The ‘lean and green’ paradigm : drivers, barriers and practices in the South African airline services industry

Abstract

The airline services industry suffers from high cost, waste management and environmental pressures, along with a competitive business environment. The lean and green (L&G) paradigm is a fusion of the well-established management concepts of lean thinking and green management and creates synergies between these concepts to produce heightened cost reducing and environmentally friendly benefits. The purpose of this generic qualitative research study was to explore the L&G paradigm’s drivers, barriers, and practices among seven airline operators in the South African airline services industry. This was completed through 12 semi-structured telephonic interviews. This study found that airline operators are mature in their adoption of the L&G paradigm, with L&G practices focused around fuel efficiency and weight reduction. The drivers of lean adoption are regulatory requirements and a competitive operating environment, while the barriers are inherent service interruptions, a ‘lean limit’, and money market volatility. The major drivers of green management adoption are well-developed regulations and a fear of future regulations, while the barriers are a price focused consumer market and issues with efficient technology adoption. Academically, this study identified that firms may have unique ‘lean limits’, and highlighted the possible application of the L&G paradigm in a service-context by corroborating findings reported in the manufacturing-based literature. Practically, the findings can assist managers to identify where the ‘lean limit’ exists in their firm and to begin actively incorporating green management into their objectives rather than enjoying environmental benefits as a spill-over benefit from lean initiatives.