A Tale of Two Airlines: A Comparative Case Study of High-Road versus Low-Road Strategies in Customer Service and Reputation Management
PI John Griffith
This proposal represents an in-depth comparative case study highlighting the differences in marketing strategies, employee relations and customer (internal and external) service models between American low cost carrier Southwest Airlines and European low cost carrier Ryanair. Analysis will focus on the differing brand personalities of the two airlines, particularly with regard to customer service and its relationship to customer satisfaction and overall corporate success from the early days of these organizations through 2013.
Using a qualitative toll, the differing business strategies will be examined with regard to their adherence or non-adherence to basic business principles as well as theories of psychology and consumer behavior. The researchers will attempt to identify underlying variables and principles that influence the diverging outcomes for these two airlines, paying particular attention to areas that are counter-intuitive and/or challenge some of the widely accepted business practices and ideologies.
The insights gained from this analysis will provide a greater understanding of both the psychology of the air travel consumer and the relative effectiveness of differing marketing models and promotional practices. Based on its exploratory and analytic nature, this study may have possible implications for stakeholders at both the micro and macro levels, including the customers (both internal and external), the specific airlines studied as well as the wider airline industry, and other industries concerned with similar aspects of consumer behavior.
References:
Anderson, R.E. (1973). Consumer dissatisfaction: The effect of disconfirmed expectancy on product performance, Journal of Marketing Research, 10, pp. 38-44
Druckman, D. (2005). Doing research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Eckstein, H. (1975). Case studies and theory in Fred Greenstein and Nelson Polsby, eds., Handbook of political science, Vol. 7, pp.79-138. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Helson, H. (1964). Adaptation-level theory. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Lijphart, A. (1971). Comparative politics and the comparative method. American Political Science Review, 65, (3), pp. 682-693.
Reimer A. & Kuehn R. (2005). The impact of servicescape on quality perception. European Journal of Marketing, 39 (7/8), pp. 785-808. doi: 10.1108/03090560510601761.
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods, 5th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Yuksel, A., & Yuksel, F. (2001). The expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm: A critique. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Resarch, 25 (2), pp. 107-131. doi: 10.1177/109634800102500201
Research Dates
09/12/2016
Researchers
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- Department
- Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology
- Degrees
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Ph.D., University of North Texas
M.S., Central Michigan University
B.S., Southern Illinois University Carbondale
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- Department
- Dept of Human Factors, Safety and Social Sciences
- Degrees
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Ph.D., Northcentral University
M.A.S., M.B.A., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
M.Ed., M., University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
M.Ed., B.S., A.A., University of Maryland-University College
Categories: Faculty-Staff