports and how it affects the competitive advantage of the airports in Africa and Kenya to that extent.
3.1 Introduction
This chapter will highlight the methodology that the study will adopt. The subsequent sections will discuss the research design, the population of the study, methods of collection of data, methods of data analysis, and methods of data presentation to be adopted in the study.
3.2 Research Design
The study will adopt a cross-sectional design. Cross-sectional studies are usually carried out once, and they represent a snapshot of one point in time (Cooper and Schindler 2014). Nachmias and Nachmias (2004) contend that cross-sectional studies assist in establishing the correlation between variables at a given time. The study seeks to determine the effect of strategic location on the competitive advantage of Wilson Airport. This design is preferred as it provides an avenue for data collection from a cross-section of firms to establish the link between variables understudy at a particular time. The design was successfully used by Machuki (2011).
3.3 Target Population
The population is a collection of individuals that form the main focus of a scientific inquisition. A population is a total unit where a study should be conducted (Kothari, 2004). The population targeted for this study are different airlines operating from Wilson Airport. According to Civil Aviation Authority (2016), there are 30 airlines licensed to operate from Wilson Airport. All the 30 airlines will be targeted using a census survey. The population will be confined to the local head offices of the airlines.
3.4 Data Collection Techniques
Primary and secondary data will be used in the study. This study will utilize primary data collected using questionnaires. A questionnaire is a measuring tool used to guide the researcher on what is required and directs the respondents on what information they are expected to produce. The primary data will be collected using a self-administered questionnaire given to the M.D.s / CEOs or a staff member as guided by the CEO/ MD of the respective airline. The questions in the questionnaires will refer to the study’s objectives. In addition, closed and open-ended questions will be used in the questionnaires. The open-ended questions supplement the information covered by the closed-ended questions. The researcher will assure the respondents about the confidentiality of their responses. The researcher will obtain an introductory letter from the University to collect data from the business premises and airports. The questionnaires will be personally delivered to the respondents and have them filled. In case of limited intellectual sophistication, questions will be clarified and even translated to Kiswahili as deemed necessary. The questionnaires will be dropped at the company/business offices by the researcher and immediately collected after filling. Once the completion of the questionnaires is through, they will be collected in readiness for data analysis. Field editing can be conducted before departure from the field. Secondary data will be derived from airline industry reports and other publications. It will be used to extract the performance statistics of the airlines.
3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation
Data from the filled questionnaires will be coded then analyzed using descriptive statistics, which describe the populations’ characteristics. Therefore, this will enable the presentation of the data more meaningful, paving the way for a more straightforward interpretation of the data. According to Zikmund (2014), some widely used descriptive statistics include variance, means, modes, median, and standard deviation. In addition, statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS), an analysis software, will be used in data analysis. Finally, the data will be presented using tables and figures.
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SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION
[ ] Marketing Manager
[ ] Strategic Manager
[ ] Operations Manager
[ ] Other (Specify)
[ ] Less than 5 years
[ ] 5-10 years
[ ] 11-15 years
[ ] over 15 years
[ ] Passengers
[ ] Cargo
[ ] Both passengers and cargo
[ ] Flying School
[ ] Scheduled
[ ] Carter
SECTION A: STRATEGIC LOCATION
(1-Never; 2- Little extent; 3-Moderately; 4-Great extent; 5-Very great extent)
| Strategic Location Initiatives On Competitive Advantage at Wilson Airport | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Our airline ensures shorter time is taken by departing passengers to their Airline Lounge. | |||||
| Our airline facilitates ease of arriving passengers to find transport to their dwelling place. | |||||
| Our airline ensures affordable pricing as the selling point of its services. | |||||
| Our airline provides as connecting routes as possible to a destination. | |||||
| Our airline provides many destinations as possible on a given route. |
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1-Never; 2- Little extent; 3-Moderately; 4-Great extent; 5-Very great extent)
| Adaptability Of Various Services at Wilson Airport | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| We provide in-flight entertainment | |||||
| We ensure customers get high-quality comfort when traveling. | |||||
| We provide flexible time rules to reduce flight cancelation. | |||||
| We provide customer service from trained flight attendants. | |||||
| We provide the on-time performance of the aircraft. | |||||
| We have an efficient lost luggage service. | |||||
| We have an efficient pricing arrangement. |
SECTION B: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
(1-Not at all; 2- Little extent; 3-Moderately; 4-Great extent; 5-Very great extent)
| Competitive Advantage and Performance at Wilson Airport | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| It is easy for your company to change in line with the market, which is enhancing flexibility. | |||||
| Our location makes it easier for customers to reach us, which has increased our accessibility. | |||||
| Our services have the highest value at the lowest cost, which enhances customer satisfaction. | |||||
| Creating a Strong Research & Development department has helped in conducting research that helps improve business growth and productivity. | |||||
| A strong relationship with our suppliers has helped in enhancing our efficiency. | |||||
| The uniqueness of our services is superior to those provided by competitors, which has helped maintain and increase our customer base. |
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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*THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME*
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