Goodness C. Aye, Rangan Gupta and Peter Wanke
The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of agricultural production in South Africa from 1970 to 2014, using an integrated two-stage fuzzy approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of agricultural production in South Africa from 1970 to 2014, using an integrated two-stage fuzzy approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution is used to assess the relative efficiency of agriculture in South Africa over the course of the years in the first stage. In the second stage, fuzzy regressions based on different rule-based systems are used to predict the impact of socio-economic and demographic variables on agricultural efficiency. They are compared with the bootstrapped truncated regressions with conditional α levels proposed in Wanke et al. (2016a).
Findings
The results show that the fuzzy efficiency estimates ranged from 0.40 to 0.68 implying inefficiency in South African agriculture. The results further reveal that research and development, land quality, health expenditure–population growth ratio have a significant, positive impact on efficiency levels, besides the GINI index. In terms of accuracy, fuzzy regressions outperformed the bootstrapped truncated regressions with conditional α levels proposed in Wanke et al. (2015).
Practical implications
Policies to increase social expenditure especially in terms of health and hence productivity should be prioritized. Also policies aimed at conserving the environment and hence the quality of land is needed.
Originality/value
The paper is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.
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C.P. Barros, Mike G. Tsionas, Peter Wanke and Md. Abul Kalam Azad
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bank efficiency in three developing countries, namely Angola, Brazil and Mozambique, aiming to infer differences given that they belong…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bank efficiency in three developing countries, namely Angola, Brazil and Mozambique, aiming to infer differences given that they belong to the same cultural tradition. The underlying idea is to control for the cultural background, thus allowing the discussion on how different socio-economic and historical variables maybe impacting different levels of banking efficiency and returns to scale results within the ambit of these three countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Due to the presence of latent inefficiency, the authors have to modify the technique to accommodate simulation by importance sampling; therefore, in effect, the authors use a local maximum simulated likelihood approach.
Findings
The results reveal that Brazil has the highest level of output-oriented efficiency, followed by Angola and then Mozambique. The same ranking is observed in returns to scale, except that vis-à-vis technical change, Brazil and Angola rank first. Finally, inefficiency derived from technical change is highest in Mozambique, followed by Angola and then Brazil. Therefore, these results reveal that the countries with the highest degree of development are higher in efficiency.
Originality/value
Previous studies have identified factors such as legal tradition, accounting conventions, regulatory structures, property rights, culture and religion as possible explanations for cross-border variations in financial development and economic growth. This is the first time banking efficiency is assessed in light of a common cultural background by selecting a group of countries that share the same language and colonial past. Since results are controlled for the same background, it is possible to affirm that the findings are purely related to scale size and economic/political background issues of each country.
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Liz Hassad de Andrade, Jorge Junio Moreira Antunes and Peter Wanke
The aim of this paper is to provide an approach to analyze the performance of TV programs and to identify what can be done to improve them.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to provide an approach to analyze the performance of TV programs and to identify what can be done to improve them.
Design/methodology/approach
The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), the Ng-model, Grey relational analysis (GRA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to evaluate the programs, using audience, share, and duration as the performance criteria.
Findings
By comparing TOPSIS to the Ng-model, PCA, and GRA, we verified that SVD and bootstrap SVD TOPSIS provide a good balance between equal-weights TOPSIS and the other models. This is because SVD and bootstrap SVD TOPSIS break down the data to a higher degree, but are less impacted by outliers compared to the long tail models.
Practical implications
To determine which TV programs should be replaced or modified is a complex decision that has not been addressed in the literature. The advantage of using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is that analysts can choose as many criteria as they want to rank TV programs, rather than relying on a single criterion (e.g., audience, share, target rating point).
Originality/value
This work represents the first time that robust MCDM methodology is applied to an audience data set to analyze the performance of TV programs and to identify what can be done to improve them. This study shows the application of a detailed methodology that is useful for the improvement of TV programs and other entertainment industry content.
