Truth table.

Low-cost airlines have embraced diverse business models, yielding varying degrees of success. In our study, we apply a configurational approach that allows us to evaluate business models not as isolated components but as intricate business configurations. Through this lens, we identify two distinct models that successful low-cost airlines adopt: the pure low-cost model and the hybrid model. Each model has its own specific, often contradictory, attributes. Most significantly, our findings indicate that low-cost airlines must choose between offering a broad spectrum of additional services or focusing on high productivity and on-time performance. Our analyses reveal that low-cost airlines cannot sidestep this trade-off, as a simultaneous offering of both models does not lead to success.

低成本航空公司已采用多样化的商业模式，并取得了程度不一的经营成效。本研究采用组态研究方法（configurational approach），该方法可将商业模式视为复杂的商业组态加以评估，而非孤立的组成单元。基于这一研究视角，我们识别出成功低成本航空公司所采用的两类差异化商业模式：纯低成本模式（pure low-cost model）与混合模式（hybrid model）。两类模式各自拥有专属且往往相互矛盾的属性特征。最为关键的是，本研究结果表明，低成本航空公司需在提供多元化附加服务与聚焦高运营效率及准点率二者之间做出抉择。分析结果显示，低成本航空公司无法规避这一取舍困境，同时采用两类模式并不能取得经营成功。