Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Management Case No. 910-419

Posted: 2 Feb 2012

James L. Heskett

affiliation not provided to SSRN

W. Earl Sasser

Date Written: June 15, 2010

This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport, which does not fit the airline's profile for cost, ease of service, and other factors. The bigger issue is how the organization should deal with competition that has successfully emulated more and more of what it does in an operating environment that has changed significantly. Hence the subtitle, which was suggested by Herb Kelleher, Southwest's Chairman and CEO, Emeritus. Learning Objective: To evaluate a strategic decision in the context of a company's culture and the need to preserve the integrity of its operating network. Subjects Covered: Operations management; Service management.

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James L. Heskett (Contact Author)

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Product Description

Publication Date: January 01, 1995

Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business

In 1994, both United Airlines and Continental Airlines launched low-cost airlines-within-an-airline to compete with Southwest Airlines. From 1991 to 1993, Southwest had increased its market share of the critical West Coast market from 26% to 45%. Considers how Southwest had developed a sustainable competitive advantage and emphasizes the role of human resources as a lever for the successful implementation of strategy. Asks whether competitors can successfully imitate the Southwest approach.

southwest airlines case study harvard pdf

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Solved Case Study of Southwest Airlines from “STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH” 9TH EDITION BY HILL & JONES (CENGAGE LEARNING)

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Related Papers

southwest airlines case study harvard pdf

hasan ahmed

This article analyzes the sources of Southwest Airlines' competitive aduantage using an integrative approach, employing economic analysis tools to illustrate the roles of commitment and organizational capabilities in delivering competitive advantage at Southwest. A framework is presented illustrating that much of the value Southwest generates is (1) created through employee needs satisfaction, (2) converted to customer and shareholder value via organizational capabilities, and (3) captured by the firm as a result of its cost advantage and superior service. This three-part framework may be applicable to other labor-dependent service organizations.

Elena Pavlova

Master Thesis

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COMMENTS

  1. Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

    This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport, which does not fit the airline's profile for cost, ease of ...

  2. Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

    Abstract. This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport ...

  3. Southwest Airlines

    Southwest Airlines. By: Andrew Inkpen. After more than 45 years of service, the company was facing some major challenges. Legacy carriers in the United States had become more efficient, and the recent mega-mergers involving…. Length: 13 page (s) Publication Date: Jul 15, 2013. Discipline: Strategy.

  4. Southwest Airlines (A)

    Abstract. Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier serving Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, begins service in 1971 in the face of competition by two larger, entrenched airlines. Improved quality service, lower prices, and innovative advertising and promotional strategy bring Southwest to the brink of profitability in early 1973, when its ...

  5. Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

    The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport, which does not fit the airline's profile for cost, ease of service, and other factors. ... Southwest Airlines: In a Different World (June 15, 2010). Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Management Case No ...

  6. Southwest Airlines (A)

    Product Description. Publication Date: January 01, 1995. Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 1994, both United Airlines and Continental Airlines launched low-cost airlines-within-an-airline to compete with Southwest Airlines. From 1991 to 1993, Southwest had increased its market share of the critical West Coast market from 26% to 45%.

  7. Southwest Airlines

    Southwest Airlines. By: Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang ... Govindarajan, Vijay, and Julie Lang. "Southwest Airlines." 2002. (Case No. 2-0012.) More from the Authors. May 2016; Harvard Business Review ... 2016; Faculty Research; The Three Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation. By: Vijay Govindarajan. July-August 2015; Harvard ...

  8. Southwest Airlines (A)

    In 1994, both United Airlines and Continental Airlines launched low-cost airlines-within-an-airline to compete with Southwest Airlines. From 1991 to 1993, Southwest had increased its market share of the critical West Coast market from 26% to 45%. Considers how Southwest had developed a sustainable competitive advantage and emphasizes the role of human resources as a lever for the successful ...

  9. (PDF) Southwest Airlines Success: A Case Study Analysis

    industry. For this success, the factors that wer e. responsible, were; an absence of meals on all. Southwest flights, a limited amount of checked. luggage on Southwest' s typically 60- to 90 ...

