International sustainable aerospace industry: A research on Turkish aerospace industry

To further enlarge the Turkish Aerospace Industry as an internationally sustainable industry requires a different perspective than any other industry. Due to the fact that production in the aerospace industry is a complex system, it is an area that requires advanced technology and has a high cost. Despite its high cost, it has good intellectual capital, high customer satisfaction in the market, and strong ecosystem of companies supported by government policies. It can turn into an area with high economic added value that also acts as a catalyst for the development of other sectors. In the long term, the sustainability of the Turkish Aerospace Industry depends on the acceptance of the aerospace industry as a national strategy in the development strategies determined by the nation. In addition, with international joint ventures, sectoral experience, knowledge, and technology transfer, an economy of scale in the market and customer satisfaction can be created. This study determined the current situation by making a SWOT analysis according to the importance and priority degrees of the factors based on domestic and national production that will ensure the international sustainability of the Turkish Aerospace Industry. In the study, using a qualitative research method, a focus group was formed with 14 senior executives with an average of 34 years of experience in the Turkish Aerospace Industry, and a brainstorming in which these factors were discussed and a SWOT analysis was carried out with this focus group. As a result of this study, the Turkish Aerospace Industry, considering the importance and priority of sustainability factors; human resources, image and impact, government policies, R&D and innovation, financial and market structures, sectoral ecosystem and companies, and business model. Since the factor ranking obtained is between 8.25 and 6.05 points, all factors will be important for the Turkish Aerospace Industry in the decision process. SWOT analysis determined strong, weak, opportunity, and threat factors. In line with the analyses made and the values obtained, it aims to contribute to the literature by making suggestions that will enable the national and locality of the Turkish Aerospace Industry to be ensured and ensure continuity.