A process for evaluating retail store efficiency: a restricted DEA approach

A managerial process is developed for assessing the efficiency of 552 individual stores for a multi-store, multi-market retailer employing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Incorporating assurance regions into a DEA model allowed for a more complete specification of inputs and outcomes than usually found in DEA applications. This procedure permitted the researchers to capture top management's strategic thinking. Practical usefulness of the process' results is illustrated with respect to two management issues: evaluating store managers and identifying critical success factors (CSFs).