Barbara T.H. Yen

A joint measurement of efficiency and effectiveness for non-storable commodities: Integrated data envelopment analysis approaches

Efficiency and effectiveness for non-storable commodities represent two distinct dimensions and a joint measurement of both is necessary to fully capture the overall performance. This paper proposes two novel integrated data envelopment analysis (IDEA) approaches, the integrated Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (ICCR) and integrated Banker, Charnes and Cooper (IBCC) models, to jointly analyze the overall performance of non-storable commodities under constant and variable returns to scale technologies. The core logic of the proposed models is simultaneously determining the virtual multipliers associated with inputs, outputs, and consumption by additive specifications for technical efficiency and service effectiveness terms with equal weights. We show that both ICCR and IBCC models possess the essential properties of rationality, uniqueness, and benchmarking power. A case analysis also demonstrates that the proposed novel IDEA approaches have higher benchmarking power than the conventional separate DEA approaches. More generalized specifications of IDEA models with unequal weights are also elaborated.

Integrated fuzzy data envelopment analysis to assess transport performance

Previous fuzzy data envelopment analysis (FDEA) models separately solving for the lower- and upper-bound efficiency frontiers under a specific α-cut level may lead to inconsistent efficiency rankings, unreasonable efficiency scores, and cumbersome slack computations. To rectify such shortcomings, this paper proposes two novel integrated fuzzy data envelopment analysis (IFDEA) models wherein both efficiency frontiers are incorporated into a single modelling formulation in ways that the slack values for lower- and upper-bound input/output variables are determined simultaneously. A numerical example shows that the proposed IFDEA models are more generalised and with greater simplicity than an existent FDEA model. A case study further demonstrates that the proposed IFDEA models can satisfactorily assess the relative efficiency for bus transport companies provided that a portion of the variables are measured qualitatively with vagueness (passenger satisfaction in this study).

A Novel Approach to Evaluating Multi-period Performance of Non-storable Production with Carry-Over Activities

This paper proposes a novel approach, called dynamic integrated slack-based measure (DISBM) modeling approach, to evaluating multi-period non-radial slacks of non-storable production characterized with carry-over activities. The proposed modeling approach incorporates conventional dynamic slack-based measure (DSBM) technical efficiency and service effectiveness into data envelopment analysis (DEA) modeling such that multi-period input excesses, output shortages and consumption gaps can be simultaneously determined. Some important properties of the proposed DISBM modeling are explored. A case study on the efficiency and effectiveness of Taiwan’s intercity bus transport during 2007–2010 is presented. The results indicate that the proposed DISBM modeling is superior to conventional DSBM modeling in terms of benchmarking power, and that the non-radial slacks associated with input, output and consumption variables do provide rational information to rectify the inefficient and/or ineffective units throughout the production process.

Why passengers’ geo-demographic characteristics matter to airport marketing

ABSTRACT Passengers’ preference and origin location data (home postcodes) can be extremely useful for marketing purposes, with the potential for more effective customer segmentation and targeting, yet traditional airport market research has often neglected these aspects. This paper utilises passenger survey data from the Gold Coast Airport in the state of Queensland, Australia, to perform a geo-demographic classification analysis in conjunction with census data. With geo-coded passenger preference data, the trip characteristics and airport decision preferences were cross-compared with demographic data with socio-economic variables. The results revealed distinctive contrasts in passenger origin location for short-haul domestic trips and long-haul international trips, in which passengers from afar are willing to travel longer distances to reach a second-tier airport to make use of cheaper airfares. One of the implications of this study is that low-cost carriers’ businesses (the airlines or the airports) should better target their customers by offering geographically targeted marketing.