The Role of Innovation in Achieving Competitiveness in the Air Transport Sector: An Analytical Case Study of Emirates Airlines (2004–2024)

Abstract

This study analyses the relationship between institutional and technological innovation and the financial performance of Emirates Airline during the period 2004–2024, in light of the growing challenges facing the global aviation sector. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach supported by an econometric model using OLS estimation with White-HAC standard errors, based on annual data extracted from the company’s official reports. The analysis includes variables reflecting investments in intangible innovation (such as enterprise software) and tangible innovation (such as capital expenditure), in addition to dummy variables representing major crises.

The results reveal a strong and statistically significant impact of intangible innovation on revenues, while capital expenditure showed a weaker and statistically insignificant effect in the short term. Furthermore, the findings highlight the considerable negative impact of health and financial crises, despite the airline’s operational resilience. The study underscores the importance of investing in intangible assets as a lever of competitiveness in the aviation sector, while also calling for enhanced disclosure and measurement of innovation components. It offers an analytical framework relevant to policymakers and researchers aiming to understand the dynamics of innovation and competitiveness in post-crisis aviation markets.