Exploring comparative efficiency and determinants of efficiency for major world airlines

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong-Jong Joo ◽  
Karen L. Fowler

Purpose – For strategic and competitive insights, this paper aims to measure and benchmark comparative operating efficiencies of major airlines in Asia, Europe, and North America. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employ data envelopment analysis for measuring the relative efficiency of 90 airlines in Asia, Europe, and North America. In addition, the authors use Tobit regression analysis for finding determinants of the efficiency. Findings – Results indicate that the efficiency of the airlines in Europe is the lowest among the airlines in these three regions. Efficiency differences between the airlines in Europe and the airlines in the two other regions (Asia and North America) are statistically significant in terms of technical efficiency and pure technical efficiency, but not significant between the airlines in Asia and North America. For the determinants of efficiency, the authors identified that revenues and expenses were significant for explaining efficiency scores of airlines. Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to explain the findings that airlines in Europe were less efficient than airlines in Asia and North America. In addition, including variables on customer satisfaction in a future study is desirable. Originality/value – Major contributions of this study include measuring the comparative efficiency of major airlines in Asia, Europe, and North America and finding determinants of the efficiency for strategic insights.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas O'Neal ◽  
Hokey Min ◽  
Daniel Cherobini ◽  
Seong-Jong Joo

PurposeThe authors employed the three different versions (Charnes–Cooper–Rhodes, Banker–Charnes–Cooper and slack-based measure of efficiency) of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the comparative efficiency/inefficiency of aircraft maintenance performance during the previous 41 months in United States Air Force (USAF). As a complimentary tool, the authors also adopted Tobit regression analysis to identify factors affecting efficiencies and inefficiencies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper aims to measure the relative efficiency of maintenance performances for a type of USAF aircraft in an effort to enhance aviation safety and combat readiness.FindingsThrough this study, the authors have two noteworthy findings. These are (1) an increased number of “cannibalization” (extracting necessary parts from the existing aircraft) practices tended to reduce maintenance efficiency; (2) The number of mission-capable aircraft turned out to be the most important factor for maintenance performance efficiency.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first studies on aircraft maintenance that considered popular but neglected cannibalization practices as a new variable for assessing the maintenance efficiency. In addition, this paper is one of the few studies that performed a post-ad hoc analysis as a follow-up to DEA analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abdelrahman Kamel ◽  
Mohamed El-Sayed Mousa

PurposeThis study used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure and evaluate the operational efficiency of 26 isolation hospitals in Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as identifying the most important inputs affecting their efficiency.Design/methodology/approachTo measure the operational efficiency of isolation hospitals, this paper combined three interrelated methodologies including DEA, sensitivity analysis and Tobit regression, as well as three inputs (number of physicians, number of nurses and number of beds) and three outputs (number of infections, number of recoveries and number of deaths). Available data were analyzed through R v.4.0.1 software to achieve the study purpose.FindingsBased on DEA analysis, out of 26 isolation hospitals, only 4 were found efficient according to CCR model and 12 out of 26 hospitals achieved efficiency under the BCC model, Tobit regression results confirmed that the number of nurses and the number of beds are common factors impacted the operational efficiency of isolation hospitals, while the number of physicians had no significant effect on efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe limits of this study related to measuring the operational efficiency of isolation hospitals in Egypt considering the available data for the period from February to August 2020. DEA analysis can also be an important benchmarking tool for measuring the operational efficiency of isolation hospitals, for identifying their ability to utilize and allocate their resources in an optimal manner (Demand vs Capacity Dilemma), which in turn, encountering this pandemic and protect citizens' health.Originality/valueDespite the intensity of studies that dealt with measuring hospital efficiency, this study to the best of our knowledge is one of the first attempts to measure the efficiency of hospitals in Egypt in times of health' crisis, especially, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to identify the best allocation of resources to achieve the highest level of efficiency during this pandemic.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 625-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliana Wulandari ◽  
Miranda P.M. Meuwissen ◽  
Maman H. Karmana ◽  
Alfons G.J.M. Oude Lansink

Purpose Access to finance is an important condition for the development of agriculture and the farms’ performance. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the association between the technical efficiency of horticultural farms and access to finance from different finance providers. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 434 farmers who produce mango, mangosteen, chili and red onion in Indonesia. Data were subsequently analysed using data envelopment analysis and bootstrap truncated regression. Findings The results show that commercial credit from banks and in-kind finance provided through farmers’ associations have a positive association with the technical efficiency of some types of horticultural farms. Commercial credit from micro finance institution and flexible payment of inputs to the agricultural input kiosk generally have negative associations, especially with the technical efficiency of mangosteen farms. Subsidised credit from banks and in-kind finance from traders have both positive and negative associations with the technical efficiency of the horticultural farms. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature by analysing access to finance from a broader range of finance providers and its relation to technical efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-310
Author(s):  
Nahia Mourad ◽  
Ahmed Mohamed Habib ◽  
Assem Tharwat

