Divisibility, Technology, and the Competitive Potential of Regional Airlines

During the 12 years following deregulation of the airline industry, tremendous change has taken place involving both industry structure and industry competition. Much of the discussion concerning these changes has not fully considered the factor supply side of the industry, especially with respect to emerging technology and factor indivisibility. However, new technology airframe and engine design (turboprop and turbofan) and the use of new materials promises to mitigate the problems associated with aircraft size. The availability of this new technology will enable regional air carriers to implement new competitive strategies such as regional hubbing and hub bypassing. This paper discusses the impact of technology on the competitive potential of regional airlines, looking at the benefits of and impediments to such competition

Cultural and structural forces: A potentially symbiotic or dysfunctional relationship in the journey towards supply chain collaboration

Despite its promises to generate superior supply chain performance, supply chain collaboration remains an elusive goal for many organizations. While much research has explored various facets of successful management of supply chain relationships, the complexity of factors that can impact the quality of collaboration make implementation difficult to achieve. This paper uses a series of case studies of twelve exemplary European firms from a supply chain standpoint to explore potential frameworks that can better categorize those factors that lead to exemplary supply chain collaboration. Both barriers and initiatives to overcome those barriers are identified and categorized as either structural or cultural. The study reveals an interesting relationship between these categories and provides a series of propositions that can inform future confirmatory studies in supply chain collaboration