FLIGHT SAFETY STRATEGY AS A DRIVER OF AIRLINE PERFORMANCE: THE EFFECTS OF INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS ON KENYAN AIRLINES
Rasmus Amoni Otwane - MBA Student, School of Business, Economics and Tourism, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Paul Waithaka - Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Tourism, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The airline industry contributes immensely to the Kenyan economy but performed dismally from 2016 to 2022 as compared to other regional airlines. Circumstances related to flight safety resulted to this dismal performance. The study sought to examine effects of industry partnerships on performance of airlines in Kenya. Specifically, code-share agreements, resource sharing, and joint safety training effect on performance of airlines. Resource Based View, Balanced Score Card and Contingency theories anchored the study while descriptive research design was applied. Target population was 33 airlines and proportionate stratified purposive sampling technique was used with a sample size of 7 airlines. Fifty-seven respondents filled the semi-structured questionnaires for primary data collection while a document review tool assisted to collect secondary data. Pilot study involved 8 respondents from Safari Link Airlines ascertaining the questionnaires appropriateness via content and construct validity while its reliability proven by 0.794 Cronbach’s Alpha test. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze data. The results indicated that industry partnerships significantly affected airline performance with strong contribution from code-share agreements, resource sharing, and joint safety training. The study concluded that industry partnerships having significantly linked to positive airline performance through sharing of best practices and resources for efficient flight operations and improved job satisfaction, necessitated airlines to form favourable stakeholder industry partnerships. This study recommends incorporating other sectors of the aviation for findings to be fully representative of Kenya’s aviation sector and for comparison with other countries. It also recommends investigating the influence of industry regulations and political interference as mediating and moderating variables that may be restrictive to management’s autonomy. Finally, the study recommends airlines and industry regulatory bodies to freely avail substantial secondary data to compliment the primary data for eliminating bias and comprehensive analysis of findings.