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The purpose of this paper is to present an objective decision-making framework and conduct a benchmarking study in the air cargo industry.

The decision-making framework and benchmarking methodology evaluates the aircraft value for money (VfM) as a benefit-to-cost ratio calculated adopting a measure of relative efficiency. This efficiency score is measured as a comprehensive efficiency index obtained by combining several efficiency scores calculated by implementing four data envelopment analysis (DEA) models.

The framework is used to carry on a benchmarking study in the air cargo industry on a sample of 27 airplanes. The average VfM is 67.04 percent, with measurements between 39.96 and 116.03 percent. Only three airplanes achieve full VfM and behave as benchmarks to the remaining airplanes. Boeing B727-200 is a broad player in the market. Some old cargo models (DC 9-30F) deliver the same amount of VfM as more recent aircraft models (i.e. MD-11F and A300-600F).

The decision-making framework and benchmarking methodology can usefully support managers to make sound decisions and plans. Even though DEA generates attributes weights to different alternatives that are independent of the buyer preferences, the framework flexibility allows introducing a weighting scheme to take into account the managers preferences for certain aircraft performance/functional features. It can easily include new functional/performance measurements and adapt the VfM measurement to the particular economic context, strategy, and business model of the airlines, or be transferred to different industries.

The framework combines technical, functional performance, and economic cost measurements to get a unique efficiency index to evaluate the airplane VfM.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological framework that combines several data envelopment analysis (DEA) models to deal with the problem of evaluating and ranking advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) without introducing any subjectivity in the analysis.

The methodology follows a two-phase procedure. First, the relative efficiency of every technology is calculated by implementing different DEA cross-efficiency models generating the same number of high-order indicators as efficiency vectors. Second, high-order indicators are used as outputs in a SBM-DEA super-efficiency model to obtain a comprehensive DEA-like composite indicator.

The framework is implemented to evaluate a sample of flexible manufacturing systems. Comparing it to other methods, results show that the methodology provides reliable information for AMTs selection and effective support to management decision-making.

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge about the utilization of DEA to select AMTs. The framework has several advantages: a discriminating power higher than the basic DEA models; no subjective judgment relative to weights necessary to aggregate single indicators and choice of aggregation function; no need to perform any transformation normalizing original data; independence from the unit of measurement of the DEA-like composite indicator; and great flexibility and adaptability allowing the introduction of further variables in the analysis.

This is a benchmarking study and the purpose of this paper is to investigate if there is any association between operational efficiency in the integrated water management industry in Italy and the typology of service providers, and as a consequence, the nature of concession contract.

The study is focussed on 38 optimal territorial areas (ATOs), e.g. a circumscribed geographical area where the provision of integrated water services is considered efficient. It uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate ATO efficiency and a stepwise regression procedure performed to investigate the effect of contract type on the operational efficiency rate of the ATO.

This study shows that there are some inefficiencies in the water service supply industry in Italy. The estimated average pure technical and scale efficiency of ATOs are 92.62 and 93.91 percent, respectively, while the average technical efficiency is 87.61 percent and the lowest is slightly higher than 13 percent. Operational inefficiencies might not be determined by size only. In fact, results show that the water service provider and contract agreement typologies are associated with efficiency. In particular, operational efficiency is higher in those ATOs where the water service supply concession contracts that fit the schemes of the new legislative framework prevail or where the service is mostly provided by a private equity owned or by mixed public-private companies.

It was assumed that any incremental level of water quality beyond the minimum acceptable threshold as required by law is not important to increase the operation efficiency score; henceforth, no variables measuring the water quality were introduced in the DEA model. The result of the study may be not fully representative of the Italian water service sector, because the unavailability of accurate and consistent public databank in Italy did not allowed to have a larger sample.

This paper is one of the first in Italy to investigate the association between the operational efficiency of the ATOs and the nature of water service providers and contract agreements used.

This paper is one of the first in Italy to investigate the association between the operational efficiency of the ATOs and the nature of water service providers and contract agreements used.

The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers' awareness of sustainable and circular practices, with a focus on their attitude toward and perception of food waste in Apulia, Southern Italy. The region has a tourist vocation, accounts for 3.3 million tourists per year and plays a key role in the Italian tourism.

The study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to ten hotel managers located in Apulia. In light of the Checkup Tool Speditivo, a sustainability score indicates managers' awareness of and attitude toward sustainability and circularity, distinguishing between “beginner” (0–25 points), “concerned” (26–50 points), “proactivist” (51–75 points) and “sustainable” (76–100 points). The results have been analyzed using descriptive statistic tools.

The average sustainability score indicating the level of awareness of sustainable and circular practices among hotel managers in Apulia was 84, whereas the average score associated with their attitude toward food waste management strategies was 65. The greater the number of stars, the higher the sustainability scores. However, the greater the number of rooms, the lower the attitude toward food waste management strategies.

The study sheds light on the main opportunities, barriers and trends in the field of food waste management, highlighting the food commodities which are wasted the most and proposing further strategies to improve circularity and sustainability in hotels. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first on such topics in Southern Italy and could represent the basis for future research on the topic.