The Decision Making Experience During Periods of Uncertainty for Hub Airports: An Executive Leadership Perspective

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD)

Committee Chair

Donis Toler

Committee Member

Joel Light

Committee Member

Tonia Young-Babb

Abstract

Airport executives operate within complex environments characterized by operational uncertainty, regulatory oversight, safety sensitivity, and multi-stakeholder coordination. Airports function as critical infrastructure for regional economies and public mobility, requiring leaders to make consequential decisions in conditions where outcomes are often uncertain or rapidly evolving. While aviation research has traditionally focused on operational decision-making among pilots, controllers, and technical systems, limited research has examined the decision-making experiences of airport executives themselves. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of airport executives as they make strategic and operational decisions during periods of uncertainty at U.S. hub airports. Guided by an integrated conceptual framework combining leadership theory, decision theory, cognitive influences, enterprise risk management, and collaborative airport decision structures, the study examined how executives interpret uncertainty and navigate complex organizational environments.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with airport executives representing hub airport leadership roles. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns related to executive cognition, leadership judgment, risk interpretation, and collaborative decision processes. Findings indicate that executive decision making in airport environments is shaped by interconnected influences, including leadership orientation, cognitive interpretation of uncertainty, enterprise risk awareness, and collaborative stakeholder coordination. Participants described uncertainty as a persistent operational condition requiring adaptive leadership, situational awareness, and integration of diverse organizational perspectives.

This study contributes to leadership and aviation management research by providing insight into how airport executives experience decision making under uncertainty and by expanding understanding of leadership judgment within complex infrastructure systems.

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