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Peter Wanke, Jorge Junio Moreira Antunes, Antônio L. L. Filgueira, Flavia Michelotto, Isadora G. E. Tardin and Yong Tan
This paper aims to investigate the performance of OECD countries' long-term productivity during the period of 1975–2018.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the performance of OECD countries' long-term productivity during the period of 1975–2018.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed different approaches to evaluate how efficiency scores vary with changes in inputs and outputs: Data Envelopment Analysis (CRS, VRS and FDH), TOPSIS and TOPSIS of these scores.
Findings
The findings suggest that, during the period of this study, countries with higher freedom of religion and with Presidential democracy regimes are positively associated with higher productivity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that uses efficiency models to assess the productivity levels of OECD countries based on several contextual variables that can potentially affect it.
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Peter Wanke, Jorge Junio Moreira Antunes, Henrique Luiz Correa and Yong Tan
The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency determinants of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the context of Latin American airlines based on business-related variables…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency determinants of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the context of Latin American airlines based on business-related variables commonly found in the literature. The idea is to identify preferable potential airline matches in light of fleet mix, ownership structure and geographical proximity.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to achieve the objective, all possible combinations of M&A pairs are considered in the analysis, which is developed in a two-stage approach. First, the M&A Data Envelopment Analysis model efficiency and returns-to-scale estimates are computed. Then, robust regression and multinomial logistic regression are respectively used to discriminate these estimates in terms of such business-related variables.
Findings
The results reveal that these different contextual variables significantly impact virtual efficiency and returns-to-scale levels. Private ownership, passenger focus and a better match between aircraft size and demand for flights appear to be key drivers for merged airline efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The study makes theoretical contributions, though limited to analyzing Latin American airlines only. The use of bootstrapped robust/multinominal logistic regression, compared to the methods adopted by previous literature studies, generates more accurate and robust results related to the efficiency drivers due to its special feature and ability to allow the discrimination of increasing, decreasing, and constant returns to scale in light of a given set of contextual variables.
Practical implications
This study examines the pure effect of the merging activity on efficiency gains. Not only private ownership but also a hybrid public–private ownership has a positive influence on virtual efficiency, suggesting an important governmental role in promoting M&A in the airline industry.
Originality/value
The authors present an original take on the issue of airline mergers by exploring what are the major drivers possibly involved in efficiency gains of potentially merged (virtual) airlines. The authors identify preferable potential airline matches where efficiency gains would be positive in light of business-related variables such as fleet mix, ownership structure and geographical proximity. The analysis also includes an assessment of the impact of contextual variables such as cargo type, ownership structure and geographical proximity in relation to the strategic fit of mergers considering the resulting efficiency and returns-to-scale scores of virtually merged airlines. To the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has addressed these issues in Latin American airlines. Further research directions for this industry are also discussed.
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Saiyara Shabbir Ikra, Md. Azizur Rahman, Peter Wanke and Md. Abul Kalam Azad
This paper aims to present a citation-based bibliometric review of Islamic banking efficiency literature from 2000 until August 2020 for analyzing the content of the literature…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a citation-based bibliometric review of Islamic banking efficiency literature from 2000 until August 2020 for analyzing the content of the literature and mapping future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
Using bibliometric citation analysis, this study reviews and examines a total of 278 documents from Web of Science (WoS) indexed sources coupled with content analysis.
Findings
The results identified that the growth of Islamic banking efficiency literature has begun to rise since 2008 with an annual growth rate of 12.5% while identifying the most influential aspects of Islamic banking efficiency literature in terms of topics, papers, authors and keywords. The outcomes of science mapping (i.e. co-citation network, bibliometric coupling and co-authorship network) reveal that there are three underlying research streams in Islamic banking efficiency literature: growth of Islamic banking efficiency literature, stability and genuineness of Islamic banking operations and the methods in Islamic banking efficiency literature.
Originality/value
To the best of the knowledge, this is the first bibliometric review paper on Islamic banking efficiency literature. It successfully unveils the scientific mapping of published WoS documents with a future research agenda also proposed based on the review outcomes. These findings can be used in efficiency-related initiatives by managers or regulators for managing Islamic bank operations worldwide.
