Search

This study integrated multiple objective decision-making approaches including data envelopment analysis (DEA), rough set theory and TOPSIS method for exploring the competitiveness of pharmaceutical multinational enterprises. Firstly, this study applied an advanced two-stage network DEA to measure the R&D efficiency and business performance of pharmaceutical multinational enterprises (PMNEs) listed in the Forbes Global 2000 and ranked these PMNEs by using rough set theory, DEA and TOPSIS method. In addition, differences in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance across three continents were investigated. Findings show that North America is significantly the best (worst) region in terms of business performance (R&D efficiency) while Europe is significantly the best (worst) region in terms of R&D efficiency (business performance). Alfresa Holdings Corporation, a PMNE from Japan, is the only PMNE that is efficient from both an R&D and business performance perspective. European PMNEs have significantly better environmental and social performance than other regions, however, they have the worst governance performance. Overall, this study provides insights to managers and investors into the application of various methods for accurately measuring performance and ranking multinational enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central concept of strategic benchmarking is resource management efficiency, which ultimately results in profitability. However, little is known about performance measurement from resource-based perspectives. This study uses the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with a dynamic network structure to measure the resource management and profitability efficiencies of 287 US commercial banks from 2010 to 2020. Furthermore, we provide frontier projections and incorporate five variables, namely capital adequacy, asset quality, management quality, earning ability, and liquidity (i.e., the CAMEL ratings). The results revealed that the room for improvement in bank performance is 55.4%. In addition, we found that the CAMEL ratings of efficient banks are generally higher than those of inefficient banks, and management quality, earnings quality, and liquidity ratios positively contribute to bank performance. Moreover, big banks are generally more efficient than small banks. Overall, this study continues the current heated debate on performance measurement in the banking industry, with a particular focus on the DEA application to answer the fundamental question of why resource management efficiency reflects benchmark firms and provides insights into how efficient management of CAMEL ratings would help in improving their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines (1) how corporate social responsibility (CSR) or the three pillars of sustainable investing, viz., the environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) pillars, individually affect innovation performance (IP) and business performance (BP) and (2) how power distance (PD) moderates the impact of the ESG pillars on IP and BP. Our findings of studying 116 multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the technology industry from 2013 to 2018 suggest that not all indicators significantly affect the performance of the MNEs. That is, the G pillar has a positive influence on IP, whereas the E and S pillars are negatively related to BP. Moreover, we find that PD significantly moderates the relationship between two pillars of ESG (E and S) and BP. Specifically, the E and S pillars are negatively related to BP when PD is low, but the relationship is significantly and statistically positive when PD is high. The results can provide technology MNE managers with references for their CSR implementation strategy choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the efficiency of investment trust companies (ITCs) from 2011 to 2020 using a meta-frontier two-stage network data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on the directional distance function (DDF). We improved the accuracy of the efficiency measurement and added a network-based ranking component to rank the top-performing entities. In the group-specific technology assessment, foreign ITCs excel in investment efficiency. Meanwhile, in the meta-technology assessment, domestic ITCs outperform foreign ITCs in terms of both investment and operational efficiencies. Group-specific technology efficiency scores were found to be lower than or equal to the meta-technology efficiency scores for both the operational and investment stages. Based on the network-based ranking approach, Yuan Ta, a domestic ITC that ranked fourth in the operational stage and first in the investment stage, can be used as a reliable benchmark. This study will enable practitioners to gain a better understanding of the performance of ITCs operating under heterogeneous technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the emergence of the Internet, the Internet of things (IOT) brought about another wave of technological and economic revolutions. Through the lens of the production process, this study utilises the dynamic network slack-based measure model in data envelopment analysis to evaluate 32 IOT companies in Taiwan in terms of their innovation efficiency, operational efficiency and overall efficiency for the period of 2007–2017. Empirical results reveal that the average operational and overall efficiencies of IOT companies in Taiwan have been decreasing considerably since 2008. However, their average innovation efficiency remains stable over the sample period owing to government reductions in enterprise research and development (R&D) tax credit incentives. Through the impulse response function method, this study further confirms that the Statute for Industrial