Emerging Information Technologies and Delivering of Service Quality to Air Passengers: Case of South African Own-Registered Airlines
Keywords:
Configuration, intangibles, legacy systems, patronage, technologies
Abstract
Increasingly services to airline passengers have evolved into the digital and technological realms. This study examined the extent to which South African own-registered airlines (SAORA) utilize emerging information technologies in delivering service quality to air passengers. The acronym “SAORA†refers to Six South African own-registered airlines which was focus of this study. The research methodology adopted for this study was a descriptive approach focused on cross-sectional analysis. Using a quantitative research method and non-probability convenient sampling technique, primary data was collected from 684 passengers at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and King Shaka International Airport in Durban. The study revealed that by utilizing emerging technologies, SAORA stand to offer superior service quality to air passengers, thereby gaining competitive advantage, continuous patronage, loyalty and increased profitability.
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References
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airlines (Castroet al., 2010:25). RFID technology RFID technology could be deployed by SAORA to secure passengers' luggage and ensure effective monitoring.
Entertainment SAORA should consider upgrading their current in-flight systems to ensure that passengers are able to use and enjoy entertainment on board the aircraft. Emerging multimedia facilities could be installed on board the aircraft to enhance passengers' travelling experience, especially on long-distance international routes. Morden Aircrafts
Passengers in this era of information technology wish to be constantly connected to electronic devices whether on the ground or in the air (Pickford, 2015:6; 2014:1). Therefore, SAORA should consider purchasing modern aircrafts which allow passengers to use their electronic devices in-sflight without interfering with the operation of the aircrafts.
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Mobility in Airlines (nod)Information Services Group U.S.A http://www.isg-one.com/web/research-insights/ Mills, A. J. & Plangger, K. (2015). Social media strategy for online service brands. The Service Industries Journal, 35(10), 521-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2015.1043277. Mishra, D. & Mishra, A. (2010). Improving Baggage Tracking, Security and Customer Services with RFID in the Airline Industry. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 7(2), 139 –154. Mostert, P. G., De Meyer, C. F. & Van Rensburg, L. R. J. (2009). The influence of service failure and service recovery on airline passengers’ relationships with domestic airlines: an exploratory study. Southern African Business Review, 13(2), 118-140. Mohan, S., Choi, E. & Min, D. (2008). Conceptual modelling of enterprise application system using social networking and Web 2.0 ‘social CRM system, paper presented at 2008 International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology, Busan, Korea: 237–244. Naidoo, V. (2015). A comparative study between staff and student perceptions on service quality. Journal of Contemporary Management. Department of higher education and training accredited ISBN 18157440, 12, 40-60. Ojiako, U. (2012). Using IS/IT to enhance service delivery. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 112(4), 584-599. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(3), 12-40. Prabu, K. (2012). Social media in airline industry: How airlines are leveraging the platform with their creativity. Http: www. nicesuitenichesuit.blog.spot.com Pickford, N. (2015). Air Transport. IT Review Issue, 1-2015, SITA. https://www.sita.aero/globalassets/docs/air-transport-it-review/air-transport-it-review-issue-12015.pdf. Pickford, N. (2014). Survey report conducted by SITA in 2014. http://www.passengerterminaltoday.com/viewnews.php?NewsID=57883. Roberti, M. (2013). Airlines could benefit from RFID-enabled baggage handling, RFID, Journalhttp://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/pdf?10992. Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2013). Research Methods for Business –Skill- Building Approach.6th ed. Wiley. U.K. SITA (2015). IT’s all about meâ€http://www.sita.aero/resources/air-transport-it-review/ready-for-theconnected-traveler/its-all-about-me. Tolpa, E. (2012). Measuring Customer Expectations of Service Quality: case Airline Industry AALTO University School of Economics Department of Information and Service Economy (Master’s thesis).
airlines (Castroet al., 2010:25). RFID technology RFID technology could be deployed by SAORA to secure passengers' luggage and ensure effective monitoring.
Entertainment SAORA should consider upgrading their current in-flight systems to ensure that passengers are able to use and enjoy entertainment on board the aircraft. Emerging multimedia facilities could be installed on board the aircraft to enhance passengers' travelling experience, especially on long-distance international routes. Morden Aircrafts
Passengers in this era of information technology wish to be constantly connected to electronic devices whether on the ground or in the air (Pickford, 2015:6; 2014:1). Therefore, SAORA should consider purchasing modern aircrafts which allow passengers to use their electronic devices in-sflight without interfering with the operation of the aircrafts.
