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1 – 10 of over 111000Arezoo Gazori-Nishabori, Kaveh Khalili-Damghani and Ashkan Hafezalkotob
A Nash bargaining game data envelopment analysis (NBG-DEA) model is proposed to measure the efficiency of dynamic multi-period network structures. This paper aims to propose…
Abstract
Purpose
A Nash bargaining game data envelopment analysis (NBG-DEA) model is proposed to measure the efficiency of dynamic multi-period network structures. This paper aims to propose NBG-DEA model to measure the performance of decision-making units with complicated network structures.
Design/methodology/approach
As the proposed NBG-DEA model is a non-linear mathematical programming, finding its global optimum solution is hard. Therefore, meta-heuristic algorithms are used to solve non-linear optimization problems. Fortunately, the NBG-DEA model optimizes the well-formed problem, so that it can be solved by different non-linear methods including meta-heuristic algorithms. Hence, a meta-heuristic algorithm, called particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to solve the NBG-DEA model in this paper. The case study is Industrial Management Institute (IMI), which is a leading organization in providing consulting management, publication and educational services in Iran. The sub-processes of IMI are considered as players where their pay-off is defined as the efficiency of sub-processes. The network structure of IMI is studied during multiple periods.
Findings
The proposed NBG-DEA model is applied to measure the efficiency scores in the IMI case study. The solution found by the PSO algorithm, which is implemented in MATLAB software, is compared with that generated by a classic non-linear method called gradient descent implemented in LINGO software.
Originality/value
The experiments proved that suitable and feasible solutions could be found by solving the NBG-DEA model and shows that PSO algorithm solves this model in reasonable central process unit time.
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Joanna Oczkowicz and Jan M. Myszewski
The purpose of this study is to investigate the system of factors influencing the efficiency of internal evaluation in Polish secondary schools.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the system of factors influencing the efficiency of internal evaluation in Polish secondary schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collected in interviews with evaluation experts and teachers on the barriers to the efficiency of internal evaluation and their causes were subjected to a qualitative cause-and-effect analysis.
Findings
Five barriers to the evaluation efficiency (6B model) and five actions of the school head stopping their impact (6A model) were identified. The latter include selecting the key evaluation function (3KEF model) and ensuring the conditions for efficiency in the improvement loop.
Research limitations/implications
Although the research was carried out in Polish schools, the conclusions indicate regularities affecting organizations throughout the world.
Practical implications
Students’ educational needs may exceed the schools’ ability to meet them at class time mostly due to resource constraints. The implementation of the principle of equal opportunities in education requires continuous improvement of the efficiency of schools’ processes. Evaluation can help qualify tasks for improvement.
Social implications
The level of engagement (reactive/active) of the school principal and teachers in evaluation and improvement is a crucial factor in overcoming the barriers to the efficiency of the school processes.
Originality/value
The ability to respond to the efficiency gaps of the school processes depends on the choice and efficiency of the KEF. The rationale for selecting the function and the schemes for its implementation have paradigmatic grounds.
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This paper aims to analyze the influence of business decision on process efficiency and production technology in the communication equipment and consumer electronics sectors of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the influence of business decision on process efficiency and production technology in the communication equipment and consumer electronics sectors of Indian hardware electronics industry after liberalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on 26 sample firms, belonging to the two sectors of Indian hardware electronics industry with continuous operation from 1993 to 2004. Estimation of the contribution of production technology and process efficiency to output growth is based on stochastic production function. Influence of business decisions on production technology and process efficiency is based on indigenously developed business decision model.
Findings
Sectors, in general, fail to achieve improvement in process efficiency in comparison to progress in production technology. The business decisions factors like improve capacity utilization and operational efficiency together with decisions to adopt vertical integration to help sample firms to achieve both progress in technology and improvement in process efficiency in the sectors. However, R&D investments and technology imports are costly for both, indicating inadequate and inappropriate investments made by the sample firms. Disinclination of firms towards improving or developing their own technology is evident from their high dependence on import of technology.
Research limitations/implications
This study only analyses the role and importance of business decision factors in the past. What lies ahead is to meet the challenges and improve performance to withstand the stiff competition. This study suggests for further research about how to improve on the effectiveness of business decision factors that can help Indian hardware electronics industry to survive competition.
Originality/value
The paper develops a business decision model which analyses the impact of business decisions on production technology and process efficiency for a sample of firms in Indian hardware electronics industry.
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Jessica Wehner, Naghmeh Taghavi Nejad Deilami, Ceren Altuntas Vural and Árni Halldórsson
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework consisting of actions, processes (i.e. at the operations interface) and services (i.e. at the customer interface).
Design/methodology/approach
Following a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability managers at LSPs and the data were analysed via inductive coding. Based on the results and the literature, the authors developed a maturity model for LSPs' transitions to environmental sustainability.
