Measuring the impact of restructuring and country-specific factors on the efficiency of post-crisis East Asian banking systems: Integrating DEA with SFA

This paper investigates the relationship between post-crisis bank restructuring, country-specific conditions and bank efficiency in Asian countries from 1997 to 2001 using an approach that integrates data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis. We focus on restructuring measures related to bank ownership. The results indicate that although domestic mergers produce more efficient banks, overall, restructuring does not lead to more efficient banking systems. Banking system inefficiencies are mostly attributed to country-specific conditions, particularly, high interest rates, concentrated markets and economic development.     

The implications of efficiency differences in sustainable development: An empirical study in the consumer product industry

Firms often invest in sustainable development projects to improve their environmental and societal performance. Given the broad spectrum of these projects and limited resources, managers face challenges in determining where to improve (e.g., improving water consumption and reducing carbon footprint). The study examines the connection between environmental performance and firm performance from a new angle to help managers make informed decisions. The study examines firms in the consumer product industry regarding their efficiency in the operational aspect, the resource-related environmental aspect, and the climate-related environmental aspect. It then employs panel data models to investigate the implications of efficiency differences across these aspects on firms' financial performance and business risk. The results indicate that the effects of these differences are adverse in general. Additionally, the relationship between the operational and environmental efficiency difference and financial performance is in an inverted-U shape. The study contributes to the literature by offering theoretical support and empirical evidence for the balanced portfolio approach in managing multiple environmental concerns. The study findings also provide managerial guidelines for decision-making. To gain a greater benefit, managers should aim to minimize the performance differences across multiple environmental aspects and manage a subtle balance between operational performance and environmental performance.     

Operating efficiency in Chinese universities: An extended two-stage network DEA approach

The result shows that it accepts the null hypothesis. Namely, there is no significant difference in the operating efficiency of universities in different regions. That is to say, although the efficiency of the central and western universities is slightly better than that of the eastern universities in terms of the average efficiency, there is no significant efficiency difference among the eastern, central, and western regions statistically. Therefore, it shows a balanced development trend for the efficiency of universities in different regions.     

Evaluation of ecological systems and the recycling of undesirable outputs: An efficiency study of regions in China

A balance between environmental regulation and economic prosperity has become a major issue of concern to attain a sustainable society in China. This study proposes the application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for measuring the efficiencies of the ecological systems in various regions of that country. The proposed approach differs from most of the previous ecological systems models in that we view it in a two stage setting; the first stage models the ecological system itself, and from an economic perspective, while the second stage (decontamination system) models water recycling as a feedback process, and the treatment of other undesirable outputs coming from the first stage. There, we separate polluting gases and water into two parts; one part is treated, while the other is discharged. The model considers two major desirable outputs from the first stage, namely Population and Gross Region Product by expenditure (GRP), as well as undesirable variables in the form of consumed water, and certain pollutants, namely nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and soot. At the same time, these undesirable outputs from the first stage are inputs to the second decontamination stage. As well, recycled water is fed back into stage 1. Thus, intermediate variables such as consumed water and waste gas emission simultaneously play dual roles of both outputs and inputs in the ecological system.     

Global sourcing and quality recalls: An empirical study of outsourcing-supplier concentration-product recalls linkages

This study investigates how supply chain sourcing strategies are associated with product quality recalls. In particular, the research examines how make-or-buy decisions (i.e., outsourcing), the use of foreign suppliers (i.e., offshore outsourcing), the relocation of production to offshore markets (i.e., offshoring), and decisions to consolidate supply bases (i.e., the use of few vs. myriad suppliers) are related to product recalls. Product recalls are serious quality failures in supply chains with significant, negative impacts on firm performance. Product recalls are frequently connected to the globalization of supply chains. Globalization has, at times, promoted inconsistency in quality control and standards, leading to quality problems and failures. Data across multiple industries, with widely reported recalls, have been collected and analyzed using regression techniques. Our findings indicate that offshore outsourcing has a greater impact on recalls than offshoring without outsourcing; outsourcing domestically has the least influence. Outsourcing to a smaller supplier base may lead to fewer recalls at low levels of outsourcing. However, it may exacerbate the impact of outsourcing on recalls at high levels of outsourcing.     

