A research on service encounters at airports within the scope of social and environmental sustainability

Aviation sector, airport management and airport marketing have shown continuous change and development from past to present. In this process, the increase in the value of airline businesses every year and the increase in the number of passengers who prefer airlines worldwide have made the importance of airport marketing better understood by the managers. Today, the limited resources and the continuous increase in needs have made the concepts of sustainability and green marketing the most important issues of our age. The increase in environmental problems and the rapid depletion of natural resources require individuals and businesses to develop more responsible and conscious approaches. In this study, for this purpose, analyses were carried out by using scales that were used in different studies at different times, consisting of factors that are closely related to social sustainability, environmental sustainability and green marketing concepts such as environmental awareness, environmental sustainability, environmental value, green image, green trust, green customer satisfaction and green word-of-mouth communication factors. It is seen that the scales used within the scope of the study are used in different methods and disciplines. However, the model and the scales used in this study have been adapted for the first time for the aviation sector within the scope of green marketing and sustainability. In the study, a Structural Equation Model (SEM) was created in line with the data collected from the participants through the survey method and the relationships between the related factors were analysed and interpreted through this model. It was determined that the fit values in the model were within acceptable limits. As a result of the analyses, different levels of factor loadings were obtained and this situation caused the explanatory levels of the relationships between the factors to vary. The model aims to evaluate the attitudes of passengers and visitors in detail, especially in the perspective of social and environmental sustainability of service encounters at airports. The findings obtained provide concrete suggestions for reshaping the service strategies of airports in line with sustainability principles. In this respect, the research both contributes to the academic literature and has important implications for practice.