Service quality and productivity in the U.S. airline industry: a service quality-adjusted DEA model

Kanghwa Choi (), DonHee Lee () and David Olson ()

Service Business, 2015, vol. 9, issue 1, 137-160

Abstract: The airline industry faces economic challenges making it paramount that they provide satisfactory service to customers relative to their expectations. This study uses a service quality-adjusted data envelopment analysis (SQ-adjusted DEA) to study US-based airline carrier operational efficiency. We found that airlines can overcome the traditional tradeoff between quality and productivity. Using SQ-adjusted DEA, we were able to find how airlines could set service levels in accordance with their strategic purpose or operational characteristics. Low-cost airlines were found to benefit by marginal improvements in service, often unexpected by their clientele. Network carriers, however, tended to have a harder time meeting service expectations. While there were short-term tradeoffs between service quality and productivity, in the long term a focus on service quality may help increase customer satisfaction, thus improving service productivity and overall organizational performance. SQ-adjusted DEA was found to be better suited to explore service productivity than the standard DEA. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Keywords: SQ-adjusted DEA; Operational efficiency; Service quality; Service productivity; The US airline (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11628-013-0221-y

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