New evidence on the efficiency of Italian airports: A bootstrapped DEA analysis

A bootstrapped DEA procedure is used to estimate technical efficiency of 18 Italian airports during the period 2000-2004. Departing from previous studies, we separate the efficiency related to ability to manage airside activities (operational) from that related to the management of all business activities (financial). In general, Italian airports operate at poor levels of efficiency, with slightly better performance in terms of their financial activities. In the current study, selected intrinsic and environmental characteristics are considered as possible drivers of Italian airport performance. In particular, we found that: (i) the airport dimension does not allows for operational efficiency advantages, (ii) on the other hand, the airport dimension allows for financial efficiency advantages for the case of hubs and disadvantages for the case of the smallest airports (iii) the type(s) of concession agreement(s) might be considered as important source of technical efficiency differentials for those airports running marginal commercial activities; (iv) the introduction of a dual-till price cap regulation might create incentives which lead to the increase of financial efficiency at the detriment of the operational performance. Lastly, the development of a second hub (Milano Malpensa), has negatively affected the performance of the country’s national hub (Roma Fiumicino).     

Dynamically evaluating the comprehensive efficiency of technological innovation and low-carbon economy in China's industrial sectors

Technological innovation and low-carbon economy are significant for the high-quality development of China's industrial sectors. However, few scholars combine the two stages closely and discuss their coordinated development. This paper establishes an evaluation index system of technological innovation and low-carbon economy in China's industrial sectors. The technological innovation efficiency, low-carbon economy efficiency, and comprehensive efficiency of technological innovation and low-carbon economy are dynamically investigated by the two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and the DEA window analysis with 35 subsectors panel data during 1996–2018. The inter-industrial differences in the technological innovation efficiency and low-carbon economy efficiency are considered, and the influencing factors of the comprehensive efficiency of technological innovation and low-carbon economy are studied by the bootstrap truncation regression. The results show that: (1) The development of the technological innovation and low-carbon economy is uncoordinated, and the low-carbon economy efficiency needs improvement; (2) There is heterogeneous of the technological innovation efficiency and low-carbon economy efficiency in the 35 subsectors; (3) The density of science and technology institutions, and the average enterprises scale are positive to the comprehensive efficiency of technological innovation and low-carbon economy, while excessive reliance on technology introduction has a negative impaction. The corresponding suggestions are provided for promoting technological innovation efficiency and low-carbon economy efficiency of industrial sectors.     

Public-private partnerships and scale efficiency in Brazilian ports: Evidence from two-stage DEA analysis

This paper assesses the impacts of public-private partnerships on major Brazilian public ports. It is proposed that these kinds of arrangements with private terminal operators could help achieving higher levels of scale efficiency by enhancing coordination processes, providing more adequate information technologies, and higher connectivity with other transportation modes. Methodology relies on factor extraction of inputs/outputs as a first step to compute DEA efficiency estimates, followed by truncated bootstrapped regression analysis to test different contextual variables. Results indicate a strong positive impact of public-private partnerships on port scale efficiency, corroborating their impacts in relation to the most productive scale size.     

Assessing efficiency and innovation in the 3PL industry: an empirical analysis

ABSTRACT

The Third-party Logistics (3PL) industry is facing both important growth rates and increasing competitive pressure. 3PL providers are required to continuously sustain a more and more competitive cost structure (i.e. efficiency) and develop capabilities to improve their services (i.e. innovation); hence, the evaluation of these key success factors is considered a key issue. This paper develops a quantitative analysis of 71 Italian 3PL providers by using Data Envelopment Analysis to jointly assess efficiency and innovation. Furthermore, through a case study research, it corroborates the quantitative results by investigating the strategies of best-in-class companies. Results allowed identifying 13 3PL providers as efficiency leaders and 6 as leaders from both the efficiency and the innovation side. Their input composition indicates a diversification of the business models. A breakdown of the analysis by size and industry focus, along with empirical evidence on the strategies enhancing efficiency and innovation, is also provided.     

Unveiling the endogeneity between social-welfare and labor efficiency: Two-stage NDEA neural network approach

This paper estimates intersectoral labor efficiencies and its covariances in Brazil from 2003 to 2016 using a two-stage neural network model. It investigates whether there is a positive relationship between education and productivity. At the first stage, a static Markov chain regression provides labor quantitative efficiency (volume) and labor value efficiency (value added). The second stage runs a dynamic regression model between each estimated efficiency and the social contextual variables to unveil endogeneities from covariances among the variables set. Strong covariances are found between the efficiencies and fertility rate, suggesting that there is a relevant gap between the productive sector and worker qualification, leading to lower levels of efficiency in Brazil, as shown in the theoretical model. The economy is unable to allocate efficiently the stock of qualified workers.     

