Turnaround Management of Airport Service Providers Operating during COVID-19 Restrictions

Bassam Buhusayen, Pi-Shen Seet and Alan Coetzer
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Bassam Buhusayen: School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
Pi-Shen Seet: School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
Alan Coetzer: School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: Many sectors worldwide have been impacted by government restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, restrictions on travel have resulted in major losses for organizations operating within the aviation sector. This study aims to emphasize the challenges faced by these organizations while they implement turnaround management strategies. The study is based on 30 semi-structured interviews with frontline managers working for airline service providers in three different departments of an airport in Australia. The organization has implemented several turnaround management strategies to survive the crisis caused by COVID-19 restrictions, creating new challenges for its work environment. Our findings indicate that the frontline managers faced two main challenges during and after the implementation of turnaround management strategies. First, inadequate human resources, caused by a lack of personnel resources and poor leadership selection. Second, a lack of communication, caused by excluding frontline managers from the turnaround management planning stage; poor sharing of information during the implementation stage; inadequate direction of frontline managers; and a lack of feedback channels regarding the change process. Based on its findings, the study recommends building a frontline manager task force and creating a strategic communication plan for frontline and senior managers.

Keywords: COVID-19; turnaround management; frontline managers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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