Investigating cost efficiency in the branch network of a Greek bank: an empirical study

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios G. Noulas ◽  
Niki Glaveli ◽  
Ioannis Kiriakopoulos

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the cost efficiency of 58 branches of a major Greek commercial bank, in six major Greek cities, for the years 2000 and 2001.Design/methodology/approachThe efficiency is measured through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Using regression analysis, the effect of size on cost efficiency is also examined.FindingsThe results indicate that there is a room for substantial efficiency improvements. The average inefficiency is about 30 per cent. It has also been observed that rural branches tend, on average, to be more efficient than urban branches.Research limitations/implicationsA direction of future research would be to extend the analysis of determinants of bank branch efficiency in order to investigate the role that the region and the characteristics of the branch play in relation to efficiency.Originality/valueThe paper provides a comparative evaluation of the efficiency of 58 branches of a major Greek commercial bank using the DEA method.

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-140
Author(s):  
Vinh Nguyen Thi Hong

The paper aims at exploring the relationship between bad debt and cost efficiency in Vietnamese commercial banks in the years 2007 – 2013. The research includes two stages: (i) Measuring the cost efficiency of banks by non-parameter Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method suggested by Coelli (2005); and (ii) Applying the Tobit model to identify two-way effects of bad debt and bank cost efficiency. The results show that the cost efficiency in Vietnamese commercial banks is 52.6% and there exists a direct relationship between bad debt and cost efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seda Erdem

PurposeThe aim is to explore the impact of new menu labels on consumers' actual meal purchases with a field experiment undertaken in a local restaurant.Design/methodology/approachThe author used a field experiment in a natural eating environment at a restaurant to investigate the effect of restaurant menu labelling on consumers' meal choices and opinions on the use of nutritional labels on menus. The experiment included control and treatment conditions in which we offered customers unlabelled and labelled menus, respectively. After individuals' dining experience, the data on meal choices and attitudes to menu labelling was collected via a brief questionnaire. The author then performed inferential statistical analysis to test differences between the control and treatment conditions and logistic regression analysis to explore further what predicts the probability of labels being influential on meal choice.FindingsThe study finds that the information provided to the consumers on restaurant menus matters. The more useful the information is perceived by consumers, the more likely the labels will influence their choices. Calorie content and the walking minutes to burn those calories on labels were considered the most useful aspect of the menu labels.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of menu labelling on actual meal purchases, as well as the best way to communicate calorie and nutrient information to consumers. The author also shares her experience designing a field experiment with a restaurateur for future research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yat Hung Chiang ◽  
Eddie W.L. Cheng

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the use of the data envelopment analysis (DEA), Cobb-Douglas and translog production function methods in estimating contractors’ efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the DEA, translog and Cobb-Douglas methods were used to estimate the technical efficiency of 23 contractors in Hong Kong from 2003 to 2009. For this research, four input and three output variables were identified. Findings – The results suggest that the efficiency scores obtained from the DEA method were significantly different from those obtained from the translog and Cobb-Douglas methods, while the efficiency scores from the translog method were similar to those from the Cobb-Douglas method. The DEA method further reveals that the company had poor utilisation of its resources over the past few years. On the output side, the current ratio was too small, implying that the company suffered from excess current liabilities relative to its current assets. Research limitations/implications – Application of efficiency measurement in the built environment is still in its infancy. The current research, therefore, calls for more research to be undertaken to establish the applied literature base for the construction industry. Practical implications – The DEA method helps the inefficient company explore ways to improve the utilisation of the inputs as well as the process and to maximise the outputs. Originality/value – Knowing the relative performance of contractors helps understand their competitiveness in the construction industry. By estimating their technical efficiency, contractors can improve the conditions for enhancing performance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Karbassi Yazdi ◽  
Farshid Abdi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find excellent banks on the basis of identified variables. First of all, banks are evaluated based on operation costs, deposits, staff, investments, net profit, and loans variables. Subsequently, these variables are categorized into inputs and outputs. The performances of the banks based on these variables are analyzed by data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to find efficiency and inefficiency of decision making units (DMUs). Design/methodology/approach This research is aimed to determine the best banks based on predetermined indicators. The indicators are categorized into inputs and outputs. DEA method is used to find efficiency and inefficiency of DMU. However, the aim is to find the efficient banks and to implement the model by using AP Super Efficiency method in order to find the most efficient unit for benchmarking. However, some inputs and outputs have more priority for banks than the others, as a result it will require some changes. Findings The results indicate that among 13 banks, including ten public and three private, solely five public banks are efficient. Moreover, DEA is used as a benchmarking tool for inefficient banks to be efficient. Among these banks ten of them are public banks and three are private. Among efficient ones, all are public banks. Moreover, five of public banks and three of private are inefficient. Originality/value In some cases, inputs and outputs have more priority for DMs than the others, as a result it will require some changes. Also, if one of the inputs or outputs is larger in number than the others, the DMU becomes efficient, despite its low priority. Thus, for solving this problem, the indicators of this research are ranked by Rembrandt method considering the existing ones to find the best banks (best DMU) based on their performance and the relevant indicators.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Carter

