Strategic Outsourcing and Organizational Competitiveness of Airlines in Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between strategic outsourcing and organizational competitiveness among Nigerian domestic airlines. The aviation industry in Nigeria has operated under severe financial and operational pressures over the past five years, prompting airlines to explore outsourcing as a cost containment and capability enhancement strategy. The research adopts a descriptive survey design targeting operations managers, finance directors, and procurement executives of six registered domestic airlines with operations in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. A total of 85 respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Questionnaires were supplemented by documentary analysis of maintenance and ground handling contracts. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Findings reveal that airlines that strategically outsource non-core functions including maintenance, repair and overhaul, ground handling, and catering achieve measurably higher operational efficiency scores and route profitability margins. The study finds that the strategic decision to outsource maintenance reduces operational downtime by an average of 22 percent among sampled airlines. However, outsourcing of customer-facing services is associated with reduced passenger satisfaction unless strict service level agreements are enforced. The research concludes that Nigerian airlines must develop systematic outsourcing frameworks that distinguish between core and non-core functions based on competitive advantage implications. Keywords: strategic outsourcing, organizational competitiveness, airlines, Nigeria, aviation management.