A Framework for Evaluating Information Transparency in Supply Chains

Private, public, profit, and non-profit organizations, and society as a whole currently face a significant reliable information necessity problem. Especially supply chains need trustworthy information to perform their activities successfully. This study aims to propose a framework and identify how reliability of information can be evaluated and measured through the concept of transparency. In this context, dimensions such as; comprehensiveness, regularity, timeliness, content, scope, and user-friendliness are the pillars of the proposed framework. Selected criteria have been used as inputs to develop the information transparency level. The Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (ANP) is used to obtain weights of these inputs, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used for the determination of the efficiency ranking for transparency. Results demonstrated that Content, Scope and Comprehensiveness dimensions have 75% impact on the transparency of data. Remaining 25 percent is affected by Timeliness, Regularity and User-friendliness.

A framework for evaluating information transparency in supply chains

Private, public, profit, and non-profit organizations, and society as a whole currently face a significant reliable information necessity problem. Especially supply chains need trustworthy information to perform their activities successfully. This study aims to propose a framework and identify how reliability of information can be evaluated and measured through the concept of transparency. In this context, dimensions such as; comprehensiveness, regularity, timeliness, content, scope, and user-friendliness are the pillars of the proposed framework. Selected criteria have been used as inputs to develop the information transparency level. The Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (ANP) is used to obtain weights of these inputs, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used for the determination of the efficiency ranking for transparency. Results demonstrated that Content, Scope and Comprehensiveness dimensions have 75% impact on the transparency of data. Remaining 25 percent is affected by Timeliness, Regularity and User-friendliness.

A new cross-efficiency ranking method in group decision making environment

As an extended model of data envelopment analysis (DEA), cross-efficiency is utilized in various fields. It applies the relative evaluation values of homogeneous decision-making units (DMUs) in ranking completely. Due to the non-uniqueness of DEA optimal weights, and the cross-efficiency methods focus on the aggregation of cross-efficiency matrix values. There is a low correction between the final efficiency evaluation value and the value assigned to the criteria weight or the value of the criteria. This paper uses the modified aggressive cross-efficiency model to calculate the weights of the decision-making units (DMUs). Then according to the consistency of peer-evaluation criteria, the entropy weight method is used to aggregate the index weights to generate a set of common weights, and a new Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to Compromise Solution (MARCOS) method is used to calculate the utility score of DMUs that can rank them completely. Finally, a numerical case of supplier selection is offered to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Impact and Efficiency Ranking of Football Managers in the Italian Serie A: Sport and Financial Performance

The contribution of managers to the performance of football teams in the Italian Serie A is investigated. Previous results are extended by analyzing two measures of performance: the awarded points from winning matches (sport performance) and the growth of the market value of players (financial performance). Several empirical methods are employed: OLS regressions, Shorrocks-Shapley decompositions of R-squared and Data Envelopment Analysis. Our findings suggest that managers exert a significant influence on both sport and financial performances with differences between top and worst coaches. However, most of the observable characteristics in a manager’s curriculum are not significantly related to team performance.

Efficiency of Cournot and Bertrand Equilibria with Non-cooperative and Cooperative R&D in Presence of Product Differentiation

Strategic cooperative and non-cooperative R&D decisions are analysed in the presence of R&D spillover and product differentiation. Using a two-stage game it is shown that in both Cournot and Bertrand duopolies, R&D and output levels are larger and prices are lower under cooperative R&D agreements compared to non-cooperative R&D. For complementary and independent goods, these results are valid for any degree of R&D spillover and may hold for substitute goods even for sufficiently small R&D spillover. In terms of social welfare, cooperative R&D agreements dominate non-cooperation for both Cournot and Bertrand duopolies. As for relative efficiency of Cournot and Bertrand equilibria, it is shown that the traditional efficiency ranking may be reversed and Cournot equilibrium may dominate Bertrand equilibrium if the degree of product differentiation is low and the products are reasonably close substitutes for high degree of R&D spillover provided that R&D productivity is high. This result is stronger for cooperative R&D decision. JEL Codes: D21, D43, L13

Efficiency of R&D expenditure in Poland and the other member countries of the European Union: comparative analysis by the DEA method

Purpose – Measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness of R&D expenditure in Poland and comparison of this amount to selected European countries.Research method – The effectiveness of R&D expenditure was measured using the non-parametric DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method, which is result-oriented, since the goal of the R&D sector is to maximize the effects. In this paper, a model was created to determine the effectiveness of R&D expenditure in relation to the effects in the form of: the number of scientific publications, the number of patent applications submitted to the EPO and the export of high-tech products per 1 million euros of R&D expenditure.Results – The overall efficiency index for Poland was 0.6925 and was slightly higher than the average for the countries in the study group (0.682). In the efficiency ranking Poland was ranked 12th. The only country that was fully efficient was Germany. Second place was taken by France (0.815), and third place by Italy (0.7825).Originality / value / implications / recommendations– The paper presents a comprehensive analysis, evaluation and comparison of the effectiveness of R&D expenditure in Poland in relation to European countries using the DEA method, taking into account three effects, i.e.: the number of publications, the number of patent applications and exports of high-tech products.

Application of SWOT analysis to select pyrometallurgical techniques for copper-nickel sulphide concentrates. Part 2. Use of quantitative SWOT analysis to calculate the key performance indicators of pyrometallurgical processes applied to concentrates

This study is aimed at conducting an in-depth analysis and interpreting the outcomes of the SWOT analysis conducted in the first part of this study with the help of an additional quantitative analysis and calculation of the so-called key performance indicators, which were obtained with the help of the above mentioned technique. This paper examines a classical SWOT analysis and some application cases. It is proposed to use this method to achieve the above aim. A quantitative SWOT analysis of the techniques has been performed, and a specific weight has been calculated for each factor. The obtained results have been converted into percentages. The following key performance indicators have been introduced to estimate the efficiency of pyrometallurgical techniques in terms of SWOT analysis and the project in general: the ability to overcome threats, development potential, application prospects, the probability of the weaknesses to grow, future status of the technique. A result has been obtained and analyzed. Conclusions have been drawn on the potential implementation of these techniques and the results gained. By calculating the key performance indicators, the authors were able to identify the advantages offered by certain techniques and highlight what is characteristic of the pyrometallurgical techniques in the current environment. The latter enabled to come up with an efficiency ranking. An initial cost-effectiveness analysis has been carried out based on expert evaluation. This study can be used to issue further recommendations on choosing the most advanced pyrometallurgical techniques for copper-nickel sulphide concentrates, which will be based on in-depth analysis of the overall SWOT indicators through conducting a detailed feasibility study.

Fish Processing Efficiency Ranking

Fish as food has been widely used, and as its consumption is increasing, the efficiency of fish production companies needs to be increased as well. Fish production may consist of many processes, depending on the type of fish products they produce. Based on this, the increase in the efficiency of the whole company could be expensive, especially for small size companies, whose revenues per year are rather small. Therefore, to evaluate and understand which part of the company is the least efficient and needs to be improved first to have the highest increase in the efficiency of the company, the decision making method needs to be used for the evaluation. In this research, the method MULTIMOORA was chosen to evaluate the specific company’s production efficiency. The results have shown that fish preliminary processing is the least efficient process for the chosen case study. Recommendations for improvement the efficiency of the least efficient stage have been developed, therefore improving the efficiency for the whole company.