基于效率视角的金融生态研究综述

金融生态是具有中国特色的概念。学界对金融生态的研究,对提高我国金融业效率具有重要意义。本文基于效率视角从理论和实证两方面对金融生态理论研究进行了梳理,重点梳理并评析金融生态的内涵、假设前提、金融生态和金融效率的关系三个方面,并对金融生态的进一步研究作出展望。     

Radial and nonradial measures of technical efficiency: An empirical illustration for Belgian local governments using an FDH reference technology

This paper serves two purposes. First, we argue that radial efficiency measures are inappropriate for the Free Disposal Hull (FDH) technology, and we provide a comparative analysis of alternative nonradial measures. In particular, using information on Belgian local government expenditures and output indicators we implement various radial and nonradial measures on the FDH reference technology, and we investigate to which extent these efficiency measures imply different distributions and rankings. Second, we analyze the patterns of measured technical efficiency implied by the various indices. Specifically, we investigate whether different measures make any substantial difference for the explanation of the calculated inefficiencies. The empirical results suggest that more important differences in rankings exist between radial and nonradial measures than between different nonradial alternatives; moreover, the radial and the nonradial efficiency measures do yield a somewhat different pattern of explanation.This is a revision of a paper presented at the 38th Conference of the Applied Econometrics Association in Athens (April 12–13, 1993). Comments of R. Goudriaan, Henry Tulkens, and two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged.     

Innovation efficiency of semiconductor industry in China: A new framework based on generalized three-stage DEA analysis

Considering the interrelationships between periods and the influences of non-operational factors, a new framework based generalized three-stage DEA model, grey relational analysis theory and disparity disassembly model is proposed in this paper. Then, we measure the technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and pure technical efficiency of innovation in China's semiconductor industry between 2009 and 2014. In addition, we conducted projection analysis of the inputs to innovation and the disparities analysis in innovation efficiency across the industrial chain and within each segment. The results of our analyses reveal four key findings. The overall innovation efficiency of China's semiconductor industry is increasing; however, each segment of the industrial chain had different trends and different levels of innovation efficiency. All segments show a consistently upward trend except for package testing, which dipped in 2012 due to the time lag between the inputs and outputs associated with major technological advancements. The most efficient innovation is occurring in design and package testing, followed by manufacturing, materials, and equipment, in that order. Low levels of innovation efficiency were found to be the most significant factor restricting further improvement in the design, manufacturing, and equipment segments of the industrial chain. But the opposite is true for the package testing segment, where pure technical efficiency is the main factor. A range of redundancies in input were found across the industrial chain, mostly in manufacturing and equipment. These two segments are capital-intensive and characterized by a high level of technical complexity coupled with a long research cycle. The disparities in innovation efficiency in and between the segments decreased over the period. However, interestingly, the main disparities were found among the enterprises within each segment, which we attribute to the Chinese government's concerted efforts to support particular companies. Package testing and manufacturing had the highest levels of disparity due to relatively high agglomeration of these two segments. The materials segment had the lowest disparity, with equipment and design falling somewhere in-between.     

Using data envelopment analysis to measure the efficiency of non-profit organizations: A critical evaluation

This study examines the potential effects of variable set expansion and data variations upon the efficiency scores generated using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. It was found that variable set expansion (either through disaggregation of existing variables or addition of new factors) should produce an upward trend in efficiency scores. In addition, ample opportunity exists for ‘decision-making units’ to increase their efficiency scores through manipulation of reported data. In real-world applications of DEA, these problems must be resolved as much as possible (e.g. increased audit of data) in order to improve DEA's practical usefulness and reliability.     

