A systematic literature review of revenue management in passenger transportation

Abstract

PurposeThis paper proposes an in-depth and complete literature review of the revenue management (RM) issue in the passenger transportation industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate structural elements and characteristics that help to make sense of the current body of RM literature under a managerial perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe RM literature landscape is analysed according to a systematic literature review approach to point out the main topics around which the scientific literature has grown in the past 30 years. Topics are further categorized in themes by means of an agglomerative hierarchical clustering procedure.FindingsFirst, the scientific literature of the past 30 years has been categorized into ten topics and four themes. Second, topics and themes are put in contrast with stages of the RM business process to highlight research areas still unaddressed by the literature. Third, the paper suggests research lines for future-related works that could positively contribute to the elevation of RM from a system of techniques to a “strategic management” theory.Originality/valueAvailable literature reviews of RM in passenger transportation are focused on quantitative aspects and poorly structured in the systemic view of the RM. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first of its kind, as it aims to assess the whole body of literature, rather than specific themes, and to do it under a management/business perspective.