The healthcare system is a vital element for any community, as it extremely affects the socio-economic development of any country. The current study aims to assess the performance of the healthcare systems of the countries above fifty million citizens in facing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic since late December 2019. For this purpose, seven scenarios were adopted via the DEA methodology with six variables, which are the number of medical practitioners (doctors and nurses), hospital beds, Conducted Covid-19 tests, affected cases, recovered cases, and death cases. To shed light on the relative efficiency of drivers, the Tobit analysis was used. Besides, the study carried out various statistical tests for the DEA models' findings to validate the choice of the variables and the obtained scores. The DEA results reveal that less than half of the considered countries are relatively efficient. Moreover, the Tobit regression analysis showed that the main impact on the efficiency scores was due to the number of affected and recovered cases. Finally, the results of the tests of Spearman, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis H indicate the internal validity and robustness of the chosen DEA models. The current study findings raise important implications, which can be helpful for decision makers regarding continuous improvement of performance, in which the findings assert the importance of achieving the best practices regarding relative efficiency through the linkage between the healthcare systems’ resources, and the needed outputs.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1292-1310
Author(s):  
Benjamin Amoah ◽  
Kwaku Ohene-Asare ◽  
Godfred Alufar Bokpin ◽  
Anthony Q.Q. Aboagye

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that tend to influence credit union efficiency, specifically examining cost efficiency (CE) and technical efficiency. Design/methodology/approach Using a two-stage method, the authors first estimate CE using Tones’ SBM data envelopment analysis method and technical efficiency in a variable returns to scale setting during the period 2008–2014. The authors estimate a mixed-effects and two-limit Tobit regression to examine the effect of credit union specific characteristics, banking industry and macroeconomic conditions, on efficiency. Findings Credit unions’ CE averaged 38.9 percent compared to 54.4 percent for technical efficiency. The authors find that technical efficiency does not translate into CE and vice versa. Practical implications The authors suggest that when targeting CE, credit union managers would have to make technical efficiency a priority. A monopolized and inefficient banking sector does not challenge efficiency improvement in the credit unions industry. Originality/value This study employs data from a frontier market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutasem Mahmoud Jaloudi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the technical efficiency in the Jordan insurance market and examine the internal and external determinants that appear to affect the technical efficiency of the insurance companies. Design/methodology/approach The study used panel data for 22 insurance companies operating inside Jordan over the period 2000–2016. The author used the data envelopment analysis to evaluate the technical efficiency scores, slacks-based and logit models to examine the efficiency determinants. Findings The study found that there is a slight development of technical efficiency for the Jordanian insurance companies during the study period. In addition, there is a substantial efficiency difference among insurance companies each year, and there is a variation at the level of efficiency for each company in each year. The results also showed that owners’ equities are among the most important internal determinants of companies’ efficiency, and there is a significant correlation between type, size and return on assets of the insurer and its efficiency. Originality/value This study provides insurance management with relevant indicators that would guide them to make efficient use of the resource base. The period of study also covers the period following the adoption of the insurance law and the issuance of most of the legislation related to the work of insurance companies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Francis Kimani Mwihia ◽  
James Machoki M’ Imunya ◽  
Germano Mwabu ◽  
Urbanus M. Kioko ◽  
Benson B. A. Estambale

The paper uses the DEA technique to estimate efficiency scores in Kenyan public hospitals and then applies the Tobit regression to study inter-hospital variation in the scores. The DEA analysis reveals that small hospitals are more efficient than large hospitals, with efficiency levels ranging from 74-91% in small DMUs and from 57-78% in large DMUs. Tobit regression analysis shows efficiency scores are negatively correlated with the hospital’s distance from the manager’s residence and from the capital city. Internal and external supervisions are suggested as mechanisms for increasing performance of hospitals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3570-3591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aradhana Vikas Gandhi ◽  
Dipasha Sharma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the performance of Indian hospitals in recent past and derive meaningful insights for policy makers and practicing managers in this area. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyses the technical efficiency of select Indian private hospitals using three related methodologies: data envelopment analysis (DEA), Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) and Tobit regression. Two output variables (i.e. total income and profit after tax) and four input variables (i.e. cost of labour, net fixed assets, current assets and other operating expenses) were selected for the purpose of the study. Findings DEA analysis has shown that 14 out of 37 hospitals are found to be efficient under the Cooper and Rhodes model of DEA and 20 out of 37 hospitals are efficient under the Banker, Charles and Cooper model of DEA. The empirical results pertaining to MPI indicate an overall productivity progress in the private Indian hospital industry during the study period, which is largely due to technological advancement in the industry. Tobit regression demonstrates that chain affiliated, specialized and multi-city located hospitals exhibit a higher technical efficiency. Research limitations/implications This study has a limitation with reference to the unavailability of data on the input and output parameters of the model. The data related to the number of beds, number of doctors, number of nurses, etc., were not available for the period under consideration. Originality/value This study seems to be one of the few studies applying productivity and performance analysis using DEA, MPI and Tobit regression for the Indian private hospital industry.


Humanomics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Tariq Majeed ◽  
Abida Zanib

Purpose – This paper aims to empirically analyze the efficiency of full-fledged Islamic banks, Islamic branches of conventional banks and conventional banks in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses data envelopment analysis to measure and compare the efficiency of banks. Three measures of efficiencies such as total technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency are computed to achieve the objective of the paper. Findings – Overall, full-fledged Islamic banks are less efficient in terms of total technical efficiency and pure technical efficiency than conventional banks. However, Islamic branches of conventional banks are highly scale-efficient than their counterparts. Research limitations/implications – The findings need to be supported by considering production function and risk exposure factors. Originality/value – This paper evaluates and compares the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks by utilizing the largest available data set during 2007-2014.


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