Innovation, which was implemented in 2010 and revised and reimplemented in 2016, specifically, policies concerning enterprise R&D tax credits, affect the efficiencies of IOT companies in Taiwan. Overall, this study reveals the performance evaluation process of IOT companies by showing that their innovation capability affects their operational efficiency. Thus, the government is advised to incorporate innovation measures into relevant industrial policies to achieve policy effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the management efficiency and quality effectiveness of Taiwanese local auditing institutions (LAIs), whereby two outputs leave the first stage without being inputted to the second stage under the assumption of variable returns to scale. To address these considerations, this study integrates multiplicative efficiency aggregation (MEA) in a two-stage network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model into the form of second order cone programming (SOCP). Under a cone structure, our DEA findings indicate that management efficiency increased, and quality effectiveness decreased over the sample period 2013–2015. Besides, a truncated regression analysis indicates that differences in operating environments, particularly urbanization level and LAIs' attributes, have significant impacts on the management efficiency of LAIs. The potential applications and strengths of SOCP and MEA-based two-stage network DEA in assessing the LAIs are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes mediation analysis and bootstrapping to analyze the mediating effect of capital structure on the association between managerial ability and firm performance. The dataset consists of 6384 firm-year observations from the Taiwanese electronics industry during 2005–2018. Our results indicate that (1) low (high) levels of debt are likely observed in firms with CEOs with high (low) ability, (2) managerial ability positively affects firm performance, and (3) capital structure mediates the positive relationship between managerial ability and firm performance. Overall, the findings may have limited generalizability due to the specific sample characteristics and provide convincing support for the importance of capital structure as a mediator in the managerial ability-firm performance nexus. Specifically, this study highlights the need for examining the effect of managerial ability on firm performance through a mediator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to explore the impact of peace dividends on global changes in national productivity. First, this study assessed changes in productivity from 2005 to 2014 in various countries at different stages of technological development by using a dynamic semiparametric variant of the Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data model. Furthermore, the logarithmic linear function established through the public choice approach model was calculated, and the peace dividend was measured for each country. Finally, this study used a panel data regression model to analyze the impact of peace dividends on national productivity. The empirical results revealed that after World War II, numerous countries reduced their defense spending through the transfer of resources and formation of peace dividends because of the global expectation of a peaceful environment. This study found that the results varied according to national characteristics and regional environmental characteristics. However, peace dividends generally had a significant impact on national productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of female directors on the corporate performance of Chinese banks and Taiwanese financial holding companies. The sample consists of 14 Chinese banks and 15 Taiwanese financial holding companies in 2010–2014. The empirical results show that the proportion of non-executive female directors and independent female directors have significant positive influence on corporate performance. The result shows that the higher the proportion of female directors is, the better off the corporate performance would be. There is robust evidence in the data to conclude that female directors in specific posts can influence a firm's corporate performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how interlocking directorates affect dynamic corporate performance among 187 Taiwanese electronics companies during a 3 year sampling period (2013–2015). This study consists of two stages. First, this study measures the operational efficiency of electronics companies using the dynamic slacks-based measure model of data envelopment analysis. Second, this study adopts a truncated-regression model with bootstrap to examine the impacts of interlocking directorates on dynamic corporate performance. The empirical findings of this study indicate that centrality (direct connections), structural holes (indirect connections), and the number of connections (total connections) related to interlocking directorates have significant positive influences on the dynamic corporate performance of Taiwanese electronics companies. The results suggest that more interlocks at the board level leads to better corporate performance over a long-term period. Overall, this study uses social network analysis to shed light on the role of interlocking directorates and its importance to dynamic corporate performance from the resource dependence perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 40% of pension funds for military officials, civil servants, and educators in Taiwan are entrusted to international and domestic management funds. However, the average return rate for domestically outsourced funds is not greater than the earnings of self-managed funds. This study establishes a selection mechanism for pension fund outsourcing that