New book on the global aviation industry
The aviation and airline industry is one of the largest, most advanced and complex in the world. A newly released book gives us several completely new perspectives on the aviation industry.
The book "The Global Commercial Aviation Industry" is edited by Sören Eriksson, recently resigned professor of economic geography of Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, and professor Harm-Jan Steenhuis of Hawai'i Pacific University. They have invited the most competent researchers from different fields to produce a book that gives an up-do-date as well as comprehensive overview.
Professor Eriksson is a leading expert of the global aerospace industry, and when it comes to aerospace industry in Asia and the newly industrialized countries as well as industrial policy, he is regarded by universities and organizations around the world as the very foremost. In addition, some of his innovation studies on Asia have made an impact. One example is that the Asian Productivity Organization, which covers 20 countries, built a previous innovation strategy based on a document of 10 studies, one of which was written by professor Eriksson.
“There was a great need for a book on the global aviation industry as a part of the global economy, which also includes the restructuring of the industry”, says Sören Eriksson and continues: “We wanted the book to be interesting for researchers, specialists in industry and especially politicians, who sometimes take decisions that are not as well-founded as one would wish. But the book can also be read by anyone with an interest in aviation, who wants to get a better understanding of this industry.”
Sören Erikson himself has written or co-written three of the book's chapters. The most comprehensive is about how the aircraft manufacturing industry has been a very important part of the industrial and economic development in many Asian countries. The chapter represents a unique study of the background, the positive and negative results, and actual manufacturing structure, notably when it comes to the system of subcontractors.
The second chapter that Sören Eriksson has written, together with Canadian professor of geography Daniel Todd, gives a historical review of aircraft engine technology development, and the factors that limit innovation and competitiveness in the industry. The bulk of the chapter is devoted to cooperation and competition between manufacturers, as well as market and supply chains. The chapter concludes with a discussion of environmental challenges for the aircraft engine industry.
Finally, professor Eriksson has written a chapter with Alma Lozano (who holds a PhD in strategic studies from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore) about how the end of the cold war has affected the aviation industry in the former Soviet Union. This chapter ends with a discussion on how the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is affecting the aviation industry in these two countries.
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University have recently highlighted the book as a "featured innovation book”, an honour only granted to the most important books in their respective fields.
In 2013, professor Eriksson published the book "Clusters and Economic Growth in Asia (Edward Elgar). It received a very positive review by the Japanese professor of economy Keiko Ito, who wrote: "To conclude, the research presented is of considerable interest to researchers, policy planners and industry specialists who seek to understand Industrial Development in Asia and the role played by government, local Firms, and foreign-owned Firms ". (Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Vol.28, Issue 1, 2014)
The Belfer Center list of featured books
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