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to measure the effect of superstar gig workers, defined as independent contractors who are the most successful in their field, on shareholder value. Gig workers comprise as much as 33% of the workforce and are projected to exceed 50% by 2028. Thus, understanding their impact on shareholder value is important.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses OLS regression analysis. To establish causality regarding wealth effects, the sudden deaths of superstar gig workers are used. To facilitate the uncontaminated measurement of wealth effects, sudden deaths that coincide with a significant event on a [−3, 3] window about the death event are not used.FindingsThe sudden death of a superstar gig worker causes shareholder wealth to increase significantly by 0.35% or almost $1.5m. Rational and behavioral explanations are offered for this result.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizability is limited because data on superstar gig workers in traditional corporations are unavailable. For this reason, this paper uses the only available data, namely, data on superstar wrestlers, who are contracted to perform in matches (i.e. “gigs”) in a lucrative promotion (e.g. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)). Future research could examine the effect of corporate gig workers on shareholder value if the data become available at some point.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to document the effects of any type of gig worker, whether superstar or regular, on shareholder value.


2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1063-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimal Kumar ◽  
R.R.K. Sharma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership styles and their impact on TQM focus within Indian firms. Design/methodology/approach The empirical data for this study were drawn from a survey of 111 firms in India to examine the validity and reliability of the independent constructs (leadership styles: transformational, servant, adaptive, rational and kinesthetic); and two dependent constructs (TQM focus: continuous improvement and innovation). The data were analyzed employing correlation and multiple regression analysis to identify the influence of leadership styles on TQM focus. Findings The results of the study revealed that six of the nine hypotheses have a significant and positive relationship with TQM focus; one hypothesis is partial while rest two hypotheses are not associated with TQM focus. It is also found that leadership styles are more inclined to continuous improvement and perceived as dominant TQM practices than innovation. Research limitations/implications This study used only two major variables, continuous improvement and innovation, as the outcome of TQM focus, but the outcomes are not limited. TQM focus is also related to other variables such as customer focus, product quality, employee involvement, benchmarking, etc. Future research should be extended by using other variables as the outcome of TQM focus. Originality/value The results can be beneficial for the current organization’s leaders to achieve appropriate leadership styles for effective and TQM focus. Moreover, this paper also attempts to inspire researchers to include the TQM focus in studying the effect of the leaders on TQM focus while implementing it effectively in the organizations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-609
Author(s):  
Qianqian Yuan ◽  
Liansheng Larry Tang ◽  
Feng Yang ◽  
Diane E. Brandt ◽  
Leighton Chan

Purpose This paper aims to estimate the performance of the social security administration (SSA) in dealing with disability benefits applications in American. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a multi-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to analyze the efficiency of 167 hearing offices (HOs) to find the best performed HOs and inefficient ones and detect total improvement of inefficient and weak efficient offices. Findings The results show that totally 299,711 applications were processed and more applications will be processed if all offices can work efficiently. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to analyze the performance of SSA HOs using the multi-stage DEA method. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to analyze the performance of SSA HOs using the multi-stage DEA method.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Gao ◽  
Yao Li ◽  
Maoyong Cheng ◽  
Genfu Feng

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the curvilinear effects of firms’ market learning on radical innovation and the moderation effects of the focal firms’ horizontal ties and vertical ties. Design/methodology/approach This study uses regression analysis with the survey data from 303 Chinese firms. Findings Explorative/exploitative market learning has an inverted U-shaped/U-shaped effect on radical innovation. The effects of explorative market learning on radical innovation increase when firms have strong horizontal ties, but decrease when firms have strong vertical ties. The opposite is true for the effects of exploitative market learning. Research limitations/implications This study uses unilateral data to examine the moderation effects of the focal firms’ vertical and horizontal ties on the market learning-radical innovation links. Future research that conducted in the dyadic-paradigm would be preferable to test the generalizability of this research and address the potential changes. Originality/value The value of the current study centers on its integrated framework that incorporates organizational learning theory and the social network perspective to account for radical innovation. The integrative view helps us to interpret the curvilinear effects of market learning on radical innovation and outlines the moderation mechanisms of horizontal ties and vertical ties.


