Failure to implement a turnaround strategy at South African Airways: Reflections from strategic players

Kaizer M. Nyatsumba and R. I. David Pooe

Development Southern Africa, 2023, vol. 40, issue 1, 76-90

Abstract: For a number of years now, the South African Airways limped from one turnaround strategy to another, with little or no success. While there is a body of knowledge on turnaround strategies, little is known about the implementation of turnaround strategies in developing economies such as South Africa and of state-owned enterprises at that. The aim of this article was to explore some constraints experienced by SAA in the implementation of its Long-Term Turnaround Strategy. Purposive sampling was used to select participants to be interviewed for this study. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews from 37 participants. Using thematic analysis, the following six themes emerged from the data analysis: shareholder’s slow decision making, undercapitalisation of the airline, unstable political leadership, unhealthy board dynamics, leadership instability, and lack of management skills.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2021.1965865

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