Critical success factors of aerospace sub-tiers performance

Abstract

The aerospace supply chain environment has become increasingly competitive, and tier-2 and tier-3 companies have been pressured to reach excellent performance levels. Thus, this paper aims to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) in performance improvement and their level of influence. For this purpose, this research proposes a set of CSFs of aerospace sub-tiers performance, considering the supply chain and quality management perspectives, internal aspects and stakeholder expectations. A CSF conceptual model is elaborated based on a qualitative analysis of the literature, the authors' collective experience and a questionnaire submitted to tier-2 and tier-3 aerospace companies. Thus, this study offers a valuable approach to confirm the CSFs that influence aerospace sub-tiers performance and allows them to identify strengths and opportunities in their processes, so that they can develop action plans to improve their performance.