Browsing by Author "Halpern, Nigel"

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    An assessment of air passenger confidence a year into the COVID-19 crisis: A segmentation analysis of passengers in Norway
    (Elsevier, 2021-09-28) Budd, Thomas; Suau-Sanchez, Pere; Halpern, Nigel; Mwesiumo, Deodat; Bråthen, Svein
    The COVID-19 crisis has become the most intense and long-lasting in the history of aviation. There is already a significant literature on the immediate impact of the outbreak, as well as on speculation on the future evolution of the industry. This paper seeks to contribute to this discussion by assessing a year into the crisis the demand related aspects and passenger behavioural impacts of the pandemic. Specifically, the paper aims to identify discrete market segments of air passengers according to their shared attitudes and preferences about air travel in light of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as past behaviour and future travel intentions. To achieve this, we analyse data from a large (n = 2096) online questionnaire survey of air passengers in Norway. The cluster analysis identifies four distinct passenger segments, with each displaying varying attitudes, behaviours, and levels of concern about air travel. One of these groups, described as the ‘Apprehensive Elders’, were identified as having the highest level of concern about flying, and subsequently showed a sharp decline in their intention to travel in the future. Another group, termed the ‘Cautious Commuters’, showed similarly enhanced levels of concerns about flying, but maintained a high propensity to fly following the pandemic despite these concerns. Regarding possible interventions to increase confidence in flying in the future, across all segments the data shows a clear preference for more ‘traditional’ active interventions, including wearing of face masks and enforcement of physical distancing, over and above passive or technological interventions. Norway represents a valuable case as a possible signal for future policy and practice in relation to the recovery of air travel following the pandemic. The findings have important implications for air transport managers and decision makers in terms of managing the perceptions and expectations of different passenger groups as air travel begins to return.
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    Conceptualising airport digital maturity and dimensions of technological and organisational transformation
    (Henry Stewart Publications, 2021-03-01) Halpern, Nigel; Budd, Thomas; Suau-Sanchez, Pere; Bråthen, Svein; Mwesiumo, Deodat
    As airports undergo digital transformation, ie a paradigmatic shift in the way digital technologies are adopted and used, there is a need for actionable insights to ensure that airport digital maturity is achieved. Using an integrative review of literature, this paper develops an airport digital maturity model, focusing mainly on a passenger experience perspective. The paper then delineates two dimensions of digital transformation — technological and organisational. Subsequently, an airport digital transformation model is conceptualised to identify key factors that airports need to consider when transforming their business and interesting lines of enquiry for future research. Insights offered by the model are relevant to both practitioners and researchers interested in conducting future studies in this area.
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    Direct, Moderating and Mediating Effects of Market Orientation on the Performance of Airports in Europe's Peripheral Areas
    (Haworth Press, Inc., 2008-12-31T00:00:00Z) Halpern, Nigel; Pagliari, Romano
    As a consequence of deregulation in the airline industry, market forces rather than public service considerations increasingly dictate routes serving airports in Europe's peripheral areas. The new market advocates market-driven management practices as a means of satisfying airline customers and implies that airports that adopt a more market-orientated approach than their rivals will perform better. This study investigates the relationship between market orientation and the performance of airports in Europe's peripheral areas. The research strategy was implemented using a questionnaire-based survey that was sent by email to managers at 214 airports. Usable responses from 84 airports were received and analysed. The findings demonstrate that market orientation has a significant and positive effect on performance, which is moderated by high levels of market turbulence and a focus on developing leisure services. The findings also demonstrate that the relationship between market orientation and performance is mediated by innovative marketing practices. The paper concludes with some implications for airport managers and recommendations for future research.
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    An exploratory and confirmatory composite analysis of a scale for measuring privacy concerns
    (Elsevier, 2021-07-23) Mwesiumo, Deodat; Halpern, Nigel; Budd, Thomas; Suau-Sanchez, Pere; Bråthen, Svein
    This paper reports a confirmatory composite analysis of a scale for measuring privacy concerns, and the effect of privacy concerns on the willingness to provide personal data. The analysis is based on 468 survey responses, divided into two contexts: airport digital services and online retail services. Results from both contexts confirm that privacy concerns consist of a third-order construct comprising two-second order constructs (interaction management and information management) and a first-order construct (awareness). The effect of privacy concerns on the willingness to provide personal data is higher in the airport digital context than in the online retail context. Also, the relevance of the three dimensions varies by context. Thus, researchers must carefully consider their research context and include items for the most relevant dimensions of privacy concerns in measurement models. Likewise, managers must prioritise dimensions of privacy concerns according to their business context.