The impact of market structure on environmental efficiency in the United States: A quantile approach

This paper investigates the relationship between efficiency and market structure for a sample of industrial facilities dispersed among the U.S. states. In order to measure the relevant efficiency scores, we use a data envelopment analysis allowing for the inclusion of desirable and undesirable (toxic chemical releases) outputs in the production function. In the next stage, we utilize the bootstrapped quantile regression methodology to uncover possible nonlinear relationships between efficiency and competition at the mean and at various quantiles before and after the global financial crisis (2002 and 2012). In this way, we impose no functional form constraints on parameter values over the conditional distribution of the dependent variable (efficiency). At the same time, we estimate at which part of its cumulative distribution function the efficiency is located and draw substantial conclusions about the range of policy measures obtained. The empirical findings indicate that the relationship between efficiency and market concentration did change in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The empirical results survived robustness checks under the inclusion of an alternative market concentration indicator (CR8).     

Estimating the impact on efficiency of the adoption of a voluntary environmental standard: an empirical study of the global copper mining industry

This paper uses data on the world’s copper mining industry to measure the impact on efficiency of the adoption of the ISO 14001 environmental standard. Anecdotal and case study literature suggests that firms are motivated to adopt this standard so as to achieve greater efficiency through changes in operating procedures and processes. Using plant level panel data from 1992 to 2007 on most of the world’s industrial copper mines, the study uses stochastic frontier methods to investigate the effects of ISO adoption. The variety of models used in this study find that adoption either tends to improve efficiency or has no impact on efficiency, but no evidence is found that ISO adoption decreases efficiency.     

The effect of human capital on occupational health and safety investment: An empirical analysis of Spanish firms

This paper analyses how firms' human capital influences their investments in occupational health and safety (OHS). We argue that the incentive to protect workers by investing in OHS is a function of the stock of human capital. The empirical analysis was based on data from the official Working Conditions Spanish Survey on OHS management. Our sample was restricted to 1,472 firms from the manufacturing and construction industries. Our results show that firms that place more emphasis on training and have a multiskilled and innovative workforce invest more in OHS. However, having technological and design skills has no impact on the investment in OHS, presumably because these skills are widely available in the labour market. Finally, the analysis suggests that some abilities such as problem solving may be affected by informational asymmetries and therefore firms may suboptimally invest in protecting these capabilities.     

An analysis of the managerial performance of Italian museums using a generalised conditional efficiency model

Museums are important cultural institutions having the mission of conserving, interpreting, researching and displaying heritage. The evaluation of their efficiency has been extensively investigated in the literature using different approaches and methods. In this paper, we employ a generalised conditional efficiency model to assess the true efficiency of Italian museums, i.e. the efficiency in the provision of museums' service potential, consistently dealing with the impact of the socio-demographic and institutional environment in which museums operate. Results show that the operational environment matters. In particular, conditional estimates suggest that higher income levels and larger hospitality sectors positively influence museums efficiency. Ownership matters: museums’ service potential is higher for private institutions while, among public institutions, efficiency is generally lower for state-owned museums.     

Job autonomy, trust in leadership, and continuous improvement: An empirical study in health care

This research examines the influence of autonomy in day-to-day work on commitment of frontline employees to continuous improvement. Our hypothesized model links the job characteristics theory of work design that associates job autonomy with responsibility for outcomes, and the total quality management perspective that advocates empowering employees in order to generate commitment to continuous improvement. Further, as leadership is known to have a role in shaping job behaviors, and is considered important for the success of total quality management, the influence of trust in leadership on the relationship between job autonomy and commitment to continuous improvement is also examined. We test our hypotheses on data collected from individual employees working for an outpatient health care organization that is applying lean principles for managing and improving work processes. Based on our results, we present implications for organizations implementing continuous improvement initiatives such as lean, particularly in service environments such as health care.     

Advances in physician profiling: the use of DEA

Insurers, health plans, and individual physicians in the United States are facing increasing pressures to reduce costs while maintaining quality. In this study, motivated by our work with a large managed care organization, we use readily available data from its claims database with data envelopment analysis (DEA) to examine physician practices within this organization. Currently the organization evaluates primary care physicians using a profile of 16 disparate ratios involving cost, utilization, and quality. We employed these same factors along with indicators of severity to develop a single, comprehensive measure of physician efficiency through DEA. DEA enabled us to identify a reference set of “best practice” physicians tailored to each inefficient physician. This paper presents a discussion of the selection of model inputs and outputs, the development of the DEA model using a “stepwise” approach, and a sensitivity analysis using superefficiency scores. The stepwise and superefficiency analyses required little extra computation and yielded useful insights into the reasons as to why certain physicians were found to be efficient. This paper demonstrates that DEA has advantages for physician profiling and usefully augments the current ratio-based reports.