Measuring Technical Efficiency of Dairy Farms with Imprecise Data: A Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

This article integrates fuzzy set theory in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework to compute technical efficiency scores when input and output data are imprecise. The underlying assumption in convectional DEA is that inputs and outputs data are measured with precision. However, production agriculture takes place in an uncertain environment and, in some situations, input and output data may be imprecise. We present an approach of measuring efficiency when data is known to lie within specified intervals and empirically illustrate this approach using a group of 34 dairy producers in Pennsylvania. Compared to the convectional DEA scores that are point estimates, the computed fuzzy efficiency scores allow the decision maker to trace the performance of a decision-making unit at different possibility levels.fuzzy set theory, Data Envelopment Analysis, membership function, α-cut level, technical efficiency, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, D24, Q12, C02, C44, C61,

A Super Efficiency Model for Product Evaluation

This study applies a Super Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis model to evaluate the efficiency of cars sold on the German market. Efficiency is conceptualized from a customers' perspective as a ratio of outputs that customers obtain from a product relative to inputs that customers have to invest. The output side is modeled as a set of customer-relevant parameters such as performance attributes but also nonfunctional benefits and brand strength. More than 60% of the cars are efficient but the analysis shows marked differences regarding their degree of Super Efficiency. Super Efficiency indicates the extent to which the efficient products exceed the efficient frontier formed by other efficient units. Based on the parameter weights, segments of cars with a particular mix of characteristics can be identified; cars with a comparative advantage relative to their competitors who provide the same mix are characterized as the reference points within a given segment.Customer Value, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Marketing Efficiency, Product Marketing, Super Efficiency Model

Sustainable R&D portfolio assessment.

Research and development portfolio management is traditionally technologically and financially dominated, with little or no attention to the sustainable focus, which represents the triple bottom line: not only financial (and technical) issues but also human and environmental values. This is mainly due to the lack of quantified and reliable data on the human aspects of product/service development: usability, ecology, ethics, product experience, perceived quality etc. Even if these data are available, then consistent decision support tools are not ready available. Based on the findings from an industry review, we developed a DEA model that permits to support strategic R&D portfolio management. We underscore the usability of this approach with real life examples from two different industries: consumables and materials manufacturing (polymers).R&D portfolio management; Data envelopment analysis; Sustainable R&D;

Benchmarking in Tourism Destination, Keeping in Mind the Sustainable Paradigm

Tourism destination benchmarking and the assessment of tourism management performances are a crucial and challenging task in the direction of evaluating tourism sustainability and reshaping tourism activities. However, assessing tourism management efficiency per se may not provide enough information concerning long-term performances, which is what sustainability is about. Natural resources management should therefore be included in the analysis to provide a more exhaustive picture of long-run sustainable efficiency and tourism performances. Indeed, while the environmental endowment of a site is a key feature in tourism destination comparison, what really matters is its effective management. Therefore, in this paper we assess and compare tourism destinations, not only in terms of tourism services supply, but also in terms of the performance of environmental management. The proposed efficiency assessment procedure is based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). DEA is a methodology for evaluating the relative efficiency when facing multiple input and output. Although the methodology is extremely versatile, for the sake of exemplification, in this paper it is applied to the valuation of sustainable tourism management of the twenty Italian regions.Data envelopment analysis, Sustainable tourism indicators

Environmental Concerns in Water Pricing Policy:Â Â an Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Water management is subject to conflicting economic and environmental objectives, and policymakers require a clear overview of the different outcomes derived from different water management options. The aim of this paper is to assess the efficiency of several irrigation water pricing policies with a special focus on their environmental implications. Irrigation is chosen here as a crucial sector of water use in large parts of southern Europe, where pressure on the resource is expected to increase due to climate change. A novel methodological approach for performing an ex ante analysis of alternative water pricing policies is proposed here, where environmental and technical performance are simultaneously considered. This approach takes place in two steps: the first is a simulation of alternative water policies through a mathematical programming model, and the second is the analysis of results by using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. A case study is applied in Puglia (southern Italy), where irrigation is the primary factor of strategic relevance for policymakers regarding water management. Our results show that on the one hand alternative pricing policies perform similarly in terms of technical efficiency and environmental efficiency. On the other hand, inefficiency appears to depend mainly on technical rather than environmental concerns. According to the assigned weights, through the DEA technique, the highest improvement for inefficient options may be obtained by better labour use. We conclude that the proposed approach may be a comprehensive and versatile framework for water policy analysis, offering a tool for supporting the decision-making process.Irrigation, Policy assessment, Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Linear Programming

Financial benchmarking of transportation companies in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) through data envelopment analysis (DEA) and visualization

In this paper, we present a benchmarking study of industrial transportation companies traded in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). There are two distinguishing aspects of our study: First, instead of using operational data for the input and the output items of the developed Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, we use financial data of the companies that are readily available on the Internet. Secondly, we visualize the efficiency scores of the companies in relation to the subsectors and the number of employees. These visualizations enable us to discover interesting insights about the companies within each subsector, and about subsectors in comparison to each other. The visualization approach that we employ can be used in any DEA study that contains subgroups within a group. Thus, our paper also contains a methodological contribution

Using Data Envelopment Analysis to Evaluate Environmentally Conscious Tourism Management

This paper discusses a methodology to assess the performances of tourism management of local governments when economic and environmental aspects are considered as equally relevant. In particular, the focus is on the comparison and efficiency assessment of Italian municipalities located on the costal areas. In order to assess the efficiency status of the considered management units, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a methodology for evaluating the relative efficiency of decision making units, is applied. The efficiency index measure used in DEA analysis accounts for both environmental and economic features correlated to the tourism industry. Further, potential managerial improvements for those areas resulting far from the efficiency frontier can be investigated.Data envelopment analysis, Sustainable tourism

Robust DEA efficiency scores: A probabilistic/combinatorial approach

In this paper we propose robust efficiency scores for the scenario in which the specification of the inputs/outputs to be included in the DEA model is modelled with a probability distribution. This proba- bilistic approach allows us to obtain three different robust efficiency scores: the Conditional Expected Score, the Unconditional Expected Score and the Expected score under the assumption of Maximum Entropy principle. The calculation of the three efficiency scores involves the resolution of an exponential number of linear problems. The algorithm presented in this paper allows to solve over 200 millions of linear problems in an affordable time when considering up 20 inputs/outputs and 200 DMUs. The approach proposed is illustrated with an application to the assessment of professional tennis players