Title: Identifying new business areas in air transport industry using patent information

Authors: Mohsen Shafiei Nikabadi; Habib Karimian Sani-Varjovi

Addresses: Industrial Management Department, Faculty of Economics, Management and Administrative Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran ' Industrial Management Department, Faculty of Economics, Management and Administrative Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

Abstract: Organisations have to identify and exploit new business areas to ensure stable and continuous growth. The air transport is an important pillar of international transportation and is one of the most important economic activities for development and economic progress. In this research, 115 patents between 2000 and 2017 were reviewed to identify new areas in the air transport. After the selection of the most important criteria for the companies' assessment, we used the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP), triangular Chang method, to gain weights of criteria, and then, by the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and BCC output model, companies operating in the air transport were ranked; companies (Airbus, LTA, Boeing) earned the most points. Ultimately, through the text mining and extraction of information, products and new areas of the industry were identified that the domains and products (aircraft, airplane and jet) were more attractive to companies than other products.

Keywords: air transport; new business areas; patent information; fuzzy analytic hierarchy process; data envelopment analysis; DEA; text mining.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2021.115454

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2021 Vol.25 No.2, pp.184 - 207

Received: 22 May 2018
Accepted: 05 Aug 2019
Published online: 03 Jun 2021 *

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