Corporate strategy, stakeholder pressures, and operational inefficiency: A panel quantile-based analysis of global airlines

With a focus on a less frequently used inefficiency performance measure in the strategic corporate social responsibility rhetoric, this study aims to investigate the relationship between five facets of stakeholder management and firm competitiveness. A sample of 28 global airlines from 2008 to 2022 is used to investigate this connection. Based on the premise that airlines operate within a dynamic three-stage network framework, an innovative slacks-based data envelopment analysis technique is used to evaluate airline inefficiencies. We use an advanced panel quantile regression method with fixed effects to test the hypothesized relationships. According to the empirical results, different stakeholder characteristics affect competitiveness in different ways, and these effects vary across quantiles. Our results highlight the need of investing in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and staff trust and dedication, as well as the need to uphold high standards in community relations. However, the negative effects of human rights and environmental issues on competitiveness highlight the difficulties airlines have in balancing their social obligations with continuing to operate profitably. Our earlier findings are supported by the robustness assessment, which uses the moments quantile regressions approach.