Evaluation of technical efficiency among entrant and incumbent firms in the Spanish retailing sector: The effects of deregulation from a regional perspective

This study analyzes the efficiency of entrant and incumbent firms in the 1995–2003 period, after a significant shift in the institutional environment of the retail sector occurred with the deregulation of opening hours carried out imposed by decree law 6/2000. It also analyzes the evolution of efficiency in relation to the entrance cohorts and to their geographical localization. The results obtained show that the effects of opening hours by decree law 2000 have perhaps been negative on the level of efficiency of the new firms. The increasing of the inefficiency of the firms is observed through the cohorts with more intensity starting from the year 2000, although in general the tendency of the efficiency is negative at global level. There have not been statistically significant differences between the incoming firms and the incumbent ones for both specialized and non-specialized sectors. Finally, notable intersectoral and intrasectoral differences of efficiency exist among Autonomous Communities (i.e. regions).     

基于流通环节视角的我国农产品流通效率及其演变特征

以2010—2019年的省级面板数据为研究基础,借助于BCC-DEA模型与DEA窗口分析,对我国农产品整体的批发、零售环节的流通效率进行了一系列估算分析,从数据分析的结果看,农产品流通整体、批发和零售环节的综合效率不高,三个环节都处在DEA非有效状态,且研究显示纯技术效率无效是导致整体综合效率偏低的关键所在。在不同的区域中,其效率也存在着一定的差异,东部地区省份与批发环境的效率偏高,西部省份与零售环节效率偏低。整体而言,农产品流通效率呈波动性上涨趋势,且中西部省份的上涨幅度远高于东部地区。最后,相应的研究显示这几方面效率偏低的主要原因发生了变化,国家需要进行政策调整,从而适应市场发展。     

Resource reallocation strategies for sustainable efficiency improvement of retail chains

Sustainability is an important agenda for retail businesses in the present times. To create long-term value for customers, retail businesses are required to adopt approaches that can enable them to integrate operational efficiency with concerns for environmental and social sustainability. Optimal deployment of resources among the several stores run by a retail chain, with an objective of maximizing sustainable efficiency, is an enabling step in this direction. This research finds three main contributions to the body of knowledge: (1) resource reallocation models are proposed based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), integrating sustainability in the efficiency measurement model and aiming for improvement in the aggregated efficiency, (2) the proposed models integrate selective centralized and decentralized reallocation decisions according to the input-output characteristics, and (3) different scenarios are explored depending on whether the total resources are to be kept the same or reduced through reallocations according to the management's objectives. The application of the proposed models is illustrated with the case study of a supermarket retail chain.     

Efficiency in the Greek Banking Industry: A Comparison of Foreign and Domestic Banks

This study uses a sample of foreign and domestic banks operating in Greece during 1999–2004 to examine the impact of ownership on efficiency. We estimate an input oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) model under variable returns to scale with inputs and outputs selected on the basis of a profit‐oriented approach. The results indicate an average pure technical efficiency equal to 0.7325 showing that the banks in sample could improve their efficiency by 26.75%. Over the same period, scale efficiency was equal to 0.6830. The comparison of the efficiency scores by group of ownership shows that domestic banks have higher pure technical efficiency and lower scale efficiency; however, the differences are not statistically significant. A DEA window‐analysis confirms the results of the cross‐section estimations. We also estimate a Tobit regression model but consistent with the univariate results we find no evidence to support the argument that ownership has a statistically significant impact on efficiency.     

Estimating profit efficiency among South African retail firms using stochastic frontier approach

This paper analyses profit efficiency of selected retail firms in South Africa over the 2005–2006 period. A stochastic frontier analysis method is used. The 24 retail firms covered are ranked in terms of their efficiency performance over this period. Their efficiencies have also been tracked over time. Approximately 50% of the firms are estimated to have profit efficiency estimates higher than the average estimated for the sampled firms. The top 10 firms are performing significantly better than the average profit efficiency of 0.39. The profit efficiency of the top three firms is more than double the observed average profit efficiency performance of the sampled retail firms. However, the bottom 50% of the retail firms has performed poorly.     

中国农村乡镇卫生院服务效率的实证分析——基于省际面板数据的DEA-Tobit估计

使用2002-2009年我国31个省份的面板数据,对不同地区乡镇卫生院服务效率进行比较和分析.采用投入导向的数据包络分析(BCC模型)方法计算各省份乡镇卫生院的技术效率和规模效率,并根据效率和投入情况将全国不同地区划分为六种类型,针对不同类型的地区提出提高效率的路径.使用Tobit回归对效率低下的影响因素进行回归分析.我国农村地区乡镇卫生院服务效率很大程度上受到新型农村医疗制度的实施效果,以及农村居民的文盲率和总抚养比的影响.     

