COVID-19 and business renewal: Lessons and insights from the global airline industry

Joseph Amankwah-Amoah; Zaheer Khan; Ellis L C Osabutey

doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101802

COVID-19 and business renewal: Lessons and insights from the global airline industry

Int Bus Rev. 2021 Jun;30(3):101802. doi: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101802. Epub 2021 Jan 26.

Authors

Joseph Amankwah-Amoah¹, Zaheer Khan^{2

3}, Ellis L C Osabutey⁴

Affiliations

¹ Kent Business School, University of Kent, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TE, UK.
² University of Aberdeen Business School, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, UK.
³ School of Marketing and Communication, University of Vaasa, Finland.
⁴ Roehampton Business School, University of Roehampton, London, SW15 5SL, UK.

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the fortunes of multiple companies around the globe. Accordingly, questions are increasingly being asked about how organizations can revitalize during and after a crisis. Yet, we have limited understanding of how organizations renew themselves during crises over time. We explore this question through the lens and examination of two South-Asian airlines: Pakistan International Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines. The cases offer important insights into the reasons behind underperformance of state-controlled enterprises and renewal activities. We shed light on strategic renewal (SR) in the wake of increasing liberalization and deregulations in the global airline industry. To this end, we propose a four-stage approach towards renewing such underperforming organizations to respond effectively to black swan events and external shocks.

Keywords: Airlines; COVID-19; Emerging markets; External shocks; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; State-owned enterprises; Strategic renewal.