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Applications of Data Envelopment Analysis in the Service Sector

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Book cover Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ((ISOR,volume 164))

Abstract

The service sector holds substantial challenges for productivity analysis because most service delivery is often heterogeneous, simultaneous, intangible, and perishable. Nevertheless, the prospects for future studies are promising as we gently push the data envelopment analysis research envelope by using more innovative research designs that may include synergistic partnerships with other methods and disciplines, as well as delve deeper into the sub-DMU network of organizations. This chapter is dedicated to providing a selection of applications in the service sector with a focus on building a conceptual framework, research design, and interpreting results. Given the expanding share of the service sector in gross domestic products of many countries, the twenty-first century will continue to provide fertile grounds for research in the service sector.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    DEA can give meaningless results if data on a variable have a very large range. This is because DEA is an efficient frontier technique and a DMU with an extreme value on a variable can appear as efficient even though it may be performing poorly on all other variables.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Necmi K. Avkiran

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  1. Necmi K. Avkiran
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Correspondence to Necmi K. Avkiran .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. McCombs School of Business, Dept. Management Science &, University of Texas, Austin, University Station 1, Austin, 78712-0212, Texas, USA

    William W. Cooper

  2. Dept. Industrial and, Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Beal Avenue 1205, Ann Arbor, 48109-2117, Michigan, USA

    Lawrence M. Seiford

  3. Dept. Management, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Institute Road 100, Worcester, 01609, Massachusetts, USA

    Joe Zhu

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Avkiran, N.K. (2011). Applications of Data Envelopment Analysis in the Service Sector. In: Cooper, W., Seiford, L., Zhu, J. (eds) Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 164. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6151-8_15

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