Strategic Communication and Competitive Advantage: Assessing CEO Letters of Global Airline Alliances

Seo, Gang-Hoon; Itoh, Munehiko; Li, Zhonghui

doi:10.2478/fman-2021-0005

Figures & Tables

Sources of sample (Source: Authors’ own research)

Source	Airlines
Annual report	Finnair, LATAM, Qantas, SriLankan Airlines, China Eastern, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA All Nippon Airways, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Emirates Airline, Hawaiian Airlines, Oman Air, TUI Airways, Virgin Atlantic
Corporate social responsibility report	American Airlines, Croatia Airlines
Sustainability report	Cathay Pacific Airways, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Copa Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Hainan Airlines, Delta Air Lines
Integrated report	Air France, SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Official web page	Japan Airlines, Alitalia, Middle East Airlines, Copa Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Emirates Airline
Not open to the public	British Airways, Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, S7 Airlines, Fiji Airways, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Saudia, TAROM, Xiamen Air, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, United Airlines, Etihad Airways, Philippine Airlines, Sichuan Airlines

Descriptive data of airline attributes (Source: Authors’ own research)

Categorization	Number of data
Airlines belonging to global alliances	38
oneworld	7
SkyTeam	12
Star Alliance	19
Non-alliance airlines	8
Total	46

Averaged component numbers of each subject groups’ CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Alliance	Non-alliance	oneworld	SkyTeam	Star Alliance
8.625	9.5	7.44	8.66	9.157

Differences of CEO letter effectiveness item measures between alliance and non-alliance airlines (Source: Authors’ own research)

Item	Mean		SD		SE		t-value	p-value
Item	Alliance	Non-alliance	Alliance	Non-alliance	Alliance	Non-alliance	t-value	p-value
CR1	6.31	6.14	0.977	0.900	0.157	0.340	0.415	0.680
CR2	5.87	5.00	1.525	1.414	0.244	0.535	1.406	0.167
CR3	5.51	4.57	1.620	1.618	0.259	0.612	1.416	0.164
CR4	6.36	6.00	1.038	0.816	0.166	0.309	0.865	0.392
CR5	5.72	5.86	1.503	1.215	0.241	0.459	−0.231	0.818
EF1	5.67	6.29	1.722	0.488	0.276	0.184	−0.937	0.354
EF2	5.33	6.29	1.510	0.488	0.242	0.184	−3.132	0.004^**
EF3	5.26	6.29	1.482	0.488	0.237	0.184	−3.425	0.002^**
EF4	4.23	4.00	2.218	2.082	0.355	0.787	0.256	0.799
CO1	4.38	3.86	1.786	1.464	0.286	0.553	0.736	0.466
CO2	6.03	5.71	1.709	1.604	0.274	0.606	0.448	0.657
CO3	4.44	4.86	1.957	1.864	0.313	0.705	−0.528	0.600
CO4	4.03	4.86	2.006	2.673	0.321	1.010	−0.960	0.342
RE1	4.87	6.57	2.430	1.134	0.389	0.429	−2.936	0.009^**
RE2	3.31	3.71	2.296	1.496	0.368	0.565	−0.449	0.655
RE3	3.28	3.86	1.589	2.035	0.254	0.769	−0.846	0.402
RE4	3.36	4.29	2.254	2.289	0.361	0.865	−1.000	0.323

Differences of CEO letter effectiveness item measures among the three global alliance (Source: Authors’ own research)