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Carlos Pestana Barros and Peter Wanke
This chapter analyses the efficiency of African airlines using a two-stage network DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) model. Network DEA models usually take into account the…
Abstract
This chapter analyses the efficiency of African airlines using a two-stage network DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) model. Network DEA models usually take into account the production process with intermediate inputs derived from the first stage and a second stage that departs from it. This fundamental feature enables one to view the airline production process as a carry-over activity. The analysis covers the 2010–2013 period. The relative efficiency ranks are presented and policy implications are derived.
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Leonardo Marques, Paulo Lontra, Peter Wanke and Jorge Junio Moreira Antunes
This study analyzes whether power in the supply chain, based on governance modes and network centrality, explain financial performance at different levels of analysis: buyers…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes whether power in the supply chain, based on governance modes and network centrality, explain financial performance at different levels of analysis: buyers, suppliers and dyads.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a dual macro-micro lens based on global value chain (i.e. market, modular, relational and captive governance modes) and social network analysis (network centrality) to assess the impact of power (im)balance onto financial performance. Different from previous research, this study adopts information reliability techniques – such as information entropy – to differentiate the weights of distinct financial performance metrics in terms of the maximal entropy principle. This principle states that the probability distribution that best represents the current state of knowledge given prior data is the one with largest entropy. These weights are used in TOPSIS analysis.
Findings
Results offer insightful reflections to SCM research. We show that buyers outperform suppliers due to power asymmetry. We ground our findings both analyzing across governance modes and comparing network centrality. We show that market and modular governances (where power balance prevails) outperform relational and captive modes at the dyadic level – thus inferring that in the long run these governance modes may lead to financially healthier supply chains.
Originality/value
This study advances SCM research by exploring the impact of governance modes and network centrality on performance at both firm and dyadic levels while employing an innovative combination of secondary data and robust set of techniques including TOPSIS, WASPAS and information entropy.
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Andrew Maredza, Peter Wanke, Jorge Antunes, Roberto Pimenta and Yong Tan
This paper investigates the endogenous relationships between banking performance and social welfare in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the endogenous relationships between banking performance and social welfare in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive three-stage multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach based on alternative informational assumptions is applied.
Findings
Results indicate that banking performance is paradoxically associated with stagnant economic activity and higher wealth concentration for the minority. The authors found that SADC banking performance promotes higher Human Development Index (HDI) standards possibly via efficient financial intermediation, dissemination of best managerial practices and other forms of positive spillovers in these countries.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the MCDM literature by simultaneously exploring the key concepts of “utility functions” (using COPRAS) and “distance to ideal solutions” (using TOPSIS) in mapping and explaining the feedback and cause-effect processes between banking performance and social welfare that may exist. Another distinctive aspect is related to the computation of bias-free criteria weights, using a robust SWARA order-rank based on information entropy. Finally, this paper is concerning the endogeneity measurement, using a novel stochastic structural relationship non-linear programme.
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Farhan Muhammad Muneeb, Amir Karbassi Yazdi, P. Wanke, Cao Yiyin and Muhammad Chughtai
This study focuses on the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for developing sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunication industry. Despite the efforts made by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study focuses on the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for developing sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunication industry. Despite the efforts made by governments and stakeholders to stimulate sustainable entrepreneurship initiatives, contributions in the telecommunications sector are lacking. Therefore, this study has the major objective of identifying a transformation path for these firms. This is done by providing a theoretical framework for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry, focusing on managerial and operational practices that should be modified according to a set of CSFs identified by experts in Pakistani firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This article proposes a novel Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) approach based on Grey Systems Theory (GST) and Best-Worst Method (BWM) while unveiling endogenous relationships among current managerial/operational practices and the CSFs for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry.
Findings
CSFs for achieving sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunications industry were found to rely on a tripod, based on effectiveness, transparency, and accountability that are embedded within the ambit of managerial and operational practices, such as focusing and reducing digital illiteracy, targeting poor communities, helping the young in structuring start-ups.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the MADM research stream by proposing a novel use of the BWM technique based on GST to promote sustainable entrepreneurship CSFs in Pakistani telecommunications firms.