Findings
LSPs' sustainable development occurs via operational processes, services at the customer interface, and actions that support those processes and services. Energy efficiency efforts are characterised by process depth that helps LSPs to align with their customers' energy efficiency improvement processes. While services related to energy efficiency connect LSPs and their customers, actions in support vary depending on the logistics activities in which LSPs participate.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to test and verify the maturity model and to clarify the interdependency of its three dimensions.
Practical implications
By categorising energy efficiency initiatives and proposing a maturity model for LSPs' sustainable development via energy efficiency, the authors have developed a tool for logistics actors to assess their progress towards improved sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by providing a three-pillar framework to understand the sustainability transitions of LSPs through energy efficiency. Developing a maturity model using this framework also contributes to the literature with an approach to assess sustainability advancement in the logistics industry.
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Wen‐Ge Fu, Sizhong Sun and Zhang‐Yue Zhou
The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency of wheat and paddy rice processing in China. Understanding the level of technical efficiency of food processing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency of wheat and paddy rice processing in China. Understanding the level of technical efficiency of food processing helps to decide whether efforts are warranted to improve this efficiency. Studies on China's technical efficiency of flour and rice processing are scarce. This paper fills this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
With a unique set of firm‐level survey data collected by China's State Statistical Bureau, this study adopts a stochastic frontier model to investigate the technical efficiency of flour and rice processing.
Findings
The technical efficiency for both flour and rice processing is low in China, being only about 50 per cent. On average, rice processing firms have slightly higher technical efficiency than flour processing firms. It is also found that a significant proportion of firms experienced negative growth of technical efficiency during the time period of investigation.
Originality/value
Each year, some 300 million tonnes of wheat and paddy rice are processed in China. Any small improvement in technical efficiency is translated into huge economic gains. Further, a tiny improvement in flour or rice output rate is equivalent to an enormous increase in food supply, contributing to China's food security. The paper confirms the need and potential to raise technical efficiency in China for wheat and paddy rice processing.
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David Charles Robinson, David Adrian Sanders and Ebrahim Mazharsolook
This paper aims to describe the creation of innovative and intelligent systems to optimise energy efficiency in manufacturing. The systems monitor energy consumption using ambient…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the creation of innovative and intelligent systems to optimise energy efficiency in manufacturing. The systems monitor energy consumption using ambient intelligence (AmI) and knowledge management (KM) technologies. Together they create a decision support system as an innovative add-on to currently used energy management systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Energy consumption data (ECD) are processed within a service-oriented architecture-based platform. The platform provides condition-based energy consumption warning, online diagnostics of energy-related problems, support to manufacturing process lines installation and ramp-up phase and continuous improvement/optimisation of energy efficiency. The systems monitor energy consumption using AmI and KM technologies. Together they create a decision support system as an innovative add-on to currently used energy management systems.
Findings
The systems produce an improvement in energy efficiency in manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The systems provide more comprehensive information about energy use and some knowledge-based support.
Research limitations/implications
Prototype systems were trialled in a manufacturing company that produces mooring chains for the offshore oil and gas industry, an energy intensive manufacturing operation. The paper describes a case study involving energy-intensive processes that addressed different manufacturing concepts and involved the manufacture of mooring chains for offshore platforms. The system was developed to support online detection of energy efficiency problems.
Practical implications
Energy efficiency can be optimised in assembly and manufacturing processes. The systems produce an improvement in energy efficiency in manufacturing SMEs. The systems provide more comprehensive information about energy use and some knowledge-based support.
Social implications
This research addresses two of the most critical problems in energy management in industrial production technologies: how to efficiently and promptly acquire and provide information online for optimising energy consumption and how to effectively use such knowledge to support decision making.
Originality/value
This research was inspired by the need for industry to have effective tools for energy efficiency, and that opportunities for industry to take up energy efficiency measures are mostly not carried out. The research combined AmI and KM technologies and involved new uses of sensors, including wireless intelligent sensor networks, to measure environment parameters and conditions as well as to process performance and behaviour aspects, such as material flow using smart tags in highly flexible manufacturing or temperature distribution over machines. The information obtained could be correlated with standard ECD to monitor energy efficiency and identify problems. The new approach can provide effective ways to collect more information to give a new insight into energy consumption within a manufacturing system.
