THE DECLINE OF MAIL: THE INTERPRETATIONS OF POSTAL INDUSTRY’S DECISION-MAKERS IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Abstract

In the first decade of the 2000s market liberalization and digital substitution accompanied declining mail volumes in the European postal sector. The decade ended with the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Using framing theory, we explore how postal decision-makers interpreted these changes and reacted to them. We do this by conducting a content analysis on the book series entitled The Future is in the Post, a unique collection of opinion papers written during the period 2010-2012 by over seventy postal thought leaders and decision-makers. We finish by commenting on how the framing of trends at the time may have influenced the subsequent strategic decisions of postal operators.