  10. Southwest Airlines' successful economistic, cost-leadership strategy

    behavior at Harvard Business School, Lawrence posited that Renewed Darwinian theory ... (2002), and their specific validity when it comes to the case of Southwest Airlines. Given that Lawrence was a senior and respected professor of organizational behavior at Harvard, and Nohria is now Dean of the Harvard Business School, their findings merit ...

  11. (PDF) Southwest Airlines: A Case Study Linking Employee Needs

    Information on Southwest Airlines stems from the Harvard Business School (HBS) case "Southwest Airlines: 1993" by James L. Heskett, case writer Roger Hallowell, the author's casewriting experience, and "Mobilizing People for Breakthrough Service," video number 2 in the series People, Service, Success, Harvard Business School Press, 1993.

  12. Case Flash Forward: Southwest Airlines

    Harvard Business School. Product #: 8531-PDF-ENG. Length: 5 page (s) Curated update on Southwest Airlines since 2013 culled from publicly available sources providing current company overview, significant developments, c.

  13. Southwest airlines: A case study linking employee needs satisfaction

    Southwest airlines: A case study linking employee needs satisfaction and organizational capabilities to competitive advantage ... Harvard Business School, Baker Library West 473, Boston, MA 02163. Harvard Business School, Baker Library West 473, Boston, MA 02163Search for more ... PDF. Tools. Request permission; Export citation; Add to ...

  14. Southwest Airlines Is Playing with Brand Fire

    Southwest Airlines is often used as a case study for a well-run business: it's consistently more profitable than its competitors, it's very disciplined about how it operates, and its customers ...

  15. Southwest Airlines: 1993 (A)

    Southwest Airlines, the only major U.S. airline to be profitable in 1992, makes a decision as to which of two new cities to open, or to add a new long-haul route. Provides windows into Southwest's strategy, operations, marketing, and culture. ... Harvard Business School Case 694-023, August 1993. (Revised April 1997.) Educators; Purchase; About ...

  16. PDF Case Study

    CASE STUDY I. COMPANY OVERVIEW Southwest Airlines Co. ("Southwest") is a major U.S. airline that primarily provides short haul, high-frequency, point-to-point, low-fare service. Southwest was incorporated in ... Southwest Airlines stock is publicly traded under the symbol LUV. As of September 10, 2004, Value Line reported 786,k426,363 ...

  17. Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines

    Southwest Airlines is well known as the low-fare airline that has achieved ongoing financial success in one of the most financially troubled industries in the United States. Told from the perspectives of two Southwest customers--a frequent flier and a more typical customer--the case revolves around two customer service requests from the frequent flier, both of which provide a compelling ...

  18. (PDF) Effect of the strategic approach to human resource management in

    Effect of the strategic approach to human resource management in businesses performance and gaining competitive advantage: a study case in Southwest Airlines February 2015 DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3031.7607

  19. Southwest Airlines (A)

    Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier serving Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, begins service in 1971 in the face of competition by two larger, entrenched airlines. Improved quality service, lower prices, and innovative advertising and promotional strategy bring Southwest to the brink of profitability in early 1973, when its major competitor halves fares on Southwest's major route ...

  20. Southwest Airlines (C)

    Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier, has just completed its first year of operations in June 1972 and management is debating what advertising and promotional strategy to adopt for the future. Southwest has successfully broken into a market dominated by two larger airlines and gained a significant market share through improved quality ...

  21. (PDF) Solved Case Study of Southwest Airlines from "STRATEGIC

    a fundamentals of management case study submission october , a case study on southwest airlines from "trategic management: an integrated approach th edition by hill & jone" cengage learning te t book page: "ubmitted by: group imad shahid khan roll | siddharth bhagat roll | soumya suman roll | ansai sony roll section a, st semester, bachelor of business management - g oup , "e io a, st ...

  22. Southwest Airlines in Baltimore

    The number of connecting passengers through Southwest Airlines' Baltimore station has grown 100% CAGR since 1997. Originally designed as a point-to-point network, this load of connecting passengers has been stressing Baltimore ground operations, resulting in an erosion of service quality and difficulties in achieving fast plane turnarounds--one of the key elements of Southwest's low-cost ...