Chikwendu, D.U., Ejem, E. & Ezenwa, A. (2012). Evaluation of service quality of Nigerian airline using SERVQUAL model. Journal of Hospitability Management, and Tourism, 3(6), 117-126. http://academicjournals.org/JHMT De Meyer, C. F. & Mostert, P. G. (2011). The influence of passenger satisfaction on relationship formation in the South African domestic airline industry. South African Journal of Business Management, 4, 42- 79. Elkhani, N., Soltani, S. & Jamshdi, M. H. M. (2013). Examining a hybrid model for e-satisfaction and e-loyalty to e-ticketing on airline websites. Journal of air transport management, 102(1), 109-117. http://ijcsi.org/papers/IJCSI-10-2-1-109-117.pdf Edosomwan, S., Praksan, S. K., Kouame, D., Watson, J. & Seymour, T. (2011). The history of social media and its impact on business. Journal of applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 16(3), 79-91 Edvardsson, B., Tronvoll, B. & Gruber, T. (2011). Expanding understanding of service exchange and value cocreation: a social construction approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(2), 327-397. Esu, B. B. & Anyadighibe, J. A. (2014). Social media Micromarketing and customers’ satisfaction of domestic airlines in Nigeria. American Journal of Marketing Research, 3(1), 9-21 Faase, R. (2011). Web 2.0 in the CRM domain: Defining social CRM. International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 5(1),1-22. Fuchs, C., Hofkirchneremail, W., Schafranekemail, M., Rafflemail, C., Sandovalemail, M. & Bichleremail, R. (2010). Theoretical foundations of the Web: Cognition, communication, and communication. Towards an understanding of Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. Future Internet, 2(1), 41-59. Gelderman, C., Ghijsen, P. & Van Diemen, R. (2011). Choosing self-service technologies or interpersonal services – the impact of situational factors and technology-related attitudes. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(5), 414-21. Geum, Y., Lee, S., Kang, D. & Park, Y. (2011). Technology road mapping for technology-based product-service integration: a case study. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 28(3), 128-46 Goktan, A. B. & Miles, G. (2011). Innovation speed and radicalness: Are they inversely related? Management Decision, 49(4), 533-547 International Air Transport Association (IATA). (2008). Annual report 2008www.iata.org/about/Documents/iata-%20annual-%20report-%202008.pdf Janawade, V., Bertrand, D., Léo, P. Y. & Philippe, J. (2015). Assessing ‘meta-services’: customer's perceived value and behavior. The Service Industries Journal, 35(5), 275-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2015.1002480 Kotler, P. & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing Management 14th edition. Pearson Education, New Jersey. Ku, E. C. S. & Chen, C. D. (2015). Cultivating travelers’ revisit intention to e-tourism service: the moderating effect of website interactivity. Behavior & Information Technology, 34(5), 465-478 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2014.978376 Lin, H. C. K. & Hsieh, M. C. (2012). The Establishment and Usability Evaluation on a Markerless AR–based Hairstyle Simulation System. International Journal of Online Pedagogy and course design, 2(2) 100109. Lin, J. & Hsieh, P. (2011). Assessing the self-service technology encounters: development and validation of SSTQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing, 87(2), 194-206. Lock, H., Fattah, A. & Kirby, S. (2010). Airline of the Future: Smart Mobility Strategies that will transform the Industry, Point of View and Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), 1-16, http://www.cisco.com/go/ibsg Lovelock, C. & Wirtz, J. (2011). Services Marketing people, Technology, Strategy. 7thedition, Pearson Education, Inc., New Jersey. Luke, R. & Walters, J.(2013). Overview of the developments in the domestic airline industry in South Africa since market deregulation. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management,7(1), 117, 1- 11. Lund, A. & Lund M. (n.y.) Kendall’s tau-b (Tb) correlation coefficient Internet: https://statistics.laerd.com/spss-tutorials/kendalls-tau-b-using-spss-statistics.php Mantey N. O. (2015).Passengers’ perceptions and expectations towards service quality of airlines owned by South Africa. Durban: University of KwaZulu-Natal. (PhD thesis). Menne & Halova. (2013). Using Social CRM to influence Customer Service and Loyalty: A Perspective in the Airline Industry (Master Thesis) http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func= downloadFile&recordOId=3878772&fileOId=3878782.
Mobility in Airlines (nod)Information Services Group U.S.A http://www.isg-one.com/web/research-insights/ Mills, A. J. & Plangger, K. (2015). Social media strategy for online service brands. The Service Industries Journal, 35(10), 521-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2015.1043277. Mishra, D. & Mishra, A. (2010). Improving Baggage Tracking, Security and Customer Services with RFID in the Airline Industry. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 7(2), 139 –154. Mostert, P. G., De Meyer, C. F. & Van Rensburg, L. R. J. (2009). The influence of service failure and service recovery on airline passengers’ relationships with domestic airlines: an exploratory study. Southern African Business Review, 13(2), 118-140. Mohan, S., Choi, E. & Min, D. (2008). Conceptual modelling of enterprise application system using social networking and Web 2.0 ‘social CRM system, paper presented at 2008 International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology, Busan, Korea: 237–244. Naidoo, V. (2015). A comparative study between staff and student perceptions on service quality. Journal of Contemporary Management. Department of higher education and training accredited ISBN 18157440, 12, 40-60. Ojiako, U. (2012). Using IS/IT to enhance service delivery. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 112(4), 584-599. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(3), 12-40. Prabu, K. (2012). Social media in airline industry: How airlines are leveraging the platform with their creativity. Http: www. nicesuitenichesuit.blog.spot.com Pickford, N. (2015). Air Transport. IT Review Issue, 1-2015, SITA. https://www.sita.aero/globalassets/docs/air-transport-it-review/air-transport-it-review-issue-12015.pdf. Pickford, N. (2014). Survey report conducted by SITA in 2014. http://www.passengerterminaltoday.com/viewnews.php?NewsID=57883. Roberti, M. (2013). Airlines could benefit from RFID-enabled baggage handling, RFID, Journalhttp://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/pdf?10992. Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2013). Research Methods for Business –Skill- Building Approach.6th ed. Wiley. U.K. SITA (2015). IT’s all about meâ€http://www.sita.aero/resources/air-transport-it-review/ready-for-theconnected-traveler/its-all-about-me. Tolpa, E. (2012). Measuring Customer Expectations of Service Quality: case Airline Industry AALTO University School of Economics Department of Information and Service Economy (Master’s thesis).
Published
2018-03-15
How to Cite
Mantey, N. O., & Naidoo, V. (2018). Emerging Information Technologies and Delivering of Service Quality to Air Passengers: Case of South African Own-Registered Airlines. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 10(1(J), 194-206. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v10i1(J).2102
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Copyright (c) 2018 Nicholas O. Mantey, Vannie Naidoo
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