Author(s):  
Hui Shan Lee ◽  
Fan Fah Cheng ◽  
Wai Mun Har ◽  
Annuar Md Nassir ◽  
Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak

Purpose Malaysia is recognised as an emerging country with a large Muslim population, making the Malaysian Takaful industry the largest Takaful market in the Southeast Asia region and, notably, one of the fastest growing markets globally. Malaysia is also the first country globally to implement a risk-based capital framework for Takaful. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the efficiency level (cost efficiency and technical efficiency) of the Takaful industry and to examine the effects of Takaful insurance firms’ specific factors and corporate governance factors that influence the efficiency of Takaful insurance in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the efficiency level of the Malaysian Takaful industry was examined between 2011 and 2015. The sample consisted of 11 family Takaful and 8 general Takaful operators. Two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used by first, conducting non-parametric frontier data envelopment analysis to obtain a DEA score for each operator. This was followed by panel regression with the DEA scores as the dependent variable and the insurance firms’ specific factors and corporate governance factors as the independent variables. Findings The results of DEA indicate that Takaful operators in general have allocative inefficiency but family Takaful is more cost efficient than general Takaful. Results of panel data analysis reveal that corporate governance factors do influence the cost efficiency but find no evidence on the firm-specific factors towards the cost efficiency and technical efficiency on Takaful operators. Board size and the proportion of non-executive directors impose a negative and significant relationship with cost efficiency, while proportion of Muslim directors in the board is not significant. Research limitations/implications This paper focused solely on Malaysia which uses strict regulations governing the Takaful insurance market. Due diligence was also performed to minimise any limitation in the paper. It is proposed that future studies should examine this issue in greater detail by incorporating more data from other Muslim countries. Practical implications The findings of this paper have significant implications for policymakers to understand the efficiency condition in the Takaful market. Takaful operators should maintain a small board size with a higher proportion of executive directors, given they could improve the level of effective decision-making to enhance the cost efficiency. As corporate governance factors are significant, Takaful operators in Malaysia should also undertake transparent disclosure practice and reporting such as providing adequate and relevant information related to Shariah compliance and principles to provide a robust foundation as the Takaful market leader regarding Takaful regulations globally. Social implications The consumer is able to make a better decision when choosing Takaful insurance company to protect their interests. Originality/value No similar paper has been undertaken to the best of the researcher’s knowledge using similar research design and scope to investigate the efficiency of Takaful insurance as in this paper. Takaful insurance is a rapidly growing industry in Malaysia, setting a prime example to other countries globally. Malaysia was selected for this study, as it is the only nation that has implemented the most extreme regulation in the Takaful insurance market.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pertti Lahdenperä

Purpose – Early involvement of the project team with the construction resources seems to be gaining popularity as it aims to improve the cost efficiency of a project as there is significantly more potential to influence the project solution at that point in time. The missing price during early involvement/selection and the principal-agent setting, however, tend to leave the project owner in doubt of the reasonableness of pricing when it is fixed only later after the joint design phase involving the service provider and the owner. The purpose of this paper is to find a solution for this challenge. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage target-cost (2STC) arrangement has been proposed as the solution. In this model the service provider earns a bonus by suggesting a lower target cost than the reference set at the time of the involvement of the provider. The amount of bonus also impacts the cost over-run risk transferred to the service provider to avoid overly optimistic promises. Besides the initial conceptualisation of the idea, earlier research has also produced a framework for developing and assessing alternative formulations of the 2STC model. By means of mathematical modelling and optimisation and critical review the work seeks to provide formulations that meet the set requirements. Findings – The study establishes concrete formulations that are believed to function as intended with certain reservations. Two potential mechanisms, the constant and variable share models, are generated and presented, and recommendations are given for their use in practice. In the former, the extent of cost efficiency improvement in the development phase has no impact on percentage shares, but in the latter the service provider’s relative development bonus and share of cost over-runs are the bigger, the bigger the improvement. Research limitations/implications – The study suggests piloting the formulations in carefully selected projects in order to discover their practical feasibility. Originality/value – The 2STC model is a unique concept and no comparable construct is known to exist. The study produced concrete formulations for a 2STC construct while ensuring and illustrating their functioning to avoid surprises in their use. The study presented in this paper forms the third stage in the overall 2STC development process focussed on benefiting project owners and the industry.


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