conforms to current outsourcing management policies and accounts for both safety and profitability. This study conducts a network data envelopment analysis with considerations of dynamism to gauge the internal management efficiency and investment performance of 37 investment trust companies in Taiwan, thereby accurately measuring the links between internal economic activities and improving overlooked internal productivity activities. The results of this study indicate the internal and external corporate learning benchmarks, which are sequenced to assist the optimal outsourcing measures by applying rough set theory concepts. This study also provides suggestions for the Public Service Pension Fund Management Board in Taiwan in terms of future operations in domestic investment trust companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing university resource allocation or misallocation is necessary to understand its impact on research and teaching productivity. To achieve this insight, this study conducts a two-stage data envelopment analysis to judge the "teaching and research efficiency" and "revenue efficiency" of 61 universities in Vietnam. We analyze what variables have the most effect on the efficiencies of the universities through improving results. Moreover, this research applies scale elasticity to distinguish the benchmark performance leader among Vietnam universities. Results indicate that universities are more efficient in terms of "revenue efficiency" than "teaching and research efficiency." The scale elasticity decomposition findings show that multidisciplinary universities perform better than those specializing in science and technology and social science and economics. Finally, the competitive map to performance advancement strategies is exhibited. This map helps the university management to enhance their efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04285-9.Correction to: Annals of Operations Research (2021) 306:435–452 https://doi.org/10.1007/s1047...Greek symbols & equations in section 3.2 were rendered incorrectly due to proofing error.Original article has been updated.Publisher's NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.By Wen-Min Lu; Qian Long Kweh and Kang-Fu ChenReported by Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

Improving hospital efficiency is an emerging area of interest among policy makers in the new global economy's healthcare system. To ensure accurate efficiency analyses, we consider the nonhomogeneous input/output characteristics of various hospital departments, particularly the Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, and Department of Other Specialist Medicine. These departments employ co-inputs to produce nonhomogeneous outputs. Specifically, we employ data envelopment analysis to evaluate the efficiency of 15 veterans hospitals in Taiwan. Empirical results show that the performance of the Department of Surgery has higher quality than that of the Department of Medicine and Department of Other Specialist Medicine. In addition, we include another data science technique, namely, impulse response function analysis. The findings indicate that "the New Hospital Accreditation" introduced in 2007 and revised in 2011 improved the efficiency of all departments in their respective first year of introductions. By contrast, the efficiencies of the Department of Surgery and Department of Other Specialist Medicine immediately decreased in the second year after the introductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution from the creative industry to the regional economic growth has made the creative industry a new driver in economic development. But as a relatively young economic sector, the creative industry has its unique way of profiting through generating intellectual property with human creativity, talents, and skills. This profiting mechanism draws attention from both academia and industry to explore the factors that influence the performance of creative industry. This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance of the creative industry. Using the dynamic DEA approach, we evaluated the longitudinal efficiency performance of 53 creative firms during the period of 2010–2013. Regression analysis was employed to determine if corporate social responsibility influences financial performance. The empirical results indicated that content media related businesses, which include motion pictures, publishing, and broadcasting, are the performance growth leaders, and the regression result showed that corporate social responsibility has a significant positive influence on the financial performance of the creative industry. In addition, the results also revealed that risk taking and capital oriented characteristics exist within the creative industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the strategy perspective of intellectual capital, this paper proposes an integrated framework that is practical to estimate the human, physical, and structural capitals (intellectual capital) efficiency performance, at firm level. This paper uses a dynamic network data envelopment analysis model to estimate the intellectual capital efficiency at three levels in the insurance industry over the period of 2005-2012. Within the insurance industry, deficiencies occurred in the human and structural capital stages as opposed to the physical capital stage. A further investigation indicates that total investment is the major concern for the deficiencies. Moreover, the cluster analysis highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the insurers based on their inherently similar efficiencies. Malaysian insurance industry need to translate and promote the existing knowledge-based economy agenda lauded by the government to improve the intellectual capital efficiency, particularly at the human capital level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision-making quality is a concern for the public sector because its decisions may involve more dimensions than those faced by the private sector. However, past studies on public sector efficiency have ignored the uncertainty of data estimation. This study addresses this shortcoming by proposing a chance-constrained network DEA approach based on an enhanced Russell-based directional distance measure that evaluates public sector performance. The proposed approach uses stochastic inputs and outputs to enhance decision-making quality and capacity in the public sector. