Strategic Airport Management Considering Digital Transformation Demands: Case Study Research at Fraport AG, Germany

The purpose of this paper is to grant insights into airport customers' perceptions regarding the use and appropriateness of digital features. It is worth to examine whether sharing these findings with experts in the context of knowledge management activities reveal strategies and processes to be adjusted on corporate level. The question is whether defined strategies always respond to actual customer expectations and if sharing digital intelligence on a collaborative level could prevent airports from choosing inadequate concepts and process optimisation models. A qualitative approach has been applied to assess airport specific digitalisation features including airport staff s' expertise compared to the perception of airport passengers and their demands. In order to contrast realistic customer experience with internal views primary data has been collected in the form of airport manager interviews and passenger questionnaires. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Machine Learning as well as Internet of Things being constantly developing and dynamic topics require organisations to exchange knowledge and data with customers. The main outcome revealed airport managers' assumptions differ from passengers' needs and interests. Key findings of the paper revealed that top priorities perceived by passengers are not represented by entertainment and shopping facilities whereas airport professionals tend to focus a lot on these features. Process optimisation and simplification of check in and boarding activities play a much more important role to airport customers. This also implies that strategy definition processes can be performed more efficiently when considering and communicating consumer-oriented needs. Since the paper deals with strategic management and service operations these widely discussed and ongoing topics are worth to be improved and optimised using knowledge management instruments within the organisations and its collaboration with customers.