Airline catering service operation, schedule nervousness and collective efficacy on performance: Hong Kong evidence

Abstract

Carriers the world over depend on airline catering service providers to manage the catering and logistics of these complex operations. The logistics of onboard catering service material between suppliers, warehouses and the caterers differ significantly from the classical material flow in other industries between the suppliers, manufacturers and customers. The airline catering business can tolerate minimal flexibility relating to scheduling issues. Continuous changes in the schedule can undermine the confidence in the system and result in disruptions in the production or delivery systems. This study aims to study how the various determinants are correlated with schedule instability of the airline catering operations. The findings show the significant correlation between internal operation and relationship with customer, which affect the work efficacy at the collective level.