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated through an empirical case of the OECD. Our approach also provides practical suggestions for promoting a green economic transformation and serves as a reference for government policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities play a critical role in the complex technology transfer process that facilitates technology transformation from pure research activities to commercialization. The literature has recently focused on whether universities are efficient in this process. With a two-stage perspective, this study explores the required capabilities for universities to be efficient in technology transfer process. To explore the efficiencies in different stages of technology transfer, we apply a 2-stage process DEA method. The model considers 2 inputs, 2 intermediate variables, and 3 output variables from the Association of University Technology Management database. These variables represent funding resource, patenting activities, and licensing and entrepreneurships. Technology transfer in the 2-stage perspective includes the research innovation stage and the value creation stage. The results show that achieving efficiency in the 2 technology-transfer stages requires many different innovation capabilities; thus, most efficient universities only perform efficiently in one of the two stages. When mapping the relative site of universities in the reference network, we found that efficient universities in the research innovation stage are in a more centralized location than those in the value creation stage. By contrast, in the value creation stage, efficient universities can be identified as different reference groups for specific inefficient universities. The network visualization also helps to explain that universities must consider their relative advantages and capabilities to reach efficiency goals in different stages. The comparison between the large-scale group and the small-scale group also showed that a resource scale is critical for universities to accumulate different required capabilities for efficiencies in both stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a performance efficiency value by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to integrate five perspectives of CAMEL (Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity), which is used by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to evaluate banking performance. In addition, we utilize a tiered DEA to categorize banks into four groups. One-way ANOVA is used to analyze differences in CAMEL and intellectual capital (IC) variables across the four groups. CAMEL variables are manifested more strongly in highly efficient groups when compared with inefficient groups. The findings also reveal the importance of IC in achieving high levels of bank efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic boom has brought about environmental dark sides, i.e., serious air, water, and solid waste pollutions. As the largest developing countries in the world, China's road toward economic-environmental balance is even complicated since there are various regions of diversified geographical and economic conditions. Using context-dependent-DEA (data envelopment analysis) as performance evaluating technique, this study constructs the regions' benchmark-learning ladders for those inefficient regions to improve progressively; and to identify real benchmark for those efficient regions to rank ascendant by incorporating the stratification DEA method, attractiveness measure, and progress measure. Decision matrix covering attractiveness and progress scores is made to help the regions position themselves. Furthermore, we find that capital/employee ratio plays important role on forming levels of regions, which can be interpreted that advanced technology is one of key factors toward regional sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious environmental problems have accompanied remarkable global economic growth for decades. To assist managers in the semiconductor industry with economic and environmental management, this study executes DuPont analysis to examine economic impacts from the effective implementation of sustainability initiatives. We propose a two-stage process including economic development efficiency and environmental protection efficiency through the dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA) to reflect the characteristics of eco-efficiency. Through DuPont analysis, the main finding shows the potential improvement in firms' return on equity (ROE) by efficiently utilizing assets to generate sales quickly. Relative to economic development efficiency, the firms show lower scores and higher standard deviations in the environmental protection ability, thus denoting a large gap in the level of environmental protection production technology. The findings in this study reveal that the financial foundations and sustainable development of industries should be improved simultaneously even though specific levels of semiconductor industrial eco-efficiency improvement vary among companies in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]