Factors Affecting the Participation of Elites in the Implementation of Public Policies with an Emphasis on the Country’s Air Transport Industry

Evidence suggests that the role of elites in managing societal affairs is one of the major concerns that needs to be addressed more in developing countries. Increased participation of people, particularly elites, decreases errors in policymaking. Transportation is an essential need in human communities, and economic and social progress are impossible without transportation networks. In this aspect, air transport is the safest and most recent, most modern method of transportation. This study was aimed at identifying factors affecting elite participation in public policies implementation, with an emphasis on air transport. This study identified effective factors in two categories, content and context factors. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 15 air transport professionals were conducted using a purposive and snowball approach. Thematic analysis was used to assess the data obtained through interviews. The analysis yielded 190 initial codes, 35 sub-themes, 17 major themes, and 4 organizing themes. The findings were attained through the development of a model that included content drivers, content barriers, context drivers and context barriers to elite participation in public policies implementation. Finally, in addition to discussing research limitations, recommendations for future studies were offered.