Navigating the Ride: Novel insights from the UK Private Hire and Taxi industry.

Abstract

This thesis explores innovation and disruption in the UK Private Hire and Taxi market, benefitting from the unique position of ‘researcher as practitioner’. Harnessing access to insider networks, first-hand industry experience and access to exclusive and inimitable taxi journey data, I present three studies that investigate this industry from multiple, novel perspectives. Study one presents an analysis on disruption and innovation in the industry with regard to the emergence of global, e-hailing firms. Study two focuses on government policy and the implications for industry, focusing specifically on climate change legislation and the electrification of private hire vehicles. Study three contributes an intimate insight into strategic management practices within a family business, the intergenerational transitioning of a family firm and the consequences of succession. The findings from Study One advance existing literature by offering an alternative analysis of Uber as a disruptive innovator, contextualising it to the market in the United Kingdom. This contrasts with prior research which focuses exclusively on foreign markets or London alone, narrowing the analytical lens. Introducing the new concept of ‘disruptive money’ advances disruptive innovation theory, arguing that Uber’s disruptive activity is premised upon substantial subsidies, investment and regulatory disregard. Study two reveals that market reforms are likely to fail due to a lack of government understanding and representation of embedded structural interests in the marketplace. Findings from study two evidence how actors in this marketplace interact and unpack the dynamic between interests and power. The literature on electric vehicles is expanded by focusing on the unique use case of private hire vehicles, strategic management considerations and the business modelling consequences. Study three emphasises a complex interplay between tradition and innovation for successors of family firms, in addition to the deeply emotional and personal effect family firms have on their custodians. This thesis and its findings offer valuable contributions to literature on the UK Private Hire and Taxi market. New insights inform practitioners on industry disruptors, incumbent competitive response, the emerging industry challenge of electrification and managing a family firm in this context. Important implications for policymakers are also highlighted, with clear recommendations to both competition regulators and net zero legislators.