Item	Alliance	Mean	SD	SE	F/p
CR1	oneworld	6.57	0.535	0.202	0.576/0.567
	SkyTeam	6.42	1.443	0.417
	Star Alliance	6.15	0.745	0.167
CR2	oneworld	6.57	0.535	0.202	1.063/0.356
	SkyTeam	5.92	2.065	0.596
	Star Alliance	5.60	1.353	0.303
CR3	oneworld	6.14	0.690	0.261	0.795/0.459
	SkyTeam	5.58	2.353	0.679
	Star Alliance	5.25	1.293	0.289
CR4	oneworld	6.86	0.378	0.143	1.586/0.219
	SkyTeam	6.50	1.446	0.417
	Star Alliance	6.10	0.852	0.191
CR5	oneworld	5.71	1.799	0.680	0.011/0.989
	SkyTeam	5.67	2.015	0.582
	Star Alliance	5.75	1.070	0.239
EF1	oneworld	5.57	1.618	0.612	0.046/0.955
	SkyTeam	5.58	2.314	0.668
	Star Alliance	5.75	1.410	0.315
EF2	oneworld	5.86	1.345	0.508	0.703/0.502
	SkyTeam	5.00	1.954	0.564
	Star Alliance	5.35	1.268	0.284
EF3	oneworld	5.14	1.215	0.459	0.663/0.522
	SkyTeam	5.67	1.969	0.569
	Star Alliance	5.05	1.234	0.276
EF4	oneworld	5.14	1.864	0.705	0.155/0.857
	SkyTeam	3.83	2.038	0.588
	Star Alliance	4.45	1.572	0.352
CO1	oneworld	5.14	1.864	0.705	1.230/0.304
	SkyTeam	3.83	2.038	0.588
	Star Alliance	4.45	1.572	0.352
CO2	oneworld	6.14	1.215	0.459	1.964/0.155
	SkyTeam	5.25	2.454	0.708
	Star Alliance	6.45	1.146	0.256
CO3	oneworld	3.43	2.699	1.020	1.422/0.254
	SkyTeam	4.33	1.497	0.432
	Star Alliance	4.85	1.872	0.418
CO4	oneworld	4.29	2.563	0.969	0.098/0.907
	SkyTeam	4.08	2.466	0.712
	Star Alliance	3.90	1.553	0.347
RE1	oneworld	6.57	1.134	0.429	4.793/0.014^*
	SkyTeam	3.42	2.466	0.712
	Star Alliance	5.15	2.323	0.519
RE2	Oneworld	3.29	2.430	0.918	0.275/0.761
	SkyTeam	2.92	2.644	0.763
	Star Alliance	3.55	2.114	0.473
RE3	oneworld	3.86	1.215	0.459	2.483/0.098
	SkyTeam	3.83	1.899	0.548
	Star Alliance	2.75	1.372	0.307
RE4	oneworld	2.71	2.360	0.892	0.992/0.381
	SkyTeam	2.92	2.151	0.621
	Star Alliance	3.85	2.277	0.509

Main topics of the CEO letter (Source: Authors’ own research)

Topics	Definition and description
Customer (Judd and Tims, 1991; Chang, et al., 2003; Conaway and Wardrope, 2010)	The concern for customers. It includes the following words: customer, demand, experience, loyalty, need, passenger
External environment (Kohut and Segars, 1992; Conaway and Wardrope, 2010)	The concern for external factors to affect airlines’ performance. It includes the following words: challenge, crisis, risk, trade
Governance (Conaway and Wardrope, 2010)	The concern for leadership and control by the CEO. It includes the following words: control, director, management
Infrastructure (Conaway and Wardrope, 2010)	The concern for airlines’ infrastructure, technology investment. It includes the following words: aircraft, fleet, investment, seat, technology
Market (Kohut and Segars, 1992; Bournois and Point, 2006)	The concern for airlines’ target markets.It includes the following words: area, aviation, country, industry, market, region, sector, tourism, world
Product (Kohut and Segars, 1992; Bournois and Point, 2006)	The concern for airlines’ product mix. It includes the following words: service, operation, route, network, brand, cargo, operating, product, quality, program, destination, resource, opportunity, city, programme
Performance (Kohut and Segars, 1992; Bournois and Point, 2006; Conaway and Wardrope, 2010; Beauchamp and O’Connor, 2012; Dumitru, et al., 2015)	The concern for airlines’ performance and growth, survival. It includes the following words: achievement, advantage, asset, benefit, capital, cash, capacity, cost, development, economy, efficiency, expansion, fuel, growth, increase, interest, loss, performance, profit, result, revenue, sale, success, traffic
Stakeholders (Dumitru, et al., 2015)	The concern for airlines’ stakeholders.It includes the following words: airport, community, cooperation, employee, government, member, partner, partnership, people, shareholder, staff, stakeholder, team
Strategy (Kohut and Segars, 1992; Santema and van de Rijt, 2001; Bournois and Point, 2006; Conaway and Wardrope, 2010)	The concern for airlines’ strategic plans and mission, vision, goal, operating philosophy. It includes the following words: culture, goal, history, objective, plan, policy, position, priority, safety, strategy, target, value
Social responsibility (Conaway and Wardrope, 2010; Beauchamp and O’Connor, 2012; Dumitru, et al., 2015)	The concern for social issues including the environment, ethics, contribution to the community. It includes the following words: carbon, community, environment, emission, reduction, responsibility, society, sustainability

