ADAPTIVE EFFICIENCY AND CYBERNETIC BENCHMARKING IN NIGERIA’S AIRLINE INDUSTRY: RECONCILING GLOBAL STANDARDS WITH LOCAL REALITIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v22.n4.4610Keywords:
Adaptive Efficiency, Cybernetic Benchmarking, Airline Productivity, Nigeria, Performance-Based Regulation, DEA-SEM IntegrationAbstract
Nigeria's domestic airline sector continues to grapple with systemic inefficiencies, fluctuating operational performance, and weak regulatory enforcement relative to global benchmarks. This paper examines how universal efficiency drivers, namely operational performance, technological adoption, and regulatory frameworks, behave in Nigeria's constrained environment and explores adaptive strategies to reconcile global standards with local realities. A mixed-methods design integrating Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was employed to analyze data from five domestic airlines from 2018 to 2023. Results show that operational and technological variables exert significant positive effects on productivity efficiency (β = 0.42 and β = 0.36, respectively), while regulation remains a weaker, reactive factor. DEA results reveal an average technical efficiency of 0.79, implying a potential 21% reduction in inputs without output loss. The proposed Enhanced Productivity Efficiency Framework (EPEF), grounded in cybernetic feedback and benchmarking principles, achieved a simulated 15% improvement in overall efficiency indicators. The study concludes that adaptive, feedback-based management, anchored in data analytics, digital transformation, and performance-based regulation, offers a viable pathway for aligning Nigeria's airline industry with global productivity standards.
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