Analysis of the allocation of activities in airline companies to coopetition strategy

 Coopetition strategy has attracted substantial attention in the last 30 years and the previous ten years in Iran. A survey of the history of this topic finds two gaps; one is that no research has been done on Iran in airlines. While the Sky Team, One World, and Star Alliance strategic alliances, a form of coopetition in the aviation industry, have more than 50% share of the global aviation market, and the largest airlines in the world are members of one of these alliances, in Iran there are 19 airlines. Moreover, some of these airlines have only two or three airplanes. In order to perform better and improve the satisfaction and experience of customers and other stakeholders, it is necessary to analyze the competitive strategy of the country's airlines. The second gap discovered in the local and global context was that if industry policymakers adopt a coopetition strategy, how can we allocate activities in this industry to competition and cooperation? This research tries to answer and fill the second gap in the research. This paper aims to determine with the fuzzy Delphi method in which activities companies should compete.   According to Saunders' research onion, this research is of the positivist type. The research approach is comparative. The type of research is single-method and quantitative. Furthermore, the research strategy is to conduct a survey. The data collection tool is a questionnaire. The data are descriptive, given that we had no part in their creation. Research is practical in terms of purpose. The research is cross-sectional in terms of time horizon. The data was collected in the spring of 2022. The quantitative technique used in this research is fuzzy Delphi. Dalkey and Helmer first presented the Delphi method in 1963. Delphi is a method to reach a consensus of opinions of a group, especially an expert group. In the first stage of Delphi, 36 activities were presented to 16 experts, and they were asked, based on their knowledge and experience, to state their opinion on whether companies should cooperate or compete with each other in each of the activities. The answer was in the range of 1 to 5. The closer the answer is to 1, it means that in the expert's opinion, competition in the activity in question is more appropriate. The closer to 5, the expert's opinion is on cooperation in that activity between airlines. According to the threshold number of 0.65 and more for cooperation and the threshold number of 0.35 and less to detect the competitiveness of the activity in the first phase of fuzzy Delphi, 21 activities were assigned, 15 of which were cooperation activities and 6 were competition activities, and there was no consensus among experts about 15 activities. which led to the second round of fuzzy Delphi. In the second phase questionnaire, 15 activities where there was no consensus among the experts regarding cooperation or competition in the first phase were again presented to them to get the opinions of the experts. It should be noted that in the second round, the information of the first round results of all the respondents and their first-round answers were presented to them to make a better decision. The statistical population includes six people with a doctorate and ten with a master's degree, all of whom have more than 15 years of experience and knowledge in the aviation industry.   According to the results of the research based on fuzzy Delphi, the highest agreement of experts is to cooperate in the following activities. The research findings of domestic airline companies suggest that experts are most in agreement regarding cooperation in handling, research and development, equipment and maintenance, and storage of parts. At the same time, they are most in accord regarding competition between airlines in marketing activities, frequent passenger programs, in-flight entertainment, and crew flight. According to the two rounds of fuzzy Delphi in the activities of CIP, airport launch, preparation of uniforms, and information technology systems, there was no consensus of experts regarding cooperation or competition in these activities between airlines, and these activities need further investigation. Coopetition is a win-win strategy for airlines, which, based on its application in international airlines, should be implemented by establishing a culture among airline policymakers. During the implementation phase of this plan, it should be indicated in which activities collaboration and rivalry amongst airlines should be encouraged. The fuzzy Delphi method creates the consensus of experts about cooperation and competition in each airline company's activities. In order to improve their performance and the satisfaction of customers and other stakeholders, we suggest that domestic airlines cooperate with domestic companies in the first stage and make strategic alliances next. Considering the changes in the ecosystem of the aviation industry, we recommend that the business model of the airline companies should be revised to meet the needs of the changing external environment and the ecosystem of this industry.