Comparing alliance and non-alliance groups based on the frequency of the main topics in CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Topics	Alliance			Non-alliance
Topics	Frequency	Percentage	Rank	Frequency	Percentage	Rank
Customer	40	100	1	8	100	1
External environment	30	75	6	7	87.5	2
Governance	25	62.5	7	5	62.5	3
Infrastructure	34	85	5	8	100	1
Market	39	97.5	2	8	100	1
Performance	34	85	5	8	100	1
Product	39	97.5	2	8	100	1
Social responsibility	37	92.5	3	8	100	1
Stakeholder	34	85	5	8	100	1
Strategy	36	90	4	8	100	1

Comparing the three leading alliances based on the frequency of the main topics in CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Topics	oneworld			SkyTeam			Star Alliance
Topics	Frequency	Percentage	Rank	Frequency	Percentage	Rank	Frequency	Percentage	Rank
Customer	10	100	1	12	100	1	18	94.7	2
External environment	5	50	4	8	66.6	4	16	84.2	4
Governance	1	10	5	8	66.6	4	13	68.4	5
Infrastructure	7	70	3	10	83.3	3	17	89.4	3
Market	8	80	2	11	91.6	2	18	94.7	2
Performance	7	70	3	12	100	1	19	100	1
Product	8	80	2	10	83.3	3	19	100	1
Social responsibility	8	80	2	10	83.3	3	17	89.4	3
Stakeholder	7	70	3	12	100	1	17	89.4	3
Strategy	7	70	3	11	91.6	2	19	100	1

Measurements of CEO letter effectiveness (Source: Segars and Kohut, 2001, p_544)_

Credibility

The image of the CEO as a sincere and accurate interpreter of corporate events:
- CR1: The information conveyed by top-management is reliable
- CR2: The strategic direction of top-management is focused
- CR3: The strategic direction of top-management is realistic
- CR4: The information conveyed by top-management is sincere
- CR5: The information conveyed by top-management is accurate

Efficacy

The image of the CEO as a controlling force in organizational and environmental events.
- EF1: The actions of top-management have impacted the outcomes of the organization.
- EF2: Top-management understands the variables that affect the organization.
- EF3: Top-management is in control of organizational activities.
- EF4: Top-management is responsive to changing competitive conditions.

Commitment

The image of the CEO as a good steward to current and potential customers.
- CO1: Top-management appreciates customers.
- CO2: Top-management is committed to meeting customers’ needs.
- CO3: Top-management is actively generating new business.
- CO4: Top-management is building cooperative relationships with business partners.

Responsibility

The image of the CEO as a “good citizen” in business relationships.
- RE1: Top-management is concerned about emerging social and environmental issues.
- RE2: Top-management fosters values and ethical standards for employees of the organization.
- RE3: Top-management endeavors to create mutual benefit among business partners.
- RE4: Top-management is concerned about employee well-being.

Strategic Communication and Competitive Advantage: Assessing CEO Letters of Global Airline Alliances

Figures & Tables

Sources of sample (Source: Authors’ own research)

Descriptive data of airline attributes (Source: Authors’ own research)

Averaged component numbers of each subject groups’ CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Differences of CEO letter effectiveness item measures between alliance and non-alliance airlines (Source: Authors’ own research)

Differences of CEO letter effectiveness item measures among the three global alliance (Source: Authors’ own research)

Main topics of the CEO letter (Source: Authors’ own research)

Comparing alliance and non-alliance groups based on the frequency of the main topics in CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Comparing the three leading alliances based on the frequency of the main topics in CEO letters (Source: Authors’ own research)

Measurements of CEO letter effectiveness (Source: Segars and Kohut, 2001, p_544)_

Credibility

Efficacy

Commitment

Responsibility

Paradigm

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