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Mohsenah Al Yami and Mian M. Ajmal
Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly becoming critical to public sector organizations as it is to private sector organizations. This is because public sector organizations…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly becoming critical to public sector organizations as it is to private sector organizations. This is because public sector organizations are increasingly held accountable for their actions and are forced to move away from traditional bureaucratic approaches to more managerial ones. For instance, public sector is facing pressure to improve its operational efficiency such as productivity, lead time and expenditure. Similarly, it is also facing pressure to improve its transparency, trust, reliability and accountability, which are key elements of sustainable development (SD). The purpose of this study therefore is to understand the intricate relationship between KM processes, operational efficiency and SD in the public sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework consisting of eight constructs (knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge capture, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, operational efficiency and SD) and their underlying items was developed through an extensive literature review. Using 383 usable responses collected through a structured questionnaire from the UAE public sector, the constructs and framework were first validated and then the current level of implementation/achievement of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD was assessed along with the hypothesized relationships between the constructs.
Findings
The findings show that KM processes had a positive and significant direct impact on operational efficiency and SD. Also, operational efficiency was found to strongly mediate the relationship between KM processes and SD.
Practical implications
The findings are expected to help UAE public sector organizations devise strategies and policy interventions to align and improve their KM processes for achieving operational efficiency and SD. Public sectors looking to focus on SD must focus on KM processes and strive to improve stakeholder engagement, which is a vital aspect of SD.
Originality/value
Integration of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD has not been attempted previously and hence constitutes the novelty of this work.
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Yanchao Rao and Ken Huijin Guo
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public companies to file structured data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). One of the key arguments behind…
Abstract
Purpose
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public companies to file structured data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). One of the key arguments behind the XBRL mandate is that the technical standard can help improve processing efficiency for data aggregators. This paper aims to empirically test the data processing efficiency hypothesis.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the data processing efficiency hypothesis, the authors adopt a two-sample research design by using data from Compustat: a pooled sample (N = 61,898) and a quasi-experimental sample (N = 564). The authors measure data processing efficiency as the time lag between the dates of 10-K filings on the SEC’s EDGAR system and the dates of related data finalized in the Compustat database.
Findings
The statistical results show that after controlling for potential effects of firm size, age, fiscal year and industry, XBRL has a non-significant impact on data efficiency. It suggests that the data processing efficiency benefit may have been overestimated.
Originality/value
This study provides some timely empirical evidence to the debate as to whether XBRL can improve data processing efficiency. The non-significant results suggest that it may be necessary to revisit the mandate of XBRL reporting in the USA and many other countries.
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Charles Von Gilsa, Daniel Pacheco Lacerda, Luis Felipe Riehs Camargo, Iberê Guarani Souza and Ricardo Augusto Cassel
The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally assess the technical efficiency and productivity, considering investment projects and technological change, in a second-generation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally assess the technical efficiency and productivity, considering investment projects and technological change, in a second-generation petrochemical company.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) together with the Malmquist index to measure efficiency during the analysis periods. The working method consists of four main phases, namely development of the conceptual model, construction of the mathematical model, application of model to the case, and analysis of the results. The study utilizes a quantitative approach with descriptive goals seeking to evaluate the impacts of technical changes on the operational efficiency and productivity of the production process.
Findings
The use of DEA associated with the Malmquist index proved to be viable for analyzing a single company and identifying efficiency improvements, as well as the impacts of the learning process and the implementation of improvement projects. However, the results of the improvement projects and learning process were not representative and had no statistical significance on the actual change in efficiency of the company during the periods analyzed. For the case in question, the learning process and continuous improvement were not observed during all study periods.
Practical implications
The proposition that the improvement projects and investments implemented increased the efficiency of the company was rejected. Hence, with this work, it was possible to determine that the company unnecessarily invested resources in projects to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the company could have explored more internal resources before making significant investments in increased efficiency.
Originality/value
As for the value of this research in the theoretical and academic scope, this paper advances knowledge on the application of DEA because it proposes to establish an internal reference benchmarking for comparison. The literature contains few studies that analyze organizations using continuous processes, such as petrochemical processes, in longitudinal studies as a function of time, especially with the use of DEA.
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Hana Hulthén, Dag Näslund and Andreas Norrman
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring the S&OP process performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring the S&OP process performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used is a multiple case study of five companies from different industries based on data from 12 structured interviews.
Findings
The main result is a framework to measure the S&OP process. It includes concrete suggestions for organizations when developing measures to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the process. It will also help organizations to standardize measures and to enhance organizational transparency. Our results include measures for every step of the process as well as for the outcome of the process. The authors highlight the importance of cross-functional measures along with measures that focus on how to conduct the process. The framework is founded on a set of criteria on appropriate measures such as comprehensiveness, internal process efficiency, horizontal and vertical integration, internal comparability, and usefulness. The study contributes to performance measurement literature and the S&OP literature.
Research limitations/ implications
Validation of the framework is desirable in similar as well as other contexts. Implementation challenges should also be investigated.
Practical implications
The framework provides guidelines in order to measure, analyze and improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the process.
Originality/values
This is the first framework for measuring the S&OP process that includes detailed measures for each step of the process, for the outcome of the process as well as how to conduct the process itself.
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