Stakeholder coordination and leadership practices at regional Airports : a comparative study of Tampere‑Pirkkala Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport

Abstract

This thesis aimed to examine how leadership practices facilitate effective coordination between independent organisations at regional airports, by comparing Tampere Pirkkala Airport in Finland and Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka.

The study followed a qualitative, comparative desk research approach that included a systematic literature review, document analysis of publicly available material from both airports, and a cross case comparison drawing on stakeholder theory, network governance theory, collaborative leadership, boundary spanning, and cross cultural management literature.

Through this process, the study identified that both airports rely on a combination of formal coordination mechanisms and informal leadership practices, with neither implementing full Airport Collaborative Decision Making. The most significant difference was not whether informal coordination existed, but where it operated within each organisation: at Tampere Pirkkala it was distributed and peer level, consistent with Nordic flat hierarchy norms, whereas at Bandaranaike International Airport it was concentrated at senior management level, consistent with a high power distance context.

The findings also indicate that leadership facilitates coordination through influence rather than formal authority, and that coordination practices are not transferable between institutional contexts without significant adaptation, offering practical insights for regional airport managers operating in multistakeholder environments.

Overall, the thesis contributes to the fields of aviation and international business by extending existing theories on stakeholder coordination, network governance, and collaborative leadership, and by providing a basis for future research on similar airport contexts.