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CAA Airlines is experiencing frequent delays on its long-haul flights due to outdated aircraft that require more maintenance. This has resulted in passenger frustration, potential switching behavior, and negative word-of-mouth that could harm the airline's performance and profits. The study aims to identify factors that influence passengers' wait experiences and investigate how waiting impacts satisfaction and evaluations. It will address research questions about wait perception factors, affective consequences of waiting, and how situational variables like occupied time influence customer reactions. Hypotheses will be tested on delayed CAA passengers to address the problem.

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Absara Khan
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385 views

Example

CAA Airlines is experiencing frequent delays on its long-haul flights due to outdated aircraft that require more maintenance. This has resulted in passenger frustration, potential switching behavior, and negative word-of-mouth that could harm the airline's performance and profits. The study aims to identify factors that influence passengers' wait experiences and investigate how waiting impacts satisfaction and evaluations. It will address research questions about wait perception factors, affective consequences of waiting, and how situational variables like occupied time influence customer reactions. Hypotheses will be tested on delayed CAA passengers to address the problem.

Uploaded by

Absara Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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in this example.

BOX 3.3: EXAMPLE OF A PROBLEM STATEMENT


CAA Airlines carries out charter and regular flights to medium-haul destinations
such as the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Red Sea and to long-haul
destinations such as the Caribbean. Today, CAAs fleet consists of three (new)
Boeing 737-800s and four (outdated) Boeing 767-300s. Because the Boeing 767s
are rather outdated they need more maintenance than the average airplane. Despite
an intensive maintenance program, these planes have a lot of technical problems.
Consequently, the long-haul fleet of CAA has needed to deal with a lot of delays
recently. New long-haul planes have been ordered, but these planes will not be
delivered before 2016. This means that more delays will inevitably occur. This
may translate into much frustration among airline passengers, to switching
behavior, and to negative word-of-mouth communication. These feelings and
behaviors of consumers may eventually have negative effects on the performance
and the profitability of the firm.
Prior research has claimed that service waits can be controlled by two techniques:
operations management and management of perceptions. For CAA Airlines it is
very difficult to obtain zero defects (no delays). Hence, this project will focus
on managing the perceptions of the wait experience: because CAA Airlines
cannot control the actual amount of delays and the duration, the company must
focus on managing the customers perception of the waiting experience. The
purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to identify the factors that influence the
passengers waiting experience and (2) to investigate the possible impact of
waiting on customer satisfaction and service evaluations.
Therefore, this project focuses on the following research questions:
1. What are the factors that affect the perceived waiting experience of airline
passengers and to what extent do these factors affect the perception of waiting
times?
2. What are the affective consequences of waiting and how does affect mediate
the relationship between waiting and service evaluations?
3. How do situational variables (such as filled time) influence customer reactions
to the waiting experience?
Drawing from prior research in the areas of waiting, service evaluations, and
mood theory, hypotheses are generated regarding the relationships among a
delay, the waiting experience, affect, and service evaluations. The hypothesized
relationships are tested in a field setting involving delayed CAA airline passengers.

The foregoing problem statement addresses both the research objectives and
the research questions of the study. Note that the research objective and the
research questions are strongly related; it would have been impossible to
adequately detail the research questions if the research objective had been
unclear, unspecified, or ambiguous. Whats more, note that the research

questions have been clarified to the extent that it is possible to relate them to
existing literature in the areas of waiting, service evaluations, and mood theory.
Hence, the broad problem area has been transformed into a researchable topic
for study.
Box 3.4 summarizes the problem and the problem statement of the foregoing
research project.
BOX 3.4: BUSINESS PROBLEM TRANSLATED INTO
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Problem statement
Problem
Research objective
Research questions
Frequent and long delays may
The purpose of this study
1. What are the
translate into much frustration
is twofold: (1) to identify
factors
that
among airline passengers, to
the factors that influence
affect
the
switching behavior, and to
the passengers waiting
perceived
negative word-of-mouth
experience and (2) to
waiting
communication. These feelings
investigate the possible
experience
of
and behaviors eventually have
impact of waiting on
airline
negative effects on the
customer satisfaction and
passengers and
performance and the profitability service evaluations.
to what extent
of the firm.
do these factors
affect
the
perception
of
waiting times?
2. What are the
affective
consequences
of waiting and
how does affect
mediate
the
relationship
between waiting
and
service
evaluations?
3. How do
situational
variables (such
as filled time)
influence
customer
reactions to the
waiting
experience?

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