Technology Adoption and Competitive Advantage of Local Airlines in Kenya: A Case Study of 748 Air Services

This study examined the influence of technology adoption on the competitive advantage of local airlines in Kenya, using 748 Air Services (Fly748) as the case. Kenya’s domestic aviation market is expanding and highly competitive, yet results differ sharply between carriers, and little evidence exists on whether the use of digital systems helps small scheduled operators compete; most Kenyan studies concern Kenya Airways or large foreign carriers. A descriptive-correlational design was adopted. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 37 staff of 748 Air Services, comprising 13 supervisory and management staff and 24 operational employees. Technology adoption was measured through online booking and check-in, revenue management, digital maintenance planning, mobile money payments and technology in daily operations. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and simple linear regression in SPSS. Technology adoption was moderately high (mean = 3.59, SD = 0.49) and had a strong, positive and significant relationship with competitive advantage (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Technology adoption explained about 61 percent of the variation in perceived competitive advantage (R² = 0.61, F(1, 35) = 54.38, p < 0.001).: Technology adoption is an important source of competitive advantage for a small scheduled airline. The study recommends that the airline treat digital investment as a strategic priority, strengthen its revenue management capability, and that regulators support the digitisation of smaller carriers. Keywords: technology adoption, competitive advantage, local airlines, resource-based view, digital systems, Kenya