Evaluating the efficiency of a small hotel chain with a Malmquist productivity index

TLDR

The study evaluates determinants of efficiency for the Portuguese hotel chain Enatur (1999‑2001) using a two‑stage DEA approach. First, the Malmquist index is estimated to decompose changes into technical efficiency and technological change; then a Tobit model links efficiency scores to managerial and contextual variables. The study discusses managerial implications of the efficiency analysis. © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

By applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) a two-stage procedure is followed to evaluate the determinants of efficiency of a Portuguese public-owned hotel chain, Enatur for the period 1999 to 2001. In the first stage the paper estimates the Malmquist index and breaks it down into technical efficiency and technological change. In the second stage, a Tobit econometric model, designed to relate efficiency scores, along with other managerial and contextual variables, is used to identify the efficiency drivers. The implications of this study for managerial purposes are then discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.