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    Market orientation and the performance of airports in Europe’s peripheral areas
    (Cranfield University, 2006-12) Halpern, Nigel; Pagliari, Romano
    As a consequence of deregulation in the airline industry, market forces rather than public service considerations increasingly dictate services to and from airports in Europe’s peripheral areas. The new market advocates market-driven management practices as a means of satisfying airline customers and implies that airports that adopt a more marketorientated approach than their rivals will perform better. This study investigates the theoretical foundations of a market orientation, which can be defined as the organisationwide generation, dissemination and response to market intelligence. The main aim of this study is to examine the relationship between market orientation and the performance of airports in Europe’s peripheral areas. The research methodology was implemented using a questionnaire-based survey that was administered to the managers of 217 airports in 17 different countries. Usable responses from 86 airports were received and analysed. The findings of this study suggest that airports wishing to outperform competitors can do so by adopting a market orientation and should seek to continually monitor and improve the way in which they gather, disseminate and respond to market intelligence. This will be particularly effective when market turbulence is high and/or when the focus of the airport is on developing leisure services. In addition, market orientation was found to have a positive effect on performance because it means that airports are more likely to be innovative in their approach to marketing. This means that airport managers should try to develop a market-orientated culture with innovative marketing practices in mind, and visa versa. The fact that independently-owned airports have significantly higher levels of market orientation than regionally-owned or nationally-owned airports suggests that independent ownership is more conducive to the development of a market orientation. The findings of this study do have a number of limitations, the most notable being that they are restricted to airports in Europe’s peripheral areas. It is recommended that future research should be conducted on airports worldwide in order to investigate differences between a wider range of airport types and geographical regions. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that a stakeholder orientation is important for airports seeking to improve their performance, especially smaller airports that are publicly-owned. It is recommended that future studies should investigate antecedents to and consequences of a stakeholder orientation. Future studies should also investigate whether a stakeholder orientation has a greater effect on performance than a market orientation does, and whether the two types of orientation complement each other.
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    Perceived benefits as a driver and necessary condition for the willingness of air passengers to provide personal data for non-mandatory digital services at airports
    (Elsevier, 2023-03-28) Mwesiumo, Deodat; Halpern, Nigel; Bråthen, Svein; Budd, Thomas; Suau-Sanchez, Pere
    The willingness of individuals to provide personal data is of interest to policymakers and practitioners seeking to develop more intelligent transportation systems that create value for passengers using technologies, as well as to leverage the use of data more generally to accelerate digital transformation. This study examines the role of perceived benefits as a driver and necessary condition for the willingness of air passengers to provide personal data for non-mandatory digital services at airports. These are services that are not essential for the operation of the airport or for the safety and security of passengers but can enhance the passenger experience or generate additional revenue for the airport. Examples include receiving notifications to a mobile device about their journey and related products and services, accessing customer services online, joining and receiving electronic information from an airport loyalty programme, and making payments for products and services online or via a mobile application. The analysis is based on two samples of 235 and 218 respondents to an online survey where the second sample is used for the purpose of replication. Responses were analysed using a recently developed complementary approach that combines partial least squares structural equation modeling and necessary condition analysis. The findings confirm that perceived benefits are a significant driver and necessary condition for passengers’ willingness to provide personal data. More so, perceived benefits significantly attenuate the negative effect that privacy concerns have on passengers’ willingness to provide personal data. The findings offer theoretical and methodological contributions, as well as implications for policy and practice.
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    Ready for digital transformation? The effect of organisational readiness, innovation, airport size and ownership on digital change at airports
    (Elsevier, 2020-10-06) Halpern, Nigel; Mwesiumo, Deodat; Suau-Sanchez, Pere; Budd, Thomas; Bråthen, Svein
    This study investigates the effect of organisational readiness, innovation and airport size and ownership on digital change at airports. Data is collected from a survey of managers at 94 airports worldwide and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Organisational readiness is found to have a direct effect on digital change. Organisational readiness also has a direct effect on innovation, which subsequently affects digital change. Airport size has a direct effect on digital change while the effect of ownership is not significant. The findings show that successful development of organisational readiness can be used to speed up the rate of innovation needed for digital change at airports.
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    Segmentation of passenger preferences for using digital technologies at airports in Norway
    (Elsevier, 2021-01-07) Halpern, Nigel; Mwesiumo, Deodat; Budd, Thomas; Suau-Sanchez, Pere; Bråthen, Svein
    Airports are increasingly focused on implementing digital technologies at key stages of the airport journey to enhance the passenger experience. However, passengers have different preferences. TwoStep Cluster Analysis is used to reveal the presence of distinct segments according to their preferences. The findings are based on a survey of 6082 passengers at airports in Norway. Three distinct segments are identified: those that prefer traditional manual processes, those that prefer automated technology-based processes, and those that prefer more personalised technology-based processes. Significant differences are revealed for each segment according to passenger and trip characteristics and opinions regarding how the use of digital technologies at airports impact on personal privacy and human dignity. The findings contribute to knowledge on passenger preferences at airports and can help to inform airport decision making