جداسازی و یا ادغام؟ آیا شبکه حمل و نقل می تواند جریان های کسب و کار مجزا بر روی یک پلت فرم تولید یکپارچه را ایجاد کند؟

The worldwide airline industry is currently facing one of the most severe crises in its history. Particularly affected are the network carriers, which need to develop more distinct products to adapt to the changed market environment. Since structure needs to fit strategy, the question of how the network carriers need to design their organization arises. So far carriers have either used one flight operation (production platform) as a basis for all products offered, or have built separate organizational entities for each business segment. From a corporate strategy point of view this paper compares the efficiency and effectiveness of an integrator versus a separator approach. The analysis indicates that the integrator approach is both less efficient and effective and it is argued that the network carriers should preferably operate with separate entities.

External shocks, such as terrorist attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the SARS epidemic and the worldwide economic downturn have hit the aviation industry badly. Many airlines have posted substantial losses, and according to the chairman of Lufthansa's supervisory board, Jürgen Weber, about half of the airlines are de facto bankrupt (Weber, 2003). Thus, most experts agree that the current slump is not a typical downturn and that the external shocks have uncovered much deeper problems in the industry. The presently dominant network carriers are particularly affected, whereas most low-cost carriers are operating with high profitability. The originally innovative and successful hub-and-spoke system has transformed into a highly complex structure that causes low productivity without delivering adequate value, neither to the vital business customers nor to the different kind of leisure customers. Furthermore, the network carriers’ most important customer group, business/frequent flyers, have changed their flying behavior. To reduce travel costs, large companies have negotiated volume discounts and changed travel policies partly restricting business class bookings. Besides, travel substitutes such as video conferencing have gained attractiveness due to security concerns after 9/11. To add to this all, new competitors have entered the market with a completely different business model. The so-called low-cost carriers have successfully designed a focused operation providing them with a significant cost advantage. Experts estimate that they operate with up to 60% lower unit costs than network carriers (Hansson et al., 2003). The fact that most of them were profitable during the crisis, underlines the sustainability of the new business model (Cordle, 2002). These circumstances have led to a downward trend in travel volume and yield.