Vianney Salzac - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Vianney Salzac

Worldwide, the airline industry has become increasingly competitive ever since the US deregulatio... more Worldwide, the airline industry has become increasingly competitive ever since the US deregulation Act of 1978. Since then, the forces of market deregulation have spread across the globe. Thus, competitive pressures are increasing within and between strategically oriented groups of airlines. Earlier studies have concluded that reductions in unit costs of airlines have been primarily due to changes in operating characteristics and only secondarily to technical efficiency (Caves, Christensen, Tretheway, 1984). In fact, there is a tendency to find declining unit costs for any city pair market. Especially, the low-cost airline sector has completely embraced this approach, but other airline groupings are rearranging themselves to keep their costs to a minimum. However, besides operating characteristics, increasingly other factors, such as procurement efficiency, play an increasing role in enhancing efficiency levels. This paper, which is part of a larger programme of doctoral research on B2B e-Marketplaces in the airline industry, focuses on the level of efficiency improvements gained by using B2B e-Marketplaces in the procurement process. Many e-Commerce principles were pioneered in the airline industry. The computer reservation systems were among the earliest examples of e-Commerce. At a later stage, these reservation systems have evolved into global distribution systems. While the airline's focus was on Business to Consumer strategies in the early 1990s, in the late 1990s, B2B e-Business became more and more the centre of attention. A B2B e-Marketplace exchange is a central e-Marketplace, facilitated by ICT, in which multiple buyers and suppliers come together to gather information and buy and sell goods and services (Bakos, 1998). The potential of B2B e-Marketplaces to enhance efficiency levels and competitiveness are tested through a survey questionnaire addressing a sample of 300 major international airlines, e.g. full service airlines, charter and low cost airlines of different types and sizes. The results are based on a response rate of 29,3 %. The use of B2B e-Marketplaces does play a vital role across the various airline groupings.

Worldwide, the airline industry has become increasingly competitive ever since the US deregulatio... more Worldwide, the airline industry has become increasingly competitive ever since the US deregulation Act of 1978. Since then, the forces of market deregulation have spread across the globe. Thus, competitive pressures are increasing within and between strategically oriented groups of airlines. Earlier studies have concluded that reductions in unit costs of airlines have been primarily due to changes in operating characteristics and only secondarily to technical efficiency (Caves, Christensen, Tretheway, 1984). In fact, there is a tendency to find declining unit costs for any city pair market. Especially, the low-cost airline sector has completely embraced this approach, but other airline groupings are rearranging themselves to keep their costs to a minimum. However, besides operating characteristics, increasingly other factors, such as procurement efficiency, play an increasing role in enhancing efficiency levels. This paper, which is part of a larger programme of doctoral research on B2B e-Marketplaces in the airline industry, focuses on the level of efficiency improvements gained by using B2B e-Marketplaces in the procurement process. Many e-Commerce principles were pioneered in the airline industry. The computer reservation systems were among the earliest examples of e-Commerce. At a later stage, these reservation systems have evolved into global distribution systems. While the airline's focus was on Business to Consumer strategies in the early 1990s, in the late 1990s, B2B e-Business became more and more the centre of attention. A B2B e-Marketplace exchange is a central e-Marketplace, facilitated by ICT, in which multiple buyers and suppliers come together to gather information and buy and sell goods and services (Bakos, 1998). The potential of B2B e-Marketplaces to enhance efficiency levels and competitiveness are tested through a survey questionnaire addressing a sample of 300 major international airlines, e.g. full service airlines, charter and low cost airlines of different types and sizes. The results are based on a response rate of 29,3 %. The use of B2B e-Marketplaces does play a vital role across the various airline groupings.