Heterogeneity of political connections and outward foreign direct investment

By examining the heterogeneity of political connections (PCs), this study reconceptualises the relationship between PCs and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Drawing upon resource dependence theory, we hypothesise that firms with ascribed PCs benefit from top political privileges in their home market and have a low OFDI commitment. Firms without any PCs have a medium OFDI commitment because they have to avoid the discriminative competition associated with their inferior political status. Firms with acquired PCs possess relatively strong political and market resources and face exchange pressure; thus, they exhibit a high OFDI commitment. The aforementioned hypotheses are supported by empirical results from probit and Tobit models based on panel data of 482 listed Chinese firms with OFDI from 2003 to 2014.     

Non-Interest Income and Bank Efficiency in Ghana: A Two-Stage DEA Bootstrapping Approach

This paper examines the effect of the inclusion of non-interest income on efficiency and economies of scale of Ghanaian banks in a two-stage analysis. The data envelopment analysis technique is employed to estimate efficiency scores with and without non-interest income of 26 Ghanaian banks from 2003 to 2011 in the first-stage analysis. In the second stage, a truncated bootstrapped regression is estimated to examine the effect of contextual variables on bootstrapped efficiency scores. The findings indicate that the exclusion of non-interest income as output variable leads to the under-estimation of efficiency scores. From the second-stage regression analysis, we find a curve-linear relationship between bank size and efficiency to suggest that bank efficiency increases as size also increase due to economies of scale but only up to an optimal point after which inefficiency sets. Market concentration, leverage, and loan loss provisions are also identified as the other significant determinants of efficiency. Policy implications for improving bank efficiency are discussed.     

Capacity inefficiencies of teaching and non-teaching hospitals

This paper investigates capacity-based inefficiency causes and the existence of any differences between the improvement processes of teaching and non-teaching hospitals. In an effort to comparatively evaluate the inefficiency causes of hospitals in Turkey, this study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA). DEA can simultaneously assess the relationship between capacity (physical capacity and medical labor capacity) as inputs and the utilization of capacity (utilization of institution capacity for patients, utilization of physical capacity, and utilization of technological capacity) as outputs. In addition, the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) is used to analyze the patterns of efficiency change for the study years from 2001 to 2007. Several improvement suggestions have been provided to health care policy makers regarding inefficiency causes and ways of optimizing hospital efficiency.     

Technical efficiency and human capital in the retail sector

The performance of the British retail sectors in terms of productivity growth is not brilliant. This paper focuses on a specific component of productivity growth (technical efficiency) and tests the extent to which its variance across the sector can be explained by the differences in the educational attainment of the pool of workers to which retail firms have access. The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of 1061 retail firms from the Annual Respondents Database, 1997–2005. The results confirm that the county-level differences of the stock of human capital can explain the technical efficiency differentials across the sector.     

我国地区间用于科技发展的研发绩效评估与比较

本文运用DEA方法对我国三类地区2000-2003年研发效率的评估和比较发现,研发投入的数量与研发产出的数量、质量呈现正相关性,但产出数量与质量并不完全取决于投入,研发投入力度最大的第一类型区总技术效率和纯技术效率最高,而研发投入力度最小的第三类型区总技术效率和纯技术效率却高于第二类型区;三类地区技术无效率主要来自纯技术无效率,从变动趋势进一步分析发现,第二类型区的纯技术效率呈现不断改善的趋势,第一、三类型区的纯技术效率却在持续恶化.上述发现说明三类地区在研发活动的管理体制和决策机制上皆存在缺陷,从而致使投入要素使用出现严重的非效率现象.因此,在我国目前科技资源投入有限的情况下,提高科研效率应成为提升科技竞争力的关键环节.     

我国寿险公司规模效率与内含价值的实证分析

本文运用数据包络分析方法(DEA)研究各寿险公司的规模效率,使用截取回归模型(Tobit)分析影响效率的因素.研究发现,我国寿险业在快速发展的同时,没有明显表现出规模经济性;影响保险公司规模效率的主要因素是经营费用和保费收入,经营费用的负向影响作用大于保费收入的正向作用.寿险公司在扩大规模的同时,更应该注重提高效率和内含价值.     

The two faces of foreign management capabilities: FDI and productive efficiency in the UK retail sector

We investigate the impact of management capabilities of foreign firms on the management capabilities and performance of domestic firms using survey data on the UK retail sector. On average, foreign-owned retail firms achieve higher management capability scores and are more productive than domestic firms. Our results suggest two faces of foreign management capabilities. On the one hand, capabilities that can be codified, for example human resource management capabilities, generate some positive spillovers on the relevant management capabilities of local firms. On the other hand, dimensions of capabilities that are more tacit and highly competitive exert a negative competitive effect on domestic firms’ own management capabilities. While the overall management capabilities of domestic firms are found to have a significantly positive effect on their own productive efficiency, we find no evidence of a direct efficiency effect of foreign management capabilities on local firms.     

Productivity growth,technical progress and efficiency change in Spanish retail trade (1995–2004): a disaggregated sectoral analysis

This article analyses productivity growth in Spanish retail stores during the period 1995–2004. It is also interested in analysing the influence of regulation/deregulation processes on the efficiency and productivity of the firms. The analysis is carried out from a disaggregated sectoral perspective at the 4-digit NACE code level. The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach is used to compute Malmquist productivity indexes. These are decomposed into efficiency change and technical change. Big differences are found in the productivity growth for each sector. First, six retail sectors experienced positive productivity growth, while six saw productivity growth decrease. Second, most sectors experienced technical progress. Third, some sectors improved their efficiency, while others became less efficient. Fourth, the TFP improvements were almost entirely due to technical progress, and only four sectors improved their efficiency. The findings obtained from the analysis of the deregulation of opening hours show two important facts: (i) the differences in the productivity and the efficiency of the firms between sectors, and (ii) the losses /improvements of efficiency of the firms in relation to the effects of the shop opening hours or the lack of adaptation to the environment.     

我国寿险公司DEA效率分析

借助数据包络分析法,先通过LINDO软件对近年我国寿险公司的超效率、技术效率、纯技术效率和规模效率进行测算,然后利用计量方法分析影响保险公司经营效率的基本因素,最后通过SAS软件进行回归分析,得出影响效率的因素主要有赔付率、人力资本、人均保费收入、个险占比和公司经营时间等。在国外保险公司纷纷加入我国保险市场,竞争不断加剧的情况下,国内保险公司应提高保险公司承保质量,正确处理规模与效率的关系;适当提高赔付率,大力提高保险服务质量;优化保险业务结构,加快产品开发;提高保险公司的投资管理能力,提高投资收益率,从而为保险公司的发展、竞争提供支撑。     

Retail network performance evaluation: a DEA approach considering retailers' geomarketing

Stores develop customized assortments based on localization characteristics. In terms of performance analysis, these changes make it more difficult to analyse store performance. This adjustment procedure entails an internal benchmarking which needs small samples to control regional and assortment effects. This paper explores the influence of competitive environment and store neighbourhood characteristics on store efficiency by using three data envelopment analysis (DEA) models. This research is illustrated by using real data from a French supermarket retail chain at the product category level. It is shown that the two-steps DEA model is a relevant analysis tool to take into account location aspects. It presents a discriminant power strong enough to derive managerial implications with small samples.     

Should a small-sized store have both online and offline channels? An efficiency analysis of the O2O platform strategy

The emergence of online-to-offline (O2O) has been changing the business environment of the retail industry and making businesses more competitive. Since the relationship between O2O and productivity is of interest, this study examines whether adoption of the O2O platform is effective in improving the efficiency of small-sized online stores. A two-stage approach consisting of stochastic frontier analysis and meta-frontier analysis is applied to estimate and compare the efficiencies between firms using the O2O platform and firms using other methods. Based on stochastic frontier analysis and meta-frontier analysis, our findings show that adopting the O2O platform is an innovative and competitive strategy for small-sized online stores.     

外商直接投资对工业行业内部的技术外溢

本文利用1995-1997,2000-2003年期间,中国工业36个行业的平行数据,使用固定效应模型和随机效应模型估计了FDI对工业行业内部的技术外溢,及影响技术外溢的因素。结果显示:在1995-1997年期间,FDI对我国工业行业内部有不显著正的技术外溢。技术差距较小、劳动密集型行业获得较大的技术外溢。在2000-2003年期间,FDI对工业行业内部有显著正的技术外溢。技术差距较大、资本密集型工业行业获得较大的技术外溢。因此,本文的政策含义是,工业行业的引资应偏重技术差距较大的资本密集型行业。     

Purchasing performance evaluation: with data envelopment analysis

Because of supply chain management and other factors, purchasing's performance is considered an important element of corporate performance. Nonetheless, the measurement of purchasing performance, and comparing that performance to other purchasing departments has proven to be very difficult. These difficulties stem from the lack of valid measurement criteria and adequate methodologies to aggregate individual performance measures into a single index of overall performance. Many methodologies are unable to account for the relative importance of performance measures, which varies among firms.This paper examines the application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which has demonstrated potential as a management tool to overcome the shortcomings of other techniques and to help purchasing executives improve the efficiency of their operations. A DEA model was developed to compare the purchasing efficiency of firms in the petroleum industry. The model introduces one more method by which managers can obtain information to assist in the decision making process.     

Mutual Fund Performance and Persistence in Taiwan: A Non-Parametric Approach

This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the performance of Taiwan domestic equity funds during the period 1999 to 2003. To test performance persistence, we first divide the sample funds into low efficiency (0–25th percentile), middle efficiency (26th–75th percentile), and high efficiency (76th–100th percentile) groups according to their rankings on technical efficiency (TE) and Sharpe ratios, respectively. Then, based on the previous one-, two-, and three-year performances of the sample funds, we employ iterative seemingly unrelated regressions to analyse the persistence of sample fund performance. The results show that there exists a significant ‘hot hands’ effect in Taiwan domestic equity funds under the TE measure, but not under the measure of Sharpe ratios. The paper concludes that the different results in performance persistence analyses between the above two measures is driven by the DEA taking transaction costs into consideration.